LA SALLE – Soccer is a game about taking advantage of the chances you have.
The Streator Bulldogs found that Tuesday, as a late Brady Grabowski strike helped the Bulldogs advance to the Class 2A La Salle-Peru Regional title game after a victory over the host Cavaliers.
Friday night it was a different story against top-seeded Orion, which took advantage of first- and second-half chances and weathered a second-half Bulldogs storm and a 77th minute free-kick goal by Landon Muntz to come away from the La Salle-Peru Sports Complex with a 2-1 win and a trip to the Peoria Notre Dame Sectional.
“Streator is a good side,” Orion coach Rick Cline said. “You don’t get to the regional title game without some quality. We knew they had some good athletes and that we had our work cut out for us.”
The first half looked promising for Streator, as it outshot the Chargers 8-2 (13-7 for the game). The Bulldogs’ chances were there, but they weren’t going into the back of the net.
A 12th-minute shot by Grabowski sailed high above the goal. But the senior was undeterred, as he grabbed a steal in the midfield that led to a Streator counterattack. His shot was saved by Orion keeper Bob Johnson in the 14th minute.
The Chargers got on the board in the 35th minute when a cross came in from the left wing and found senior forward Alyus Johnson for the game’s first goal.
The offenses opened up a little more in the second half. It was Johnson who used his speed to break away and slot the ball home for his second goal of the game and make it 2-0.
It looked like Grabowski was about to get Streator’s first goal with seven minutes left, as he rocketed a shot from the left wing, but it went wide of the target. Muntz was able to pull one back in the 77th minute, as his free kick bent into the top-left corner of the goal outside of the stretched reach of Johnson.
“We got a free kick outside the 18-yard box,” Streator coach J.T. Huey said “Landon put a good strike on it, and it went in. He has been doing that all season.”
Despite the loss, Huey was proud of his squad.
“These kids have made it to two regional championships in a row, and that is saying something,” Huey said. “It says that Streator soccer is something to contend with in the area.”