Score one for the Chicago Public League.
Public League soccer champion Foreman proved that good soccer can be played in city as the Hornets shut out New Trier 2-0 to win the Class AA Amundsen regional title Thursday afternoon.
It was major step for the Public League, which persuaded the IHSA to drop the automatic qualification to the state finals for its conference team champions last spring.
Mariusz Boron scored the game’s first goal on an assist from Adnan Ejupovic with 21 minutes 50 seconds left in the game. Foreman scored an insurance tally when Krystian Kucharski banged one home from 20 yards out with 6:05 left.
Foreman goalkeeper Ricky Rocha made 20 saves, including two in the final five minutes of the game. Hornets defenders Omar Hernandez, Ernesto Flores, Victor Gregorio swarmed New Trier (14-2-8) all day long.
“Our defense just got in New Trier’s way all game long,” Foreman coach Jim Kasper said.
“They never let New Trier do exactly what they wanted to do on offense.”
The Hornets advance to Saturday’s Glenbrook North sectional semifinals, where they meet Glenbrook South (10-8-5), which knocked off Glenbrook North 3-2 on Peter Sandman’s goal in overtime.
Foreman, which defeated Farragut 3-2 in the Public League title game Oct. 17, was the last Public League team to win a game at the state tournament back in 1996, so the Hornets had some history on their side.
“I don’t think at any time we were intimidated by New Trier,” Kasper said. “We just wanted to come out and play a good soccer match.”
Sandburg: Unassisted goals from Tim Kopec and Nick Kwiatek helped top-ranked Sandburg (21-1-2) blank Stagg 2-0 to give the Eagles their ninth straight regional title. Stagg finishes the year at 13-8-2.
St. Charles East: Chad Markuson scored on an assist from Anthony Buti with 8:15 left in the first half to lead No. 2 Geneva (20-1-3) past St. Charles North 1-0.
Morton: Tommy Gentry scored on an assist by Ricardo Flores as No. 3 Morton (19-0-3) defeated Oak Park 1-0.
Evanston: Troy Nightengale scored twice as No. 4 Evanston (16-1-8) defeated Niles West 4-1. Kiel Mosley and Jeremy Reilley also had one goal apiece for the Wildkits.
Waubonsie Valley: Danny May scored twice and Nick DeNicolo had a first-half tally as No. 5 Waubonsie Valley (20-4-1) shut out Batavia 3-0.
Willowbrook: Chris Vitale scored a goal and assisted on Chris Meckes’ goal as No. 8 Benet (17-7-2) defeated Wheaton North 2-0. Mike McInerney had six saves for Benet.
Palatine: Ryan Congalton, Josh Wittenberg, Brett Fuko and Omar Arias scored as No. 9 Palatine (19-2-2) defeated Fremd 4-0. It was Palatine’s first victory over Fremd (11-9-5) since 1995.
More Top Picks Best White Noise Machines For Sleep
Grayslake: Rafael Dos Santos scored in the 10th minute as Antioch (11-11-2) defeated Carmel 1-0 for its first regional title since 1993. Patrick Witwicki made 14 saves for his fifth shutout of the year.
Lake Forest: Lake Forest (15-2-6) defeated Highland Park 1-0 after winning the penalty-kick shootout 5-3. Lake Forest goalkeeper Ryan Bene made eight saves for the shutout, while Will Rockey made 14 saves for Highland Park (14-7-3).
It was bittersweet victory for Bene, whose father is Highland Park’s coach.
“I think I’m 9-0 in shootouts, going all the way back to 8th grade,” Bene said. “My dad knows what I can do in shootouts, but I watched [Highland Park] yesterday in their shootout, so I knew their moves.”
Lake Park: Matt Perille made the winning penalty kick in the shootout as Maine South (13-6-5) edged Lake Park 1-0. Lake Park (16-5-2) had a chance to win in the first overtime, but Vince Revak fired a shot that skimmed off the crossbar.
Lincoln-Way Central: Craig McIntosh and Joe Banach each had two goals as Lincoln-Way Central (13-10-1) downed Andrew 5-1.
Lincoln-Way East: Neil Lucchetti scored two goals as Lincoln-Way East (15-9) beat Eisenhower 4-0.
Hoffman Estates: Nick Cosentino scored three goals as Conant (18-3) held off Hersey 4-3 in a physical game marred by four yellow cards and a red card.
Cosentino’s second goal in the 30th minute put Hersey ahead 3-0, and his third goal, on an assist from J.J. Comiskey, put the Cougars up 4-1 before Hersey rallied. Steve Brust scored two goals in the final 12 minutes, including one on a penalty kick, but the Huskies ran out of time.
Mundelein: Ryan Miller scored two goals and freshman Pat Hopkins had the other as Barrington (17-5-2) shut out Warren 3-0.
Crystal Lake South: Tomasz Laszczkowski scored as West Aurora (14-9-1) defeated Crystal Lake Central 1-0.
Naperville Central: With the game locked 2-2 after two overtimes, Naperville North outshot Downers Grove North 6-5 in a shootout behind Jack Abe’s deciding penalty kick. Nick Romano scored in the first half and Matt Romano tied the game 2-2 for Naperville North (14-7) with 15:08 left in the game. Garrett Olsen and Mike Corvo scored the goals for Downers North (10-9-4).
Niles North: Gustavo Oquendo scored off Chris Brisch’s feed as Niles North defeated Loyola 1-0.
Mt. Carmel: Pedro Gutierrez made the decisive penalty kick in the shootout as Kelly defeated Argo 1-0. Kelly goalkeeper Miguel Cruz made 16 saves for the shutout. Argo is 19-1.
St. Ignatius: Farragut (15-4-1) defeated St. Igantius 2-1 as Jose Palafox scored both goals, including the winner with 3:13 left.
Girls volleyball
Aurora Central Catholic: Amy Palash had nine kills to go with MacKenzie Murnane’s eight kills as No. 8 St. Francis (29-8) defeated Wheaton Academy 15-5, 15-2 to win the Class A Aurora Central regional title.
Peotone: Junior Erica Bruxvoort had 13 kills as Illiana Christian (22-14-1) defeated Peotone 15-8, 11-15, 15-2.
Timothy Christian: Kristen Kirch had seven kills and eight assists as Montini (22-9) defeated Immaculate Conception 15-8, 15-5. The Broncos turned the tables on their Suburban Catholic rivals, gaining revenge on Immaculate Conception, which ended Montini’s season the last three years.