Girls soccer: Glenbrook North denies Warren spot in Cup finale
Warren's girls soccer team was hoping to put its best foot forward in pursuit a familiar and coveted spot in the Glenbrook Cup finals.
On Friday, though, the combination of facing a skilled Glenbrook North team under windy, chilly conditions was just too much for the Blue Devils.
Glenbrook North scored three times in the first half and held on to defeat Warren 3-0 at the Techny Fields in Northbrook.
The Spartans (7-1-3) will take on rival Glenbrook South (12-1-4) in the championship game at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Techny Fields. The Titans defeated Deerfield 2-1 in the other semifinal.
Warren (5-9-1) will face Deerfield (13-3-1) in the third-place match at 11 a.m. Saturday, also at the Techny Fields.
The Blue Devils had a hard time dealing with what the Spartans had to offer, especially in the first half.
"Glenbrook North was a good team, but we didn't come out ready," Warren coach Ryan McCabe said. "We were timid in waiting for the ball to come to us or waiting for them to come to us. You can't do that against a team that's fast and physical like this team.
"Second half, we did a better job being physical and getting after it. So we kept a clean sheet in the second half, and that was a positive."
Glenbrook North took advantage of mistakes by the Blue Devils for their first two goals.
Torrie Welsch scored the opening goal in the fourth minute, then Emily Charen added the second in the 20th minute.
Samantha Cramin had the other Spartans goal, in the 33rd minute.
• Lauren Davis has been scoring goals lately for Grayslake North. The senior forward notched a hat trick and scored 5 goals over a couple of games at the Glenbrook Cup, giving her 19 goals this spring.
Davis' high-scoring habit continued Grayslake North in a 5-0 victory over Taft in tourney play at Techny Fields.
That outcome gives the Knights (7-5-1) a matchup against rival Grayslake Central (7-4-1) at 9 a.m. Saturday at Techny. The Rams defeated Rockford Lutheran 4-1 at Glenbrook South on Friday afternoon.
Davis, who will play at Bethel University in Minnesota next fall, has had a lot of scoring support from her teammates.
"Scoring goals is a lot of fun," Davis said. "My teammates are the ones setting me up. They help me a lot and make it a lot easier."
The Knights also got goals from Gianna Marrero and Lauren Hansen against Taft. Davis also picked up an assist; the other helpers went to Hansen, Nicole Lacke, Sarah Rauch and Jordyn Gerdes.
Emily Dunne made 3 stops to earn a shutout.
"(Thursday) we lost to a really good team (Glenbrook North), and today we played better and we were able to win," Grayslake North coach Adam DeCaluwe said. "I'm just happy to get another win and see the girls play better - a more aggressive, consistent game."
DeCaluwe was pleased to see that his team didn't use adverse conditions as an excuse for subpar play.
"We've been playing (in cold and windy conditions) all season, so why stop now?" DeCaluwe said.
• In Grayslake Central's victory over Rockford Lutheran, the Rams had four different scorers: Maura Fitzgerald, Madeline Mussay, Grace Hermann and Callie Wilson.
"I thought we played good soccer," Grayslake Central coach Daniel DePaz said. "We passed the ball well, but the girls were clearly tired. I'm proud of how the girls played considering this was their fourth game in a row."