Barrington can't hold off Waukegan
Visiting Bulldogs rally, win in shootout
By Rusty Silber
BARRINGTON – The upset bug doesn’t discriminate.
A wild Saturday of Class 3A regional finals saw a lower-seeded team win nine of 17 matches. Four number two and one number one sectional or sub-sectional seed fell.
Lower-seeded favorites were not immune. The bug bit Barrington as well in a shootout loss to Waukegan.
The visiting and 14th-seeded Bulldogs tied the game 1-1 in the 68th minute and prevailed 4-2 in PKs against their 11th-seeded host.
Barrington (11-8-4) saw its four-game win streak and season end.
Both teams advanced on shootout wins Tuesday. Waukegan topped third-seeded Hersey, and Barrington kicked past no. 5-seed Rolling Meadows.
"Honestly, (Waukegan) was a great regional champion with the way they played," Barrington coach Scott Steib said. "Our kids played hard, and we just came up a little short.
“We had a couple of chances we would've liked to have and (Waukegan) would say the same thing. We certainly had a second goal out there, but we just didn't convert it.
"You just deal with penalties, and that's the way it goes. Everybody in this game knows that it's not the way you want to end the game. But unless you keep playing for 100 more minutes, it's part of futbol.
“(Waukegan) was just a little better to convert shots than us. They are the best 14th-seed that I've ever seen. Thirty 30 years of coaching, I don't think I've seen a team like that. They have quality on the ball. They work hard, are organized and a good team."
It was not a typical season for the Barrington program, but the Broncos turned things around with a 5-1-1 run heading into Saturday.
"We had some struggles in the middle (of the season)," Steib said. "This was a great group. We put ourselves in a position to win a regional.
“We didn't have a great run-in conference. … I'm proud of these boys. They carried the banner, and we talked a lot about that -- what it means to play soccer at Barrington High School. They carried that banner with lots of pride. They did all the things we asked them to do, and they came up a little short with it."
Four-year varsity player and three-year starter Jack Peterson bore witness to the turnaround.
"It was a good season, and we started out hot," Peterson said of the Broncos runnerup finish in their own Barrington Classic. "We had a rough patch and then we got on a win streak. I enjoyed this team, and it was a special team. Going forward, there's a lot of talented guys and a lot of hard workers too. I'm sure they will do great next year."
Barrington got on the board first in the 24th minute of play after a Peterson corner kick. Waukegan keeper Julian Mendoza was able to punch the ball forward but not out of trouble. The Broncos Daniel Gawronski was near the top of the box and tried to send a low ball toward the goal. It deflected back to him, and this time he decided to have a go.
"Initially, I saw a lot of defenders stepping," Gawronski said of the play that led to this third goal of the season. "I didn't think I had a clear shot. I tried to play it to someone that was open.
“It was bouncing around, and I saw an opening and opportunity, just took the shot. The goal meant a lot for the whole team, we're the ones driving the game and were the ones in control. We were just ahead, and you feel like the champions."
In the second half, Waukegan pushed forward with numbers and had the aid of the wind at its back. The Bulldogs had a few chances that missed the frame, some of them just outside the posts.
The visitors hit paydirt in the 68th minute. Keibin Ulloa Munoz took a pass from Andy Tobar and sent a 30-yard kick that hit the far post and deflected into the goal to tie the match at 1-1.
"It was a one-two, and I had to take a shot," Munoz said of his first goal of the season. "I was really blinded and didn't see where it landed. I just knew it went in. It was an important goal; it came in the late part of the game. It really was a special one."
After the two scoreless 10-minute overtimes, the game went to the shootout tiebreaker. The session was even at 2-2 after the first three rounds.
After the Bulldogs Carlos Delgado opened the fourth round with a goal, Waukegan keeper Mendoza stonewalled Barrington. He made a diving save off his hand to his right. The ball rolled tantalizingly parallel to the goal line but didn’t cross.
"I've always known how to prepare for a PK situation," said Mendoza, who earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor. "You never get nervous and whatever happens in the PK shootout should not affect you.
“Always keep working, even if your team misses. You just have to keep in your mind and never lose it. I made all the work to save that PK, but I had to get up quickly to make sure the ball doesn't go in. I didn't want to see the ball spin backwards and go in."
Emmanuel Herrera added the final kick for the 4-2 decision and the first regional championship for Waukegan since 2017.
"This win is historic," said first-year coach Julio Farfan. "The program needed this. The boys started training on July 5. When I called them, they showed up; and they were ready to put in the work. This is a big win for the city, a big win for the school district, for the high school and for the community."
