Girls soccer: Lake Forest denies Wauconda at Grayslake North
It had been five years since Wauconda's girls soccer team last made a trip into the sectional.
The Bulldogs have had a storied season and certainly wanted to end that streak and have the opportunity to compete some more this spring.
Problem is, they ran into a team that had a bit more experience and couldn't quite match the pace for a full 80 minutes.
Second-seeded Wauconda ended up losing to the No. 3 seed Lake Forest 4-1 in a Class 2A Grayslake North sectional semifinal on Tuesday night
Lake Forest (11-8-1) will meet top-seeded Deerfield (19-6-1) in the sectional championship at 6 p.m. Friday at Grayslake North. The Warriors defeated No. 4 seed Prairie Ridge 3-2 in PKs (decided 5-3) in the other sectional semifinal.
"The top four seeds made it in," said Wauconda coach Beau Shogren, whose team finished 14-3-2 and won the North Suburban Prairie title. "I think we got the rankings all right. I'm proud of our success. Our goal was to take the regional and then take things game by game.
"We ran into a heck of a team. They were a big, fast and athletic team. We were a bit outmatched in the final third, and the set pieces. That was the big difference."
Lake Forest scored a couple of first-half goals. First, Kylie Murray finished a kick after a Paige Bourne free kick in the third minute. Then the Purdue-bound Bourne scored on an unassisted goal in the 13th minute for a 2-0 Scouts advantage.
Wauconda pulled within a goal in the 22nd minute. Kayla Wisniewski sent a cross from the right side, which Rachel Denovo finished it as the Bulldogs got within 2-1.
"I thought that goal was pretty big for us," said Wisniewski, who had 22 goals and 10 assists this season. "It was exciting to get it. I had the space on the cross to get it there."
Wisniewski nearly tied the game in the 31st minute, when she beat the Lake Forest keeper Cassidy Shaul near the top of the box and saw an open net. Wisniewski attempted a shot, but Scouts defender Adrian Walker stepped in front and denied the attempt.
Lake Forest responded with another goal before the break, as Kate Reinhardt found the back of the net off a touch from Sheridan Weiss for a 3-1 lead.
The Scouts added one more in the second half off a corner kick. Adrian Walker scored after a header from Bourne.
"They had some pressure on us," Lake Forest coach Ty Stuckslager said. "We did have some chances that they blocked off the line, and we hit a post. It was one of those games that it could've gone either way at the moment. It went our way.
"(Wauconda) didn't win 14 games by not being a good team. You can tell Beau (Shogren) has improved their program. They move the ball around and they're active."