Royals strike late, edge Lake Park

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ELGIN -- With a recent loss to Upstate Eight Conference foe Neuqua Valley already in its pocket, Larkin knew it couldn't afford to drop another league match if it still wants to entertain serious thoughts of collecting at least a share of the program's first conference title this season.

Ironically, the Royals still hold out hopes of winning the UEC crown thanks in large part to Lake Park -- Tuesday's opponent. The Lancers beat Neuqua Valley 3-2 a couple weeks ago. Since then, Neuqua Valley has rattled off impressive victories against St. Charles North, Larkin and Streamwood and now look like the team to beat.

"If you take Lake Park lightly you are really stupid," Larkin coach Ken Hall said. "This team has a goal to win conference so we needed this, obviously. It was a big game for us."

Once again, Lake Park would prove to be no pushover against another tough opponent. The Lancers (9-4-2, 2-2-1 UEC) snuck in a goal 25 seconds before halftime to take a 1-0 lead against Larkin (12-1, 2-1). They appeared to at least be on their way to earning a tie as the final minutes ticked down with the score tied at 1.

Appearances can be deceiving.

Larkin scored the game-winning goal in the 78th minute after senior Michael Beruquin located senior Raul Sandoval streaking down the center of the field for a dramatic one-touch goal -- and an important 2-1 victory on homecoming night at Memorial Field.

"Absolutely, we didn't want to tie," said Sandoval, who now has an area-best 15 goals this season. "There were less than three minutes left (1:24) and all we wanted to do was get a win.

"(Beruquin) was trying to cross (the ball) the whole game and finally I got one. Right there it was all about quickness. Whoever got the ball first wins it and that's what I did."

Larkin tied the match early in the second half when Beruquin and Sandoval got together for the first time on the evening. On this sequence, however, Sandoval did most of the work after receiving a pass from Beruquin on the left side. With a defender on his hip, Sandoval unleashed a rocket shot into the lower-right corner of the net from nearly 20 yards out.

"Raul had two great passes from (Beruquin) tonight and he finished them both," Hall said. "At halftime I told Raul I needed him to shoot a bit more from the outside. On that first goal he scored tonight the (goalie) didn't even have a chance."

For the match, the Royals (12-1, 2-1) held an edge in scoring chances, including a 9-3 advantage in corner kicks and an 8-3 difference in shots on goal. The Royals missed a handful of legitimate scoring chances in the first half, including close misses by Luis Moldonado and Danny Hinterlong.

"I think I jumped out of my (lawn) chair seven times when I thought we scored in the first half," Hall said. "We just had to keep going and concentrate on finishing. We are confident in our ability to score. If we get down a goal we don't panic. We know we have a lot of firepower and we can put the ball in the back of the net."