Late goals drive York past Huntley
Dukes earn 1st Final Four with 3-1 win
By Curt Herron
STREAMWOOD -- With a first appearance in the IHSA finals on the line, York senior captains Sam Musial, Kacper Janowski and Connor Bare were determined to find a way to get past a Huntley squad that was also looking to make its debut at state.
The teams were tied at 1-1 heading into the final nine minutes of Tuesday's Class 3A Streamwood Supersectional at Millennium Field, and that's when Musial and Janowski had chances to help their team earn their spot in the semifinals. They definitely made the most of their opportunities.
During a span of 54 seconds in the 72nd minute, Musial converted on a penalty, and Janowski scored on a header to provide welcome insurance to help York capture a 3-1 victory that advanced the Dukes to a semifinal match against Lockport at 5 p.m. Friday in Hoffman Estates.
The Porters (19-1-0) earned their spot when they rallied with two late goals in regulation and another in the first overtime to stun top-seeded Collinsville 3-2 in Bloomington to earn their first state appearance.
York (21-2-0) competing in a supersectional for just the second time in school history (2000), won its sixth in a row and claimed its 16th win in its last 17 matches.
The Dukes allowed their first goal of the postseason and 12th of the season
in the 14th minute but evened things in the 24th minute on a goal by Jose Herrera. They had most of the good scoring chances, but the Red Raiders (20-3-2) hung tough as goalkeeper Ethan Kornas came up with several quality stops.
In the 72nd minute, the referee ruled that Kevin Gliatis had been fouled in the box while driving toward the net. Musial stepped in for the penalty and converted to put the Dukes ahead for good.
"It feels amazing," Musial said. "The past four years we've been working toward this, trying to go deep in playoffs, and now that we've made it, feels surreal. But the job is not over; we have games on Friday and Saturday. We're ready to play and ready to compete, and it starts in training tomorrow.
"As soon as we let in that goal, we all looked at ourselves and said that we have to keep our composure and stay mentally in it. There were still 60 minutes left, and we knew with the next goal that we'd be back in it. Everyone played their role, did their job and did well. I couldn't be more happy.
"It's an honor to represent my school and to do great things. I'm just so proud of all of the boys. We've worked so hard, and I feel that we've earned this. We're a great group of friends, both in school and out of school. We're together, and we've built great bonds."
York finished the scoring after Ryder Kohl sent in a long free kick and Janowski headed it in from close range.
"It was a lot of fun," Janowski said. "When they scored the first goal, we knew that we couldn't be worried. I trust all of these guys. We just kept our heads straight and kept playing our game and just came back and won the game.
"We all knew the program's history going into the season, and we had high hopes this year. We had a new coach last year, Jordan Stopka, and he's changing the program. We're going to be considered a soccer school in the next couple of years.
"I love how we're like a family. All of these guys are my brothers. They fight for me, and I'll fight for them. I love that about this team, and that's why we're winning games. We're very happy with where we are right now, but the job's not finished. We still have work to do, and we'll be back Friday and Saturday just fighting."
After establishing new program standards for both victories in a season and the deepest tournament run, Stopka looks forward to seeing what his team can accomplish in their state debut. Two programs who've had many finals appearances, Fremd and Morton, square off in the second semifinal match at 7 p.m.
"The emotions were high since the kids can't think of anything but getting to state," Stopka said. "So we had to keep them grounded within the moment and realize that you have to take it one game at a time.
"But these kids are extremely mature, and they know what they're doing and what the goal is. When it's time to train right before a game they give it their all, and they're smart about it.
"I'd like to give credit to Lukasz Majewski, who was here before me, and he started the turnaround. He handed me the mantle, and I've just run with it, so props to him."
York opened the match with good chances from Yael Silvestre, Gliatis and Hernandez that either were halted by the keeper or cleared by defenders.
Huntley capitalized on their first good opportunity of the game. That came in the 14th minute when Zach Heitkemper sent in a free kick from 50 yards, and Austin Killen headed it in.
York countered with an attempt from Hernandez that a defender halted. Musial was denied twice by Kornas before Hernandez found Herrera in front of the net, and he connected in the 24th minute to even things.
"It was an amazing game," Herrera said. "We knew that they were a good squad so we had to bounce back and give it our all. It's all in your head. That's why we needed to keep our heads level and just get that next goal and then to keep going.
"We've sacrificed a lot. Going into the season there wasn't much hype with us, but once everybody saw our potential and saw what we could do, they started supporting. We just want to win a state title for our school.
"This whole team is amazing, they're like brothers to me. They respect me, and I respect
them. If someone gets down, we pick them up for the next play."
The Dukes continued to apply pressure as the opening half wound down with Gustavo Herrera and Kohl being thwarted.
Early in the final half, Gliatis and Jose Herrera had good attempts. Huntley was dangerous with Killen sending in threatening corner kicks and free kicks. Teammate Hayes Porsche was turned away by Dukes keeper Anthony Kroumov.
Shortly after that, York’s Silvestre and Henri Ymeraj were stopped on good chances. The Dukes moved in front for good when it collected its pair of quick scores.
