Palatine 1, Lake Forest 0
As Palatine senior midfielder Abby Brunks approached the ball less than eight minutes into her team's Class AA regional final against No 2 seed Lake Forest, she was merely trying to do what she had been taught all season long.
With fellow senior midfielder Sarah Iuorio streaking toward the far post, Brunks laid up a beautiful crossing pass, watched it spin gracefully through the wind, and could do nothing but smile as Iuorio placed a perfect header past Scout goalie Amy Burton to give Palatine the lead.
"Absolutely beautiful," Iuorio said of Brunks' pass.
Beautiful indeed for the Pirates, as the early goal proved to be enough cushion for a 1-0 victory Friday at the Vernon Hills regional, pushing a now surging seventh-seeded Palatine team into its 7 p.m. sectional semifinal Tuesday at home against Mid-Suburban League champion and No. 3 Hersey.
After losing 1-0 to the Scouts earlier in the season, Palatine knew some early offense would be just what they needed.
"We've had trouble in the past with the first 10 minutes (of the game), so to start off with a goal was really big for us," Brunks said.
"We've been playing pretty well all season long when we have (a lead) to protect," Palatine coach Willie Filian said of his defensive effort. "Getting the goal early on had a huge effect, because at least now you are defending something as opposed to playing in a 0-0 game."
Coming off a 3-1 victory over MSL rival Buffalo Grove on Wednesday in the regional semis, the Pirates stuck with the same controlled tempo that got them into Friday's final.
By playing tenacious defense and constantly being around the ball, Palatine was able to hold Lake Forest to only 6 shot attempts.
"We knew our match was going to be tough today, but we were ready "Brunks added.
While the Pirates' defense did not give their senior goalkeeper Nicky Clark much to worry about Friday, during the few chance opportunities the Scouts had to tie the match, Clark was right there to make the big stop.
As Palatine now looks ahead to its sectional match up on Tuesday, it's all about riding the momentum, according to Filian.
"Our goal was to get back to our home field (for the sectional)," Filian said. "We'll try it again on Tuesday and see what happens."
If Friday was any indication, the Pirates will certainly be ready.
At Lake Park: Julia Nelson's second goal gave No. 4 Lake Park a 2-1 overtime win over Hoffman Estates in the regional final in Roselle. Leah Rednes scored for No. 5 Hoffman.
At Elk Grove: Top-seed Maine South rolled to a 7-0 win over No. 8 Elk Grove in the regional final.
At Downers Grove South: Top-seed Downers Grove South took care of No. 9 Leyden 6-0 in the regional final.