St. Charles East tops Waubonsie Valley in OT

It's happened before that Chantel Carranza and Darcy Cunningham have made eye contact on a soccer field. Usually what happens is that Carranza sends the ball in Cunningham's direction, and good things follow for St. Charles East's girls soccer team.

Thursday, Carranza and Cunningham had a moment of optical connection, and the result sent the Saints into massive celebrations on Naperville North's field.

Carranza took a pass from Kelli Santo Paulo, crossed from the left, Cunningham headed and scored with 3.4 seconds left in the first overtime, and St. Charles East had a 2-1 lead in extra time on defending Naperville Invitational champion Waubonsie Valley.

Overtimes in this tournament are not sudden death, so Waubonsie Valley had the second 10-minute overtime to attempt to draw level and force penalty kicks or even win outright. But when Santo Paulo scored in the second minute of that second overtime, the Saints were on their way to a 3-1 victory and a spot in the semifinals.

The Saints (15-0) earned a Friday semifinal against Barrington with Thursday's win. The match is at Naperville Central and kicks off at 5 p.m.

"(Santo Paulo) played a great ball to (Carranza) and we just made eye contact like we always do," Cunningham said of her tiebreaking goal. "I knew it was going to go over the last defender and then it was an easy goal."

Success at the Naperville Invitational has eluded the Saints, who haven't qualified for the winner's bracket during the three years the Class of 2015 has been in school but are on the longest unbeaten run to start a season in school history.

"This has always been a part of the season where we really have struggled," Cunningham said. "We didn't feel this way last season. We're just really confident this year."

Waubonsie Valley (9-2-3) concludes its play in the tournament on Saturday in an 8 a.m. match at Naperville Central against the host Redhawks.

"The Naperville Invite is a great test to see where you're at," Waubonsie Valley coach Julie Bergstrom said. "You hope that you walk away learning something so you can be better in the next match."

Cunningham's overtime goal said something about the way the Saints have played this year. Santo Paulo and Cunningham are seniors who helped propel the team's run to the state title match last year. Carranza is a freshman, one of the impact newcomers on the roster.

"It's been really fun, being undefeated," Carranza said. "Being able to wear this jersey and being able to play with these talented players is really incredible."

And the Saints had to find a response on Thursday after Paige Filipek scored early in the opening half.

While the Saints pressed for much of the half, the Warriors held out until 6:44 remained before halftime. Santo Paulo fed Cunningham, who had time to take a touch and swivel on the ball before firing a low shot into the right side of the net.

"I think we stared off a little nervous," Cunningham said. "We know they're a great team and we gave them a lot of respect. That first goal was really us pressuring up top. Sophie (Jendrzeczyk) and Kelli (Santo Paulo) did a great job. They got the ball to me and I had an open window and I shot it."

For most of the second half, the teams neutralized each other. Waubonsie Valley became dangerous, especially with runs through central midfield by Cici Gazder, which helped open the wings.

"I think she worked hard and had a great effort the whole time she was in there," Bergstrom said.

In the first overtime, Waubonsie Valley looked most likely to score, and nearly did in the sixth minute when Sarah Griffith hit the crossbar. Shortly after, Griffith sent a weak shot toward the goal and with 1 minute to play in that opening overtime, Morgan Kemerling hit a long-range effort directly at Saints keeper Alison Chesterfield.

"They started off coming at us," Bergstrom said. "We stepped it up in the second half Then the game went back and forth."