Boys soccer: St. Charles North prevails over Addison Trail
Fourth-year St. Charles North boys soccer goalkeeper Bob Curran has worn jersey No. 99 since his days as the backup after the starting senior claimed No. 1.
"I guess I got stuck with 99 and I just wanted to keep my number going through all of the four years so I've stuck with it," Curran said.
Now an important veteran, Curran happily is feeling like a sophomore, when the 2017 team finished fourth in Class 3A.
The North Stars again are playing great in the postseason.
On Tuesday they defeated No. 4-seed Addison Trail 2-1 in the Class 3A St. Charles North regional semifinals as the sectional's No. 13 seed.
St. Charles North (10-4-3) seeks its third regional title in four seasons against No. 12 Schaumburg (9-9-1) at 5:30 p.m. Friday.
After enduring an 0-4-3 stretch that ended around sectional seeding time, the North Stars have won five in a row, four by shutout.
"Especially after that little drought we had, with the winning streak that we've had it's definitely been a real confidence booster going into the playoffs," Curran said.
"Sophomore year, since we were the younger ones, it was really fun being with all of the other guys, but now with us being seniors, we've all been playing with each other since U-8 and up so we have a really tight bond."
Some breaks certainly help, too.
The North Stars opened a 2-0 lead on goals by juniors Luke Persenico and Jared Sinnaeve, but Addison Trail (13-5-2) closed to 2-1 on Juan Pablo Jiemenz's goal with 14:25 left and appeared to have scored twice about three minutes later.
First, Addison Trail outside defender Ray Fischer's shot went off the crossbar and left post before being cleared. Seconds later from right wing, Leo Acosta's shot went off the inside of the right post.
"At the end of the day, we found a way to move on so we're happy about that," St. Charles North coach Eric Willson said.
"I would love to see us manage that game a little bit differently (late). That said, it's understandable there's going to be some chaos at the end of a game. Addison Trail is a fantastic team so it was a matter of time before they were going to start sparking some of their offense."
By contrast Sinnaeve's goal came off a corner kick pass from Persenico was a 17-yard blast near the right sideline that struck the left post, then the right post and went in.
"We had one hit the post and didn't go in. They had one hit the post that went in. That's how soccer is," Addison Trail coach Ryan Dini said.
"Tough one to swallow but proud of the way our guys fought back, especially being down 2-0. We gave ourselves a chance to tie it up and it just didn't go in."
Persenico scored his ninth goal this season 6:48 before halftime on a right-wing cross to the crease by senior defender Nick Sommer after senior Faizan Mohiuddin dug the ball out in the corner.
"I was cutting across the box and it was a perfect ball, right onto my foot. (Sommer) did all of the work," Persenico said.
"Even though we were the lower seed, I feel like the whole team was real confident. (Being No. 13) was a little frustrating, but we believed in ourselves to keep going."
Dini said he knew the North Stars, who started 5-0, certainly were the state's best No. 13 seed and extremely dangerous. The Blazers also were minus standout senior defender Martin Murillo.
The North Stars played the final 6:25 without starting senior inside defender Xander Jao, who injured his face colliding with Curran's shoulder. The Blazers continued to threaten with a couple of free kicks through the crease and a corner kick headed out by Persenico.
"After that (injury), things got a little panicky, but the big thing is trying to stay composed," Curran said. "I'm proud of the boys, the way we played and stuck it out and got the win. I'm excited to see what comes next."