Boys State Soccer: Sandburg places third
By Patrick McGavin For Sun-Times Media November 3, 2012 11:24PM
Sandburg's captain's with the trophy vs Lincolnshire's (Stevenson) (00) at the IHSA 3A 3rd place and 4th place game and Sandburg came 3rd place with 1-0 win held at Lincoln-Way North Frankfort, Illinois on Saturday, November 03, 2012. | Larry Kane~For Sun-Times Media
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Updated: January 3, 2013 1:27AM
Zack Biel made the final one count. By his own account, it was one of the easiest ones he ever had.
The star Sandburg senior scored his 25th goal of the year in the 58th minute, smashing back a ball that deflected hard off the near post on a shot by Kevin Kroll and the Eagles rode to a 1-0 victory over Stevenson to capture third place in the Class 3A state tournament at Lincoln-Way North on Saturday night in Frankfort.
“We came out with a lot of intensity the whole night,” Biel said. “We didn’t want to take fourth. On the goal, Kevin took a great shot off the post and it just was right at my feet. I just tapped it into the net.”
The Eagles (19-5-3) made a sharp reversal from last year, where as a No. 1 seed in the sectional they were stunned by Providence in a first-round regional.
“It’s good that didn’t happen to us as seniors,” Kroll said. “That would have been a horrible way to go out.”
Eagles senior midfielder Justin Siriann controlled the ball after Stevenson cleared a corner. He made a perfect pass that Kroll caught in perfect stride.
“It was a great pass,” Kroll said. “I was thinking about crossing it at first. I was in the box. I had a good angle. I just took a shot and it hit the inside post.”
In his second year directing the program, coach Desi Vuillaume was thrilled by his team’s aggressive play. Sandburg dominated possession time and put relentless pressure on star keeper Quentin Lowe of Stevenson (18-6-1).
“The kids had a definite chip on their shoulders coming into the state tournament and you saw that throughout,” Vuillaume said.
