Buffalo Grove falls in PKs in MSL Cup
By Mike Garofola
BARRINGTON -- It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but the 41st annual Mid-Suburban League Cup was decided in a shootout; MSL West champion Barrington came away with the title over Buffalo Grove after a 4-3 advantage in PKs and 100 minutes of scoreles soccer.
ON the first shot of the fifth round, Manny Mazariegos' conversion drew the Bison even at 3-3 with his smash off the gloves of Brett Sprengel. But Barrington freshman Aidan Lew answered on the final shot for the Broncos victory.
Lew fired his shot past a diving Daniel Sempoch, who guessed correctly to his left but couldn't corral the high-paced shot.
"We did just about everything but put one into the back of the net either in regulation or overtime," said Buffalo Grove's fine manager Brad Abel. "It was a great final, and even greater effort from my guys.
"It was a game of few chances, but Barrington had a lot, or most of the possession tonight. And they have so many weapons, and a guy like no. 6 (Justin Funk) who was sending in 50-60 yard balls into our box all night. But we held up and gave a sensational effort that all of the guys should be proud of. I know that I could not have been more proud of each one of them."
The Bison (14-5-1), who saw their 12-game unbeaten string (11-0-1) end, did a lot of very good things during the 100 minutes on the big surface at Barrington Community Stadium. First and foremost, they defended like warriors with organization and a high work rate.
"We pride ourselves on always being the most fit team out there (but) Brad's guys wore us down with their energy, hard work and desire," said Barrington manager Scott Steib. "And it began to show in our touch and possession about midway through the second half."
While the Bison back four of Jack Keady, Brian Hanus, Christian Kozaczka and Shane Adams stayed watertight all night long, so did senior Daniel Sempoch, who once again turned in a superb effort between the sticks for the Bison.
The best Bison chance of the first half fell to junior Jonathan Peici, who pounced on a poor ball played back to Broncos keeper Brett Sprengel, and nearly made the home side pay for its mistake.
Kyle Adams and Kevin Eloiza, who were recognized for their all-conference status during the halftime festivities, began to get on their collective front feet near the hour, and both never let up as the high-scoring duo looked to be the first to get into the scorebook.
Adams forced Sprengel to save his attempt in the 74th minute, just after going wide from 16 yards, while Eloiza, wo named MSL East Player of the Year by the league coaches, fired a pair of free kicks over the bar, before having his chance from 22 yards go wide of the post in the 80th minute.
Two 10-minute sudden-death extra sessions did nothing but drain the crowd of what little strength it had remaining. In the PK session it would soon appear to be a night in which the final kick would decide the MSL championship.
It did for the Broncos (17-3-1) who became MSL Cup winners for the first time since 2004.
Up next for these two classy sides is the Fremd Sectional. The Bison, ranked 16th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top, earned the no. 5 seed and will open the Stevenson Regional against Warren (10-10-3) Wednesday evening. The 15th-raked Broncos, a no. 3 seed, play Tuesday in the Palatine Regional against the winner of the Grant-Deerfield play-in game.
By Mike Garofola
BARRINGTON -- It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but the 41st annual Mid-Suburban League Cup was decided in a shootout; MSL West champion Barrington came away with the title over Buffalo Grove after a 4-3 advantage in PKs and 100 minutes of scoreles soccer.
ON the first shot of the fifth round, Manny Mazariegos' conversion drew the Bison even at 3-3 with his smash off the gloves of Brett Sprengel. But Barrington freshman Aidan Lew answered on the final shot for the Broncos victory.
Lew fired his shot past a diving Daniel Sempoch, who guessed correctly to his left but couldn't corral the high-paced shot.
"We did just about everything but put one into the back of the net either in regulation or overtime," said Buffalo Grove's fine manager Brad Abel. "It was a great final, and even greater effort from my guys.
"It was a game of few chances, but Barrington had a lot, or most of the possession tonight. And they have so many weapons, and a guy like no. 6 (Justin Funk) who was sending in 50-60 yard balls into our box all night. But we held up and gave a sensational effort that all of the guys should be proud of. I know that I could not have been more proud of each one of them."
The Bison (14-5-1), who saw their 12-game unbeaten string (11-0-1) end, did a lot of very good things during the 100 minutes on the big surface at Barrington Community Stadium. First and foremost, they defended like warriors with organization and a high work rate.
"We pride ourselves on always being the most fit team out there (but) Brad's guys wore us down with their energy, hard work and desire," said Barrington manager Scott Steib. "And it began to show in our touch and possession about midway through the second half."
While the Bison back four of Jack Keady, Brian Hanus, Christian Kozaczka and Shane Adams stayed watertight all night long, so did senior Daniel Sempoch, who once again turned in a superb effort between the sticks for the Bison.
The best Bison chance of the first half fell to junior Jonathan Peici, who pounced on a poor ball played back to Broncos keeper Brett Sprengel, and nearly made the home side pay for its mistake.
Kyle Adams and Kevin Eloiza, who were recognized for their all-conference status during the halftime festivities, began to get on their collective front feet near the hour, and both never let up as the high-scoring duo looked to be the first to get into the scorebook.
Adams forced Sprengel to save his attempt in the 74th minute, just after going wide from 16 yards, while Eloiza, wo named MSL East Player of the Year by the league coaches, fired a pair of free kicks over the bar, before having his chance from 22 yards go wide of the post in the 80th minute.
Two 10-minute sudden-death extra sessions did nothing but drain the crowd of what little strength it had remaining. In the PK session it would soon appear to be a night in which the final kick would decide the MSL championship.
It did for the Broncos (17-3-1) who became MSL Cup winners for the first time since 2004.
Up next for these two classy sides is the Fremd Sectional. The Bison, ranked 16th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top, earned the no. 5 seed and will open the Stevenson Regional against Warren (10-10-3) Wednesday evening. The 15th-raked Broncos, a no. 3 seed, play Tuesday in the Palatine Regional against the winner of the Grant-Deerfield play-in game.