Undefeated Comets to play Elks for conference title
By Kevin Cunningham
Correspondent
After starting the season 18-0, the Delavan-Darien High School boys soccer team entered the Sothern Lakes Conference tournament as the top seed.
The tournament is set up so the top four teams play each other and the bottom four play each other as well.
To reach the final, the Comets had to defeat Waterford Oct. 6. Opening up the game, Waterford took the early lead against the No. 1-ranked, undefeated Comets.
Six minutes after the early goal, in the 17th minute, Gerardo Rodriguez scored on a goal assisted by Tigrio Huerta. Two more Comet goals ensued, and, entering the half, the top seed led, 3-1.
After halftime, the Comets extended their lead, scoring two more and eventually winning 5-1. Huerta finished the game with two goals and one assist. Goalkeeper Ricardo Huerta recorded two saves in the game to help move the Comets to the conference championship game against the Elkhorn Elks.
“We played a good game possessing the ball,” Comets head coach Mike Marse said. “Early we made two mistakes in a row which cost us a goal.”
Elkhorn defeated Badger 2-0 in the other semifinal to move on. The Elks went 7-1 in conference play during the regular season and have an overall record of 11-1-4 compared to the Comets’ 8-0 record in conference and 19-0 overall record.
In the two teams’ only match-up this season, the Comets won 3-0. Because of how the conference’s rules are set up, if the Comets lose to the Elks, they tie for the conference title. If they win, Delavan-Darien will win the title outright.
“We just need to play the way we have all year,” Marse said. “(We need to) play our style and not Elkhorn’s.”
The game was scheduled for Tuesday at Delavan-Darien High School.
