Nailbiter goes Huntley's way
After it was all said and done, Huntley freshman Breanna Keegan couldn't breathe let alone finish her sentences.
But for the forward and the Red Raiders' girls soccer team, the exhaustion was well worth it.
Keegan registered the game's only goal with 48 seconds left in the first half of a 1-0 Class 3A Huntley sectional final win over Cary-Grove Friday, in a game that drained everyone's tank and went Huntley's way, although it came painstakingly.
"That one took a lot of effort, it was worth it. All the running ...," Keegan said as she trailed off. "We really wanted to come out strong and get a lead on them. It's necessary to get ahead."
Huntley (19-3) was without leading scorer Deanna Hecht, who broke an ankle in Wednesday's practice. The Red Raiders advance to Tuesday's Class 3A Barrington supersectional at 6 p.m. against the winner of Saturday's Glenbrook South sectional final between Barrington and Lake Zurich.
On the flip side, Cary-Grove (11-6-1) was denied its first sectional title since 1998. But for Huntley to reach the supersectional for the second-straight year, it had to beat the Trojans for a second time this year and Cary-Grove came out more determined than in the teams' first meeting on April 30 - a 2-0 Huntley win.
"They came out to win," Huntley coach Kris Grabner said. "The first meeting I don't think they came out like that, they came out and were flying around the field and I think they just figured there's nothing to lose, let's go for it."
The Trojans' pressure forced the issue in the first 10 minutes and not only caused the Huntley defense to sag back deep in its zone, it created plenty of issues in the midfield. Spacing being such a problem and the fact Huntley had two chances clogged in front of the net in the 10th minute, there needed to be a change somewhere to open up that one golden opportunity.
"Once we got them moved and closed off that space, it allowed the midfielder to do a lot simpler work," Grabner said. "They were able to cover ground a lot easier. They were having to cover 70 by 25 minimum and it was just a major challenge."
Just before the end of the half, the adjustment allowed Alyssa Kaufman to give Taryn Jakubowski a chance up the right seam. When she pump faked the Trojan defense and found Keegan with great poise near the 18-yard box, Keegan let it rip inside the right post from about 20 yards for the game-winner.
"(Brenna) made a great run so I had to get it to her and she was very poised and hit a great shot. She did a great job," Jakubowski said. "(Cary-Grove's) game was very intense and we knew we had to get the first goal to gain momentum."
The score was also critical with Hecht's injury. The Red Raiders, who outshot C-G 8-5, needed someone to step up after losing 29 goals from Hecht in the process.
"We had a replace a big role model and a big playmaker," Jakubowski said. "We had everyone step up and (they) did a good job doing that."
Cary-Grove reeled off 5 shots with only 2 on goal despite its attack. One of its best chances came when forward Carli Petersen's shot went high over the net from right to left just outside of the box in 10th minute. Another Trojan chance occurred with 7:30 left in the match when a ball ping-ponged in front of Huntley's cage to no avail.
"Their weren't any really clean shots on either side," Trojans coach Ray Krystal said. "That moment that opened up for them, they capitalized and that's the difference in the result."
And that's where the Huntley defense comes in, as well as senior midfielder Katie Costantino, who did her best to drop back and give her teammates an extra blanket.
"After our first goal I wanted to make sure nothing else got past," she said. "I wanted to help our defense as much as I could so we could ensure the win."