Coach turns out to be 'a prophet'

Stevenson High School soccer coach Mark Schartner repeatedly told his team to be wary of Deerfield's ability to score from set pieces during Saturday's Buffalo Grove Regional final.

Then in the 114th minute of a scoreless contest, the No. 5 seed Warriors ended the No. 4 Patriots' season with a free kick. It happened when Deerfield's Joey Glass served a 50-yarder into the box and teammate Hooman Shams was there to head it past Stevenson keeper Ian Soos. Deerfield advanced to this week's Lake Zurich Sectional.

"We talked at the beginning that the only chances this team is getting is on our fouls and our dead balls and that we had to stop doing that," Schartner said. "I hate being a prophet. But the reality is that (most) of their chances were off dead balls. Give Deerfield credit, we had a lot of serves into the box today, as well and we didn't have that kind of chance."

Stevenson (12-5-2) created many more chances throughout the contest. The Patriots even put one in the back of the net shortly after halftime, but it was waved off for offside.

The Patriots' best chance to score in the overtime seemed to be during the third of four 10-minute sessions, when its two top players, Ross Dickson and Colin Pekovitch, joined forces on the frontline. Pekovitch played on the backline for much of the rest of the afternoon.

"(Schartner) put Ross and I up front when we had the wind because he knows Ross and I work well together," Pekovitch said. "We could have done something big. We just got unlucky, we didn't put any balls in the back of the net today."

Fatigue may have been a factor in both teams' lack of finishing, after each had gone to overtime in the previous round. A bumpy pitch negated both teams' skill and turned the contest into one more about effort and commitment.

Pekovitch believed Deerfield may have shown a slight edge in those categories.

"I give (Deerfield) credit. They played real well today," he said. "They came out to play. I think they wanted it maybe a little bit more than us."

The Patriots had defeated the Warriors during the regular season, and Pekovitch had not lost to Deerfield in five previous matchups. The defender/forward wondered if his team may have been guilty of taking its opponent a little lightly.

"I think we overlooked them a little bit because we beat them earlier this year," Pekovitch said. "That also makes them want to beat us a little more. Maybe we got a little cocky. It could have happened."

Pekovitch and Dickson once again starred for the Patriots, each at opposite ends of the field. Sam Polzin turned in his usual workmanlike effort and Spencer Hartung and Sam Claver both provided a lift off the bench.

Stevenson will say good-bye to 11 seniors. But that does not mean next year will be spent rebuilding. Some expected the Patriots to struggle this year after several key departures, including superstar Stefan Antonijevic. But that was hardly the case.

"I think we had a pretty good year. Nobody thought we were going to be as good as we were. I think 12 wins is pretty good," Pekovitch said.

Schartner agreed, saying that on their day, the Patriots could be a top-class side.

"I think we deserved exactly what we got as far as record-wise," the coach said. "I think this team is a 12-5-2 team. I think they proved they deserved the seed they got this year. I think they proved they are one of the top teams around here and they could have beaten anybody this year."

RECAP: Stevenson opened the postseason with a 2-1 overtime victory over Crystal Lake Central on Wednesday. John Watrach scored the game-winner in the second overtime off a pass from Steven Johnson. Pekovitch scored the other goal.