Prep Soccer: Bulldogs knocked out in regionals by Freeburg

The Harrisburg soccer season came to an end in the first round of last week's IHSA Regional as the Bulldogs fell to Freeburg 2-1.
Harrisburg was able to avoid several missed shots from Freeburg in the first half and go into halftime tied at 0, but five minutes into the second half, Harrisburg committed a foul 20-yards from Freeburg's goal and the Midgets would place the free kick into the corner of the goal just beyond Jesus Aboytes reach.
The Bulldogs turned to Jack Winters, who would race pass the Freeburg defense and drop a pass off to Adrian Mann, who found the back of the next to knot the game at 1.
Then, with five minutes left, Freeburg would earn a corner kick that would be placed in the net off a Freeburg header for the game winner.
"We knew going into this that Freeburg would be a tough challenge, anytime you play a team from the Metro area you better bring your best" Harrisburg head coach Jared Butler said.
An early first half goal was reversed for Harrisburg and the essential game winner were points of frustration for Butler.
" The fact that Jack's goal was not allowed was really frustrating, our player who was in the offside position removed himself from play so he (Jack) could find the back of the net, which is 100 percent legal.
"As far as Freeburg's second goal, that was tough to handle due to the fact that the Freeburg player grabbed our defender by the neck and pulled him down, preventing him from going up and clearing the ball."
The Bulldogs went 11-9-2 this past fall and recorded the most wins the program has seen in the past six years.
"We are winning games and averaging about four goals a game," Butler said. "These kids have turned this program around and I am excited to start planning for next season."