The Huntley varsity boys soccer team beat undefeated conference rivals Crystal Lake South 5-1 on Thursday night. The win moved Huntley to 11-5-1, whereas Crystal Lake South’s loss moved them to 10-5-4.

This game was one of the most important games of the season for Huntley, since Crystal Lake South was undefeated in conference with a 3-0 record coming into this game. Meanwhile, Huntley entered the game 1-3 in conference with an overall record of 10-5-1.

The game was delayed for an hour due to a lightning and rain.

At the beginning of the first half, both teams were sloppy because of the wet turf caused by the rain a few hours earlier. However, as the game went on, Huntley picked up their game and midfielder Travis Walsh scored the first goal six minutes into the game.

After that goal, Huntley started dominating the ball more and was controlling the whole field, with great passing and team play leading to goals by midfielder and captain Michael Zembrzuski from outside the box and also by midfielder Max Walsh from a header assisted by Alessandro Vergara.

But as Huntley gained full momentum, CLS scored five minutes after the third goal by forward Nikolas Getzinger.

As the second half started, Huntley’s defense was excellent and that would stick with them for the whole game.

“Our defense was rock solid,” said left back Alex Ligeza. “We had our moments but overall they didn’t really have anything going for them and we shut them down.”

The defense even had their part in scoring, with defender and captain Kyle Carberry scoring a goal 10 minutes into the second half. Huntley followed with a goal from midfielder Jason Zobott. Huntley dominated the game after the goal by Zobott, and the final score was 5-1.

Head coach Kris Grabner was very pleased on how his team played and is looking forward to the coming games.

“It was a great win, and I am very proud of my team but honestly we deserve to be 3-0 in conference,” said Grabner. “We just always need to have our heads high and keep our momentum for regionals and sectionals.”

Huntley’s next game is Tuesday at home against McHenry.