Gators make most of few chances to edge Cary-Grove

By David Kuechle
Photos courtesy of Keith Allmandinger

After two straight 4-0 victories, both of which were mostly one-sided games, Crystal Lake South faced a completely different situation at Cary-Grove on Tuesday.

Despite the host Trojans' numerous opportunities, the Gators held off the attacks and netted the lone goal in the second half to claim a 1-0 Fox Valley Conference win.

Gator forward Alex Tapia broke the scoreless tie with 31:39 left in the game to help lift CL South (4-1-1) to its third straight victory.

After a rush that forced Cary-Grove's netminder to play the ball, CLS quickly turned it into a scoring chance, with Tapia lobbing the ball over the defender's heads and watching as it slowly dropped into the net.

The play was near perfect, and the Gators celebrated as if they had won the game right then (the goal would stand as the game-winner), scrambling around the field and cheering, hoping to fuel a momentum swing.

Although it didn't score any goals, Cary-Grove dominated the play for the majority of the game.

The Trojans' sharply-executed passes and ability to get players open, forced CLS to play a more defensive-minded game.

It's not like they didn't have their scoring chances, either. Many shots that were taken sailed wide or over the net and the 20 mph winds didn't help the situation.

CL South goalkeeper David Walsh admitted that his team needs some work in these types of high-wind conditions.

"We just weren't our best", he said. The adjustments that Walsh said need to be improved include "first learning how to play in the wind".

Another area that was concerning was the lack of man-on-man coverage.

"If you call out a number, you have to stick with them", Walsh continued.

In both halves, the Gators struggled with coverage, which led to a few attempts at breakaways.

CL South's defense, which played well, had an answer for everything.

The few shots that actually went on net were quickly gathered up by Walsh, who had a great game.

Cary-Grove took advantage of the match early on and repeatedly exploited holes in the midfield, or poor coverage on the forwards.

"We started off sluggish", coach Brian Allen confirms. "It was not our best performance, and it wasn't as flashy as the last few games, but we got the win".

The team has video footage of this match, and will certainly put some time into reviewing what needs to be improved on.

"After the first half, the guys buckled down. I kept saying all we need is one", Allen said.

That turned out to be the case, and as the old saying goes, good teams find ways to win. Even with the odds stacked against the Gators, they never quit.

Some of the players were getting frustrated with the lack of chances being generated, but CLS cashed in on its best opportunity, which is something that Cary-Grove couldn't do.

With 1:46 left in the first half, a Trojan forward had a great chance at an empty net tip-in, but kicked the ball far too high.

Even with the failed attempts, Cary-Grove's large crowd was never out of the game, giving support to a team that was clearly aggravated at not being able to finish plays.

CL South plays at Huntley on Thursday and then travels to Belvidere on Saturday to complete this week's three-match road trip.