With darkness looming, Larkin wins regional championship

Rumor has it that Larkin defeated Elgin to win the Class 3A Huntley boys soccer regional championship Friday.

Few clearly saw Tony Hernandez's goal with 3:51 left in the fourth overtime, such was the darkness encroaching on Huntley's soccer field, but the Royals immediately began celebrating their 4-3 win with whatever energy they had left.

Despite miserable conditions, the crosstown rivals combined for 116 minutes of pretty good soccer, with Elgin overcoming a 2-goal deficit in the second half to force overtime.

"The field conditions were not good at all. The elements, the weather was terrible," said Sanchez, whose goal with 12 minutes left in the first half tied the game at 1-1. "The wind was in your face the whole time."

Hernandez's goal was his second of the game. Alex Sanchez and Erik Rodriguez scored to give Larkin (8-15-2) a 2-1 halftime lead.

The Royals will take on the winner of today's McHenry regional final between Crystal Lake South and McHenry in the 5 p.m. Barrington sectional semifinal on Tuesday.

Oswaldo Betancourt, Jose Quevado and Carlos Moreno scored for the Maroons.

The young but improving Royals beat two higher seeds to win the regional.

"Absolutely not," said Larkin coach Ken Hall when asked if he had expected his freshman and sophomore laden team to be in this position when the season started. But there was Hall holding the hardware.

"We were 22-2 last year and didn't get one of these, so we'll take it," he said.

Quevado scored on a rebound to tie the game with 20 minutes to play. The goal was the last in a flurry of 5 in 35 minutes.

Neither team could muster many chances in the closing minutes of regulation, or in the first 2 overtimes. Late in the third, Larkin had a chance, with the ball loose near the goal mouth, but couldn't convert.

In the fourth extra period, the Royals found themselves with a corner kick. Although the initial effort didn't produce a shot, the defense wasn't able to clear. Manny Aguilar got a toe on the ball and directed it to Hernandez, who put it home.

"It was probably the greatest soccer game I've ever been involved with," said Elgin coach Dave Borg.

The wind howling toward the south end of the field figured to be a huge factor. So the Royals felt pretty good when they won the coin toss and had the wind at their backs for the first overtime. But after having the wind for the first and third extra sessions, the Royals got the clincher going into the wind.

The Royals took a 3-1 lead on Hernandez's penalty kick with 37:26 left in regulation, but would not score again for more than 60 minutes.