"We usually don't get a lot of crowds at our games, so it was nice to get a big crowd and to perform for them," Bare said. "I feel like we might have been a little nervous at the beginning of the game, but once we got settled down, I thought we were the better team.
"We knew that their keeper was one of the better ones in the state, but if we kept shooting and placing the ball in, that we would score eventually.
"Our goal from the beginning of the year was that we had our eyes on state. We knew our history and that we had never made it before, but we also knew what we had to do. I just like the way that we play. Coach really puts us in a position to where we can play how we want, and he teaches us how to succeed."
Despite seeing his team come up just a bit short in their program's initial supersectional, Huntley coach Matt Lewandowski was proud of what his group accomplished this season and is excited about the future.
"To make history and to start a new legacy as a program is great." Lewandowski said. "It's awesome.
“We came in as a family, and we left as a family. It's cool to see when you get here that the whole community rallies around you. It's just fun to see everybody come together for one thing.
"When you get here, and there's eight teams left, literally anything can happen. Whoever runs hard, whoever makes their own little bit of luck and whoever does that little tiny bit extra is going to get an opportunity. Then it's just a matter of whether it falls in the goal or not.
"This is the farthest that the boys side has ever been at Huntley. And to have the number of key players that we have as sophomores and juniors is a great start to building something that hopefully could be more repetitive than every once in a while."
This is the first time that a York boys team has advanced to the semifinals since the football program got there in 2006. The Dukes are just the seventh boys team to reach the final four and have assured the school its fifth trophy in a boys sport in an elimination tournament to go along with its impressive collection of 36 titles and 76 trophies in boys cross country, track and field and gymnastics.
Starting lineups
York
G Anthony Kroumov
D Yael Silvestre
D Ryder Kohl
D Connor Bare
D Brendan Haran
M Sam Musial
M Kacper Janowski
M Joe Hernandez
M Henri Ymeraj
F Jose Herrera
F Kevin Gliatis
Huntley
G Ethan Kornas
D Marco Perez
D Micah Overly
D Chance Pickett
D Zach Heitkemper
M Austin Killen
M Logan Bennett
M Thomas Rodriguez
M Vinny Aguirre
F Hayes Porsche
F Zach Stocker
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Sam Musial, sr., MF; Kacper Janowski, sr, MF, York
Scoring summary
First half
H - Austin Killen (Zach Heitkemper), 14th minute
Y - Jose Herrera (Joe Hernandez), 24th minute
Second half
Y- Sam Musial PK, 72nd minute
Y - Kacper Janowski (Ryder Kohl), 72nd minute
Dukes earn 1st Final Four with 3-1 win
By Curt Herron
STREAMWOOD -- With a first appearance in the IHSA finals on the line, York senior captains Sam Musial, Kacper Janowski and Connor Bare were determined to find a way to get past a Huntley squad that was also looking to make its debut at state.
The teams were tied at 1-1 heading into the final nine minutes of Tuesday's Class 3A Streamwood Supersectional at Millennium Field, and that's when Musial and Janowski had chances to help their team earn their spot in the semifinals. They definitely made the most of their opportunities.
During a span of 54 seconds in the 72nd minute, Musial converted on a penalty, and Janowski scored on a header to provide welcome insurance to help York capture a 3-1 victory that advanced the Dukes to a semifinal match against Lockport at 5 p.m. Friday in Hoffman Estates.
The Porters (19-1-0) earned their spot when they rallied with two late goals in regulation and another in the first overtime to stun top-seeded Collinsville 3-2 in Bloomington to earn their first state appearance.
York (21-2-0) competing in a supersectional for just the second time in school history (2000), won its sixth in a row and claimed its 16th win in its last 17 matches.
The Dukes allowed their first goal of the postseason and 12th of the season
in the 14th minute but evened things in the 24th minute on a goal by Jose Herrera. They had most of the good scoring chances, but the Red Raiders (20-3-2) hung tough as goalkeeper Ethan Kornas came up with several quality stops.
In the 72nd minute, the referee ruled that Kevin Gliatis had been fouled in the box while driving toward the net. Musial stepped in for the penalty and converted to put the Dukes ahead for good.
"It feels amazing," Musial said. "The past four years we've been working toward this, trying to go deep in playoffs, and now that we've made it, feels surreal. But the job is not over; we have games on Friday and Saturday. We're ready to play and ready to compete, and it starts in training tomorrow.
"As soon as we let in that goal, we all looked at ourselves and said that we have to keep our composure and stay mentally in it. There were still 60 minutes left, and we knew with the next goal that we'd be back in it. Everyone played their role, did their job and did well. I couldn't be more happy.
"It's an honor to represent my school and to do great things. I'm just so proud of all of the boys. We've worked so hard, and I feel that we've earned this. We're a great group of friends, both in school and out of school. We're together, and we've built great bonds."
York finished the scoring after Ryder Kohl sent in a long free kick and Janowski headed it in from close range.
"It was a lot of fun," Janowski said. "When they scored the first goal, we knew that we couldn't be worried. I trust all of these guys. We just kept our heads straight and kept playing our game and just came back and won the game.
