Boys soccer: Late score allows Sycamore to draw with Kaneland

Jules Breidenbach hit the equalizer with 3:33 left as Sycamore left Kaneland with a 1-1 tie in a boys soccer battle between the Interstate 8 Conference leaders.

"I don't think we played bad," Kaneland coach Scott Parillo said. "I don't think we played stellar. And I think Dave [Bachta, Sycamore coach] would say the same thing. So it's probably appropriate that it did end up in a tie. We'll take it."

Breidenbach's goal came 90 seconds after an extended stoppage of play.

Bachta said the referees explained to him that one of the Sycamore players went to retrieve the ball from a spectator's chair, and a parent had words with the player. The player looked at her, Bachta said, then her husband stood up, and then both sides ran over to the far sideline from the benches.

After that, the field was emptied of spectators, and play continued for the final 5:03.

"Maybe that lit the fire we needed," Bachta said.

Kaneland athletic director David Rohlman said he was on the far side of the field and did not see firsthand what occurred. The police were called, and Rohlman said the school is investigating the matter. He said he did not know as of Tuesday night if the police were investigating the matter.

"I could have done with fans not going crazy on us," Parillo said. "It's a weird ending to the game."

Parillo said the refs didn't explain to him what happened.

But before the craziness of the final five minutes, the Knights (5-2-1, 4-0-1) were clinging to a 1-0 lead over the Spartans (6-1-1, 4-0-1) from the ninth minute.

Lucas Bass took a feed from Cade Ory and sped past the defense, pushing the shot in for a goal.

"I got the ball from Cade and I went around the one guy," Bass said. "I was going to pass it across but I saw the opportunity and put it right in the far corner."

Bass said the Knights' passes in the second half weren't as clean, which led to Sycamore dominating possession.

"They probably told them at half, mark 16, watch the through balls," Bass said, referring to himself. "They just weren't working as much as in the first half."

And although his team was letting rip with the shots, Bachta said they weren't the best in terms of selection.

"You got to put the ball on net and good things happen," Bachta said. "Today we just didn't do that."

It was the second time in three games the Knights had the lead in the second half and didn't come away with the win. The Knights lost, 2-1, to DeKalb last week after two late goals.

Parillo said ideally they'd have more time to work on things like finishing, but said he's just happy there's a season.

"The problem that we have is there is no time," Parillo said. "It's game, game, game, practice, game, game, game, give them a day off so they can have their legs back. It's something we're just going to have to deal with and hopefully we can get it figured out by the conference tournament."