Boys soccer: Grayslake Central edges Vernon Hills in sectional final
Grayslake Central's journey toward securing its second consecutive Class 2A state tournament appearance continues after its hard fought 1-0 victory Saturday over No. 2 seed Vernon Hills before a raucous home crowd at William Eiserman Stadium.
The Rams (17-1-3) will host Notre Dame (16-5-1) Tuesday evening in a rematch of the 2021 supersectional. In that game, Lucas Veenstra and his teammates prevailed, 1-0, to claim its first trip to state, and fourth-place trophy.
"The goal right from the start was to get to state once again, and even with us losing two great players to injury, and several players through graduation, we are now just one win away from reaching that goal," said Veenstra, who watched fellow senior Raymond Sereno bag the eventual game-winner in the 44th minute.
"I've (maybe) scored better goals in my career, but this one today was a really big one for the team, and myself," admitted Sereno, who dashed the hopes of the visiting Cougars (13-8-2) who in its last four sectional appearances are winless, losing twice to the eventual 2A state champions.
"The guys gave their heart and soul(s) out there today. Obviously playing a man down for the final 31 minutes made things difficult for us. But they left everything they had out there, and that's all you can really ask," said a proud Cougars coach Mike McCaulou.
The Cougars, who won their first CSL North title this season and played a wicked nonconference schedule, can thank sophomore keeper Brandon Grunfeld for a brilliant effort.
"Brandon, who I felt was all-state worthy, was just amazing out there today. He kept us in the game, as did our back line, (but) in the end we were totally gassed, and Grayslake who moves the ball well with its possession, got the one goal it needed to move on," said McCaulou.
Grunfeld was fearless coming off his line to stop Alan Alonso, Sereno, and others as he handled things in and around his box with confidence, and bravery.
However, the sophomore could do nothing on the eventual game-winner after a quality ball sent into the box from Nick Molochnikov spilled off a Cougars player, and onto the foot of the opportunistic Sereno.
Two close touches allowed the senior to gain just enough time and space to find the far corner.
"The ball was on my foot, and all I could think was to shoot the ball toward the open far post," said Sereno.
A hard tackle in the middle of the park by a Cougars player led to a harsh red card, forcing McCaulou to go to a 3-5-1 formation, and later a 3-3-3 as they went in search of the equalizer during a frantic, energy sapping final 10 minutes.
"We got to the supers in 2016 and lost to Chicago Latin, who went on to win state, so we were hoping to end that streak with a win today. But as I said, I am very proud of our effort here today," said McCaulou.
"Their keeper played great today, and we kept our focus after we went ahead, managed our lead, created a few chances, and won an important game for ourselves," said Veenstra.