Girls soccer: Norris, Fremd shoot past Buffalo Grove
Jennifer Norris rescued Fremd in dramatic fashion Tuesday night.
The Vikings' goalkeeper turned away three spot kicks in shootout to help Fremd's girls soccer team survive another day and advance into the Stevenson regional final.
Norris ended this hard-fought, 100-minute playoff opener against Buffalo Grove in Lincolnshire when her diving full-length effort to her left in the fifth round helped set up more heroics from Kayla Tanner, who calmly stepped up and buried her attempt.
Tanner's strike gave the No. 7 seed Vikings a 3-2 kicks advantage and a 2-1 victory. Fremd will meet the host Patriots in the regional final at 10 a.m. Saturday.
"Jennifer has been battling injuries for the last couple of weeks, but she came through when we needed her to, and showed why she's one of the best in the business at her position," said Keller.
The ninth-seeded Bison (7-7-4) had plenty of success during the opening period, keeping the Vikings (7-9-4) under pressure by winning a high percentage of tackles and 50-50 balls. Meanwhile, Buffalo Grove's back line led by Kendra Lee, Zoe Robertson and freshman Bridget Reynolds allowed nearly nothing of quality to reach keeper Jackie Molloy.
On the other end of the field, the Vikings defended with all their might, particularly in the first half-hour. Buffalo Grove's 4-3-3 formation consistently generated opportunities yet failed on to convert in the final third.
Quinlan Libit, one of five freshmen on the BG roster, helped her club finally solve the Vikings when she slotted home her attempt from inside the 6-yard box after Alyssa Floro and Pam Bolis did most of the preliminary work in advance of the 42nd-minute goal.
"You always want to be the one that scores first, especially in a game of this type of importance," said BG coach Pat Dudle. "But Steve always does a great job of preparing his teams for the postseason, so we knew they would come back at us looking to get even."
Ten minutes after the Libit goal, Madeline McCarthy found the equalizer when she went up and met a superb corner from Elizabeth Prigge and sent a powerful header inside the post.
The next half-hour was fiercely played, with tackles and tough 50-50 challenges. That level of play continued right through the 10-minute extra sessions which preceded the shootout.
Norris saved the first two from the Bison, with Marta Cholewa converting the Vikings' first spot kick.
Alyssa Floro and Savannah Larsen converted, with Kennedy Gosell making it 2-2 after Molloy stopped a third-round attempt for the Bison.
Tanner poured in the game-winner following Norris' sensational save to send the Vikings' full roster onto the field to greet the sophomore keeper.
"I was beginning to feel the game was going to come down to PKs, and that I would have to make a one or two saves to help us win," said a grinning Norris. "And I guess that's what it came down to."