Rochester boys soccer uses hot start, stingy defense to win 2A regional title over SHG
Rochester coach Chad Kutscher emphasized a hot start, and his team delivered.
Rochester senior Brayden Trello scored in the first two minutes and the defense stymied host Sacred Heart-Griffin the rest of the evening in a 1-0 victory in the 2A regional final at Ken Leonard Field.
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The Rockets (16-5) advance to their home sectional semifinal against Mahomet-Seymour, which defeated Champaign Centennial 3-1 in its regional final. They play at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
“I think we did everything that we wanted to do, except putting in more goals,” Kutscher said. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter.
“I’ve told the kids, if you end up with more goals than they do or more penalty kicks than they do, you move on. It doesn’t matter.”
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Sophomore Brenden McArdle assisted to Trello inside the penalty area. Trello was initially stuffed by a defender but quickly regathered the ball before knocking in the goal.
“It was a phenomenal ball from him and just to be able to get on the inside of that defender,” Trello said. “It was just great work right off the bat – just high intensity and it caught them off guard.”
Rochester overcame Warrensburg-Latham 5-3 on penalty kicks following a scoreless tie in regulation and double overtime to reach the regional final.
“I really got to give so much credit to the defense, especially on these 1-0, 2-0 games,” Trello said. “Scoring that early and having to hold out the rest of the game, that takes a lot of effort from everybody on the field, especially the defenders. I thought they did amazing.”
SHG wound up with a 7-12-3 overall mark.
The Cyclones featured just one senior on the roster and weathered a couple of key injuries over an extended stretch during the regular season, according to coach Mike Lindsey.
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Those injuries included juniors Tom Davis and Thomas Garst — the former returned just in the nick of time for the playoffs.
“The kids have come a long way,” Lindsey said. “It’s been frustrating for me, but it’s been a lot of fun because I get to teach the young kids. It’s a little different from the last couple of years where I didn’t really have to teach, I just managed and it was more tactical of what we were trying to do. This year, we’re just learning how to play the game and play with each other.
“I think they’ve grown a lot. They’ve done a lot of work and I can’t say enough about those guys, I’m really proud of them.”
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: IHSA boys soccer: Rochester dashes SHG with early goal in regional final
