The sun goes down as the bright white lights turn on and light up the stadium. Rain pours down onto the field as the boys varsity soccer team steps to warm up against Crystal Lake South High School. The wind begins to pick up as the rain makes it colder. The crowd is on the edge of their seats, waiting for the game to begin. They huddle up, giving each other words of encouragement while jumping up and down to stay warm.

Huntley High School kicks off and is already off to a good start. They are loud and fast-moving the ball between Crystal Lake South. However, Crystal Lake South is fighting back and keeping Huntley on its toes. As time goes on, Huntley is looking for a play to get it to the forwards. Between passes, South steals the ball and is heading toward an out goal. Suddenly, midfielder Brendan Lewis takes the shot and scores the first point against Huntley.

The crowd is feeling the pressure to score. Huntley is tense and working to get the ball back onto their side. They do not let the goal affect them and continue to fight back. A simple pass back to Micah Overly as he sees a run in the middle. He creates a long ball pass into the air as Zachary Heitkemper uses his head to finish the ball into the goal. Making the score 1-1.

Soon enough, the halftime buzzer goes off as the teams run in. The rain is pouring down on them as Coach Lewandowski and Coach Regan discuss what they are seeing on the field and what they need to improve. South is loud and anxious to get a goal.

The second half starts. Huntley is stronger than ever, taking more and more shots on the goal, hoping to get one in. South’s head coach, Brian Allen, is screaming across the field, trying to get his team organized while Huntley is passing and turning around their players to get the goal.

The time ends. The score is 1-1, but it can not end there. A new time goes on the clock, 10 minutes, as the teams run together for a game plan. The stands are on the edge of their seats, waiting for the clock to start. They break, and the game energy is bigger than ever. Huntley and South are neck and neck.

With four minutes remaining, South crosses the ball from the outside as midfielder Nicolas Velasco shoots it into the bottom right corner. The game ends right then as South tackles Velasco in excitement. The score ends with Crystal Lake South winning 2-1. The parents cheer out with happiness.

“I think we saw a lot of positive moments. I think we have seen a bunch of things that we were hoping to get fixed and worked out,” Coach Regan said.

The team reflects on the game thinking of what they succeeded at and what they need to improve.

“I feel we need to just keep our heads up like not getting down on ourselves,” senior Zachary Heitkemper said.

While discouraged from the loss, Huntley keeps their heads up, hoping to work harder and show out for the next game on Oct. 13 against Woodstock North High School.