Girls soccer: Glennon's goal right on target
Conant's girls soccer team advanced to the semifinals of the Geneva sectional with a thrilling 2-1 victory over No. 3 seed Batavia on Friday at the Conant regional.
Miranda Glennon's stunning game-winning shot decided the regional final at the rainy Charles Feutz Stadium in Hoffman Estates.
It was a shot which surprised even Conant coach Jason Franco, who has seen many a wayward attempt from his talented all-MSL midfielder.
"We always tease Miranda about how her shots go sailing off the side of her foot," he said "But this one was a 'wonder' goal - a brilliant shot, on the turn, which exploded into the net to give us a lead after we survived a terrible second half of soccer."
The Cougars (14-5-3) will meet Wheaton Warrenville South (14-7-0) on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the Geneva sectional.
Franco said his club conceded a 'soft' goal just three minutes into this contest when Mia Gianfrancesco ran in from the outside to the back post to one-time the Bulldogs' lone goal of the game.
The sophomore was able to put Batavia (14-4-2) in front after the Cougars' keeper turned around an angled strike from Anna Bross from the right side. It spilled free to the opportunistic Gianfrancesco, who was left alone on the tail end of her run.
The Bulldogs' fans had just a few short minutes to celebrate the opener when Stephanie Mazurek equalized. She took advantage of a Jess Smeltzer looping serve from outside the area that went off keeper Hailey Flannagan.
The Cougars' leading scorer saw the opportunity and quickly drove her low blast into the back of the net to begin 74 minutes of goal-less soccer that led to the Glennon heroics.
"We both had our chances in the first half, but we came out and had most of the play for the entire second half," said Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco, whose club recorded 10 shutouts this spring and finished 4-1-1 in the UEC River. "But when you don't score in this game, you don't win, and that's what happened to us by not finishing opportunities created in that second half."
With Gracey DiBiase and Anna Holcombe at the controls of the attack, it was plenty of one-way traffic for the Bulldogs after the intermission.
If not for an organized back line, led by Delaney Hoye, Maddie Kuffel and Juliana Madonia, the Cougars may have been chasing the game, instead of sending it into two extra sessions.
"We could have put another one or two in ourselves," Franco said. "(Mazurek) rattled the post and went just wide with another, but Batavia looked sharp and played with more urgency in the second half. So it was important that we settle down and just defend, and then hope for something special to happen in overtime."