Girls soccer: Barrington tops Warren, returns to supersectional

Traveling from one corner of Lake County to another made for a long trip for Barrington's girls soccer team.

But this Fillies team seems to be enjoying its postseason ride.

Top-seeded Barrington shut out No. 2 seed Warren 3-0 in the Class 3A sectional final in Gurnee on Friday night.

Barrington (25-1) advanced to the supersectional round, with a whole lot less travel involved this time. The Fillies will host Rockton Hononegah at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Hononegah advanced by eliminating host Huntley 3-2 in a match decided by PKs 4-3.

Against Warren, Sophia Spinell led the Fillies with a pair of goals and an assist. Michayla Herr had the other Barrington goal and Anna Brodjian picked up an assist.

"It was a huge win," Spinell said. "Barrington has been known for the last few years as team that wins in the playoffs, and that's just another big motivation for our team because we wanted to keep that string going.

"We hadn't seen Warren (21-2-2) and hadn't heard much about Warren either. But we never underestimate who we play. We come out and play our hardest against every team no matter what. Definitely, Warren was a good team - but we came out strong and put away our chances."

Barrington hopes experience can help it return to the final four.

"Our group is not content," Barrington coach Ryan Stengren said. "We've looked for the little things all along.to improve on, and not to care about what our record. We do have eight or nine seniors that have been with me for four years - they're very mature and very dedicated. They know what they want, and they're not happy yet. Sure, they're happy to get to this point - they've been here now for four years. They're just not content right now. They're still looking for ways to get better."

The Fillies dictated play and scored twice in the first half. First, Herr finished a cross from Spinell for a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute.

Spinell, left unmarked in the 34th minute, then scored the first of her two goals off a long service from Brodjian.

"The only thing we talked about was getting up 2-0 against Lake Zurich at halftime," said Stengren of Barrington's victory over the Bears in the sectional semifinal. "We were determined not to let to let up like in that game. We really wanted to attack and get that third goal. We wanted to play, and not just hold on to a 2-0 lead."

Warren was able to generate some offensive pressure in the second half but couldn't get a shot past Fillies keeper Samantha Schmitz, who made 5 of her 6 stops in the final 40 minutes.

"(Barrington) was a tough team to score on," said Lindsey Hardiman, who had a few chances up top for the Blue Devils. "They had a solid back line that can head the ball. Such a good team."

Spinell provided an insurance goal in the 78th minute.

Through 26 games, Barrington has allowed only 5 goals.

"Credit Barrington, they're a heck of a team," Warren coach Ryan McCabe said. "They shut down a lot of opportunities that we had going forward. I thought the girls responded well and never gave up. That shows the character of these girls."

With its run to a sectional final berth, Warren had the best season in program history.

"They come out and work hard every day," McCabe said. "It's probably the most successful senior class we've ever had here as far as wins, trophies, hardware and what-not. But I can't say enough good things about them. I'm very proud. They bought in and believed in what (assistant coach Doogie Clark) and I wanted them to do, and they didn't question it all season long. They're great role models for the underclassmen coming in."