Red Raiders soccer advances to sectional
Huntley’s boys soccer team had a winning plan for penalty kicks on how to stop them and score them when it mattered most.
With both the Red Raiders and Dundee-Crown’s seasons on the line in a Class 3A Regional Final, Huntley prevailed 1-0 on penalty kicks Oct. 20. Huntley will face Elgin Oct. 24 at Round Lake, with the winner going to the sectional final Oct. 27.
Tallying goals for HHS were Finley Williams, Gavin Eagan and Kyle Paler while goalie Jack Bakey turned back three Chargers’ attempts. The reward for the Red Raiders is a spot in the Round Lake Class 3A Sectional against Elgin. The sectional final is Oct. 27.
“Winning an IHSA Regional Championship is always a goal of ours,” HHS head coach Matt Lewandowski said. “The guys have worked hard all season and it’s a validation of their efforts and resiliency.”
The match going on through 80 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes for two overtimes put the Red Raiders in a strong position.
“We have done well on penalty kicks this year,” Lewandowski said. “We worked on them this week and had our lineup set. We knew if we could keep them off the scoreboard through regulation, that we would give ourselves a big advantage given our style of play. Through the regular season, Bakey has already made a few saves there (penalty kicks), so we knew he would be a huge difference maker for us.”
“It was my best match of the year,” Bakey said. “I’m usually pretty confident about stopping penalty kicks, I just give then the look.”
After each stop Bakey, a senior, celebrated the achievement with a shout.
“Bakey was a warrior tonight,” Lewandowski said.
The three goals were scored by Red Raiders after a miss.
After Paler’s winning shot sneaked past the D-C goal keeper the Red Raiders made a bee-line for a crowd of fellow students.
“I love my teammates,” Nielsen said during the celebration.
The Red Raiders feel they are ready for the sectional round with momentum.
HHS has a five-match win streak, and a 61-16 advantage on opponents in total goals. Senior Hudson Nielsen is the leading scorer with 17 goals and 41 points. Other top scorers are: Talon Sargent, seven goals, 16 points; Anthony Aweve, six goals, 16 points; Isaac Jacobo, six goals, 16 points and Paler, five goals, 12 points.
About Elgin
The Maroons are 14-3-3 overall and won their home regional with a 4-1 victory over South Elgin. Their leading scorer is senior Eduardo Nava, who has 30 goals in a 62-goal offense.
Elgin has won two sectional titles in a row. They lost in the super-sectional to Elmhurst York, 3-2, last season. The Upstate Eight champs have outscored their foes 62-20.
“Elgin is a tough group,” Lewandowski said. “There’s a pedigree of success over there we’ll have to overcome.”
Recent post-seasons
The Red Raiders won their fourth regional championship Friday. The best finish was winning the 2021-22 sectional crown with a 1-0 win over Elgin before a 3-1 loss to Elmhurst York to end a 20-3-2 season. It was Lewandowski’s first year as head coach and this year’s senior class were sophomores.
