CL Central breaks through late

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MAPLE PARK – Crystal Lake Central consistently generated quality scoring chances, but almost 60 minutes into its game with Wauconda, had nothing to show for it.

Finally, in the 59th minute, the Tigers broke through. Midfielder Marco Rivera chipped a ball over Bulldogs’ defenders into the goal box, which forward Sam Kruse was able to run down. Kruse beat goalkeeper Austin Moskal to the ball and punched it in.

Although the last 20 minutes were nerve-wracking, the Tigers’ defense was airtight, and Central defeated Wauconda, 1-0, in their IHSA Class 2A Kaneland Regional opener Wednesday. Central (15-8-1) meets Antioch in the championship game at 4 p.m. Friday. The Sequoits beat Kaneland, 6-0, in Tuesday’s other first-round game.

“It was like a water pump,” Tigers coach Jay Schwarzrock said. “We pumped and pumped and pumped and we finally got it in. You’d like to see them perform to the level you know they can and have that water come out quicker.

“I thought we controlled the game, but it wasn’t enough. We made reactions too much rather than being proactive.”

Central outshot Wauconda, 11-3, and had many more chances than the Bulldogs. Just before Central’s goal, however, Wauconda’s Trevor Stellweg had an opportunity when he got behind Tigers goalkeeper Tom Breen. Sweeper Scott Krollman recovered to knock the ball away before Stellweg could shoot on the open net.

“Defensively, I thought we played pretty solid,” Krollman said. “In the first half, we had some struggles, but we picked it up. We could have been up by more. A 1-0 lead can be scary, especially the last 15 minutes.”

Rivera was about 15 yards over the midfield line when he plopped the ball over Wauconda’s defenders for Kruse to chase down.

Central has enjoyed a resurgent season after posting a 3-13-3 record last year, tying Johnsburg for second in the Fox Valley Conference Fox Division.

“This was one of our better years,” Krollman said. “We’ve had a nice turnaround season this year and had a chance to win conference.”