Girls lacrosse: Neuqua Valley beats Metea/Waubonsie Valley in final seconds

No way MaryFaye Keen was about to let her high school lacrosse playing days come to an end Wednesday.

So she took matters into her own hands, quite literally.

Keen, a senior attack for Neuqua Valley, scored on a penalty shot as time expired Wednesday in a IHSA sectional semifinal against Metea/Waubonsie Valley co-op to give the Wildcats a 15-14 victory.

Keen's shot earned her team a date in the sectional final at 7 p.m. Friday against Naperville North, which slipped past Wheaton United 12-11 in the first semifinal.

With just seconds remaining on the clock and the game tied 14-14, junior midfielder Christine Corbin drove toward the goal and passed off to Keen, who collected the foul. She coolly stepped to the line and delivered the ball just past Valley goalie Abigail Widd.

Everything happened so fast, even Keen wasn't quite sure what happened. The only thing that matters at this stage of the season is that it did and she gets to play at least once more.

"Our team word has always been grit," she said. "That's going hard at every second and I think that was embodied in those last few minutes. We knew we had to get the draw, we knew we had to work it down and trust our teammates to get it where it was going, and it just happened."

Valley, which finished its season 11-6, nearly pulled off the upset with 6 goals in a row with less than 10 minutes to go, including 3 from senior attack Raigan Woolwine. The sixth put Valley up 14-13 with 48 seconds to go.

But the beginning of end came 25 seconds later, as Neuqua Valley sophomore attack Courtney Costello scored on a miss by fellow sophomore Lauren Reitzel to tie the game.

Moments later, it was over.

"MaryFaye is not one to normally take an 8-meter shot," said Neuqua Valley coach John Scanlan, whose team improved to 15-2. "She's usually a passer and a feeder, so we're glad she decided to be aggressive and go for it. She read the goalie well and put it where it needed to be."

It was a tough end for Woolwine, who scored five times and will play next year at St. Francis (Pa.). Up until the very end, she was sure Valley could pull it out.

"I really did," Woolwine said. "We had to will each other and push each other through this. It was definitely team. Everyone's heart was in it. To come this close, it felt really good."