Washington soccer headed to Class 2A state title game, shatters Rocks in state semis
- Jonathan Michel
- 2 minutes ago
- 2 min read
HOFFMAN ESTATES — Washington boys soccer entered the Class 2A State Finals without any state experience.
That made no difference to the Panthers, who made Friday’s state semifinal match against Rock Island look easy, winning 4-2 and dominating the contest throughout.
Washington (29-1-1, 6-0-1 Mid-Illini) had two opportunities in the first seven minutes, but broke through shortly after when senior John Clift curled a corner kick into the box, which bounced around and found the back of the net for his 12th goal of the season
Rock Island nearly tied the game with just under seven minutes in the first half off a beautiful, athletic bicycle kick from Lawson Zulu, who scored both goals in Rock Island’s 2-1 win over Dunlap in the Class 2A sectional finals. However, the kick hit the top of the crossbar to keep the deficit at one goal.
Clift set up another score off a corner with 1:53 to go in the first half when his ball found the left foot of Jackson MacGregor, who powered it with his left foot into the top shelf for his 11th goal of the year.
Hudson Scrivner put the game away early in the second half with two goals within the span of 76 seconds. On his first, he broke away from several Rocks defenders and scored with 33:29 to go. Shortly afterwards, senior forward Isaac Reetz set up Scrivner with a shot that bounced off Rock Island’s goalkeeper, leaving Scrivner to tap it into the net with the back of his foot for his 44th goal of the season at 32:13.
The Rocks, also making their first-ever state appearance, broke through on a goal from Jonas Cortez on an assist from Zulu with 12:12 left in the second half. The goal broke Washington’s shutout streak of six games. Zulu beat several Panthers along the sideline for a goal at 3:09, but the Rocks' further efforts in desparation fell short.
Washington will play the winner of Chicago De La Salle and Streamwood in Saturday’s Class 2A state championship at 4:45 p.m.
This story will be updated