Saxons take down Royals

Members of the Larkin soccer team walk off the field Saturday at St. Charles North after being upset by the host North Stars in a Class 3A regional final.
SHAUNA BITTLE | Staff Photographer

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STREAMWOOD -- Poof.

And just like that a promising season came to a sudden end for third-seeded Larkin on Thursday night in the final of the Streamwood Class 2A Soccer Sectional at Millennium Field.

Click to enlarge image

Larkin's David Rodriguez tries to hold off Schaumburg's Josh Beard (top) during Thursday's match at Millennium Field.
(Tyler Stoffel/Special to The Courier News)

Eighth-seeded Schaumburg broke a scoreless tie -- and the hearts of the Royals -- with the golden goal in the third overtime. Junior Mark Czarny headed a ball off the fingertips of Larkin goalkeeper Raziel Somarriba and into the back of the net following a centering pass from the right side to the far post by junior Wesley Hollis.

"I knew it was going to happen sooner or later," Czarny said. "(Hollis) was making things happen all night."

Hollis, called by Larkin defender Fernando Alvarez the "best (forward) I've seen all year," indeed kept the Larkin defense on its toes the entire evening with his quickness and dribbling skills. However, it was his precision pass in the 108th minute that the Royals will remember most.

"I should have had it," Somarriba said. "It was a nice play by them, but I had a chance at it."

The loss cost the Royals a chance at school history by denying the program a date in the super-sectional for the third time, including the second straight year.

"They left it all on the field and that's all I can ask," Royals coach Ken Hall said. "In all my years coaching I've never seen this many guys crying. This was an emotional one and a tough one to swallow."

Larkin (17-6-4) had its fair share of chances, including two prime opportunities in the second overtime. On the first attempt, Royals junior Raul Sandoval sent a shot straight at Saxons goalie Jordan Sandburg after a pass from senior David Rodriguez.

Three minutes later, with 2:01 showing on the clock, a 21-yard free kick by junior Danny Hinterlong was corralled by Sandburg after finding an opening through the Saxons defense.

"We had the momentum in the second half and in the overtimes," Alvarez said. "We had chances. They just got lucky and scored on their best chance.

"I just feel bad for our seniors."

The heart-breaking defeat spelled the end for five seniors on the Larkin roster, including regulars Rodriguez, Steven Drew and Edgar Mondragon.

"I can't explain what it feels like to have your season ended so suddenly," said Rodriguez, who had scored in Larkin's three previous postseason matches. "Everything we've worked so hard for went down the drain just like that. They got one lucky break and they got us."

For the match, Larkin held an 8-6 edge in shots on goal.

"We had a couple of chances that just went wide, but I thought it was a fairly even match throughout," Hall said. "Neither team had any real clear shots on goal. Both defenses were outstanding."

Schaumburg, which needed four overtimes and penalty kicks to get past Lake Park 1-0 on Tuesday in the semifinals, advanced to play Rockford Boylan on Monday in the DeKalb Super-Sectional.