Boys soccer: Grayslake Central knocks off Crystal Lake South to win sectional

Grayslake Central is on a roll and has now made history by going further than any other boys soccer team in its school history. The third-seeded Rams won their first sectional championship Saturday, shutting out No. 1 seed Crystal Lake South 2-0 in the Class 2A Vernon Hills sectional final.

"Not as a coach but as a player, I have been here," said Grayslake Central coach Keith Andersson, a 1989 Libertyville graduate. "This is what we wanted them to feel and we don't want the feeling to end. So, we're going to keep pushing every game."

Grayslake Central will now play in its own supersectional against Notre Dame (23-1-2) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Dons won the Noble/ITW Speer sectional with a 4-3 victory over Fenwick on Friday night.

Grayslake Central (13-5-2) is a team that started 0-4 in Northside College Showcase Tournament. Ever since the opening tournament the Rams have gone on a run of 13-1-2.

Going against Crystal Lake South (18-4-2) on Saturday, Grayslake Central had a lead of 1-0 going into the second half and had to keep its composure. The Gators had several players that had been in this situation before, winning a state championship in 2018 and placing second in 2019.

"The biggest thing in the second half that we had to do, and we explained it to all the boys," Andersson said, "was to go hard at them. They were nervous. Crystal Lake South is an amazing team. So, they were sitting back and letting (Crystal Lake South) play. I told them we're just as good if not better. You have to play as hard as they can, When we finally got our rhythm, we were moving the ball and going side by side, which was something we preached all season long. It was lights out."

Raymond Sereno scored the opening Rams' goal in the 27th minute off a pass from Marko Marynevych for a 1-0 lead.

"I just provide more assists than goals," said Marynevych, who now has 15 on the season. "I kind of wanted to shoot it, but I was dribbling the ball around the player doing some fancy stuff. I just passed (the ball) to the top of the box. It just was a nice shot into the top right corner by Ray."

Grayslake Central added an important insurance goal on a counter attack in the 64th minute. Cameron Paul scored off a through pass from Alan Alonso.

The Gators didn't want to their season end and did have chances with some goal scoring opportunities. Grayslake Central's keeper, Uriel Garcia-Perez, earned his ninth clean sheet with 10 saves.

"Grayslake Central was a quality team," Crystal Lake South coach Brian Allen said. "They defended very, very well and made it difficult for us in different spots. Their keeper made some quality saves. If we had gotten one in the first half, who knows. I would rather lose 2-0 than 1-0. You go for it and (Grayslake Central) countered us. A guy got loose and that's a credit to them. I wish them the best of luck.

"With the COVID year, we had three straight sectional finals with these seniors and that was something special. Not many teams can say that they have been able to do that. They will be horribly missed. I did tell the younger guys, it's a legacy that has been left behind if they want to get back to this game."