R-B girls struggle in soccer regional final

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LAKE VILLA – When Richmond-Burton’s girls soccer team was staring at a two-goal deficit late in the first half of the IHSA Class 2A Lakes Regional championship game Saturday against the host Eagles, Rockets coach Sina Vidic believed his team was in a good spot.

The Rockets had battled back from an early three-goal deficit, and Vidic hoped sophomore Hannah Condit’s goal at the 3:58 mark would propel the offense.

“I thought, ‘OK, maybe we can come back and put some pressure on them here,’ ” Vidic said.

But the Rockets wouldn’t get the jump-start they were seeking, and Lakes emphasized why it is a perennial state contender 13 seconds later. Senior midfielder Alex Neal dribbled the length of the field to score the Eagles’ fourth goal – all but putting the game away – and Lakes won its second consecutive regional title, 7-1.

“I thought that fourth goal broke our backs a little bit,” Vidic said.

Condit’s goal, off a free kick from the top of the box, was the Rockets’ first shot on goal of the game. Lakes (20-6) had controlled the tempo and forced R-B (14-11-2) to play according to the Eagles’ plan, which proved difficult for the Rockets to solve early.

Lakes fed the ball up top to the corners, keeping it wide and then crossing in front of the net.

The Eagles executed the formula flawlessly for their first three goals – all scored in the first 13 minutes of the first half.

Once the Rockets realized they were seeing the same script unfold repeatedly, they tried to adjust and change their shape, but they struggled to stop Lakes on the long ball.

“Once we get rolling, it’s hard to stop us,” said Neal, who recorded a hat trick to bring her goal total to 34 this season. “That happened here against Antioch (on Tuesday in a 9-0 regional semifinal victory). It was 6-0 within the first 20 minutes.”

R-B junior goalkeeper Rachael Johnson kept R-B in the game early, stopping six Eagles shots in the first half and 13 total.

“It was hard today,” Johnson said. “A lot of the goals that were scored were because people weren’t marked up, and there is only so much I can do, so it was a hard game.”

The Rockets battled injuries this season and had to adjust to those changes within the lineup. All things considered, Vidic said his first year as coach was a good learning experience for R-B, which is loaded with sophomores and juniors.

“I think we’re a little better than what our record showed, and next year we’re going to come out and really do some things,” Vidic said.