Boys Soccer: Oakton Sails to Second Round

The Oakton High boys soccer, coming off a disappointing run in the Concorde District Tournament, upset the Liberty District Champions McLean Highlanders in the first round of the Northern Region Tournament 3-1 on Tuesday night.

Despite their differing district tournament experiences, the two teams had similar records entering the game with Oakton at 10-3-1 and McLean at 11-4-2.

Oakton first grabbed control of the ball ball, recording two shots on goal to give McLean goalkeeper Robert Maffei two saves early in the contest. On the opposite end of the field, Oakton goalkeeper Logan Cropper had a stellar first five minutes to record five saves before suffering a devastating broken leg while trying to block a shot goal. 

The Cougars played with a rejuvenated energy after their teammate's injury, taking control of the offense to put four shots on goal, though none of them passed through.

The Highlanders' Mark Saunders, a forward, created porblems early for Oakton with his speed but he failed to connect on all his shots on goal. Both teams remained scoreless at halftime.

Cougar forward Abdi Abdi's ball-handling proved too much for the Highlander defenders, as he broke through the defense to give Ahmed Ismail a penalty shot with 33:23 left in the game and a 1-0 lead.

Oakton's backup Goalie Mike Chanhiran had seven saves in the second half. Ismail scored Oakton's second goal, again on a penalty shot, at the 14:01 mark. Abdi scored again for the Cougars with 5:42 on the clock to give them a 3-0 advantage that effectively put the victory out of reach from the Highlanders. McLean scored its only goal of the game in the closing minutes to put the final scoreboard at 3-1.

Oakton will travel to West Springfield to face the Spartans in the second round of regionals at 7 p.m. Thursday.