Girls soccer: Glenbard East falls despite Davies' efforts

Faith Davies had been masterful the entire girls soccer match against Lyons Twp. as the Glenbard East goalkeeper.

"She was incredible," Glenbard East coach Kent Overbey said of the junior. "I would be hard-pressed to find a better keeper than her in the Chicagoland area."

But Lyons capitalized on a Glenbard East mistake late in a scoreless draw, and the Lions' Bella Lestina finally solved Davies.

Lestina intercepted a Rams' clearing attempt and rifled home a 25-yard shot to the upper left corner to give Lyons Twp. a 1-0 victory in the second semifinal of the Class 3A Downers Grove North sectional.

"One of the (Rams') defenders hit it right to me but didn't get much on it,' Lestina said.

Davies had personally stopped Lestina on four occasions, including a sprawling save with 21:22 to play.

Throughout the match Davies, who finished with 11 saves, repeatedly stymied the Lions' efforts at crosses around the net.

The junior snared countless balls in the process.

"There was no way we could even get a rebound," Lestina said of Davies' prowess. "She is big and strong, and I think that helped her a lot."

Glenbard East, making its second consecutive sectional appearance after finishing third in Class 3A last year during a magical run as a first-time sectional qualifier, ended the year 13-5-5.

"After finishing third last year, losing this game we felt like we didn't achieve what we could," Overbey said.

Offensive opportunities were few and far between for the Rams as Lyons (16-4-1) was the aggressor throughout the match.

The Rams' Katie Hansen had a few looks off free kicks, but Lyons goalkeeper Claire Purcell was there for the save each time.

But the Rams remained competitive behind the continued brilliance of Davies.

"I had a lot of opportunities with that," Davis said of her many intercepted Lyons crosses near the net. "Honestly, I just love playing and being with my team."

Sam Johnson had the Rams' final shot on goal - with just less than seven minutes to play - but Purcell harmlessly seized the 25-yard shot.

"We held our own against a very good, very dangerous team," Overbey said.