Boys soccer: Huntley rallies to tie Larkin
After dealing with some tough matches to start the season, Huntley coach Matt Lewandowski wanted his young squad to gain some experience and learn how to overcome adversity.
Lewandowski got exactly what he wanted Thursday night.
The Red Raiders overcame a halftime deficit by coming out more aggressive in the second half. Their efforts resulted in a goal and a 1-1 tie against Larkin in Huntley’s first match of the Huntley Quad.
“We’re still happy to end up with a tie,” Huntley junior Aktai Mametjanov said. “I feel like the score sometimes doesn’t matter. If you give it your all, that’s all you can do.”
Down 1-0 at the half, Huntley (1-1-2) adjusted its play in the second half by being more aggressive since Larkin was more patient with the ball. The Red Raiders created more pressure on the Royals’ backline and took advantage of the space Larkin allowed.
That’s how Mametjanov came up big for Huntley.
Once he saw that junior Max Connell had the ball, he started sprinting down the pitch screaming for the ball.
Once he got it near the net, Mametjanov realized he came too far. Mametjanov adjusted and shot the ball into the corner to tie it 1-1 with 27:20 left in the match.
“I was like, ‘No, I did not just run all that for nothing, I’m scoring tonight, this was my only mission for today,’” Mametjanov said. “I just kind of let my subconscious take over and shot it between his legs.”
The attacks didn’t stop there for the Red Raiders. After tying the match, Huntley continued its pressure and got solid looks at the net. The Red Raiders had a free kick with 25 minutes left in the match and just missed on a cross in front of the net with 14 minutes left.
Huntley finished with seven shots on goal while senior Jeremiah Reynolds made four saves in net.
Although Huntley couldn’t score one more to win the match, Lewandowski was proud of the fight from his team.
“For them to bounce back, get back in and knuckle down to get things down was really important for us.” Lewandowski said.
Larkin (1-1-2) also faced a similar situation as the Red Raiders. Filled with plenty of young players learning a new scheme, the Royals tried to set an identity early by earning two corner kicks and a free kick in the first five minutes of the match.
The Royals finally broke through when they earned a penalty kick after a foul in the box. Senior David Terrnos knocked in the penalty to give Larkin a 1-0 lead with 17:38 left in the first half.
While Larkin struggled to overcome the Red Raiders’ pressure at times, the Royals still battled to create chances. Larkin had three more shots on goal the rest of the match.
“We showed a good fight,” Larkin assistant coach Alex Vazquez said. “I think we showed what we’re made of, what we can do and it’s just working from there.”
Both teams will resume play in the Huntley Quad on Friday. Larkin will play Woodstock North while Huntley has Rockford East.
After some progress Thursday night, Lewandowski will look for continued development before starting Fox Valley Conference play in a couple weeks.
“The core of our group has changed from the last couple years,” Lewandowski said. “So it’s just finding out the chemistry of the group, who gels with who, who creates the best opportunities together and making sure those are on the field together all at the same time.”