Chang, Giants advance to regional final
By DINO MACRO dmacro@pioneerlocal.com October 18, 2011 8:14PM
Article Extras
Updated: November 21, 2011 9:59AM
At first glance, Michael Chang didn’t expect his long blast to produce a goal.
But the Highland Park High School midfielder received a pleasant surprise when his 30-yard lefty boot eluded the Rolling Meadows goalkeeper. The second goal of the evening sparked the Giants to a 4-0 victory in an IHSA Class 3A regional semifinal at Hoffman Estates on Tuesday.
“I saw the ball kind of float,” said Chang of his seventh goal of the season. “The goalie went to save it and one of my teammates got in my vision. I saw the ball go in the side net, and I thought, ‘I guess I scored.’ ”
Chang is not afraid to fire from long range.
“It’s just my style of play,” he said. “If I see I have an opportunity to score, I will take a shot even if it’s from 25 yards out.”
Chang, who finished with a goal and assist, nearly collected a second goal in the second half. His 25-yard free kick skimmed off the crossbar and deflected over the net.
“I saw the ball curving, and I thought it had a good trajectory,” Chang offered. “But the wind might have taken it a little.”
Highland Park (17-3-1) advanced to the regional final, and the Giants will play either Carmel Catholic or Buffalo Grove at 5 p.m. Saturday.
The Giants struck first against the Mustangs when Andrew Chang scored on a feed from Francesco Moore. The Chang brothers have given the squad a boost since joining the Giants at the start of this season.
“Andrew and Michael are very talented players,” said HP coach Blake Novotny. “But they also work as hard as anyone on the team. They are passionate about the game, and they are tireless.”
The Chang brothers play for Chicago Soccers FC. They will rejoin the club team next spring.
Towering Giants: Other Giants goals came from Ricardo Rodriguez (penalty kick) and Jake Prizant.
The Giants led 2-0 when Rodriguez was pulled down in the box. He then calmly ripped a low shot inside the right post for a 3-0 lead with 4:46 left in the first half.
Prizant closed the scoring in the 67th minute, tallying with assists from Michael Chang and Pedro Soto.
Goalkeeper Justin Ozodor earned his 10th shutout with help from defenders Yosihe Nakayama, Justin Pastron and Tristian Penick.
“(Ozodor) comes out for everything,” Novotny observed. “He’ll get up in the air, and he’s very aggressive.”
Around the corner: The Giants own the No. 3 seed in the Palatine Sectional. But Novotny has cautioned his team about taking any foe lightly.
“We have to keep in mind that we might be playing someone that is ‘us’ from last year,” the coach said.
In 2010, the Giants were the surprise team in the Libertyville Sectional. The club roared into the sectional final before falling to Libertyville 1-0 in four overtimes. The Wildcats wound up finishing second in the state.
Michael Chang hopes the team can stay balanced offensively.
“We have a multitude of players who can score,” he said. “Other teams can’t just shut down one player to stop our offense, because we have a variety of guys who can score.”
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