Christopher Gousios of Burlington Central reacts to his team's 2-1 loss to Ridgewood during Friday's Class 2A state boys soccer semifinal in Naperville.
JOE LEWNARD/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
While Burlington Central was happy with the opportunities it earned this season, it couldn't help but regret some of the opportunities it missed Friday.
Playing in its first boys soccer state semifinal, Burlington Central saw Ridgewood score a pair of second-half goals and walk away with a 2-1 victory against the Rockets in a Class 2A game at North Central College in Naperville.
“A couple of times we should've taken advantage of some of our opportunities that we had, but they had some great goals and they earned it,” Rockets senior Kyle Reopelle said.
The Rockets (20-5-3) struck first, surprising Ridgewood with a Christopher Gousios goal off a quick counterattack in the 39th minute.
“We just had a quick clearance and we pushed into our offense,” Reopelle said. “It was a quick counterattack. A great run by Chris Gousios, and he tucked it away like he should have.”
But other Ridgewood mistakes went unpunished. The best of those was a 59th-minute shot by Alejandro Nava that hit the right post flush, and a second shot off the rebound was saved by goalkeeper Veli Milanov.
“We knew we needed at least two more goals if we wanted to comfortably win this thing,” Reopelle said. “We knew one goal or even two goals wouldn't do. We needed more offense in the second half and it just didn't come.”
Ridgewood (19-6-2) evened the score in the 62nd minute on Andy Mazurczak's goal off a Tom Kuczek assist.
“We just had a couple of miscommunications, who was going for the ball, and just left someone wide open,” Reopelle said. “They just tucked it in.”
Four minutes later Mazurczak struck again, this time challenging Rockets goalkeeper Riley Jensen for a pass chipped into the Burlington Central penalty area. As Jensen fell to the ground after the collision, Mazurczak knocked the ball into the net. No foul was called.
“It was the right moment at the right time,” Mazurczak said. “I guess I was just there. I went up for the ball because I knew if I didn't challenge it he would just punch it out. I was just there and it fell in front of my legs, so I poked it in.”
“I'm just not big on blaming referees,” Rockets coach Michael Gecan said. “I could have asked for a billion calls, but I'm sure they could have had theirs too.
“You've got to finish your opportunities when you get them, especially in the second half when we didn't get as many as they did. I'm pretty close to positive that we didn't get as many as they did. But when you get them you've got to put them away.”
The Rockets will finish their season at 11 a.m. today when they meet Waterloo in the third-place game. Waterloo lost to Peoria Notre Dame 4-0 Friday.
“We're just going to come out hard, give everything we have,” Reopelle said. “It's our last game, especially for the seniors, go out hard and end on a good note.”
Burlington Centrals Zachary Jochum, left, and Christopher Gousios reacts to their teams loss to Ridgewood in Fridays Class 2A state boys soccer semifinal.
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Ridgewoods Peter soja, left, tries unsucessfully to score against Burlington Central goal keeper Riley Jensen as Centrals Brandon Cesaroni follows on the play during Fridays Class 2A state boys soccer semifinal.
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Burlington Centrals Christopher Gousios, left, and Ridgewoods Artur Minczuk slide for the ball during Fridays Class 2A state boys soccer semifinal.
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Alexis Camarena of Burlington Central, left, kicks high to direct the ball past Ridgewoods Mike Kuczek during Fridays Class 2A state boys soccer semifinal.
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The ball bounces in front of Burlington Centrals Brad Herron, left, and Ridgewoods Rafal Maslowski during Fridays Class 2A state boys soccer semifinal.
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Ridgewoods Irvin Grepo kicks the ball past Burlington Centrals Alexis Camarena during Fridays Class 2A state boys soccer semifinal.
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Marciej Nguyen of Ridgewood steps in front of Burlington Centrals Alexis Camarena as Ridgewood goal keeper Veli Milanov leaps for the ball during Fridays Class 2A state boys soccer semifinal.
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Alejandro Nava of Burlington Central walks off the field after his team lost to Ridgewood during Fridays Class 2A state boys soccer semifinal.
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Burlington Centrals Zachary Jochum, left, and Ridgewoods Peter Soja leap for a header during Fridays Class 2A state boys soccer semifinal.
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Burlington Centrals Erick Uribe directs the ball with a header past Ridgewoods Maciej Nguyen during Fridays Class 2A state boys soccer semifinal.
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Irvin Grepo of Ridgewood, right, tries to direct the ball past Burlington Centrals Alexis Camarena during Fridays Class 2A state boys soccer semifinal.
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Burlington Centrals Brandon Cesaroni, left, and Ridgewoods Peter Soja try to control the ball during Fridays Class 2A state boys soccer semifinal.
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Burlington Central coach Michael Gecan during Fridays Class 2A state boys soccer semifinal.
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Burlington Central celebrates their goal during Fridays Class 2A state boys soccer semifinal.
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Christopher Gousios of Burlington Central gets between the ball and a Ridgewood defender during Fridays Class 2A state boys soccer semifinal.
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Brandon Cesaroni of Burlington Central reacts to his teams loss to Ridgewood in Fridays Class 2A state boys soccer semifinal.
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Burlinton Centrals Christopher Gousios, left, and Ridgewoods Mike Kuczek try to control the ball during Fridays Class 2A state boys soccer semifinal.
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Alexis Camarena of Burlington Central, left, makes contact with Mike Kuczek of Ridgewood during Fridays Class 2A state boys soccer semifinal.
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Mario Siembida of Ridgewood, front, and Kyle Reopelle of Burlington Central leap for a header during Fridays Class 2A state boys soccer semifinal.
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Burlington Centrals Erick Uribe, left, and Ridgewoods Maciej Nguyen make contact during Fridays Class 2A state boys soccer semifinal.
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Christopher Gousios of Burlington Central gets between the ball and Ridgewooods Przemyslaw Zabielski during Fridays Class 2A state boys soccer semifinal.
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