LEMONT | This was a hard pill to swallow for the Crete-Monee soccer team.
The Warriors took a 3-0 lead into the half at the 2A Lemont Sectional semifinal only to watch Bremen score four second half goals and force overtime, in a game that was played over two days due to extreme weather.
In the extra period, the Braves scored a quick goal to move on to Friday's sectional final. Carlos Posada had one goal and one assist for the Warriors in the 5-4 loss.
"It was a tough loss," Warrior coach Julian Lagunas said. 'We had the momentum for a while and then kind of lost the momentum and they were very opportunistic and put their chances away."
After the Warriors took an early 2-0 lead Tuesday evening, the match was delayed because of weather. On Wednesday, the Warriors were able to pick up right where they left off when Posada scored a late first half goal to give the Warriors a 3-0 lead. But the second half would be all Bremen.
After the Braves stormed back with two goals within two minutes to cut the Crete-Monee lead to 3-2, Tyler Skafgaard found the back of the net for the Warriors to reopen a two goal lead.
"It's a heartbreaker," Skafgaard said. "We blinked first and that's what decides the game, who blinks first. I can't ask for a better group of people to play with. I love these guys. They're my teammates and my friends."
The rest of the evening though would belong to the Braves. Bremen scored two goals in the final thirteen minutes of a penalty plagued second half, and the constant stoppages seemed to suck the life out of any type of Warrior momentum. At times, numerous yellow cards and time stoppages slowed the pace to a crawl.
In the overtime period, Bremen took a free kick just to the left of the Crete-Monee box, and on a loose ball in front of the Warrior net, Bremen was able to punch it in and move on to Friday night's sectional final against host Lemont.
"It was unfortunate to lose the game in a situation where the ref made a bad call," Lagunas said. "There was plenty of opportunities where we could have put it away. It doesn't come down to one play. We had our chances. We should have put them away."
Please Wait…