Hornets beat Friars on PKs to advance to regional final

By Curt Herron

There's always something satisfying whenever a team gets revenge against a squad that eliminated it from the postseason the previous year.

And the feeling grows even stronger when that opponent knocked you out of the playoffs two straight times in close decisions.

Throw in another tight match that goes your way in a regional matchup and it's easy to see why Hinsdale South's players were so excited on Wednesday.

The Hornets avenged a pair of consecutive regional semifinal defeats to Fenwick in the Class 3A Hinsdale South Regional, and did so in dramatic fashion.

Following a 1-1 draw through regulation and then no more scoring during 40 minutes of overtime, the final outcome was determined by penalty kicks.

And that also went right down to the wire with the Hornets converting their final attempt to prevail 4-3 in the shootout and thus claim a 2-1 victory.

The win advances the Hornets (8-11-4) to Saturday's 3 p.m. regional finals against Downers Grove North, which beat Curie 7-0 in the other semifinal.

Coach James VanDenburgh's squad tied the Trojans 2-2 when the teams met on September 23, scoring both of their goals in the final 45 seconds.

South's first trip to a regional final since 2006 wasn't assured until Nick Henry connected on the final PK of the series of five from both teams.

The Hornets made their first three tries to grab a 3-2 advantage but the Friars (11-9-1) knotted things again before Henry finally wrapped up the win.

Click to hear Nick Henry interview

Fenwick's Albano Latifi and South's T.J. Kubiesa exchanged goals in the first round and Justin Giacotto and Edwin Cisneros did the same in round two.

The Hornets gained the advantage when keeper Paras Patel deflected a shot by Francisco Moreno before Joe Petrak connected on his team's third try.

After Joe Fahey's attempt hit the post, Patel could have ended things, but his effort also went wide, which forced the final round of kicks.

Tom Semba scored to pull the Friars into a 3-3 tie but Henry fired a shot past keeper John Planek to finally end South's longest match of the season.

Needless to say, the Hornets coach was thrilled by his team's effort in prevailing in the marathon match to earn a spot in the regional championship.

Click to hear coach James VanDenburgh interview

Both squads had chances to end things during the four 10-minute overtime periods, with Fenwick recording perhaps the best of those opportunities.

In the initial OT, Hornet Joey Gangi had a grounder and another shot wide surrounding an attempt that went over the net from Friar Dylan Kramer.

Adam Garcia fired off a liner during the second overtime, which also featured a header from Henry that was cleared away by a Fenwick defender.

Matt Schuster sent a header that was deflected by a defender in the next overtime, which also included an effort by Giacotto that hit the post.

Then in the final OT period, Latifi fired a free kick from just outside of the box over the net before David Tracy and Henry were denied on tries.

The final half also featured plenty of scoring chances for both squads, and the Hornets and Friars were able to find the net during that time.

Petrak got things started when he was stopped on a short shot in the opening minute and Patel halted a header from Kevin LaBarge a bit later.

With 23:40 left in regulation, Patel sent a punt forward toward Kubiesa, who got free and fired off a shot from the side that found the net.

Click to hear Paras Patel interview

The Hornets followed that score up with several more threatening shots, beginning with grounders from Tyler Langosch and Stephen Beavis.

After the midway point of the half, Matt Warta and Adam Radi were denied on liners and Petrak sent a header over the net off a Henry corner.

Fenwick evened things up with 9:47 remaining in regulation play when Giacotto fired off an attempt that was partially deflected by Patel.

As the loose ball rolled near the goalline, Tracy beat the Hornet keeper to it and put in a shot from close range to suddenly create a tie.

Following that, Henry sent a liner that Planek stopped before Schuster directed a header toward the net that was cleared away by a defender.

Click to hear Joe Petrak interview

By comparison to all of the drama of the final half and four overtime periods, the initial 40 minutes of play featured far fewer thrills.

Henry got things started with a free kick from just beyond the top of the box that was deflected away, which led to a liner on a Henry corner.

Latifi followed a while later with a header and a grounder to the Hornet keeper and then was denied on consecutive tries by Patel and Warta.

Shortly before the midpoint of the opening half, Kubiesa flicked a pass in front of the net toward Henry, who was stopped on a short attempt.

In the final 20 minutes before the break, Schuster was turned away on a pair of shots before Beavis saw a late liner halted by the Friar keeper.