Streamwood headed to state soccer Final Four

It's not everyday that 6-foot 4 Streamwood goalkeeper Sergio Blanco has an opposing keeper trying to screen him in the box that's just as tall as him.

But that's what it came down to in the final seconds in Streamwood's dramatic 2-1 Class 3A Barrington supersectional win over Lake Park Tuesday night. And before the Sabres (17-5-2) could punch their ticket to state they had to stop a Lake Park (20-2-4) corner kick from the left side with the clocked stopped at 18.2 seconds left that featured every Lancer in the box, including goalie Michael Jasiak.

"I told everybody to mark a man. I had a big tall goalie jumping in front of my face," said Blanco. "This guy is going to be in front of my face, I'll stay calm and follow the ball."

While still maintaing the raw emotions of letting Kris Lopez score 26 minutes earlier that Blanco took full responsibility for, the Sabres' all-state goalie was determined to get that ball to prevent extra time.

As the crucial Lancer kick went to no avail, Blanco fell to his left to cover 1 of his 4 saves, rose up and cleared it out as time expired, sending the Sabres' bench into complete bedlam to signify the first Streamwood boys program to ever qualify for an IHSA state final tournament. The school's only state titles belong to the girls bowling teams in 1993 and 1996 (which also included a second-place finish in 1995 in that span) and now the boys will be able to add to that trophy case this weekend.

Streamwood will face Normal Community at Hoffman Estates High School in the first Class 3A state semifinal Friday at 5 p.m.

"It's mind-blowing for the school, the community, these kids. It's huge for Streamwood. I think they're going to take it, run with it and just enjoy it," said Sabres' coach Matt Polovin. "We're not satisfied, though. We're not happy just happy making the Final Four, we're going for the big prize. That's it. We don't want to come home with a fourth-place trophy or third or second. These guys want to win and we're not going to stop."

Lake Park, fourth at state last year, posted back-to-back 20-win seasons.

"Streamwood, hats off to them," Lancers' coach Anthony Passi said. "We came out strong against them in the first 10 minutes and they continued to play and at this point everyone is playing well and it's the team that wants it more. Streamwood put it in there and that (Alan) Camarena kid is a dynamite player, too."

This match didn't refrain from drama as the last 28 minutes was worth the price of admission. Streamwood went into the half up 1-0 after Blerim Shoboni connected off Jasminko Dizdarevic's pass in the 24th minute and the Sabres made it 2-0 after Camarena broke out of his 3-game scoring drought with one of the quickest free kicks from 35 yards you'll ever see in the 51st minute.

"I tried it against Elgin (in regionals). I didn't call for 10 (yards), the goalie was at near post, I got a good shot," Camarena said of his 23rd goal. "He was at the post so I had a wide-open shot."

The 2-goal lead didn't last long as Lopez was able to connect on a header from Michael Passi which cut the deficit in half not less than a minute later, which gave Lake Park much needed momentum.

"After that goal we got the momentum back and started going at them," Lopez said. "They started getting pressured and getting scared. We tried going for it, tried going for everything."

The Sabres owned a 10-8 shot edge but it seemed to be Lake Park's advantage in the final 15 minutes, as it pressured Blanco and the Streamwood defense relentlessly. Then unexpectedly with 5:25 remaining, Anthony Passi received one of the quietest red cards for arguing what he thought were bad calls on Streamwood's goals along with a few hand balls the officials had missed, in his opinion.

"I tried to let (the linesmen) know and ... red card. And I don't know why I got a red card, usually that's a yellow card," Passi said. "This was a not a very good crew for supersectionals."

While Camarena received double teams at times, Oliver Horgan, the Lancers' leading man who nailed a crossbar early, was held in check thanks to Sabres' defender Christian Balbino. The Sabres' defense once again had to beat the clock and fight the pressure as Mike Delaney's header with 2 minutes left helped stall another key Lancer push.

"We felt pretty confident, we knew we were going to win, we play every game like it's a championship game," Camarena said. "We're going to state now to be first in state."