It’s the IHSA Regional Final in boys soccer as the number one-seeded, Naperville North Huskies, take on the number eight-seeded Plainfield East Bengals at Plainfield North High School. The Bengals defeated their rivals Plainfield North 2-0 in their regional semifinal, while the Huskies shut out Batavia 4-0. The winner will face the Romeoville Spartans in the IHSA sectional semifinal on Wednesday. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
The Huskies strike first
Throw in for the Huskies as defender Niko Ladas launches this one into the box. Sam Hess is able to get a foot on it to tap the ball into the back of the net. The Huskies strike first and take a 1-0 lead early in the first half.
It’s a free kick for the Huskies, and Hess decides to play this one short. Noah Radeke passes to Jaxon Stokes, who looks for Hindo Allie but his shot goes wide of the net. The Huskies were that close to extending their lead by two.
The Bengals are up with a free kick chance, and Yandel Reyes blasts this one towards goal, but Huskie goalkeeper Jack Bouska punches the ball away. The Bengals get another crack at it as Joseph Dicosimo gets to it. He goes for goal, and Bouska punches the ball away from danger once again.
Corner kick for the Bengals and Juan Pablo Escobar sends this cross into the 18, and his teammate Ben Basta goes for the header, but it sails over the crossbar. The Huskies still lead 1-0 going into halftime.
Naperville North moves on to the sectional semi-finals
The Bengals turn the ball over and Allie comes up with it, as the Huskies go on the attack. He finds Juan Carlos Hernandez, and he delivers a nice pass to Stokes, who rips his shot towards the goal. Goalkeeper Michael Parent makes a huge save to keep the Bengals in the game.
The Bengals push forward to get an equalizer, and Basta fights his way past a few Huskie defenders but his shot on net goes wide.
Plainfield East’s Kevin Tchoffa goes for the long throw and the Bengals go for the header, but Huskie goalkeeper Bouska can clutch this one for the save.
The Huskies offense gets going as Josh Pedersen sends a solid cross down field. Andrew Hebron flicks the ball to Radeke and gives the ball to Stokes. His shot gets deflected, but it lands on Hebron’s foot, and he slots it into the back of the net to put the Huskies ahead 2-0 late in the second half.
The Bengals still not giving up as they continue to push to get back into the game. Trey Atkin finds Reyes, who pulls a nice spin and passes it to Basta. He fights to get open and blasts his shot, but Bouska once again steps up for another clutch save for the Huskies.
The Huskies hang on for a 2-0 win in the IHSA Regional Semifinal against the Bengals. They will move on to the IHSA sectional semifinals on Wednesday as they take on the four-seeded Romeoville Spartans.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!