"We all knew the program's history going into the season, and we had high hopes this year. We had a new coach last year, Jordan Stopka, and he's changing the program. We're going to be considered a soccer school in the next couple of years.
"I love how we're like a family. All of these guys are my brothers. They fight for me, and I'll fight for them. I love that about this team, and that's why we're winning games. We're very happy with where we are right now, but the job's not finished. We still have work to do, and we'll be back Friday and Saturday just fighting."
After establishing new program standards for both victories in a season and the deepest tournament run, Stopka looks forward to seeing what his team can accomplish in their state debut. Two programs who've had many finals appearances, Fremd and Morton, square off in the second semifinal match at 7 p.m.
"The emotions were high since the kids can't think of anything but getting to state," Stopka said. "So we had to keep them grounded within the moment and realize that you have to take it one game at a time.
"But these kids are extremely mature, and they know what they're doing and what the goal is. When it's time to train right before a game they give it their all, and they're smart about it.
"I'd like to give credit to Lukasz Majewski, who was here before me, and he started the turnaround. He handed me the mantle, and I've just run with it, so props to him."
York opened the match with good chances from Yael Silvestre, Gliatis and Hernandez that either were halted by the keeper or cleared by defenders.
Huntley capitalized on their first good opportunity of the game. That came in the 14th minute when Zach Heitkemper sent in a free kick from 50 yards, and Austin Killen headed it in.
York countered with an attempt from Hernandez that a defender halted. Musial was denied twice by Kornas before Hernandez found Herrera in front of the net, and he connected in the 24th minute to even things.
"It was an amazing game," Herrera said. "We knew that they were a good squad so we had to bounce back and give it our all. It's all in your head. That's why we needed to keep our heads level and just get that next goal and then to keep going.
"We've sacrificed a lot. Going into the season there wasn't much hype with us, but once everybody saw our potential and saw what we could do, they started supporting. We just want to win a state title for our school.
"This whole team is amazing, they're like brothers to me. They respect me, and I respect
them. If someone gets down, we pick them up for the next play."
The Dukes continued to apply pressure as the opening half wound down with Gustavo Herrera and Kohl being thwarted.
Early in the final half, Gliatis and Jose Herrera had good attempts. Huntley was dangerous with Killen sending in threatening corner kicks and free kicks. Teammate Hayes Porsche was turned away by Dukes keeper Anthony Kroumov.
Shortly after that, York’s Silvestre and Henri Ymeraj were stopped on good chances. The Dukes moved in front for good when it collected its pair of quick scores.
"We usually don't get a lot of crowds at our games, so it was nice to get a big crowd and to perform for them," Bare said. "I feel like we might have been a little nervous at the beginning of the game, but once we got settled down, I thought we were the better team.
"We knew that their keeper was one of the better ones in the state, but if we kept shooting and placing the ball in, that we would score eventually.
"Our goal from the beginning of the year was that we had our eyes on state. We knew our history and that we had never made it before, but we also knew what we had to do. I just like the way that we play. Coach really puts us in a position to where we can play how we want, and he teaches us how to succeed."
Despite seeing his team come up just a bit short in their program's initial supersectional, Huntley coach Matt Lewandowski was proud of what his group accomplished this season and is excited about the future.
"To make history and to start a new legacy as a program is great." Lewandowski said. "It's awesome.
“We came in as a family, and we left as a family. It's cool to see when you get here that the whole community rallies around you. It's just fun to see everybody come together for one thing.
"When you get here, and there's eight teams left, literally anything can happen. Whoever runs hard, whoever makes their own little bit of luck and whoever does that little tiny bit extra is going to get an opportunity. Then it's just a matter of whether it falls in the goal or not.
"This is the farthest that the boys side has ever been at Huntley. And to have the number of key players that we have as sophomores and juniors is a great start to building something that hopefully could be more repetitive than every once in a while."
This is the first time that a York boys team has advanced to the semifinals since the football program got there in 2006. The Dukes are just the seventh boys team to reach the final four and have assured the school its fifth trophy in a boys sport in an elimination tournament to go along with its impressive collection of 36 titles and 76 trophies in boys cross country, track and field and gymnastics.
Starting lineups
York
G Anthony Kroumov
D Yael Silvestre
D Ryder Kohl
D Connor Bare
D Brendan Haran
M Sam Musial
M Kacper Janowski
M Joe Hernandez
M Henri Ymeraj
F Jose Herrera
F Kevin Gliatis
Huntley
G Ethan Kornas
D Marco Perez
D Micah Overly
D Chance Pickett
D Zach Heitkemper
M Austin Killen
M Logan Bennett
M Thomas Rodriguez
M Vinny Aguirre
F Hayes Porsche
F Zach Stocker
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Sam Musial, sr., MF; Kacper Janowski, sr, MF, York
Scoring summary
First half
H - Austin Killen (Zach Heitkemper), 14th minute
Y - Jose Herrera (Joe Hernandez), 24th minute
Second half
Y- Sam Musial PK, 72nd minute
Y - Kacper Janowski (Ryder Kohl), 72nd minute