Late goal by Huntley hurts Gators' divisional hopes

By Mike Garofola

Two weeks after defeating Crystal Lake South to take the upper hand in the Valley Division, Huntley may have ended the hopes of the Gators for good after its 2-1 victory on Tuesday in Huntley.

The Red Raiders overcame their own sluggish start and hit back in sensational style, scoring the game-winner 60 seconds after senior Alison Agnes equalized the Fox Valley Conference match.

That gave the home side the lead for good in the 75th minute and then Huntley held off the Gators' efforts to send the match into overtime.

The loss drops South's record in the Valley to 5-2-0, which ties it with Cary-Grove for second behind front-running Huntley (7-1-0) with three matches remaining in the regular season.

"Today was your classic soccer ending, where you dominate and create three really good first-half chances, but are unable to finish on any other them," said a disappointed Gators coach Brian Allen.

"Then, in the second half, your opponent converts on their first real chance, before they get they the winner out of almost nothing.

"You just cannot give a good team like (Huntley) the chance to do (that) and in the end, a quality opponent will take advantage of its chances, and today they did."

The Gators (13-7-2) did well managing a howling wind which would roar at times so strongly that anything sent to the near touchline could end up back in the middle of the park in seconds.

South would enjoy the lion's share of possession throughout the first 40 minutes playing into the wind, keeping the ball on the floor instead of trying to go over the top and into the biting wind.

Christine Szocka and Kali Loescher were the beneficiaries of several through balls from their mates in the middle to help the duo take on the Red Raiders' big backline.

And if not for the strong play of likes of Lauren Gaitsch, Rachel Chapius and Jamie Wimberly, the home side could have conceded a goal or two before the break.

"We did so well getting (into) their end, but just weren't sharp enough once we got there," offered Gators captain Kelsey Taldone.

She would come forward during much of the first half out of the back to add numbers to the South attack as well as linking with her teammates in the middle.

Loescher, who leads South with 14 goals, was superb in the first half on the right side, as the junior would continually touch past the Red Raiders outside back.

Then she'd either serve a ball to the spot or have a go herself on keeper Sara Hoffman, who was the reason the home side was still alive after 40 minutes.

Hoffman had to watch Loescher's diagonal blast sail past her and off the far post in the 15th minute but the senior saved a sure goal on a Taldone cracker from just inside the box at 28 minutes.

Loescher would team with Szocka for another chance but up stepped Hoffman at the spot to save.

Then just before intermission, the Huntley keeper would make one more goal-saver, this time on Loescher, after Szocka and Vivian Qian would share in the helper.

"We were lucky to not give up 2-3 goals in that first half," admitted Red Raiders captain Taylor Henning-Fletter.

She was one of many who responded to coach Kris Grabner's plea at the break to step-up and be counted if the Red Raiders would expect to win.

Henning-Fletter was masterful in the middle for her club, winning nearly every 50-50 in her area and then finding talented Aimee Wronski up top.

Wronski, a 20-goal scorer, had a quiet first half and who was held down by the Gators backline as well as the windy conditions.

"It was a strange game in that the team with the wind at its back seemed to struggle with it the entire half," said Grabner, who saw a different Red Raiders club in the second half as it played into the wind.

The Gators did not switch well in their own end and left an unmarked Emily Konior the chance to run freely through on the right side and enough time to collect a loose ball from Wronski before finding the back of the net at 49 minutes.

The Konior strike appeared to have enough life in it to be the difference in this match until Agnes drew the Gators even with six minutes to go in regulation.

In an effort to try to create a scrum inside the Red Raiders box, Allen pushed everyone forward as his club prepared for a deep throw from the near touchline by Taldone.

Throwing into a stiff wind, Taldone found Agnes at the edge and the senior did the rest, bringing the ball down with ease, then turning before firing just inside the far post to pull the Gators even, which sent the faithful jumping for joy.

"I knew once she turned and was allowed to square her shoulders that we were in trouble," said Grabner.

The celebration didn't last for long, however, when Wimberly, a four-year veteran scored her first goal of her career.

She went up and over Gators keeper Elizabeth Quinn on the right side at the tail-end of a free-kick from Henning-Fletter.

"I thought even though the wind and conditions forced us to change our style that we did well playing (in) it during the first-half, and really dominated play, except for scoring," said Taldone.

"I don't know how or why we got away from what we were doing so well in our first-half, but we just didn't play as well as we could have," added Agnes.

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