Spartans' run ends

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Sycamore's Mark Persson and Freeport's Jared Brendemuehl collide while going after a loose ball during a Class 2A Freeport Sectional semifinal match Tuesday evening in Belvidere. The Spartans lost, 1-0. (Rob Winner – rwinner@daily-chronicle.com )

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BELVIDERE – Sycamore was looking for that one great chance for an equalizer in Tuesday night's Class 2A Freeport Sectional semifinal at Belvidere.

That opportunity never happened.

Although the Spartans showed plenty of improvement over an early-season meeting with Freeport, it wasn't enough as the Pretzels prevailed with a 1-0 victory.

"We had a lot of opportunities to shoot but I wouldn't say they were good looks," Sycamore coach Dave Lichamer said. "But we pressured them far more than we did the first time.

"We were really pushing and couldn't quite get it."

The lone goal came just 3:19 into the match when Freeport's Jared Brendemuehl took a pass from Mike Gordon and fired a shot that beat Sycamore's goalkeeper high and to his right.

In the second half, the Pretzels kept firing away but nothing found the net.

Gordon hit the post on one attempt and Jon McKinney's rebound shot was stopped by Sycamore's Jon Pevonka in front of an empty net.

"I thought Sycamore brought a lot of energy and played a well rounded game but we created a lot of opportunities and couldn't put it in," Freeport coach Nick Namio said.

"The Gods were smiling on us on a few of those," Lichamer added.

After a 4-0 loss during the regular season to Freeport, Lichamer was proud of his team's effort. The Spartans (10-11-3) won their first regional title since 2005 and then kept the match close against a Pretzels team that has allowed just 12 goals all season.

"We certainly earned our spot here," Lichamer said. "Throughout the season we've seen a lot of trials and tribulations and ups and downs.

"Toward the end of the season, we started pulling things together and we knew we would have a chance to make a run in the playoffs."

Freeport will move on to Friday's sectional final, likely to be played at Belvidere again because of poor field conditions at Freeport.

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