Box Score PALATINE, Ill. – The Harper men's soccer team put together a strong effort on the way to a 7-1 win over Milwaukee Area Technical College in the Region IV Quarterfinal matchup held at Harper College.
Alex Freeman (/St. Viator) led the Hawks (7-5-2) with three goals, and Jaime Quintana (Lake in the Hills, Ill./Huntley) scored twice in the win. David Bahena (/Elk Grove) and Elliot Lara (/Home School) each tallied goals as well.
Harper started the scoring in the 6th minute as Quintana scored on a feed from Freeman. Five minutes later, it was Freeman who would find the back of the net on an assist from Aldo Figueroa (Wheeling, Ill./Buffalo Grove) to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead.
In the 23rd minute, the Hawks committed a penalty inside their own box, giving Milwaukee a penalty shot. Harper goalkeeper Irvin Velazquez (/Hersey) (six saves) came up with a big save on the attempt by Omar Montes to keep it a 2-0 game.
"That PK save Irvin made was huge," said Harper head coach Dan Klaus.
Forward David Bahena (/Elk Grove) gave Harper a 3-0 advantage in the 43rd minute as he beat Stormers (1-14) goalie Dominique Lubsey on a pass from Chris Pantaleon (/Clark).
Harper came out firing on all cylinders early in the second half, as Freeman scored his second goal of the game on a pass from Juan Hernandez (Wheeling, Ill./Wheeling). Just over three minutes later, Freeman tallied his third of the game on a beautiful cross from Figueroa to extend the lead to 5-0. Quintana made it 6-0 with his second goal of the game, assisted by Freeman. Forward Elliot Lara (/Home School) scored his third goal of the season in the 70th minute on a feed from Sergio Hernandez (Palatine, Ill./Palatine).
"Since the Triton game, we've meshed as a team," Freeman said. "Milwaukee has some solid players, but together as a whole, we have 11 solid players on the field."
Milwaukee's Rommel Ramirez scored the team's lone goal in the 89th minute.
The Hawks move on to the Region IV Semifinals where they will take on No. 2 seed Triton College (10-6). The two teams split the season series, as the Trojans topped the Hawks 2-0 back on Sept. 17, and the Hawks scored a 4-1 win at Triton on Oct. 15.
The game will be played on Wednesday, Oct. 22 at 2 PM at the Redmond Recreational Complex in Bensenville (735 E. Jefferson St., Bensenville, IL 60106).
To view the tournament bracket, click here.
