LC's Urquiza takes 'direct' route to win

Font Size

Email

Bookmark

Black Text

White Text

HIGHLAND -- Lake Central's Fabian Urquiza saw the opening and made sure he took advantage.

The junior forward's direct kick with 15:03 remaining gave the Indians a 2-1 lead and paved the way to a 3-1 win over Highland on Monday night.

"In practice last Saturday, assistant coach (Drew) Kiernan went over that situation,'' Lake Central head coach Jereme Rainwater said. "He said if the (goalie) didn't get set right away, or he goes to the post real quick, then try to take advantage of that. It paid off for us.''

Urquiza didn't hesitate. When he saw Highland goalie Mike Anderson turn his back for a second or two, he made sure he caught the Trojans off guard and put the ball in the net.

"I thought, why not?'' Urquiza said. "I grabbed the ball when I saw the opening. I figured

I'd take a chance. It felt so good.''

Lake Central's Cody Barnes scored an insurance goal with 43.1 seconds left to ice the game for the Indians (2-1) who overcome a 1-0 deficit and strong defensive play by the Trojans.

"This game was a lot harder than we expected,'' Urquiza said. "We didn't think they'd come out as strong and as fast-paced as they did.''

The Trojans (0-3) made a 1-0 lead stand up until Lake Central's Nick Miljevic tied the game, beating Anderson with 19:32 remaining.

Anderson made 12 saves for the Trojans, including several critical stops from point-blank

range.

"I think this was our best game,'' Highland coach Mirko Maric said. "It seems like we're moving in the right direction. The effort was definitely there tonight. I was proud of these kids. They hung in there. I got at least three good quarters out of them.''