Calistri, Deerfield advance to sectional final

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Deerfield's Spencer Brailov (left) heads one away from Grayslake Central's Isaac Longenecker (lower right) and teammate Leland Pew (upper right). | Michael Schmidt~Sun-Times Media

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Updated: November 28, 2011 8:48AM

Joey Calistri scored twice in 35 seconds, Deerfield scored three times in a six-minute span of the first half, and the Warriors went on to rout Grayslake Central 4-0 on Tuesday in the semifinals of the Class 2A Lakes Sectional.

The Warriors (18-5-1) will face Lakes (14-9-1) at 11 a.m. Saturday for the title and a berth in the Elite Eight super-sectional at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb at 7 p.m. next Tuesday night.

Grayslake Central finished 9-12-1.

Jason Kayne scored on a grounder from 35 yards in the 25th minute of Tuesday’s match to break the scoreless tie. Calistri then tallied in the 30th and 31st minutes to effectively end the competitive phase of the game. Calistri completed his hat trick with a goal on a free kick in the 66th minute.

He now had 37 goals on the season.

“We’re playing great as a team to create the chances that I put in,” said Calistri. “But it doesn’t matter who scores, as long as we score and we win.

“Our midfield has been amazing. They’re creating chances and they’re taking advantage of them.”

Calistri’s first goal was unassisted. He stole the ball in the corner of the box, dribbled toward the frame and fired a shot that bounced off Rams keeper Steve Anderson’s hands and went into the twine.

The next time Deerfield touched the ball, Andrew Sloan made a long pass to Calistri running up the middle of the field. He took it at the top of the box and fired a rocket past Anderson.

“As the season went on and we got some more experience, we calmed down and played with more confidence, but we’re not overconfident,” Calistri said. “We know we’re capable of coming out and playing great soccer. We have to show it.”

Deerfield keeper Josh Norris made four saves to earn his 11th shutout of the season.

“As the year’s gone on, Josh has gotten more confident,” said Deerfield coach Elliot Hurtig said, “and we’ve developed a real nice rhythm with our defense. Leland Pew dominates in the back. He shuts down guys. He doesn’t get any attention because he’s not finishing (scoring), but he’s been really, really solid back there.

“I give our guys credit. It wasn’t our smoothest game. We weren’t always in rhythm, but we fought through it and got goals. I think our rhythm was a bit off because we’ve been playing so many games on the (artificial) turf. When you switch to grass, the ball tends to get stuck at your feet. A five-yard pass is not quite getting there. I think that frustrated our guys a little bit.”

On the other side, Grayslake Central coach Mike McCaulou was pleased to be playing in a sectional.

“We were flat for about seven minutes, but I’m proud of the kids,” he said. “The possession was good. We had probably five good chances. They’re great kids … they’ve worked hard … they’ve progressed. Our schedule was very tough and that prepared us for regionals.

“We played Round Lake, Libertyville, Cary-Grove … those are quality opponents. I think people were surprised to see us come out of the regional, but it didn’t surprise us.”

Regional final: Sure, the Joey Calistri Show marches on. The Warrior star collected two goals against Vernon Hills on Friday to bump his season total to 34.

Yet Deerfield is emerging as a team with a multi-faceted offense. The proof came in a 4-0 victory that wrapped up an IHSA Class 2A Deerfield Regional title.

“We’re playing better team soccer,” Hurtig said. “More guys are scoring, because we’re passing the ball so well.”

The other contributors against the Cougars were Miles Beauseigneur (goal), Jason Kayne (goal), Eric Gilbert (assist) and Ryan Kaplan (assist). Goalkeeper Josh Norris earned his ninth shutout.

The coaching staff has seen the club attack the net in recent games.

“We’re looking to shoot and crash the box,” Hurtig said. “We’re emphasizing getting scrappy goals instead of beautiful goals.”

Semi tough: The Warriors opened regional action with a 5-0 victory over Wauconda on Oct. 19.

Calistri led the attack with two goals, with the other scores belonging to Andrew Sloan, Adam Rabushka and Pooya Shams. The assists were credited to Gilbert, Jason Kayne and Matt Zussman.

Norris (65 minutes) and Troy Kayne (15 minutes) combined for the shutout.

Hurtig commended the Bulldogs for playing an attractive brand of soccer.

“Wauconda plays a nice style, but we had too much speed,” Hurtig said.

Once Sloan’s early shot eluded the Wauconda keeper, the floodgates opened.

“We did a nice job with our passing game,” Hurtig noted. “We’re starting to connect our transition from defense to offense.”

Dino Macro contributed