Boys soccer stays focused to win tourney

HUNTLEY — It took some extra time but Huntley’s boys soccer team made a repeat sweet at its own quad tournament.

After a 1-1 tie for regulation against Elgin Larkin, the hosts won the penalty kick tiebreakers 4-2 on Sept. 2. The home team was 2-1 at the tournament, with the other win a 7-0 verdict over Woodstock North. HHS was 3-2-1 after its second straight home tournament crown.

Huntley trailed almost the entire way in regulation, until senior midfielder Anthony Aweve put home the game tying score with a little more than three minutes left. Energized, Huntley and Larkin had a 2-2 draw for the first two rounds of penalty kicks. Kyle Paler and Talon Sargent then scored goals for Huntley. Hudson Nielsen and Gavin Eagen had the first two penalty kick goals.

Senior goalie Jack Burkey stopped the Royals’ last three shots.

“What matters most is we believe in each other and we kept our heads,” Nielsen, the team’s leading scorer, said.

“It’s always good to win a tournament, especially when it is your own,” Lewandowski said.

Lewandowski said the penalty kick goals scored took the pressure off Huntley’s goalie Burkey.

For the scorer of the final shootout tally, it’s a double header this fall. Sargent is a kicker for the football squad as well as his forward duties in soccer.

“This is my first year in football,” Sargent said. “It’s fun, it keeps me busy. The games are the priority, but I try to make it to one practice a week.”

Sargent and Paler have both tried penalty kicks in the past. “The goalie left a little early,” Sargent said.

“Sargent does a good job of finishing,” Lewandowski said.

The Red Raiders downed Woodstock North 7-0 behind a hat trick by Nielsen, two scores from Sargent and one by Elias Ramon.