Boys soccer: Palatine powers past Warren with 4-goal second half

Palatine's boys soccer team used a 4-goal second half to stun Warren.

The 12th-seed Pirates beat the fifth-seeded Blue Devils 6-2 in the Class 3A Warren regional semifinals on Tuesday night in Gurnee.

Javier Garcia returned from a late season injury and scored twice for Palatine (11-6-1). David Lopez, George Soipan, Conor McGarvey and Adan Flores also scored for the Pirates.

Warren had tied the score at 2-2.

"Maybe the second goal from Warren was the wake-up call we needed," Palatine coach Willie Filian said. "We could have hung our heads. Our guys held it together and put together the next four goals. It was fantastic."

Garcia battled through a high-ankle sprain during the season. He made his weay back on the field the last couple of weeks. He knocked in the game-winner in the 53rd minute. The Pirates added another goal 25 seconds later with an individual effort from Soipan for a 4-2 lead.

Palatine added goals from McGarvey in the 58th minute and Flores in the 78th minute.

Warren (14-6-2) had tied the scored at 2-2 in the 44th minute on Kevin Penarrieta's penalty kick. The Blue Devils also had an earlier goal from Ruben Delgadillo.

"(Palatine) just finished," Warren coach Jason Ahonen said. "I think at times we had the better run of play in the second half. It was crazy. But good for Palatine. This is the way the ball bounces in high school soccer."

Palatine will next meet defending Class 3A state champion and No. 4 Libertyville (13-3) at 3 p.m. Saturday in the regional final.