Girls soccer: Dundee-Crown ousts Larkin

Whatever Dundee-Crown girls soccer coach Sebastian Falinski said to his troops at halftime, he should bottle it.

Trailing 1-0 to Larkin at halftime, D-C scored 2 goals within the first 4 minutes of the second half and the 10th seeded Chargers were able to hold on to an upset 2-1 win over No. 7 Larkin in Class 3A Dundee-Crown regional action in Carpentersville Wednesday afternoon.

"We made some adjustments at halftime," said Falinski. "We had some good opportunities to score in the first half but couldn't finish. We knew we had to have better spacing. It was nice to score early and play most of the half with a 1-goal lead."

The host Chargers (9-8-1) will take on second-seeded Cary-Grove (12-2-1) at 4:30 p.m. Friday for the regional championship.

Cary-Grove defeated D-C 4-2 in Fox Valley Conference action.

"We played Cary tough," said Falinski. "They are a very good team. We look forward to the challenge."

Larkin (14-8-1) scored the lone goal of the first half on an unassisted tally from Ariana King with 12:20 remaining in the first half.

With only 1:40 elapsed in the second half, the Chargers knotted the score at 1 on an unassisted goal from Katelyn Skibinski.

The Chargers scored what turned out to be the game-winner on a goal by Rylee Quillen off an assist from Skibinski with 35:56 left in the contest.

"It was a perfect pass from Katelyn," said Quillen. "She put the ball in the perfect spot to score. Coach (Falinski) told us at halftime we had to finish and want it more."

D-C senior goalkeeper Diana-Santillian-Cepa, who missed the early portion of the season with a concussion, was outstanding in the goal with 8 saves.

"My mindset is I have to concentrate at all times and have my mind totally in the game at all times," said the D-C goalie. "It was tough to miss games early in the season with the concussion. It is nice to help the team win."

Larkin coach Ken Hall praised Santillian-Ceja,

"The D-C keeper was the difference in the game," said Hall. "She made the great save when she had to."

The Royals had a golden chance to tie the game with 1:20 remaining when Miranda Preuss blasted a 30-yard direct kick right on goal but the Santillian-Ceja was able to push the ball over the net to preserve the Chargers' win.

D-C outshot Larkin 13-9. Lluviana Carmona had 11 saves for the Royals.

Larkin had to play the last 65 minutes without junior defender Amy Leon.

"She is a really solid player,' said Hall. "We certainly missed her play and her leadership."