Junior forwards Oliver Longosz and Dino Valenti provided the spark for No. 8 seed St. Charles North during Tuesday night’s IHSA 3A boys soccer regional semifinal match against No. 9 seed McHenry at Huntley High School.

Longosz led the North Stars with two goals, while Valenti scored and dished out a pair of assists as St. Charles North shut out McHenry 4-0 to reach the regional finals for the 11th time in 12 years. The North Stars (9-6-3, 3-2-2 DuKane) will take on No. 1 seed Huntley, which eliminated No. 16 seed Jacobs with a 6-0 shutout victory in the first semifinal match Tuesday.

“I think it was our runs into the middle,” Valenti said. “We were picking our heads up, finding the player and making the runs. That caused us to score our goals. We were finding the ball down the line and getting crosses in. The game plan was to high press from the start, and I thought we really executed that. We pressure their players and we forced turnovers. That led us to win.”

After two quality shots on goal in the first 10 minutes, St. Charles North broke through during the 19th minute, when Valenti rolled a grounded cross from the left wing into the box, where Longosz finished to put the North Stars up 1-0. McHenry goalkeeper Mason Bertone made a key stop after a defensive turnover nearly led to another North Star goal in the 25th minute.

“We were moving the ball really good and we were moving off of the ball too,” Longosz said. “We all have confidence going into each game. I just played the way I always play and I treated it like every other game. I did my thing. The game plan was to end the game early, and that’s what we did.”

Longosz earned his brace in the 29th minute, converting a pass from sophomore midfielder Max Dzioban, who carried the ball through the teeth of the Warrior defense before dropping the ball off for Longosz to score. The North Stars continued to attack in the 35th minute, taking a 3-0 lead after junior midfielder Wicho DelaPaz finished a inswinging cross from Valenti.

“I thought St. Charles North did a really good job of being aggressive and looking to shoot,” McHenry head coach Adam Bronars said. “I thought we got out of our rhythm really fast and we never really got back into it. Every time they picked the ball up, they tried to be dangerous and they were dangerous. We had trouble dealing with that and staying organized.”

Just seconds before the halftime buzzer, St. Charles North extended its lead further, scoring on a long-range shot from Valenti. The tall junior forward blasted a ball toward the net that bounced high off the turf and over the hand of Bertone, who ended the match with five saves for McHenry (10-7-2, 3-5-1 FVC). North Star goalkeeper Tomas Makishima also had five saves.

“We’re always trying to work together regardless of the score,” Bronars said. “What can we do, when the score is 1-0 or 2-0, to keep it that way and get into halftime 1-0 or 2-0? I think that’s the biggest lesson for us.”

While McHenry provided more pressure in the second half, the Warriors were unable to break through. McHenry was one of three Fox Valley Conference teams in action at Tuesday’s regional. The others were Huntley and Jacobs, who squared off in the first semifinal match, with the Red Raiders winning 6-0. Junior midfielder Tyler Murray scored three goals to lead the attack.

“I was a little nervous going into this one,” said Murray, who suffered an injury during an FVC match against Hampshire and didn’t play in Huntley’s 1-0 loss to Elk Grove on Saturday. “I sat out Saturday, but I got the green light to play at 100% and I was so hyped. Right before the game, I knew it was going to be the game. I put the first two in and it felt so good.”

Only moments after Jacobs midfielder Jackson Foley threatened to score with a run toward the Huntley net in the 14th minute, Murray gave the Red Raiders a lead in the 16th minute, cashing in after a well-placed cross from midfielder Cody Hammer. Sophomore forward Liam Caddick headed the cross toward the net and despite Jacobs goalkeeper Oskar Nowikowski making the initial save, Murray found position in the box and headed in the deflection.

“We know what we can do and this is the first season where we feel we can go far,” Murray said. “It’d be amazing to win a regional, especially a three-peat. I got called up my freshman year, so being in that environment and also playing in the regional last year, it’d feel amazing if we can pull it off.”

A crisp through ball in the 22nd minute led to another goal by Murray, who outraced two Jacobs defenders and booted the ball into the net to give the Red Raiders a 2-0 advantage. Huntley carried its two-goal lead into the second half, where a foul on midfielder Max Connell in the 44th minute led to a penalty kick for Murray, who successfully completed his hat trick.

“In the first half, it was a pretty good battle,” Jacobs head coach Colin Brice said. “Huntley’s a tremendous team that ran the table in the conference and they’re a tough matchup for us. I’m proud of our boys for a solid season. It was a good experience for our youngers guys to see a team like Huntley, a team that has a lot of seniors and plays a solid brand of soccer.”

The floodgates opened from there, as senior defender Oliver Sutyniec put in his first varsity goal in the 48th minute, when his free kick from near the midfield line soared toward the net and bounced over Nowikowski’s head. Up 4-0, Huntley iced its victory with back-to-back goals from defender Noah Gomez in the 70th minute and forward Daiven Trivedi in the 71st minute.

“From the start, it was about communication,” Sutyniec said. “We’re always talking and covering each other in the back. We knew they had fast guys on the wing and a good striker who could shoot from far, so our job was to close them down fast so we could win the ball back. It’s my first year on a high school team, so it felt good to get my first goal from the midfield line.”

Nowikowski totaled eight saves for Jacobs (5-13-3, 3-5-1 FVC), which placed three shots on goal for the match. Senior goalkeeper Ethan Knaus collected three saves for the Red Raiders (13-2-3, 9-0 FVC), who are seeking a third straight regional title.