Things are looking up for Barrington when two players are matching a feat last done by a current professional and the team thinks it can be the best in years.

Two freshmen scored and the Broncos showed off a wide-open style featuring plenty of speed and athleticism in a 3-0 win over Crystal Lake South on Wednesday.

Barrington (2-1-1) picked up its second group play win in its own tournament to position itself for a spot in the title game. The Gators (1-3) dropped their third match in a row and fell to 0-2 in the tournament.

Freshman Kendall Stork is a name to remember. The 5-foot-6 forward showed that size isn’t everything in a match where he scored the Broncos’ first goal and assisted the second. His staggering speed, agility and technical ability were on display throughout the 80 minutes.

Stork didn’t come out for the Broncos’ summer camp so when he wowed the Barrington coaching staff and players in tryouts to earn a spot on the varsity team his ability surprised some.

“It was a big surprise and it’s awesome to see him play that well,” said senior midfielder Ethan Claes. “I have somebody I can trust to pass it to at all times, which is rare.”

Stork converted a Jack Hoots free kick to give Barrington the lead in the 20th minute for his first varsity goal. And just after the hour mark, he back-heeled the ball to Danny Jaderholm, who slotted into the far post side netting.

One play that drew a big reaction from the crowd was when Stork went chasing after a loose ball on a breakaway, outpacing nearby defenders, but being beat to the ball by Gators’ goalkeeper Gus Alvarez (5 saves).

Instead of running around Alvarez to avoid a collision, Stork attempted to jump over him – and almost made it.

“He’s 5-6 or whatever he is, but he doesn’t play like it,” Barrington coach Scott Steib said. “He’s a freshman, but he doesn’t play like it.”

Steib and his coaching staff discussed the last time a freshman scored for them and the answer was Ryan Miller, who is currently playing pro ball in Sweden. The impressive feat was then matched by Sean Kim 10 minutes later on a rifled shot.

Both players have good ball skills and add another element in the attacking third of the Broncos’ 4-3-3 formation.

“They’re not here as a gift, they’ve earned it,” Steib said. “They’re justifying the opportunities they’re getting. Both of them are technical players.”

The Broncos’ pressure and speed on the break suffocated Crystal Lake South, which missed starters Steve Follmer and Orlando Tapia due to injury.

“They smothered us with their pressure,” Gators’ coach Brian Allen said. “It took us a while to solve what they were doing through the midfield.

“I thought other than one mistake in the first half for the most part we’d bend, but didn’t break. That was good, then that second goal kind of took the sails out of us. The response by the guys was a little bit lackluster so that’s what we talked about. We need to keep our heads held high and play through it.”

The Gators repeatedly had free kicks in the attacking half, but weren’t able to create any chances off of Sam Murdock’s services.

“There’s a lot of disappointment because those small things we can control,” Allen said. “Set pieces we can control and they just weren’t very effective.”

The numerous free kicks and a lack of communication on the field gave Steib a headache during the game despite the comfortable score.

“We had just enough good sequences where we were able to do some things,” Steib said. “We didn’t play poorly tonight, but I don’t think we played to our potential.”

Steib’s raised expectations come from his team’s ability to do a lot of things that most high school teams can’t. Stork’s speed up top combined with the playmaking of Claes and Connor Hennelly and the finishing of Jaderholm and Kim make the Broncos a force to be reckoned with.

The three forward formation emphasizes wide play and gives each player room to work with. Steib went with the style because it fit the personnel, but he also believes it’s fun for the players.

“If you’re an outside back you get to release all the time, if you’re a winger you have all this mass space, if you’re in the middle you’re getting the ball all the time and creating,” Steib said.

“There’s a lot of room up top for me so I can do a lot up top,” Stork said. “It’s good space. Everyone is running. We have fast guys up top.”

The style shift hasn’t been a tough transition for the players either.

“As long as we have two out of those front three guys coming back it’s not all that different, especially if you play against some of these teams that like to cover the middle,” Claes said. “When you have those wide guys there it’s easy to play through them and today it worked well.”

Barrington’s style exploited the Gators’ mistakes in technical skills.

“First game on turf, the speed, their athleticism it exposed our technical weakness,” Allen said. “We’ve got to be better technically. We keep working on it in training, but it’s something that we’re going to have to continue to put a lot of emphasis on if we want to compete at this level.”

When Broncos’ four-year starter and Ohio State-signee Craig Zahour and junior defender Danny Balleno, who is out with a broken thumb, return, the Broncos will have the talent to compete for a Mid Suburban League title and more.

“Scott said at halftime that we could be our best Barrington team since 2008 and I think that’s an achievement in itself,” Claes said. “If we can achieve our potential I think we can go far in the playoffs.”

The Broncos can seal a spot in the title game against St. Charles North on Thursday. The Gators will look to end their losing streak against Lake Zurich.