Brother act a downer for Dukes

ROCKFORD – Dixon was able to deal with one Klusendorf, but when the other one got into the act, it proved to be problematic.

Brothers Kyle and Cade Klusendorf accounted for all of the Crystal Lake Central scoring in a 2-1 victory over the Dukes in a Class 2A Boylan Soccer Regional semifinal on Tuesday at Titan Stadium.

The Tigers (11-6-1) will now take on Boylan in the regional title game on Friday.

Dixon was unable to penetrate a stout Crystal Lake Central defense all night. The majority of the action was on the Dukes’ side of the field, and when Dixon was able to mount much of an attack, the ball was usually cleared by CLC sweeper Aaron Castaneda.

“They had excellent ball pressure,” Dixon coach Josh Brigl said. “They’re very good with their pressure on the ball consistently from several different directions, and they can cut off your angles of play very well. They took our midfield out of the game at times, and that back four is very solid, so it’s hard to play over the top.”

The Dukes’ lone goal came from junior forward Remington LeRette, and it was a bomb. He uncorked a shot from about 40 yards, and it traveled on a line just over the outstretched hands of Tigers goalie Joseph Perez, tying the score with 36:06 left in the second half.

“Josh [Brigl] said the keeper was way off the line when we were right there,” LeRette said of his 22nd goal this season, “and if you have a chance, just take one. I took the chance and hit it just right.”

Down 2-1 late in the game, Dixon’s best opportunity to tie it up came with a little more than 5 minutes to play. A long pass that was headed out of bounds stayed in after hitting the flag in the corner. Jacob Fane tracked down the ball and centered it to LeRette, who was camped in front of the Tigers’ goal.

LeRette appeared to get a foot on the ball, but had some traffic to make it through. It was deflected, and ultimately stopped, by Perez, and the Dukes were unable to threaten after that.

Kyle Klusendorf opened the scoring with 8:09 remaining in the first half, when he curled in a shot from about 20 yards into the upper-right side of the goal. Dixon keeper Nick LeSage did not have much of a chance on the play.

“I hit it, and there was just a perfect curve on it,” Kyle Klusendorf said. “I knew it was going to be good.”

Kyle Klusendorf also figured prominently in his team’s second goal, with 28:23 to go in the second half. Klusendorf muscled his way past a host of Dixon defenders, maintaining possession until he was able to pass the ball to his younger brother, Cade.

With a virtually open goal, Cade took advantage, scoring from about 15 yards to break a 1-1 tie.

“Right place, right time,” Cade Klusendorf said with a smile.”I wasn’t having a very good game, and I had to put my team first. I finally scored that goal.”

With the win, Central now gets a shot at Boylan (16-2-3), which had to score two late goals to fend off upset-minded Freeport 3-2 in the night’s first semifinal. The Titans had handled the 8-13 Pretzels 6-0 a mere 2 weeks ago.

“They’re a good team, but I think if we play as a team like we did today, we could win,” Cade Klusendorf said. “That’s why we play the game. No predictions - just play.”

Boylan coach Chris Mera, watching from the press box, was impressed with the Tigers.

“They’re a big, physical team,” Mera said. “They kind of play direct, but they’ve got some playmakers in [Michael Chen] in the middle, and [Kyle Klusendorf] is a load up top. They’re solid defensively, and that’s something we’ll have to work on, finding seams and getting behind them.”

For Dixon (11-8-1), the night capped off a successful season in which a roster full of young players adjusted to a new system and a new coach.

“We play with three forwards now,” Brigl said, “so learning how to play out of that system is a big transition. We improved a lot as the year went on doing that.”

“We changed everything,” LeRette said. “This year was kind of a trial year to see how everything would go. We went a lot farther than we expected.”

Star of the game: Kyle Klusendorf, Crystal Lake Central, 1 goal, 1 assist

Key performers: Remington LeRette, Dixon, 1 goal; Cade Klusendorf, Crystal Lake Central, 1 goal

Up next: Championship game, Boylan vs. Crystal Lake Central, 5:30 p.m. Friday