CLS holds off Prairie Ridge for title
Host Gators earn 3rd-straight regional plaque with 1-0 win
By Matt Misiek
CRYSTAL LAKE - If you're a Chicago hockey fan, you fondly remember a stretch of 17 seconds in 2013 which helped the Blackhawks bring home a Stanley Cup.
Fast forward to Friday afternoon at Crystal Lake South High School. 18 seconds remained on the clock in the second half.
With Crystal Lake South clinging to a 1-0 lead, Prairie Ridge stood over a free kick from 45 yards away in the center of the field.
Wolves goalkeeper Danny Llanquiman launched the ball into the 18. A mad scramble ensued. No one was sure what exactly was happening with the ball, as all the players acted like bumpers on a pinball machine.
"No one really knew exactly where the ball was going," said Crystal Lake South midfielder Tyler Getzinger. "The ball was floating down there around a lot of bodies."
After what seemed to be an eternity, the ball eventually popped up in the air towards Crystal Lake South goalkeeper Carson Hill. Hill found his flipper. Using all of his tall, slender frame, stuck a fist in the air, popping the ball just over the crossbar and out of play with 10 seconds left. Prairie Ridge did manage to get the corner kick off, but it was easily cleared as time expired. Fans of the Class AA regional host erupted in celebration of the 1-0 victory, giving the Gators their third-straight regional title.
"The last fifteen seconds was so chaotic," Hill said. "There were so many deflections. You weren't sure where the ball was going to bounce, especially when it got to my lower six. Luckily, when it popped up, I was able to get enough of it to push it over the bar."
Crystal Lake South (16-4-4) advances to the Belvidere Sectional semifinals. They will face the winner of Saturday afternoon's Grayslake North Regional final between Lakes and Wauconda.
Nearly 20 minutes before being in the middle of that final sequence, Getzinger's foot broke the scoreless tie at the 60:46 mark. Senior forward Alex Canfield received a short throw in to the right of the 18. Canfield danced his way along the endline towards goal and sent a low pass through the six to an unmarked Getzinger, who made no mistake powering the ball past Prairie Ridge keeper Llanquiman.
"It's as simple as that Alex (Canfield) is a playmaker," Getzinger, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, added. "He can beat players 1-v.-1. He looked up, saw me, was able to go around and gave me a great pass. I was able to get good contact on it and was fortunate that it went in."
Prairie Ridge's Llanquiman had an absolutely rock-solid game, but he didn't start the match. The Wolves' starting goalkeeper was Owen Erickson. It was business as usual for the Wolves' senior keeper until the 11th minute.
On a Crystal Lake South free kick, Canfield and Erickson were both going for the ball and collided. Canfield was given a yellow card for reckless play. Both Canfield and Erickson left the field, however Canfield was the only one to return a few minutes later. Erickson suffered a shoulder injury that kept him out for the remainder of the game.
Llanquiman described the moments after realizing Erickson was hurt.
"Literally, my heart just dropped," he said. "Realizing that I was going to face the reigning state champs. I knew a few guys they have that are really good shooters. The nerves started building up, and I went to warm up and went on from there."
One of Llanquiman's highlights included stopping Canfield from inside the right side of the 18 in the 48th minute, punching away the drive and then watching Canfield's follow-up roll through the six and wide.
Prairie Ridge coach Mark Lewis knows that Llanquiman's best work is done in between the pipes.
"He wants to be a field player," Lewis said. "We want him to be in goal. He showed today why his best position is in the goal."
Crystal Lake South coach Brian Allen, a standout keeper at Rolling Meadows and DePaul University, also offered another interesting perspective on the performance.
"Both of their keepers played great," Allen said. "It's unfortunate with what happened to Owen (Erickson). It was just a hard-nosed play with both him and Alex (Canfield) going for the ball. We wish Owen a speedy recovery.
"Daniel (Llanquiman) came in and did many of the same things. They're both really good kids. I've actually worked with both of them in training. They stuck to their game plan and made things very challenging for us."
Prairie Ridge finished the season at 10-9-0 overall.
Crystal Lake South's run to the Class AA state title last fall achieved a lot of firsts for the program. However, this victory was still unique per coach Allen.
"It's special to win it (the regional title) here," Allen added. "This is the first regional that we have won here at home in the 13 years that I have coached at Crystal Lake South."
"For me, this is the coolest part of coaching. To see the elation in the players, the joy on their faces as they are celebrating with their teammates, friends and family. It's just so cool to see this. They have worked hard all year for this."
However, the team knows that there is more work to be done.
"They wanted to get these pictures done right away," Allen noted. "This team knows that there is more still out there and want to celebrate, but they also want to get focused for next week. They'll enjoy this today and tomorrow but will get back to it next week to find more growth and get better."
Starting lineups
Crystal Lake South
GK Carson Hill
D Jake Bimbi
D Evan Carlson
D Tomasz Slawek
D Danny Ciezadlo
MF Michal Dejworek
MF Tyler Getzinger
MF Brandon Osterberg
MF Tom Coughlin
MF Garett Schneider
F Alex Canfield
Prairie Ridge
GK Owen Erickson
D Ethan Covers
D Aiden O'Hanlan
D Dane Justesen
MF Keifer Besterfeldt
MF Michael Thompson
MF Luke Wolf
MF Luke Kim
MF Tyus Whitfield
F Cade Collins
F Bennett Barr
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Tyler Getzinger, jr., midfielder, Crystal Lake South
Referees: James Franklin, Edward Joras, Ronaldo DeMatos
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
CLS - Tyler Getzinger (Alex Canfield) - 60:46
Host Gators earn 3rd-straight regional plaque with 1-0 win
By Matt Misiek
CRYSTAL LAKE - If you're a Chicago hockey fan, you fondly remember a stretch of 17 seconds in 2013 which helped the Blackhawks bring home a Stanley Cup.
