Senior soccer players take bow, playoffs next
HUNTLEY – Huntley’s boys soccer players ran to midfield and pointed to the crowd to thank them for braving a chilly night in the regular season finale. The salute following a 6-0 win over non-conference Woodstock North was their last chance to do so.
“I’ll miss all the energy you get when you play here,” senior co-captain Micah Overly said. “It’s the last home match so we wanted to come in and give it our all.”
“It’s always fun to end the season on an exciting note,” Huntley coach Matt Lewandowski said. “The boys were amped up to play today as they should be on senior night.”
Overly scored his second goal of the season as part of a 5-0 HHS halftime lead. Gavin Eagan scored two goals and Isaac Jacobo tallied one goal and one assist. Zach Heitkemper contributed an assist. The lone second half score was by senior Hunter Hall. Dave Pawlak gained the shutout win in goal.
“I had a huge grin,” Hall said of his reaction to the shot. He has been playing soccer for a dozen years.
Seniors bidding adieu to Red Raider Stadium were also co-captain Heitkemper, John Lengle, Nick Logston, Ethan Pfeifer, Ansel Dias, Jake Hinman, Gavin Barreto, Hall, Overly and Ian Thompson.
The Red Raiders, 13-7-2, 6-3 final record in the Fox Valley Conference, turn their attention to the South Elgin regional against the home Storm Oct. 18. Winners advance to the regional final Oct. 22. HHS won a sectional championship in 2021.
“We know we’ll be underdogs because of our conference losses but we’ll be confident we can have a long playoff run,” Nielsen said.
“South Elgin there is a tough draw for a No. 3 seed,” Lewandowski said. “We played them earlier this season so we know what we need to do we just need to execute and finish our opportunities. They will have the home advantage of a narrow grass field. We’ve made just about every mistake that could be to end a post-season during our regular season matches. Hopefully we’ve learned our lessons and are ready to make a push to repeat as regional and sectional champions.”
Recent matches
The Red Raiders fell to Crystal Lake South 2-1 in overtime Oct. 11 to conclude league matches. Heitkemper scored the Huntley goal from an assist by Overly.
HHS downed Rockford Auburn 7-0 Oct. 8 as Nielsen scored three goals, Pfeifer tallied two, Jacobo and Heitkemper finished the scoring.
Leaders for the Red Raiders’ scoring were: Nielsen tallied 11 goals, 13 assists for 35 points; Jacobo, 10 goals, 24 points; Heitkemper, 8 goals, 3 assists, 19 point; Eagan, 6 goals, 1 assist, 13 points.
Ethan Robertson chalked up 64 saves during 15 games and Pawlak had 68 saves.
