VIDEO: Farina's Goal Lifts New Trier in Sectional Semifinal

They say timing is everything. And right now seems to have everything going its way.

After a scoreless first half against Leyden in the sectional semifinal at Evanston, New Trier’s Jeff Farina put the Trevians (9-10-1) on top 1-0 six minutes into the second half. Then the weather came. The referees stopped play with 28:24 remaining in the second half because of lightning storms in the area and, after a delay of more than an hour and 30 minutes, declared New Trier the winner on Tuesday.

“I don’t know if I’ve been involved in anything like this before, it’s just really strange,” New Trier coach Craig Fairbairn said. “They have to do things; they have to get this game in, this and that.”

New Trier moves on to the sectional championship and will meet Maine East on Saturday night at Evanston Township High School. The win on Tuesday continues New Trier's improbable playoff run after a trying regular season that saw New Trier finish under .500. 

Neither team generated many scoring chances in the first half, with both teams failing to maintain possession consistently in the midfield.

New Trier got its first good chance when Alex Underwood found Farina on a through ball, but Leyden goalkeeper Marco Granda came out to make a sliding save near the top of the penalty box.

The Trevian defense did a good job of limiting Leyden’s opportunities. The Eagles pushed forward often, but New Trier’s back line did surrender many shots. Leyden has its best chance of the first half 28 minutes in when forward Daniel Bielak received a cross in the box. Bielak turned left against his defender and whistled a shot just high and wide left of the net.

“I thought in the first half they might have had the better run of play,” Fairbairn said. “It took us a while to get going a little bit.”

Although he wasn’t challenged often, goalie Niko Katsinis made good decisions in coming off his line. That was a big reason why Leyden couldn’t convert any of its four corner kicks in the first half.

Leyden had the initial scoring chance after halftime when Oscar Chavarria received a cross in the box off a free kick and tried to volley it home. But the senior midfielder didn’t fully connect and Katsinis came up with the save.

Farina said New Trier’s defense has been a big difference in the Trevians’ turnaround.

“At the beginning of the year it seemed like a bunch of individuals playing together, but at the end of the year that really changed with our defense,” Farina said. “Instead of giving up two or three goals, we’re giving up one.”

With just under 34 minutes remaining the second half, New Trier scored the game’s lone goal, and it started from near midfield. Jack Cornelo had space in the midfield and, from 50 yards out, sent a perfect cross into the box that came right to Farina, who had streaked past Leyden’s back line. Farina camped under the cross just inside the penalty box and volleyed it home on a one-timer past Granada for a 1-0 lead.

Five minutes later, the referee postponed the match because of lightning in the area and called for a 30-minute delay. The stadium was evacuated as spectators took shelter under the bleachers and the teams camped out in a couple of external team rooms.

Officials spotted more lightning about 9:40 p.m., which would require another 30-minute delay and pushing the restart time past 10:00 p.m. IHSA rules mandate that games cannot be restarted past 10:00 p.m. The game was called and New Trier moved on to the sectional final against Maine East.

“We expected to go downstate, that was our goal,” Farina said. “The rest of the season before doesn’t even matter up until now. We take it one game at a time…I think we can keep going and make a deep run in the tournament.”

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