Hersey 2, Fremd 1
Any disappointment in losing a shutout lasted just 31 seconds for Hersey on Wednesday night.
A late goal couldn't keep the Huskies from celebrating one of their biggest victories. They handed Fremd its first loss 2-1 in a Mid-Suburban League girls soccer showdown at Hale Hildebrandt Field in Palatine.
"It feels really good and makes people believe we're here," said Hersey senior defender Rosie White.
"I'm so proud of the way we played," said Hersey senior midfielder Chelsea Santora. "We played the hardest game and everyone played 110 percent."
Santora's first-half goal off a Kristen Gierman corner kick and Gierman's goal off a dead ball gave Hersey (10-2-4, 4-1-2) a 2-0 lead with 30 minutes to play.
The defense of White, Gierman, Andrea Perkins, Amanda Slove, Kathryn Korff and keeper Julia Fredian did the rest in potential MSL Soccer Cup and Palatine Class AA sectional final previews.
Fremd (8-1-1, 5-1) avoided the shutout when Alex Ehr connected from 25 yards.
"This is by far the biggest win we've had since we beat Fremd five years ago in the regional final," said Hersey coach Brad Abel. "I'm just so proud of the girls."
Especially since Hersey was in the same situation two days earlier but squandered a 2-goal lead in a 2-2 draw with Palatine.
"We learned from our mistakes," White said.
"We were mentally focused on this one because we knew it was a big game," Santora said. "We're a hard-working team and that's what we have to do every game."
Hard work in practice off corner kicks from Gierman paid off when Santora converted her second goal of the season at the near post.
"That's one of our strong points," White said of dead-ball situations.
Fredian made some big and acrobatic saves in the final 20 minutes. She had a leaping grab of a free ball in close off Sara Schramm's free kick and stopped Arianna Foster's 20-yard blast with 3:20 left.
Hersey didn't give Fremd a chance to get close enough for an equalizer in the final half-minute.
"Give credit to Hersey, they were definitely the better team, they outhustled us and they outsmarted us," said Fremd coach Steve Keller. "My kids mentally weren't as focused as they need to be and it showed.
"It was just a poor performance all around for us. Hopefully it was a wakeup call that if we don't come to play this will be the result."
• Chrissy Tooren scored 4 goals and Leah Tednes had 3 assists for Hoffman Estates (3-6-1) in a 4-0 MSL crossover win over Rolling Meadows.
• Becky Knoll's second-half goal on Shaina Marnell's assist gave Conant (11-2-1) the 1-0 win over Wheeling. Anna Senyk had 4 saves for Conant.
• Danielle Brucci and Lauren Leipprandt scored for Prospect and Sarah Christy and Heather Powlish scored for Schaumburg in the 2-2 MSL crossover.