Varsity Soccer |

GAME SUMMARY

Tonight’s game was the opening game of the 2017 “Barrington Classic” Tournament; due to geographical proximity, as well as several players from BHS & LZ being club teammates, this game was set up to be a hard fought and tight contest.  It did not disappoint.

Lake Zurich entered the game with a 3-0 record, with quality wins over St. Viator, Jacobs and Vernon Hills.  As a result, our Broncos were ready for a great contest and another chance to see where we stand at this early point of the season.

Our Broncos started the match well, carrying possession and creating some quality chances.  Lake Zurich also managed to show their quality with some skillful midfield play, and some near perfect connections with their trio of front runners.  Thankfully, the back line of Noah Sebens, Nathan Patterson, Charlie Frank and Connor Delahunt were quick footed enough to cut off the Bears attempts to get in behind.

Our boys took the lead in the 28th minute when Michael Blanke stripped a ball off of a LZ player, darted forward with a few aggressive touches, and fired a driven shot into the far post of the Bears goal!  The goal validated some excellent sequences for our squad, and gave the entire squad a nice lift of energy and confidence.

The second half came to a close with the score remaining at 1-0.  At halftime, we discussed eliminating the unnecessary fouls we were committing which were allowing the Bears to deliver free kicks into our box.  We also explained how critical it would be for us to respect their aggressive attempts at penetrating slotted passed between our lines and especially through our back four.

Sixteen minutes into the second half, we doubled our lead on a fantastic whipped-in service from Enrico Ruffolo found the head of Connor Delahunt, who had wiggled all the way into the back post, coming from his right back position.  Delahunt’s first attempt clattered off of the LZ keeper, but right back to his head allowing him to nod in the second try.  It was a gritty and well deserved goal for Delahunt.

At the night’s end, we managed to attempt 13 shots at the Bears net, while only facing 7 against ours.  We played well, and our boys should be proud of this outcome.  Lake Zurich is a quality side and this performance was definitely our best of the season so far.

Way to go Broncos!  YNWA!!

SCORING RECAP

BHS – Michael Blanke (UA) — 28th minute
BHS – Connor Delahunt (Enrico Ruffolo)  — 56th minute