Speed sets Huard apart among Mustangs

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In terms of scoring options for the Munster boys soccer team, Anthony Huard is just one of the guys.

But there is something that sets the junior midfielder/forward apart from the pack. You can see it when he takes off downfield and leaves everyone in his wake.

"His speed is unbelievable," said Mustangs coach Jim Prasopoulos, whose team plays Harrison in Saturday's Crown Point Semistate semifinals. "He's one of the fastest players I've ever coached."

Huard came up big in Munster's 3-0 regional final win over Lake Central last Saturday, scoring twice to help the Mustangs return to the semistate for the second time in three seasons.

But he freely admits someone else could have played a starring role had circumstances been different.

"Our team is not very selfish," Huard said. "We're always looking for the other players."

"We have kids that understand (the need) to share the ball," Prasopoulos said. "We really don't have any kids on the team with more than 15 goals. We're not dominated by two or three guys."

Still, Huard does tend to stand out in Munster's balanced offense thanks to feet that are both fleet and versatile.

"I've always favored my left foot," he said. "Now, since freshman year of high school, Coach has been (pushing) me to use my right foot. He's always yelling at me."

Don't get the wrong impression, though. Prasopoulos is very happy to have Huard on his 17-1-1 club.

"He came in with a skill set already that would allow him to be a varsity player as a freshman," the coach said. "As he gets older, he's learning more and more about the game."

And Huard is also learning about setting the tone for his teammates.

"He leads by example of what he does," Prasopoulos said. "He's got great effort in practice. (The other players) have tremendous respect for Anthony as a player and as an individual."

The Harrison game will be a rematch of a physical 2006 semistate contest that Munster lost 2-1 on a late goal.

Prasopoulos isn't playing up the revenge factor.

"We are happy to be in the position we are in," he said. "It doesn't matter who the opponent is. The kids are excited and they want to move on. We're going to learn as much as we can about Harrison and be as prepared as we can."

But Huard and his teammates are aware of the back story for this game.

"We kind of look at it as a chance to redeem ourselves," Huard said. "We had lost in the last couple minutes of the game. We would like to prove ourselves this year."

Boys outlook

Crown Point Semistate

Schedule: Saturday, Mishawaka Marian (13-6) vs. LaPorte (8-11-1), 10 a.m.; Munster (17-1-1) vs. West Lafayette Harrison (13-6-1), noon; championship, 7 p.m.

Outlook: Let's start with surprising LaPorte, which pulled off a stunner against Valparaiso in a regional final. The Slicers are the only sub-.500 team remaining in the tournament field; in fact, no other team has more than six losses, and both reside in this semistate, in Mishawaka Marian and West Lafayette Harrison. One would suspect LaPorte would be the underdog against Marian, making its first semistate appearance since 2000. But then again, one would have suspected the Slicers wouldn't have advanced through either sectionals or regionals, yet emerged with the program's first title each time. So who knows? What we do know is that one of these teams will become a first-time semistate champion. And it could be once-beaten and No. 17 Munster, making its second appearance in three seasons after downing Lake Central in regionals to avenge its only loss of the season. The Mustangs actually lost to Harrison 2-1 in the 2006 semistate semifinals on a goal with a little more than a minute left. It was a physical game that included five yellow cards on Munster and four on the Raiders, and ended with a Munster player apparently hitting a Harrison player. After getting upset by Crawfordsville in regionals last season in penalty kicks, Harrison is making its third semistate trip in four seasons, having finished as the runner-up in both '05 and '06.

Next: Winner vs. North Central Semistate winner in state semifinals, 11 a.m., Nov. 1, Kuntz Stadium, Indianapolis

Girls outlook

Valparaiso Semistate

Schedule: Saturday, Culver Academies (16-0-1) vs. Penn (15-3-2), 9:30 a.m.; Lake Central (16-1-4) vs. Chesterton (13-6), 11:30 a.m.; championship, 6:30 p.m.

Outlook: This is the stage of the season Lake Central has been waiting for. The Indians are making their fourth straight semistate appearance -- they have 10 regional titles overall -- but haven't won it since 2005, their second trip to the state finals. Last season, Lake Central advanced to the semistate final before losing 2-1 to Penn on a pair of controversial goals, the second coming in overtime. Chesterton is making its first semistate appearance since 2002, when it won its third straight championship. The Trojans are riding the momentum of their regional victory over Valparaiso, winning on penalty kicks on the sixth shooter after tying the score in overtime while a player down because of a red card. Lake Central defeated Chesterton 3-0 on Sept. 16. Penn is the defending semistate champion, and has reached this level three of the last four seasons, also losing to Lake Central in the '05 final. The Kingsmen also won the title in 1996, beating the Indians. Culver Academies has advanced to the semistate for the second time, after 1998. For what it's worth, Lake Central finished the regular season ranked No. 6 in the state, Penn No. 12 and Culver No. 20.

Next: Winner vs. Fort Wayne Snider Semistate winner in state semifinals, 9 a.m., Nov. 1, Kuntz Stadium, Indianapolis

-- Michael Osipoff, Post-Tribune staff writer