Boys soccer: Rolling Meadows, Barrington battle to scoreless draw
Rolling Meadows kept its place atop the Mid-Suburban East boys soccer standings with a scoreless draw Tuesday night at Barrington Community Stadium against the reigning league champion Broncos.
The Broncos (7-1-2, 4-0-2) enjoyed much of the first half possession, thanks to a high passing percentage rate, and created a couple of quality chances, but Mustangs keeper Ramon Orozco played superbly all throughout the 100-minute contest, as did coach Brett Olson's club defensively, whose MSL record now stands at 5-0-1.
"We obviously didn't come in here looking, or wanting to get (the) draw, but to leave with one point against a very good opponent, and on its super big turf, says a lot about this team," said Olson, who now is one-point clear (16-15) of Hersey in the MSL East division race.
"We did everything real well tonight (except) for putting one into the back of the net, and ultimately, that's what it comes down to in this sport," said Broncos assistant Joe Zimka, filling in for head coach Scott Steib.
The Mustangs (10-0-1), off to their best start in program history, found themselves defending, and sitting in more than they would have liked to against a Broncos club that played quick passes, using width, and plenty of one-two combinations, especially in the first half-hour of play.
"We still have a few guys out with injuries, so a lot of us played big minutes tonight, but our effort was great. We just were not sharp enough in the final third to get one into the net," offered Broncos senior Mathew Klujian, who provided several pinpoint balls into the area from his spot along the outside back on the left side.
Olson would heap praise on his two central defenders, Aidan O'Brien and Ethan Kossack, who kept things organized and under control in front of Orozco.
"We had to defend a lot in the first half because they put us under with their possession, but I was real proud of the way we defended as a team, and with the way we stayed with the game plan our coaches put together for us tonight," added Meadows senior Gage Lockley, who went box-to-box all evening long against his counterpart Jeremiah Gascho with a work rate second to none.
Orozco would save two well-aimed close-range headers from Kyle Wanca, the first in the 82nd minute, the next at 93 minutes to dash the hopes of the Broncos claiming a sudden victory and three important points.
The Broncos who are away at Hersey on Thursday, are one point behind (15-14) behind Fremd in the MSL West.