Waukegan found a way to stay alive at a tough venue to win. Barrington won seven home games this season and two of its three losses in Barrington Community Stadium came in one-goal decisions against ranked league foes Fremd and Conant.
"We never give up and quit," Farfan said. "Whether if we're up or down with the score, we just keep going. We haven't had much luck this season, but it showed up in this one.
“When you work hard, then good things happen. Our seed, our record, does not define us. It doesn't matter. It's a whole new postseason.
“This is my 12th year with the program, and my first year as a head coach. I've seen a lot of regional games and especially a lot of regional loses. I've had enough of losing. This is one of those regionals that the program makes a turn, and we go to the next level."
Waukegan (7-10-2) finds itself in a North Suburban Conference rematch in its Buffalo Grove Sectional semifinal match.
The Bulldogs will meet seventh-seeded Lake Zurich which upset no. 2-seed and league mate Warren 1-0 Saturday in Round Lake.
The Bears took a 2-1 home win when the teams met Oct. 6. Kickoff time Tuesday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Starting lineups
Barrington
GK-Iker Villagomez
D-Mathew Klujian
D-Logan Cidulka
D-Adam Walocha
D-Nico Hausser
MF-Mattie Vitale
MF-Ali Saber
MF-Max Miller
F-Jack Peterson
F-Philip Jackowski
F-Alexis Salazar
Waukegan
Gk-Julian Mendoza
D-Alexis Guadarrama
D-Carlos Delgado
D-Jon Hernandez Morandel
D-Gerardo Calmacho
MF-Keibin Ulloa Munoz
MF-Hector Sanchez
MF-Andy Tobar
MF-Yael Flores
F-Ezekiel Maya
F-Alejandro Cruz
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Julian Mendoza, sr., GK, Waukegan
Referees: Kevin Parker (center); assistants Rick Naatz, Rob Fioria
Scoring summary
First half
B: Daniel Gawronski (unassisted), 24’
Second Half
W: Keibin Ulloa Munoz (Andy Tobar), 68’
First overtime
No scoring
Second overtime
No scoring
Shootout
W: Julian Mendoza, Ezekiel Maya, Carlos Delgado, Emanuel Herrera.
B: Matthew Klujian, Jack Peterson
Visiting Bulldogs rally, win in shootout
By Rusty Silber
BARRINGTON – The upset bug doesn’t discriminate.
A wild Saturday of Class 3A regional finals saw a lower-seeded team win nine of 17 matches. Four number two and one number one sectional or sub-sectional seed fell.
Lower-seeded favorites were not immune. The bug bit Barrington as well in a shootout loss to Waukegan.
The visiting and 14th-seeded Bulldogs tied the game 1-1 in the 68th minute and prevailed 4-2 in PKs against their 11th-seeded host.
Barrington (11-8-4) saw its four-game win streak and season end.
Both teams advanced on shootout wins Tuesday. Waukegan topped third-seeded Hersey, and Barrington kicked past no. 5-seed Rolling Meadows.
"Honestly, (Waukegan) was a great regional champion with the way they played," Barrington coach Scott Steib said. "Our kids played hard, and we just came up a little short.
“We had a couple of chances we would've liked to have and (Waukegan) would say the same thing. We certainly had a second goal out there, but we just didn't convert it.
"You just deal with penalties, and that's the way it goes. Everybody in this game knows that it's not the way you want to end the game. But unless you keep playing for 100 more minutes, it's part of futbol.
“(Waukegan) was just a little better to convert shots than us. They are the best 14th-seed that I've ever seen. Thirty 30 years of coaching, I don't think I've seen a team like that. They have quality on the ball. They work hard, are organized and a good team."
It was not a typical season for the Barrington program, but the Broncos turned things around with a 5-1-1 run heading into Saturday.
"We had some struggles in the middle (of the season)," Steib said. "This was a great group. We put ourselves in a position to win a regional.
“We didn't have a great run-in conference. … I'm proud of these boys. They carried the banner, and we talked a lot about that -- what it means to play soccer at Barrington High School. They carried that banner with lots of pride. They did all the things we asked them to do, and they came up a little short with it."
Four-year varsity player and three-year starter Jack Peterson bore witness to the turnaround.
"It was a good season, and we started out hot," Peterson said of the Broncos runnerup finish in their own Barrington Classic. "We had a rough patch and then we got on a win streak. I enjoyed this team, and it was a special team. Going forward, there's a lot of talented guys and a lot of hard workers too. I'm sure they will do great next year."
