Lincoln-Way North blows by Bogan

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:18PM

With his team not having played in a week since the regular-season finale, Lincoln-Way North boys soccer coach Mike Murphy knew anything could happen in Wednesday's playoff opener.

But after a solid week of practice led by his seniors, Murphy was confident his Phoenix would come out on top.

Playing on its home field and aided by three first-half goals, Lincoln-Way North rolled to a 6-1 victory over Bogan in Wednesday's Class 3A regional semifinal in Frankfort.

"Where you usually have a couple of bad days of practice, we had some really good days of practice," Murphy said. "I looked to the seniors and said, ‘You're in charge. This is your last hurrah.' We beat each other up in practice, and that's what you need, to realize this is the end if you lose."

Lincoln-Way North (16-7-1) advances to the regional championship at 7 p.m. Friday against Brother Rice, a 2-1 winner over Bloom Township.

Six different players scored Wednesday for Lincoln-Way North, starting with Chris Harvey's goal 12 minutes into the first half.

Off a Kyle Purtell corner kick to the far post, Harvey headed the ball in the air and placed it in the top right corner of the net past Bogan goalie Jacob Lang.

Osvaldo Salazar gave the Phoenix a two-goal cushion with 12:34 left in the first half. Dribbling away from the Bogan net, the freshman forward turned and blasted a shot from 30 yards out. The ball found the net at the far post past a surprised Lang.

Lincoln-Way North capped the first-half scoring with just over five minutes remaining after a Joe Hegazin free kick. Purtell gained control of the ball in the air and tapped it in on the left side as the Phoenix went up 3-0 heading into the half.

The constant Phoenix attack kept Bogan on its heels, holding the Bengals to one first-half shot.

"We've been working on getting a few more opportunities on the offensive end," Murphy said. "The last few games we had a lot of 1-0, 2-1 games in overtime, so we wanted to get a little more offensively."

Alex Arias, Marc Hein and Mark Moody added second-half goals for the Phoenix.

Bogan (5-13-2) got on the board on an Omar Flores shot from 40 yards out late in the second half.

"We played very well, and it's a nice way to start the playoffs with a convincing win," Murphy said.

CLASS 3A LINCOLN-WAY NORTH REGIONAL

Brother Rice 2, Bloom 1: Giovanni Valdez's goal midway through the second half enabled Brother Rice (11-9) to earn a spot in the championship. Valdez also assisted on a goal by Joel Andrade. Jorge Garcia scored for Bloom Township (12-9-1).

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