Boys soccer: Ehlers lifts high-scoring Warren

Warren's boys soccer team has found the net often to start the season.

The Blue Devils got past host Grayslake North 4-1 on Thursday night, giving them 14 goals through three games. They also have won two straight games in the Grayslake North invite.

Warren (3-0, 2-0) will take on Prairie Ridge (2-0) for the title match at 9 a.m. Saturday at Grayslake North.

Nolan Ehlers scored a pair of goals against Grayslake North. Luke Schoenbrunn and Alex Senko also scored, while Noe Martinez and Ishaan Shah each had a pair of assists.

"A lot of returning guys, a lot of experience, a lot of time spent together this summer," Warren coach Jason Ahonen said. "It shows on the field. It comes from the depth that we have, from the starters to the 20th guy, and it only makes us better. We just have to finish and tighten up some scoring opportunities. Our set pieces were much better for us."

Schoenbrunn got the scoring going for Warren in the 18th minute, taking a pass from Shah and finishing up top.

Ehlers headed in his first goal off a set piece in the 52nd minute. Martinez sent a corner kick into the box, and Shah head flicked the ball to Ehlers for a 2-0 advantage.

Grayslake North (0-2) got a goal back from Omar Cordova in the 67th minute. Cordova took a ball off a Blue Devils defender and placed it under the crossbar.

Not more than a minute later, Warren pushed the score out to 3-1. Ehlers found the back of the net with another header off a corner kick again by Martinez.

"I play center back and I don't get a lot of opportunities to go forward," Ehlers said. "Luckily, the coaches let me go up on corner kicks. They put the smallest guy on me and didn't think I was that big (5 feet 10). I got up there and finished."

Senko scored in the 73rd minute off a pass from Martinez on the run.

The Knights are a team trying to come together after graduating a number of players.

"We're a pretty new team and (Warren) wasn't. They got a lot more experience than us," Grayslake North coach Adam DeCaluwe said. "It showed. We're still sorting things out and getting used to each other in our second game. I'm still proud of the effort."

Grayslake North will host Harvard for third place at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Grayslake Central 3, Vernon Hills 0: Benjamin Berry scored twice, and Daniel Marynevych had a goal and an assist for the host Rams. Jonathan Piggott earned his first varsity shutout with 4 saves.

"It was good to see the boys bounce back after a tough test on Tuesday," said coach Tom Hamilton, whose Rams improved to 1-1. "We worked hard yesterday to learn from our mistakes the other day, and the boys put in a big team effort tonight. Now we'll look to build on this."

Vernon Hills (0-2) allowed all 3 goals in the first half.

"Tonight we came out flat again and we had the game taken to us in the first half," Cougars coach Mike McCaulou said. "Defensively we struggled tactically, which led to issues on the offensive side of the ball. We need to be better tactically and bring the effort and communication from the first whistle."

Stevenson 2, McHenry 0: Alem Duratovic scored off an assist from Anthony Skordilis, and Ryan Allen had a goal off an assist from Rei Kubota, as the Patriots improved to 2-0.

Itay Gozalzani earned his second shutout.

Lakes 4, Lake Forest 2: Brady Lucas scored 3 second-half goals, including one on a penalty kick, as the Eagles won the Lake Forest Shootout game.

Evan Larsen had a goal and an assist for Lakes (1-1), which trailed 1-0 two minutes into the game.

"But, thankfully, we got the tying goal before halftime," Eagles coach Kevin Kullby said. "In the second half, we held the play. Defensively, we did well to hold off a good Lake Forest team."

Round Lake 2, Zion-Benton 0: At Lake Forest, Edgar Arteaga opened the scoring in the second half with his first goal, assisted by Jesus Ramos, and Cristobal Hidrogo added an insurance tally, assisted by Uriel Sanchez.

Freshman Jerry Perez notched the shutout with 3 saves, and freshman Saul Valdez stepped in on defense for Juan Gomez, who got injured in the game.

Mundelein 4, Wauconda 0: Camden Kowalski had 3 goals and an assist for the Mustangs.

Jesus Abrego added a goal and an assist.