Bernie Conley leads Hinckley-Big Rock to regional title

Updated: October 15, 2011 8:56PM

Hinckley-Big Rock vs. Somonauk is a high school soccer equivalent of Michigan-Ohio State only with different shades of blue.

It’s almost par for the course for the two Little Ten Conference rivals to meet twice if not three times a season, so records or tournament seeds seldom matter. That was the case again Saturday as the Royals (12-8-3) avenged two earlier losses with a 3-0 shutout that gave them their first regional crown in eight years. It also ended a 13-match win streak for Somonauk (16-4-2).

Seeded third, Hinckley-Big Rock posted a 5-1 semifinal win over regional host Aurora Central Catholic and turned a 0-0 first-half draw into the kind of victory that negates a pair of 4-1 losses to Somonauk in the regular season and the LTC tourney semifinal.

“We knew coming in it would be hard for them to beat us three times, especially now that we have a full team,” said junior Bernie Conley, who assisted on the Royals’ initial score and then added his 47th and 48th goals of the season to bring his career total to 94. “We weren’t going to let our seniors down.”

Conley assisted Zach Michels on the Royals’ first goal of the match.

“When Bernie took it toward the corner I got to the middle, so he slotted it through to me and I made up my mind to score,” said Michels, whose sixth goal for the year was his first in a second half. “I think it really helped get us going and the tempo swung our way.”

Royals coach Paul Taeuber agreed the goal was pivotal, particularly since Somonauk goalie Dan Reiss made a phenomenal save just five minutes into the match on Conley when a penalty kick was awarded the Royals.

“It really started with Zach controlling the ball, making a move to turn to his left and get a good strike,” Taeuber said. “The difference is in the will to win. They keep talking about what I did yesterday, which was to show them a clip from ‘Braveheart,’ to believe in the cause.”

The Royals showed their confidence eight minutes later when Jared Madden’s cross found Conley in the clear for a seven-yard finish. With 17:55 left to be played, Andrew Klambauer set up Conley for a booming 18-yarder from the left wing which sailed inside the right post netting.

Having lost three of its top four scorers and several other letterwinners from 2010, a three-game losing streak to start September had Somonauk with a 3-3-2 early season record and some wondered if the Bobcats could deliver their traditional double-digit victory, single-digit loss record that has become a trademark under 11th-year coach Dave Erasmus.

Then came the 13-match win streak that put them into the regional title game.

“It’s just very, very difficult to beat a quality team three times in a season,” Erasmus said. “When we started the year, we didn’t know what to expect, but things began to click for us because this is really a great bunch of kids. I can’t thank the seniors enough for their effort, patience, and heart. It sounds cliché, but they really will be missed.”

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