Girls soccer: Glenbard South shuts out Riverside-Brookfield, wins regional

The question seemed to catch Glenbard South sophomores Erin Haslett and Abby Showalter a little off guard.

What's more satisfying, winning a Class 2A girls soccer regional, or eliminating a conference rival in the process, one you lost to 11 days ago?

"I think it's a tie," Showalter said with a laugh after the Raiders ousted Riverside-Brookfield 1-0 Saturday evening to win its own regional title and advance to play St. Ignatius in a sectional semifinal at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Hinsdale South.

"Both together feel even better," added Haslett, who connected on a header off a Showalter corner kick in the 58th minute for her 22nd goal of the season.

Pretty impressive, considering Glenbard South dropped a 2-0 Metro Suburban Conference Blue Division decision to the Bulldogs on May 8.

It happened just the way Showalter and Haslett drew it up. And lordy, it was the first time it's worked all season. Better late than never.

"She starts the run and I kind of base the ball based off her run," said Showalter, whose fifth-seeded team improved to 13-8-2 and knocked out the No. 3-seeded Bulldogs, who finished their season 15-5-2.

Once the ball pierced the back of the net, top shelf right, pandemonium ensued, led by Glenbard South coach Kevin Berner, who reacted with enough enthusiasm for the entire Glenbard South student body.

"We've been working on set plays this whole week, and I knew if Abby puts the ball in the right spot, it's magic for either Erin or Sam (Schutte)," he said. "I'm really proud of these girls. They trained hard this week."

There is yin and yang in soccer. The yin, of course, is Showalter and Haslett's apparent set-piece prowess. The yang is the effort of the back line in denying senior Allie Kucera, Riverside-Brookfield's most dangerous player and a Dayton commit. That unit was comprised of senior Sarah Cohen, junior Ema Eismann and sophomore Molly Moutvic.

"I think we knew we had to control her speed up top and be able to step in front of her and really close her down early, so she got frustrated," Eismann said. "She started yelling at her teammates."

Added Cohen, "Just talking in the back (was key). And being aware of the runners that are going to the sides."

Of course, sophomore goalkeeper Emily Villasenor came to play in a pressure situation, going up high to snag the potential equalizer in the 66th minute off the foot of Bulldogs sophomore Grace Larson.

"In the closing 10 or 15 minutes, it's nerve-wracking for a sophomore," Berner said. "It's nerve-wracking for all of us, but for a keeper who's trying to find her voice, phenomenal win for the program today."

So the question still remains - what's more satisfying?

"I think it's just beating them," Eismann said. "We haven't beat them ever since I've been a freshman, and it feels so good because they've been our rivals.

"It makes it even better that we beat them to win the regional championship."