Girls soccer: Larkin knocks out Streamwood

The first time Larkin forward Stephanie Nunez had a shot on goal Tuesday against Streamwood, the junior panicked and the result wasn't too good.

Luckily for Nunez, a second chance would come and she wouldn't allow another wide open shot go high above the crossbar.

Nunez broke a scoreless tie in 58th minute to help No. 5 Larkin to a 3-0 win over the host and fourth-seeded Sabres (6-14) in the nightcap of a Class 3A Streamwood regional semifinal under the lights at Millennium Field. Nunez broke free on a ball she won in the midfield and tucked it inside the right post on a boot nearly 15 yards out which was all the Royals (10-11) needed in a rematch of a 3-2 win for Larkin on the same field last Thursday to end Upstate Eight River action.

Larkin, who hasn't won a regional title since 2006, will look to end the drought Friday at 5 p.m. against No.1 Harlem, who disposed Rockford Jefferson earlier in the day 2-0. But for Nunez it was a big weight off her shoulders after letting Larkin's best chance go to waste during the game's first 40 minutes.

"I realized I had to stop panicking and motivate the team," she said of her right-footed game-winner. "I was going to panic again and I decided to take the goalie and I just had an open shot and an open net so I shot it. I knew it was going in when I saw it."

The floodgates opened soon after. Streamwood didn't stay with their marks on defense and 7 minutes later, Nunez slotted a ball to the right to senior mid Sam Moreno, who drilled a shot just inside the box right down the center of the field in the 65th minute for a 2-0 lead. Moreno, who finished with 2 goals, capped Larkin's offense in the 77th minute.

"It could have gone either way in the first half, neither team generated a whole heck of a lot of chances there," Royals coach Ken Hall said of the tale of two halves. "We moved Sam up top four games ago and her and Stephanie have a good partnership up there. They assist each other well and run off each other well. Right now it's a combination that's working really well."

That combo helped edge Streamwood 9-6 on shots even though the Sabres generated good chances in the first half. Karina Nevarez had a shot stopped from point blank by Larkin keeper Haley Casebeer (4 saves) in the 5th minute while Paulette Carranza couldn't punch one through in front of the left post in the 45th minute.

"We had three chances that should've been in the back of the net," Sabres coach Kristin Duffy said. "We just couldn't finish it."

It also didn't help that Sabres standout junior mid Alondra Blanco was held in check throughout.

"Blanco and Pierce are strong players in the midfield so we had to stay close to them," Royals defender Yocelyn Sanchez said.

"Basically we had them play more to the back so we could pressure with our forwards, that was our goal. We did a better job at containing the midfield this week."