Barrington got on the board first in the 24th minute of play after a Peterson corner kick. Waukegan keeper Julian Mendoza was able to punch the ball forward but not out of trouble. The Broncos Daniel Gawronski was near the top of the box and tried to send a low ball toward the goal. It deflected back to him, and this time he decided to have a go.
"Initially, I saw a lot of defenders stepping," Gawronski said of the play that led to this third goal of the season. "I didn't think I had a clear shot. I tried to play it to someone that was open.
“It was bouncing around, and I saw an opening and opportunity, just took the shot. The goal meant a lot for the whole team, we're the ones driving the game and were the ones in control. We were just ahead, and you feel like the champions."
In the second half, Waukegan pushed forward with numbers and had the aid of the wind at its back. The Bulldogs had a few chances that missed the frame, some of them just outside the posts.
The visitors hit paydirt in the 68th minute. Keibin Ulloa Munoz took a pass from Andy Tobar and sent a 30-yard kick that hit the far post and deflected into the goal to tie the match at 1-1.
"It was a one-two, and I had to take a shot," Munoz said of his first goal of the season. "I was really blinded and didn't see where it landed. I just knew it went in. It was an important goal; it came in the late part of the game. It really was a special one."
After the two scoreless 10-minute overtimes, the game went to the shootout tiebreaker. The session was even at 2-2 after the first three rounds.
After the Bulldogs Carlos Delgado opened the fourth round with a goal, Waukegan keeper Mendoza stonewalled Barrington. He made a diving save off his hand to his right. The ball rolled tantalizingly parallel to the goal line but didn’t cross.
"I've always known how to prepare for a PK situation," said Mendoza, who earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor. "You never get nervous and whatever happens in the PK shootout should not affect you.
“Always keep working, even if your team misses. You just have to keep in your mind and never lose it. I made all the work to save that PK, but I had to get up quickly to make sure the ball doesn't go in. I didn't want to see the ball spin backwards and go in."
Emmanuel Herrera added the final kick for the 4-2 decision and the first regional championship for Waukegan since 2017.
"This win is historic," said first-year coach Julio Farfan. "The program needed this. The boys started training on July 5. When I called them, they showed up; and they were ready to put in the work. This is a big win for the city, a big win for the school district, for the high school and for the community."
Waukegan found a way to stay alive at a tough venue to win. Barrington won seven home games this season and two of its three losses in Barrington Community Stadium came in one-goal decisions against ranked league foes Fremd and Conant.
"We never give up and quit," Farfan said. "Whether if we're up or down with the score, we just keep going. We haven't had much luck this season, but it showed up in this one.
“When you work hard, then good things happen. Our seed, our record, does not define us. It doesn't matter. It's a whole new postseason.
“This is my 12th year with the program, and my first year as a head coach. I've seen a lot of regional games and especially a lot of regional loses. I've had enough of losing. This is one of those regionals that the program makes a turn, and we go to the next level."
Waukegan (7-10-2) finds itself in a North Suburban Conference rematch in its Buffalo Grove Sectional semifinal match.
The Bulldogs will meet seventh-seeded Lake Zurich which upset no. 2-seed and league mate Warren 1-0 Saturday in Round Lake.
The Bears took a 2-1 home win when the teams met Oct. 6. Kickoff time Tuesday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Starting lineups
Barrington
GK-Iker Villagomez
D-Mathew Klujian
D-Logan Cidulka
D-Adam Walocha
D-Nico Hausser
MF-Mattie Vitale
MF-Ali Saber
MF-Max Miller
F-Jack Peterson
F-Philip Jackowski
F-Alexis Salazar
Waukegan
Gk-Julian Mendoza
D-Alexis Guadarrama
D-Carlos Delgado
D-Jon Hernandez Morandel
D-Gerardo Calmacho
MF-Keibin Ulloa Munoz
MF-Hector Sanchez
MF-Andy Tobar
MF-Yael Flores
F-Ezekiel Maya
F-Alejandro Cruz
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Julian Mendoza, sr., GK, Waukegan
Referees: Kevin Parker (center); assistants Rick Naatz, Rob Fioria
Scoring summary
First half
B: Daniel Gawronski (unassisted), 24’
Second Half
W: Keibin Ulloa Munoz (Andy Tobar), 68’
First overtime
No scoring
Second overtime
No scoring
Shootout
W: Julian Mendoza, Ezekiel Maya, Carlos Delgado, Emanuel Herrera.
B: Matthew Klujian, Jack Peterson