Fast forward to Friday afternoon at Crystal Lake South High School. 18 seconds remained on the clock in the second half.
With Crystal Lake South clinging to a 1-0 lead, Prairie Ridge stood over a free kick from 45 yards away in the center of the field.
Wolves goalkeeper Danny Llanquiman launched the ball into the 18. A mad scramble ensued. No one was sure what exactly was happening with the ball, as all the players acted like bumpers on a pinball machine.
"No one really knew exactly where the ball was going," said Crystal Lake South midfielder Tyler Getzinger. "The ball was floating down there around a lot of bodies."
After what seemed to be an eternity, the ball eventually popped up in the air towards Crystal Lake South goalkeeper Carson Hill. Hill found his flipper. Using all of his tall, slender frame, stuck a fist in the air, popping the ball just over the crossbar and out of play with 10 seconds left. Prairie Ridge did manage to get the corner kick off, but it was easily cleared as time expired. Fans of the Class AA regional host erupted in celebration of the 1-0 victory, giving the Gators their third-straight regional title.
"The last fifteen seconds was so chaotic," Hill said. "There were so many deflections. You weren't sure where the ball was going to bounce, especially when it got to my lower six. Luckily, when it popped up, I was able to get enough of it to push it over the bar."
Crystal Lake South (16-4-4) advances to the Belvidere Sectional semifinals. They will face the winner of Saturday afternoon's Grayslake North Regional final between Lakes and Wauconda.
Nearly 20 minutes before being in the middle of that final sequence, Getzinger's foot broke the scoreless tie at the 60:46 mark. Senior forward Alex Canfield received a short throw in to the right of the 18. Canfield danced his way along the endline towards goal and sent a low pass through the six to an unmarked Getzinger, who made no mistake powering the ball past Prairie Ridge keeper Llanquiman.
"It's as simple as that Alex (Canfield) is a playmaker," Getzinger, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, added. "He can beat players 1-v.-1. He looked up, saw me, was able to go around and gave me a great pass. I was able to get good contact on it and was fortunate that it went in."
Prairie Ridge's Llanquiman had an absolutely rock-solid game, but he didn't start the match. The Wolves' starting goalkeeper was Owen Erickson. It was business as usual for the Wolves' senior keeper until the 11th minute.
On a Crystal Lake South free kick, Canfield and Erickson were both going for the ball and collided. Canfield was given a yellow card for reckless play. Both Canfield and Erickson left the field, however Canfield was the only one to return a few minutes later. Erickson suffered a shoulder injury that kept him out for the remainder of the game.
Llanquiman described the moments after realizing Erickson was hurt.
"Literally, my heart just dropped," he said. "Realizing that I was going to face the reigning state champs. I knew a few guys they have that are really good shooters. The nerves started building up, and I went to warm up and went on from there."
One of Llanquiman's highlights included stopping Canfield from inside the right side of the 18 in the 48th minute, punching away the drive and then watching Canfield's follow-up roll through the six and wide.
Prairie Ridge coach Mark Lewis knows that Llanquiman's best work is done in between the pipes.
"He wants to be a field player," Lewis said. "We want him to be in goal. He showed today why his best position is in the goal."
Crystal Lake South coach Brian Allen, a standout keeper at Rolling Meadows and DePaul University, also offered another interesting perspective on the performance.
"Both of their keepers played great," Allen said. "It's unfortunate with what happened to Owen (Erickson). It was just a hard-nosed play with both him and Alex (Canfield) going for the ball. We wish Owen a speedy recovery.
"Daniel (Llanquiman) came in and did many of the same things. They're both really good kids. I've actually worked with both of them in training. They stuck to their game plan and made things very challenging for us."
Prairie Ridge finished the season at 10-9-0 overall.
Crystal Lake South's run to the Class AA state title last fall achieved a lot of firsts for the program. However, this victory was still unique per coach Allen.
"It's special to win it (the regional title) here," Allen added. "This is the first regional that we have won here at home in the 13 years that I have coached at Crystal Lake South."
"For me, this is the coolest part of coaching. To see the elation in the players, the joy on their faces as they are celebrating with their teammates, friends and family. It's just so cool to see this. They have worked hard all year for this."
However, the team knows that there is more work to be done.
"They wanted to get these pictures done right away," Allen noted. "This team knows that there is more still out there and want to celebrate, but they also want to get focused for next week. They'll enjoy this today and tomorrow but will get back to it next week to find more growth and get better."
Starting lineups
Crystal Lake South
GK Carson Hill
D Jake Bimbi
D Evan Carlson
D Tomasz Slawek
D Danny Ciezadlo
MF Michal Dejworek
MF Tyler Getzinger
MF Brandon Osterberg
MF Tom Coughlin
MF Garett Schneider
F Alex Canfield
Prairie Ridge
GK Owen Erickson
D Ethan Covers
D Aiden O'Hanlan
D Dane Justesen
MF Keifer Besterfeldt
MF Michael Thompson
MF Luke Wolf
MF Luke Kim
MF Tyus Whitfield
F Cade Collins
F Bennett Barr
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Tyler Getzinger, jr., midfielder, Crystal Lake South
Referees: James Franklin, Edward Joras, Ronaldo DeMatos
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
CLS - Tyler Getzinger (Alex Canfield) - 60:46