Men's soccer: Harper's gutty effort trumps Triton

A pair of the best teams in NJCAA Region IV men's soccer took the field in south Palatine on Wednesday, with second-seeded Harper advancing to Saturday's tournament final with a 2-1 victory over third-seeded Triton College.

After neither team generated much offense in the first half-hour, the visitors grabbed an early lead as freshman defender Antal Eduard delivered a shot to the far post that beat Christian Hyde.

Harper coach Dan Klaus was confident his team would battle back.

"They have guts," he said. "They are battlers."

The battling mentality was soon shown by Angel Sarti (Hoffman Estates), whose tough run down the left touchline earned a corner kick. Philip Minecci then found Ricky Choi making a run down the middle of the Trojans' defense.

"It was perfect, on my foot," Choi said. "I had a lot of space."

"He's creating offense," Klause said of Choi's postseason exploits.

In the 34th minute and the game still tied, Choi found himself one-on-one with the Triton goalie and was able to finish the chance.

"It's nice when you have someone who can put the ball in the back of the net," Klaus said of Choi, while also praising what he considered a full team effort.

Hyde, with possession of the ball, was knocked to the ground by an oncoming Triton player in the game later stages. Teammate Gorgis Yelda came to his defense but was red-carded for his role in the ensuing shoving match, meaning he'll miss Saturday's regional final.

Now with a man advantage, Triton threatened - but Hyde corraled the final shot of the game for Harper (14-2-1).

The Hawks are scheduled to host Madison for the Region IV title at noon Saturday.