Boys soccer: Carmel falls in state semifinals
In its first appearance in the final four, Carmel Catholic's boys soccer team wasn't happy with the final score.
The Corsairs got outmuscled and outplayed by an experienced Waterloo team, which won 3-1 in the teams' Class 2A state semifinal at Hoffman Estates on Friday.
Ben Huels scored all 3 goals for the Bulldogs.
"I'm disappointed at the result," Carmel coach Ray Krawzak said. "We didn't play the game we wanted to play. They just beat us and deserved to beat us. They did a good job of shutting down our offense.
"We anticipated them to be very physical on the ball," Krawzak added. "That team should be commended. They had size and speed. We knew they had a great technique. It really wasn't one of the best games that we played."
Carmel (18-8-1) will play Chicago Washington (12-7-3) in the third-place game at 11 a.m. Saturday, while Waterloo (24-3-1) will meet Peoria Notre Dame (22-1-3) in the championship match at 1 p.m.
"We still get a chance to play for third place," Krawzak said. "Third is better fourth. That's our goal."
Waterloo opened the scoring in the 14th minute, as Huels used his head to flick in a free kick from Chase Rubenmeyer. Carmel answered in the 27th minute. Austin Ehren gathered a loose ball at the top of the box after a long service from Braco Lasso and found the back of the net.
But the tie lasted less than 10 minutes. Huels knocked in a volley off a cross from Kane Osterhage in the 36th minute, and Waterloo took the 2-1 advantage into halftime.
"I felt like at that point that if we scored then we could win the game," Krawzak said. "I thought with our fan support, we could have carried the momentum into the second half. Who knows what might have happened if they didn't score that quickly."
Waterloo added an insurance goal in the opening minute of the second half when Huels banged in a low cross from Osterhage.
"I thought we did a great job," Waterloo coach Chad Holden said. "We've been a possession team all year. We thought (Carmel) would be a little more of a possession team. They took us a little bit by surprise with their long ball. With our back four, it's hard to get anything by us.