Boys soccer: Huntley comes back to top Crystal Lake South 4-2

CRYSTAL LAKE – Hudson Nielsen didn’t let a wasted opportunity early in Huntley’s match against Crystal Lake South on Thursday get in the way of the Red Raiders’ comeback.

Nielsen had a chance to change the momentum 15 minutes in when he missed an open goal and hit the crossbar with his team trailing. The senior captain regrouped and scored two goals to lead the Red Raiders to a 4-2 win in a pivotal match for the Fox Valley Conference lead.

“I think to come out here and prove that we are the best team in the conference, I’ll say it now and I’ll say it again,” Nielsen said. “It’s just a big program win. We really needed that.”

Huntley’s (10-4-1, 5-0 FVC) comeback started quickly after South took a 2-0 lead when Nielsen scored with 11:32 left in the first half. The Red Raiders had the shots on goal advantage up to that point, they just needed to find ways to capitalize just like the Gators had.

Huntley kept pushing until Mason Leslie headed in a corner kick to tie the match 2-2 with 17:29 left in the match. The Red Raiders earned another corner kick and scored off a set piece when Nielsen brought the ball to the top of the corner of the box and scored with 11:59 left.

“For him to dig down, stick with it and come back with two more is huge, especially when we’ve been up and down all season,” Huntley coach Matt Lewandowski said of Nielsen. “To show that resiliency is pretty awesome, especially from a captain.”

Jack Breunig scored with 3:48 left in the match, adding on to his three assists. Jack Bakey made six saves in net.

“I think to come out here and prove that we are the best team in the conference, I’ll say it now and I’ll say it again. It’s just a big program win. We really needed that.”

—  Hudson Nielsen, Huntley senior

Both Nielsen and Lewandowski credited the Red Raider defense for regrouping after giving up its first two goals in conference play. After the Gators scored their first two goals, South struggled to create many looks to come back and win.

“A lot of the good teams find a way to win, not only having to play good,” Nielsen said. “Good, bad, ugly, pretty, it doesn’t matter at the end of the day, you have to get a result you’re looking for and that’s what we got.”

South (10-4-1, 4-1) couldn’t have asked for a better start to the match when Nick Prus created a fast-break opportunity and scored with 36:09 left in the first half to give the Gators a 1-0 lead. Ali Ahmed made it 2-0 with 13:56 left in the first half when his fast-break shot dribbled in just past the goal line.

Gators coach Brian Allen credited Huntley for playing a full match and making the most of set pieces, something South has been known to do for years.

“You have to stay the course and bring energy for a full 80,” Allen said. “I think Huntley wore us down and started to out work us and really turned the tide in the midfield.”

Huntley took control of the FVC with its win, the two teams now tied at the top of the standings with the Red Raiders holding a conference match in hand. The Red Raiders will return to conference play Saturday when they travel to Crystal Lake Central while the Gators will host Sycamore on Saturday.

Nielsen felt like Thursday’s win was bigger than just setting their own fate in the FVC. In a season of ups and downs, he thought Thursday’s win was exactly what the Red Raiders needed heading into the final stretch of the regular season.

“I think having this game under our belt, keeping this pressure, the pressure that we saw and had being able to deliver,” Nielsen said, “that’s all we can ask for.”