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Girls soccer: York shuts out Willowbrook for third straight win

York has its mojo back.

The Dukes, who have dealt with a raft of injuries and inconsistent play lately, won their third straight girls soccer game Saturday.

Allison Bassing and Maggie Bleyer scored and goalkeeper Kathleen Levins made 1 save as York knocked off Willowbrook 2-0 in a West Suburban Conference crossover game in Villa Park.

"Our mojo was gone for a little while," York coach Don Vana said. "It was like the Austin Powers movie with the mojo juice. We've got the mojo juice again."

The Dukes (10-8) seem to have rediscovered the winning formula just in time for the playoffs. They have one regular-season game remaining before hosting a regional.

"It puts us in a good spot," Bleyer said. "It gives us our motivation back because we've been in a slump for a little bit, but then we won our last three games. It makes us want it and push for results in the playoffs."

Though they controlled the action throughout, the Dukes had to make a concerted push to break down Willowbrook's defense. Sophomore goalkeeper Zoe Ericson made 9 saves to keep the Warriors (6-11-1) in the game even though York outshot them 22-1.

"We're very fortunate, very blessed that we have her back there," Willowbrook coach Julio Del Real said. "She does add a couple of the white hairs I have with the way she plays, but I wouldn't have her change anything.

"It's very exciting. She enjoys coming out of the goal and we're going to continue to support her."

Ericson made only one mistake. She bobbled a hard shot from Emily Aylesworth and the ball got behind her. Bassing beat her to the loose ball on the goal line and knocked it in with 13:16 remaining in the first half.

"I think as a team we probably play defensively as well as anybody," Del Real said. "The girls kept together and they complement each other pretty well.

"But since we're young, we're still making mistakes and the thing that stinks about it is, when the opposition makes mistakes we're not able to capitalize on it. And when we play against somebody, especially the good teams like York, if you make a mistake in front of the goal they're going to make you pay for it."

The Dukes had plenty of opportunities to increase the lead, including a missed penalty kick with 6:14 to go in the first half, but didn't get the all-important insurance goal until Bleyer, a junior forward, dribbled free near the top of the box and fired a left-footed shot into the lower right corner of the net at the 37:47 mark of the second half.

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