Livescore
HOFFMAN ESTATES — Rochester attacked first and last but it was Crystal Lake South which came out with the win in Friday’s Class 2A boys soccer semifinals.
Rochester (19-6) will face either Peoria Notre Dame (21-1-3) or Burbank St. Laurence (14-7-2) in the third-place game at Hoffman Estates High School on Saturday at 9 a.m.
Nico Velasco had the eventual game-winning goal in the 11th minute going from right to the left corner.
“It’s a great feeling to do in a state semifinal,” Velasco said. “I just read what Nolan (Getzinger) what was going to do. We’ve been practicing the last four years together and I just had to put it bottom left corner; it was an amazing goal.”
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Then the Gators (21-4-1) held off every Rockets’ counterattack over the final 69 minutes, including a pair of corner kicks with less than 15 minutes to play.
“Crystal Lake, I think they have a style that is unique and they have a style that if you get down 1-0 to them, you’re really going to have a tough time coming back,” Rochester coach Chad Kutscher said.
The Rockets’ best look of the two back-to-back corner kicks started when Rochester’s corner taker, Lach Sullivan, put the ball in play toward Brayden Trello, who dummied the play as Carson Berberet got a clear look and fired. The ball zoomed just right of the goal.
“We were right on the doorstep a lot of times but we didn’t finish so I guess it doesn’t matter,” Rochester’s Adan Nieves said. “We never felt like we were out of reach; we felt we were right there the whole time.”
In the 71st minute, Trello hit a low shot to the near post to force Crystal Lake South goalie Chris Slawek to get down for the save. A Rochester free kick just outside the box sailed over the net with less than five minutes to go.
The Gators were led by Ali Ahmed’s 25 goals and Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association All-State selection Nolan Getzinger (16 goals, 27 assists). Rochester gave up just three shots by them combined.
“Defensively, I thought we did a very good job,” Kutscher said. “I don’t think their all-stater (Nolan Getzinger) got any looks at all; I don’t think (Ali Ahmed), up top, was effective as I saw some of the games they played. I think defensively, we did a good job on those two.
“In the attack, we needed a little more and maybe I should’ve gone with more of a three-forward system earlier — you’re down a goal and you don’t necessarily want to start throwing everything into the attack because you’re one play away from tying the game up.”
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Rochester goalkeeper Joel Brock watched the go-ahead goal and he said Velasco’s shot was textbook and prevented him from getting a hand on it to make the save.
“I felt like I was pretty close,” Brock said. “If it wasn’t such a good shot, I might’ve gotten some on it. There’s not a lot I can do in that situation.”
Getzinger said Rochester reminded him of his own team and that familiarity helped the Gators.
“They kind of played a similar style to how we played,” Getzinger said. “We’re going against that in practice every day so we’re kind of ready for it. They had a decent midfielder (Major Gibson). I thought we locked him down pretty well and were able to control the game for the most part.”
Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, ryan.mahan@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: IHSA soccer: Rochester falls in Class 2A state semifinals
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