Carmel Catholic rolls into Class 2A state semis
In the final moments of play Tuesday night, Carmel Catholic girls soccer coach John Halloran got to utter a sentence he hasn't been able to speak in seven years: "We're going to state."
When the horn sounded on the Class 2A Concordia University supersectional in River Forest, the Corsairs started their celebration as the entire team met at midfield following a 5-0 victory over Chicago Payton.
The Corsairs (19-3-1) advance to face Lemont (18-4-3) at 1 p.m. on Friday in the state semifinals at North Central College in Naperville.
The most recnt trip to state for Carmel's girls soccer program was in 2008, when soccer was a two-class system. That year, the Corsairs lost their opening round game in the Elite Eight. Now that there are three classes, Carmel will play in the 2A semifinal round at state.
Lemont advanced by edging St. Francis 1-0 in the Hinsdale South supersectional Tuesday night.
"Both are really special teams," said Halloran, referring to his 2008 team. "I couldn't be happier to see it.
"Everybody is going to be a mystery from here on out. We did come out and scout on Saturday and knew what (Payton) was going on to bring. I thought we were confident coming into the game."
Halloran said earlier playoff tests against St. Viator and Lake Forest were the real keys in the Carmel Catholic's memorable postseason run.
"We knew that St. Viator and Lake Forest were going to be the big challenges for us," Halloran added. "These girls have done everything we've asked them to this year. This is the reward."
On Tuesday, Carmel took advantage of a mistake by Payton (15-4-3) just a couple minutes into the match, as Mackenzie Sheehan gathered a loose ball and found an open net in the second minute for a 1-0 Corsairs lead.
"We talked in the final huddle before we got started," Halloran said. "We wanted to push the pace. I thought if we pushed the pace for 80 minutes, we could push ahead of them. I knew that they would have a hard time staying with us. We came out fast and we've done that all year."
The Corsairs added another goal in the 16th minute, when Megan Runyan served a corner kick that Haley Miller finished with a header for a 2-0 advantage.
"It's a key contribution to the game," Megan Runyan said. "It's off a set play, and it's a chance for your team to put it away. Our team has been doing well with them. You just want to make sure it's in the box for everybody to get on it for an opportunity."
Megan's twin sister McKenzie Runyan, who was just named the East Suburban Catholic Conference Player of the Year, scored the game's third goal in the 34th minute with an assist from Erin Johnston.
The Corsairs had 2 second-half goals. Angela Salvi scored with an assist from McKenzie Runyan, and Alyssa Cepon had the other goal, from a Jennifer Doyle assist.
Chistina O'Block earned her 14th clean sheet of the season with 2 stops. The defensiver support of Miller, Mary Murphy, Emma Kobitter and Amanda Lasso was outstanding in front of her.
"We let up the first goal right away and it was hard to catch up," Payton coach Paul Escobar said. "We were chasing them the rest of the game. (Carmel) was a good team, and best of luck to them. They were strong up front, (Lasso) in the back was very smooth and distributed very well. But all-around they were a good team."