Grayslake Central’s Mitchell Fein was an unlikely hero Tuesday night.
The junior midfielder entered the Class 2A Grayslake Central Supersectional with just three goals this season.
“I’ve been struggling scoring all season,” he said.
But Fein nearly matched his season total in one game.
Fein scored on a penalty kick in the first half and added an insurance goal midway through the second half to lift the Rams to a surprisingly easy 3-0 victory against Notre Dame.
“It’s crazy to score two,” he said. “It feels so good.”
Grayslake Central (18-1-3), which will play Glenwood (19-3-2) in the state semifinals at Hoffman Estates at 3 p.m. Friday, topped the Dons (16-6-1) in the supersectional for the second straight season.
This time the Rams, who finished fourth in 2A last season, took a different approach to winning: less drama and more goals. They beat Notre Dame 1-0 a year ago, with Danik Marynevych scoring in the 69th minute. Fein had the assist on that goal.
“That was crazy assisting the goal in last year’s supersectional, but scoring two goals in a supersectional is crazy,” Fein said.
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With the top-scoring Marynevych sidelined with a season-ending knee injury — and fourth-leading scorer Cameron Paul out as well — the Rams have needed to rely on other players for goals.
It was Fein’s turn Tuesday. He scored his first goal after the Dons were called for a hand ball. He drilled his penalty kick into the far left post in the 13th minute for a 1-0 lead.
He later gave the Rams a cushion when he scored on a shot from 10 yards out, sneaking the ball into the net just inches inside the post, in the 61st minute.
“Mitchell is paying lights-out,” Grayslake Central coach Keith Andersson said. “Just him and Nick (Molochnikov) are solid on the outside. He’s dangerous, cuts in and can use that left foot. He has great speed and skill with the ball and is great in the air.”
The Rams also were buoyed by the return of Prince Trawick to the starting lineup. The sophomore midfielder sat out the past two games with an illness. He showed some rustiness in the first half but recovered to score a goal in the 69th minute to make it 3-0.
“At first, I took a bad touch, so I figured I might as well hit it, and I didn’t even see it hit the back of the net,” Trawick said. “It felt amazing to score.”
Grayslake Central got typically stellar play from its back line and goalkeeper Uriel Garcia-Perez, who made two saves. The Rams have not allowed a goal in their five postseason games. The Dons had scored 15 goals in their previous four games.
“Everybody contributed,” Andersson said. “Uriel has the four in the back who are a wall. His job is very boring when he has a solid back line.”
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.