Rockets fly past IMSA

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:18PM

Saturday night's championship of the Burlington Central Class 2A Regional will probably be a defensive battle.

That's because the finalists may have exhausted their offensive weapons in capturing Wednesday's semifinal matches. Host Burlington Central (16-4-3) advanced via a 7-2 romp over the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (3-17-1) while Marmion Academy (13-5-6) used a big second half for a 5-1 triumph over Aurora Central Catholic (8-12-0).

In the opener, regional favorite Burlington Central scored just 1:53 into the contest and Alejandro Nava registered his second goal to go with an assist to fuel the Rockets' 6-0 halftime lead.

IMSA surprised the hosts with Evren Dogan's goal 3:33 into the second half, but then Burlington Central negated that with another Nava goal four minutes later. Robert Shurz completed the scoring for IMSA.

"They won the toss and used the wind to their advantage and were obviously faster than us," IMSA coach Jim Mueller admitted. "I still believe we've come a long way this season and I'm pleased with the effort the kids gave me."

In the second contest, ACC's Chargers took a 1-0 lead after 7:56 thanks to Shane Samuels' 21-yard blast of a direct free kick. Mike Frasca got an equalizer for the Cadets thanks to a Mick Maley assist within five minutes. Then Joe Romanos added a six-yard strike nine minutes before halftime for a 2-1 lead and then scored again 10 minutes after intermission. Goals by Maley and Juan Pablo Jasso in a 1:17 span midway through the second half put the win on ice.

"First I'm pleased that we controlled the flow of the game, even against the wind," Marmion coach Kevin O'Connor said. "It's a credit to the way we possessed the ball. We had a lot of chances in the opening half, but in the second half we put the focus on putting the ball on net and got three goals. And finally we got everyone some playing time."

Saturday's final constitutes a rematch of a 2-2 tie between Burlington Central and Marmion from the St. Charles East Invitational earlier this season.

"We've made a lot of strides this year, but we still haven't learned how to win," ACC coach Mike Bond said. "Our ball skills improved and I'm very pleased with our work ethic and attitude, I think it all bodes well for the future."

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