Girls soccer / Class 3A supersectional scouting
Girls soccer / supersectional scouting
at Barrington Community StadiumHuntley (19-3-0) vs. Barrington (20-1-4)When: 6 p.m. Tuesday
Background: This is the seventh consecutive year in which the Fillies have advanced into this match. Barrington lost 1-0 last season to New Trier in what many thought could have been the state final, with Huntley falling 2-0 to eventual state runner-up St. Charles East in its supersectional on the same night. The last time these two clubs met this late in the season was in 2012, when Barrington defeated the Red Raiders in a sectional final.
Who to watch: Huntley's Tayrn Jakubowski (Jr, MF), Alyssa Kaufman (Sr, F), Katie Constantino (Sr, MF), Paige Renkoski (Sr, GK), Abbey Brown (Jr, GK), Brenna Keegan (Fr, F). Barrington's Jenna Szczesny (Sr, F, 36g, 9a), Hannah Luedtke (Sr, GK, 14.5, 0.25), Ann Marie Niro (Sr, MF, 7a), Megan Fox (Sr, MF), Kelsey Muniz (Sr, MF-F, 7a), Jackie Batliner (So, D, 5g, 5a), Kelly Keck (So, D), Soph Spinell (So, MF, 7g, 11a).
Lowdown: Seniors Szczesny, Luedtke, Fox and Muniz have been a major influence during the Fillies' extraordinary four-year run. They and their teammates have no intention of letting it end on their extra-wide home turf tonight. Despite heavy graduation losses from last year's supersectional finalist, coach Ryan Stengren and his staff have done a great job of bringing together a new backline. The result has been a team that has clearly been among the state's best all spring.
"It's a wonderful group to be around and coach, and one that continues to amaze me with their work rate, desire, and with the way they prepare for each game, taking nothing for granted," said Stengren.
A balanced roster, an all-state keeper (Luedtke), a first-rate playmaker (Niro) and perhaps the premier striker in the state (Szczesny) help set the Fillies apart and make it a tough challenge ahead for Huntley and coach Kris Grabner.
The Red Raiders lost nine to graduation from their 2014 roster, three of whom were starting defenders. But Grabner still managed to piece together a quality side that is now within one victory of a trip to the Final Four.
After winning a ninth straight regional crown, the Red Raiders defeated Fox Valley Conference rival Cary-Grove to advance despite the loss of top scorer Deanna Hecht, who broke a bone in her foot during training just a day before the sectional final.
Looking ahead: The winner advances into the Class 3A state tournament semifinals Friday at North Central College in Naperville, and will meet the Conant supersectional champion (either New Trier or Conant) at 7 p.m.
at ConantNew Trier (24-1-1) vs. Conant (16-6-1).When: 6 p.m. Tuesday
Background: The Cougars have not been in a supersectional since 2011, thanks in part to a couple playoff roadblocks from St. Charles - it was East last year in the sectional final (1-0). The two previous years, it was St. Charles North stopping Conant twice in a row by the same score in sectional finals. In 2011, Conant defeated Loyola 1-0 to win a supersectional and ended up finishing third at state.
The defending state champion Trevians lost back-to-back supersectional finals, to Loyola in 2013 and to Glenbrook South in 2012, before breaking through last year over Barrington. Trevians coach Jim Burnside is after his eighth trip to the state tournament and the 11th in program history.
Who to watch: New Trier's Kelly Maday (Jr, F), Dani Kaufman (Jr, GK), Bina Saipi (Jr, MF), Maggie Armstrong (Sr, MF), Jackie Welch (Sr, D), Natalie Laser (So, F). Conant's Leah Celarek (Sr, MF-F, 16g, 16a), Katie Lomas (Sr, D, 5a), Haley Anderson (Sr, GK, 9.0, 1.13), Emily Mazurek (Jr, MF, 17g, 7a), Sidney O'Keeffe (Sr, F, 11g, 9a).
Lowdown: Conant coach Jason Franco admitted that getting past two terrific St. Charles teams to reach this point was a daunting task. "The chances to get past St. Charles East, then North appeared too much to overcome at the start, but these girls proved me wrong, and it's a testament to the will of this entire team, and the terrific senior leadership that's put us through," he said.
The Trevians like to play through Armstrong and Saipi in the middle and target their standout Maday up top. New Trier has supreme confidence in its all-state duo in the back, with Kaufman between the sticks and defending.
"I went out and watched New Trier last Friday night, and they are legit," said Franco. "They have talent all over the place, and they obviously will present us with our biggest challenge yet. But Mazurek has been brilliant in our last three games and Leah (Celarek) had a great game in our win over North. The real key to our success has been our team defending."
Franco points to a group led by his all-everything senior Katie Lomas along the back. She's joined by Dhara Patel, Katie Tokarz and Rachel Raymer to form a unit which has denied time and space against consecutive high-powered attacks from the St. Charles teams.
Looking ahead: The winner advances into the Class 3A state tournament Friday at North Central College in Naperville and will play the Barrington supersectional champion (Huntley or Barrington) at 7 p.m.
- Mike Garofola