Girls soccer: Deerfield hangs on, denies Grayslake North

As the season progressed, the effort was getting better and better for Grayslake North's girls soccer team.

The Knights sought a regional championship on Saturday morning and stayed with Deerfield until the end, with a shot hitting the crossbar in the waning seconds. But the second-seeded Warriors held on for a 2-1 win over the No. 7 seed in the Class 2A regional final in Deerfield.

Deerfield (18-4-3) will next take on third-seeded St. Viator (14-5-2) in the St. Viator sectional semifinals at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Robert Morris College in Arlington Heights.

"(Deerfield) was very good and we knew that," Grayslake North coach Adam DeCaluwe said. "We gave them too much space early on. As a result, they got two early goals. Then we were chasing the game a little bit. The girls played their tales off. They earned every chance that they got. Unfortunately, we fell a little short there at the end, hitting the post."

Grayslake North (11-8-1) graduates 28-goal scorer Lauren Davis, Haley Leanna, Sarah Rauch and Maddie Wilkinson. They are the only seniors on the roster.

"We've got a good group of seniors graduating, but it's a small group," DeCaluwe said. "This group has a lot to be positive about looking forward to next year. At the same time, we will certainly miss these seniors. They were workhorses and effective for us."

Deerfield jumped out with two first-half goals. Malori Killoren scored her 24th goal off an assist from Chloe Cappas in the 18th minute. Samantha Linn notched her sixth goal after taking a pass from Cappas in the 30th minute for the 2-0 advantage.

Grayslake North cut its deficit in half when McKenna Brooks knocked in her sixth goal in the 38th minute after taking a pass from Jordyn Gerdes.

"We got a nice first goal and the second goal was good, but we switched something up in the back," Deerfield coach Rich Grady said. "We lost our positional sense for a moment and (Grayslake North) got a goal. Once they got that, they were right back in the game and had that had a belief.

"The second half was a battle. We had a lot of corner kicks that we should have finished and almost paid for it. (Grayslake North) had a very good look at the end and, fortunately for us, it tipped the top of the crossbar and went over. Once I saw the shot, I was like, 'We're going to overtime.' I didn't expect it not to go in. (Grayslake North) was a much better team and they were not a No. 7 seed. They were much better than that."