Boys soccer: Carmel slips past Antioch

Certainly, it was a battle against the elements for both teams.

Independent of that, the battle between Carmel Catholic and Antioch in Tuesday's Class 2A Harvard boys soccer sectional semifinal was elemental.

Antioch had a chance to force overtime with a free kick, along with a shot on goal in the final seconds.

But Carmel Catholic keeper Kyle Knauer was up to the task, sprawling forward with a game-saving stop to ensure the victory as the Corsairs held off Antioch 2-1.

The Corsairs (16-3-1) will next face Vernon Hills in the sectional final at 6:30 p.m. Friday in Harvard.

"It was a brutal win," Carmel Catholic coach Ray Krawzak said. "I was saying (to the kids), 'We have to keep the ball on the ground as much as possible.' The wind wasn't going to make it easy for us.

"I wanted to us work it to our wingers - I thought it was a good message (early in the second half). We wanted to get a jump on the other team with our offense. The last 20 minutes of that game, we packed it in. That's a good win - we can be better than that, and we got through this sloppy day."

Carmel got on the board first in the 19th minute, with a goal from Robert Rao.

The Corsairs added a second goal in the 42nd minute. Braco Lasso sent a cross from the left side of the penalty area, and Austin Ehren delivered a shot into the back of the net for a 2-0 lead.

"With the conditions, I was sliding a lot," Ehren said. "I saw the ball passed to me. I thought the ball might skip past. I put my foot on the ball, kicked it and it went in. It was tough - the wind was a disadvantage, and the turf. Anywhere you go, you just slip."

Antioch (15-7-2) cut the lead in half with a goal in the 51st-minute as Mickey West scored off a pass from Danny Brito.

Carmel had a couple more chances to close out the game in the final 15 minutes, but they saw each chance go off the post.

The Sequoits played competitively and just as easily could've been the team advancing to a sectional final.

"I thought we took it to (Carmel)," Antioch coach Marni Polakow said. "On paper they should've destroyed us. But at times we had them on their heels. We had a chance to get them at the end. I really thought we dominated them. This team deserved to win that game."

Antioch still considers it a successful season, especially after graduating so many key players from the previous year.

"This is my favorite team that I've ever coached," Polakow added. "I've had talent in all these years. This was the hardest-working and nicest, most blue-collar, wanting to be here for each other every single day. We still had a better record than last year and made it to a better place."