Taft suffers heartbreaking loss in City semis

Taft's spectacular run through the City playoffs came to an with a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to Lane Tech in the semifinals at Jorndt Field on Tuesday.

While the defeat was the first blemish for an Eagles' team boasting a 17-1-1 record, head coach William Angel focused on the many positives.

"This was the best game our guys played this year," Angel said. "It's our only loss this year but it was our smartest game. We played great defense, we were disciplined and I was so happy with how these kids played."

For much of the game, Taft controlled the pace and in doing so was rewarded with numerous scoring opportunities. But a couple of shots that went high, and some great stops by Lane Tech goalie Grzegorz Gaczol, kept the Eagles off the scoreboard as the game went to halftime tied at 0-0.

The Indians finally got on the board with 21:46 on a scoring play that seemingly developed from nothing. Lane's Emanuel Guzman brought the ball up the left side of the field, and as the Taft defenders flocked to him he placed a perfect cross at the feet of Henry Gomez on the right side. Gomez one-timed a shot to the lower left corner past Taft goalie Robbie Garcia.

"The guy we were focused on (Guzman) had a breakaway and our guys went to go cover him just like I told them to," Angel said. "He just had a beautiful pass and their guy was on the outside post waiting for it."

While the Eagles found themselves in a 1-0 hole, it was almost erased in 45 seconds. Senior midfielder Aleksander Radjenovic took a pass on the left side and went for a header but Gaczol made a great save to preserve the lead.

Taft continued to ratchet up the intensity over the final 20 minutes and they had some good scoring opportunities. But a couple of bad passes and nervous shots kept them off the scoreboard and sealed the win for Lane.

"We had a lot of shots but we just got unlucky," said senior midfielder Arturo Vera. "Usually, our forwards are very good. They just weren't able to finish their shots."

Senior midfielder Peter Gwozdz said, "It's a hard loss but we played a good game. We controlled the game most of the time but we just couldn't finish. And we made one mistake on defense, and that was the game."

While the loss was tough for the team to handle, there was a lot for the Eagles to be proud of. Taft competed in the Second Division, which is considered a less competitive conference than the Premier or First Division.

The Eagles put together quite a playoff run, reaching the semifinals of the City playoffs and giving one of the Public League's most storied soccer teams a real run for its money.

"We played the best game of our lives and it's OK, we have to move on," said Taft senior sweeper Arlind Kociu. "This was the furthest we've made it in my four years on varsity. It's been a really good season and we'll see (Lane) again."

That rematch with the Indians was scheduled for Tuesday in the New Trier Regional. Lane Tech was awarded the No. 8 seed while Taft was seeded 10th. The regional title match is set for 4 p.m. Saturday.