Lemont ends Washington's soccer season

LEMONT | Maybe a weather delay is the only thing that can slow Crete-Monee down.

The Crete-Monee Warriors jumped out to an early 2-0 lead over the Bremen Braves before weather suspended the second match of the Class 2A Lemont Sectional. Freshman Fernando Aguirre scored the first goal a little more than five minutes into the match on a loose ball in front of the Bremen goal. The game will continue at 5 p.m. today with 27 minutes remaining in the first half.

In the first semifinals match, Washington lost to host Lemont 1-0. Washington was without two of its starting defenders, and despite many opportunities at the Lemont goal, the Patriots were unable to score and force the game into an overtime session.

Crete-Monee scored its second goal of the match just three minutes after Aguirre's. Brandon Hickey shot one into the net with an assist from Ryan Sadowski. The Warriors showed some early nerves and were at risk of getting behind early, but less than a minute in, a Bremen shot connected with the crossbar and deflected away from the Crete-Monee goal.

The Warriors were able to hold off the Bremen attack and take the lead only minutes later.

"We're not overconfident," Warriors coach Julian Lagunas said. "It's still early. We know things can happen. We're going to continue to do our thing and keep working. I think the kids were a little timid to start the game so this might give them a chance to relax."

Regarding the delay, Laguna said, "I don't think it will have a huge effect on us. We've really been focusing on the mental aspects of soccer so I think we're going to be OK."

With the 2-0 lead, the Warriors may be able to change their game plan slightly before they pick up where they left off, but Lagunas is confident his team still is solely focused on Bremen.

"We're just focusing on Bremen," Lagunas said. "We have a chance to kind of think about where we're at right now. It's a very positive situation to go into, being up 2-0 with a lot of game to play. We're focused, and the kids are still excited."