Girls soccer notes: Richmond-Burton eyes more after winning back-to-back KRC titles

Richmond-Burton didn’t celebrate clinching its second straight Kishwaukee River Conference title after it took down Harvard, 7-0, on Monday.

The Rockets instead focused on what’s next.

“We’re looking at a group that’s maturing in front of us and is laser-focused on the next game,” Richmond-Burton coach Casey DeCaluwe said.

The Rockets (15-1-1, 9-0 KRC) remain focused on their goal of reaching state this season after losing in the final minutes of their supersectional match last year. They knew each match this season was set in place to prepare them for what they hope to accomplish this postseason.

Richmond-Burton played larger teams in Class 2A and 3A during the nonconference portion of its schedule to see different styles of soccer, including playing in – and eventually winning – the Round Lake Tournament.

“They came back focused with that being their No. 1 goal: getting to state,” DeCaluwe said. “They knew doing all of the little things throughout the year makes that road easier.”

The Rockets finish the regular season Friday against Belvidere before starting the postseason Tuesday against either Woodlands Academy or Schaumburg Christian in the Class 1A Cristo Rey St. Martin Regional.

Cary-Grove still growing together

After losing several key contributors to graduation after last season, Cary-Grove has spent much of this spring learning how to effectively work together.

It’s a process coach Ray Krystal said is still ongoing with the Fox Valley Conference race winding down and the postseason looming.

“We continue to look at the details of things that we can keep improving,” Krystal said. “How do we work with each other? It’s a group that still has progress to make because it’s about how do they learn how to work with each other.”

The Trojans sit half a game behind Crystal Lake Central for the FVC lead – C-G has one conference match left while the Tigers have two. Dundee-Crown is a full match behind Crystal Lake Central with one match left to play.

The Tigers will play Prairie Ridge on Tuesday and can win at least a share of the conference title with a win against the Wolves or they can win the title outright with a win and Cary-Grove loss to Hampshire. Crystal Lake Central will close out its conference slate against Burlington Central on May 13.

While the Trojans continue to grind and learn how to play as a team, they have enjoyed this spring’s experience.

“We also want to have fun,” Avery Nielsen said. “This is a lot of fun for us all, and I think when we’re having fun and working for each other, we’re very successful. I think that’s going to help us when we’re going for that conference championship.”

Huntley’s scoring woes

Huntley has struggled to score goals after a strong start to the season.

That was the case against Cary-Grove on April 28 when the Red Raiders were shut out for the fifth time this season.

“It’s self-inflicted,” Huntley coach Matt Lewandowski said. “We’ve got a lot of people that are trying to do too much, and they’re capable of doing that, but at some point you can only fit a square peg in a square hole or a round peg in a round hole. We’re just forcing it, and it’s not happening.”

After starting the season with a scoreless tie against South Elgin, Huntley won, 6-0, against Larkin in its second match and scored four or more goals twice in its next five matches.

Huntley (6-6-1) has scored 23 goals in 13 matches, averaging 1.7 goals a match, but has scored one goal in its last three matches, losing all three matches.

Lewandowski is still working on how to fix the issue, but he knows the Red Raiders have grown more frustrated as the scoring woes have continued.

“We need to figure out our communication and our roles and go back to the beginning when we weren’t frustrated, having fun and everything was free-flowing,” Lewandowski said.

Class 2A, 3A postseason schedules announced

The IHSA announced the remainder of the upcoming postseason schedules for Class 2A and 3A.

In Class 2A, Crystal Lake Central earned the No. 1 seed in a subsectional in the Freeport Sectional. Cary-Grove (No. 2), Woodstock North (No. 3), Crystal Lake South (No. 4), Burlington Central (No. 6), Prairie Ridge (No. 7), Woodstock (No. 8) and Harvard (No. 9) will all play in the same subsectional.

Harvard and Woodstock start the postseason against each other May 13 in the Crystal Lake South Regional quarterfinals. The winner of that match plays Crystal Lake Central on May 17 in one of the regional semifinals, while Crystal Lake South and Prairie Ridge square off May 18.

The Crystal Lake South Regional final is set for May 20.

Cary-Grove plays Burlington Central in one of the Burlington Central Regional semifinals, while Woodstock North and Sycamore play each other in the other. Both semifinals take place May 17, and the final is May 21.

Both Freeport Sectional semifinal matches are May 24 in Freeport, and the final is May 27.

In Class 3A, Dundee-Crown earned the No. 3 seed in the Round Lake Sectional. Hampshire (No. 5), Jacobs (No. 6), Huntley (No. 7) and McHenry (No. 8) all will be in the Round Lake Sectional.

D-C plays Grant on May 17 to start action at the Dundee-Crown Regional, while Jacobs plays Guilford on May 18. The winners meet in the regional final May 20.

Huntley plays Round Lake on May 17 to start the Huntley Sectional while McHenry plays Harlem on May 18 in the Auburn Regional. Hampshire starts the postseason against DeKalb in the Hampshire Regional on May 18. All regional finals are May 20.

Both sectional semifinals take place May 24, and the final is May 27.

The Class 2A and 3A state final tournaments are June 3-4 at North Central College in Naperville.