Trevians' big second half sinks Neuqua

If New Trier was trying to make a statement as to why it is and should have been regarded as the area’s top boys soccer team all season, the Trevians did just that to start the second half Friday night in Naperville.

Leading 1-0 over No. 2 Neuqua Valley in semifinal action of the Class 3A state finals, New Trier  wasted no time extending that cushion with less than two minutes into the final half.

Ryan Foreman (12 assists) found Kyle McCrudden (22 goals), and the latter headed home the first of his two second-half goals. That not only turned out to be the knock out punch, but it also secured the Trevians’ spot in Saturday night’s title game with a 4-0 victory at North Central College.

New Trier (20-1-1), which is ranked No. 6 in the ESPNRISE.com national poll, is looking for its second title in three years when it takes on Edwardsville (24-4) at 8 p.m. on Saturday. The Tigers knocked off Rockford Boylan 1-0 in the other semifinal.

“That was a huge goal,” Foreman said. “After we got that one, we knew this game was ours.”

Matt Strauss got the Trevians on the board with 23 minutes to play in the opening half when his one-timer beat Neuqua Valley goalie Jack Turancik.

After Foreman’s first assist helped make it 2-0, the senior set up New Trier’s third goal. Foreman hooked up with Michael Alpogianis, who drilled home his third goal of the season with 15 minutes to play.

McCrudden closed out the scoring with 10 minutes to play, marking only the second time that Neuqua Valley (21-5-2)  allowed four goals in a game this season.

“A lot of people said this was the state-title game,” Foreman said. “We knew this was going to be big, and we wanted to make a statement. But I don’t think anyone of us thought we’d bury them like this.”

Nick Marshall’s goal with less than 20 minutes to play was the difference for Edwardsville, as the Tigers improved to 11-0 in one-goal games and ran its winning streak to 14.

“That was my first (career varsity) goal,” Marshall said. “They were running hard at us a lot, but we did a good job defensively.”

Edwardsville is in search of its second state crown in the program’s sixth state finals appearance. Under coach Mark Heiderscheid, the Tigers have advanced to the title game in two of three appearances, winning it all in 2000 and finishing second in 2001.

“After we won it in 2000, I wasn’t sure if I would ever be back in this position,” Heiderscheid said. “This will now be the second time that we’re back, and hopefully we make the most of it.”

Back in September, Edwardsville lost 4-1 to Naperville North, which lost twice to Neuqua Valley this fall. That bodes good for New Trier – at least on paper.