Girls soccer: Crystal Lake Central shows off experience in 3-2 win over Huntley

CRYSTAL LAKE – For a moment Tuesday afternoon, Crystal Lake Central seemed like it might be in trouble.

The Tigers took an early lead against Huntley in their Fox Valley Conference opener, but the Red Raiders responded by tying the match less than a minute later.

Central used its experience to not let a bad situation turn worse. The Tigers scored two goals a couple of minutes after giving up their initial lead to come back and pick up a 3-2 win.

“You have to keep playing no matter what, until the last whistle,” Central senior Brooklynn Carlson said. “When we did get scored on after our goal, the whole team was like, ‘Come on, we can do this, we can do this.’ That just shows that we scored right after.”

[ Photos: Huntley vs. Crystal Lake Central girls soccer ]

Central (5-1-1, 1-0) started an action-packed opening 10 minutes of the match by scoring first. Junior Lizzie Gray made a nice move to pick up a step on her Huntley defender to create a fast-break opportunity. She scored and gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead with 33:59 left in the first half.

The Red Raiders (4-2-2, 0-1) attacked right away. Senior Ava Trudeau took a pass from junior Maddie Rumachik and snuck it in to tie the match at 1-all with 33:28 left in the first half.

That’s when the Tigers used their experience

Senior Jillian Mueller snuck in a nice shot to give Central a 2-1 lead with 32:23 left in the first half before Carlson tapped in the ball after a Gray header attempt to make it 3-1 with 30:55 left in the first half.

Carlson credited the Tigers’ familiarity with each for not caving after Huntley tied the match. A majority of Central’s lineup has played together for the past three seasons and overcome tough moments, including last year’s postseason run that led to a Class 2A third-place finish at state.

Tuesday was a good example of what a difference experience can make.

“It was a great feeling knowing we weren’t affected by that goal,” Carlson said. “It was good to know that we were all in it as a team, and when Jill scored, I know everyone was happy.”

The Tigers kept applying pressure despite taking a 3-1 lead. Central almost added a goal on a missed penalty kick opportunity later in the first half and finished with 11 shots on goal.

Central coach Sarah Fack was happy her team showed poise in order to win the match. But there’s still work left to be done if the Tigers want to compete for a state championship.

“It’s still early in the season, and we’re still working things out,” Fack said. “We definitely weren’t perfect today and had some struggles, things we need to figure out despite having a lot of older kids. A lot of maturity and experience, we’re still working on it, and we have a way to go this season.”

Central limited most of the Red Raiders’ scoring chances by constantly moving and getting the ball out of its zone. Huntley senior Gabbi Farraj made it 3-2 when she launched a deep shot that snuck in the corner of the net with 56 seconds remaining in the match.

“You have to keep playing no matter what, until the last whistle. When we did get scored on after our goal, the whole team was like, ‘come on, we can do this, we can do this.’ That just shows that we scored right after.”

—  Brooklynn Carlson, Crystal Lake Central senior

Despite the loss, Huntley coach Matt Lewandowski was impressed with the Red Raiders’ ability to regroup after a tough opening 10 minutes.

“At the end of the day, to battle and come back from those first 10 minutes,” Lewandowski said. “I would say is pretty incredible.”

Huntley will go back to FVC action Thursday when it hosts McHenry, while Central will travel to Cary-Grove on Thursday.

Carlson said Tuesday was a good reminder that the Tigers have a target on their backs this season. No matter how good Central thinks it is, the Tigers are going to get everyone’s best effort every match.

“Anybody at any moment can score and do anything,” Carlson said. “We just have to be on our toes and play how we normally should be.”