Boys soccer: Streator battles heat, BCC to 1-all tie in James Street opener

STREATOR – Streator boys soccer coach JT Huey was honest with his team in the postgame meeting when he said he wasn’t sure what to think after a five-goal loss to Rock Island to open the season Monday.

However, the veteran Bulldogs coach was a little more at ease after watching his team play a solid second half and record a 1-all tie against perennial powerhouse Bloomington Central Catholic in the first match played at the James Street Recreation Area.

“Without a doubt, luck was with us a couple times tonight, but that’s the game,” said Huey of the fact the Saints hit the crossbar twice in the final 19 minutes. “We scheduled teams like Rock Island and Bloomington Central Catholic for a reason. They are both high-caliber teams, and everyone knows it. We want our guys to see what really good soccer is right from the start.

“They’ve seen it now and hopefully have learned something from it. The second half tonight was a really good battle, and one I felt we won.”

Bloomington Central dominated the opening 40 minutes, outshooting the hosts 11-2 and taking a 1-0 lead 21 minutes in. The Saints’ goal came when a Streator defender’s clearing attempt deflected off Boyden Chaon and just inside the post.

[ Photos: Bloomington Central Catholic vs Streator boys soccer ]

Streator’s best chance of the first half came in the final minutes, when Noah Russow’s 30-yard direct kick was saved by BCC keeper Emanuele Tameni.

“We showed better confidence, came ready to play and never gave up tonight,” Streator senior center defender Keaton Yedinak said. “I don’t know if [we had] first-game jitters or what the other night, but I think we figured things out. I think it just snapped into our heads that we can be a good team, but we have to play like it.”

In the opening 20 minutes of the second half, Russow had a pair of 25-yard direct kicks sail just over the crossbar. Then, after the Saints’ first aforementioned shot off the crossbar, Russow was ruled to have been taken down in the box going after a lead pass and was awarded a penalty kick.

His strike beat Tameni to his right to tie the match.

“We got punched in the mouth by Rock Island and were shown how to play soccer. We adjusted and played much better tonight against an equally good opponent.”

—  JT Huey, Streator boys soccer coach

“I feel like we started to click after halftime.” Bulldogs senior center midfielder Landon Muntz said. “We started to move up the field as a team, pass as a team and just play like a team. Why it took a game and a half for us to figures things out, I don’t know, but hopefully we are on the right track now.”

BCC had a second shot deflect off the crossbar with 12 minutes remaining before Streator goalkeeper Andrew Vogel made two tremendous diving saves in the final minutes to keep the score tied.

BCC held a 19-10 advantage in total shots, including 9-6 on target chances and 10-1 in corner kicks.

Vogel, who played the entire second half, finished with five saves, while Noah Camp recorded six saves in the first half.

“We got punched in the mouth by Rock Island and were shown how to play soccer,” Huey said. “We adjusted and played much better tonight against an equally good opponent. I know it’s a tie, but I’m happy. [BCC] is a program that has won 45 games the last two years with a pair of [Class 1A] sectional plaques and a third-place trophy.

“We figured out a lot of things tonight, and we needed a game like this after losing a ton of seniors from last year.”