Allen’s challenges made South strong

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Most coaches knew Crystal Lake South’s girls soccer team would be solid this season.

The Gators were led by 10 seniors – all experienced – and had a difficult schedule designed to expose weaknesses early.

But for South to do as well as it did during the regular season surprised many, and it was, in part, because Gators coach Brian Allen challenged his players to perform at a level higher than even they thought they could.

South maneuvered its way through the prestigious Pepsi Showdown as a non-seeded team and knocked out No. 13 seed Maine South and No. 4 Lyons Township before losing to seventh-seeded Barrington in an overtime penalty-kick shootout.

Although the girls were individually talented, Allen made them collectively dangerous.

For his leadership on the field and for guiding the Gators through a surprising season, Allen is the Northwest Herald Girls Soccer Coach of the Year as selected by the sports staff with input from local coaches.

“They made huge noise in that showdown,” Huntley coach Kris Grabner said. “Brian did a great job with that team. He had a good game plan coming into every match and got them to play very good soccer.”

The senior leadership, Allen said, keyed the wins and the team’s success.

“This team was just a special group,” he said. “We had that senior core with tremendous leaders, and I knew those players could take this thing and just run with it. They bought into the family concept I was trying to create.

“I knew we had the potential to do very well, but this team never ceased to amaze me.”

South finished second in the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division, going 8-2 with both losses coming to Huntley, and bowed out to Cary-Grove in the IHSA Class 3A Jacobs regional final. South beat the Trojans twice during the regular season.

The Gators finished 17-8-2, with its losses coming to teams that were a combined 100 games over .500.

“One of the best things about this group was that every time they lost, they set a new goal for themselves,” Allen said. “They didn’t focus just on playing soccer. They focused on making memories at the same time. The way they handled themselves all year was just very impressive to me.”