Prep soccer: Garcia's goal leads Sycamore to win against Kaneland, No. 1 seed in I8 tourney

SYCAMORE – Not all wins are created equal, but they all count the same.

That’s what the Sycamore soccer team will be telling itself after grinding to a 1-0 win over conference rival Kaneland, a win that cemented the Spartans as the No.1 seed going into the Interstate Eight tournament.

After a scoreless and relatively nonthreatening first half, the Spartans started aggressively to open the second half, putting most of their pressure on the left side of the field. For the most part, senior Knights defenders Gavin Cano and Tyler Chapman successfully turned back the hosts’ advances until a corner kick caused chaos in the Kaneland box.

Alec Garcia found himself in the center of the box with space to shoot, and the sophomore’s unassisted attempt ricocheted off the underside of the bar for the game’s only goal.

“I was following the ball,” Garcia said. “But I was in the right spot at the right moment. At the right time, too.”

Kaneland (9-6 overall, 6-1 conference) ramped up its pressure after the goal, but multiple injury-related stoppages all but stalled its frantic momentum.

“There was a couple of bruises on the way,” Garcia said. “But we had some time in the locker room, we played through the pain and got the win. We have to step up and be stronger than the other team. Our mentality has to be much higher on the pitch.”

Sycamore (10-3-1, 7-0) did have a few scares throughout the match, as junior forward Miles Guiborat limped off halfway through the first half and junior defender Jackson Binder went down near the close of the half after a collision. Yellow cards were handed out to both teams, with Cano nearly receiving a second after levelling Garcia and midfielder Joseph Quinn within minutes of each other.

Kaneland coach Scott Parillo had no shortage of praise for the Knights’ mentality, as the players maintained a physical press defense late into the second half.

“We played hard,” Parillo said. “It could have gone either way, and it went their way. You know, I’ve been doing this long enough. You’re going to have games like that. It wasn’t gonna be an easy game, and we knew that. They got one in. We didn’t get one in.”

For the Knights, unable to score despite some cohesive sequences in build-up play, the positives began at the back. Even after conceding a goal, Sycamore coach David Bachta had praise for Kaneland’s goalkeeper, Maison Kerl.

“Their keeper had a tremendous game today,” Bachta said. “[He] made some really nice saves coming out. He was a big kid, and he was being big.”

By the numbers: The Knights, despite taking a variety of shots from both open play and set pieces, failed to record a single shot on goal after the first 20 minutes of play.

Beyond the box score: Sycamore keeper Jacob Sears had a highlight ofhis own when he sprinted out of goal to swallow a through ball, narrowly grabbing it before Kaneland’s Tucker Jahns could get a touch.

They said it: “I don’t think he really got it true,” Bachta said of Garcia’s goal. “He kind of spun it off the side of his foot, but hey, you get it on net and these things happen.”

What’s next: The teams enter the Interstate Eight tournament as the No. 1 (Sycamore) and No. 2 (Kaneland) seeds. The tournament begins Tuesday.