Pipal, Raiders stun Hilltoppers

Meghan Pipal had the green light, so she decided not to stop.

Pipal's zig-zag run through the Glenbard West defense started about 30 yards from goal. But when she emerged behind the defense with the ball still in her possession, it was just the goalkeeper to beat, and the Glenbard South senior did it well, slotting the ball into the net toward the right post with just 65 seconds to play. The goal gave the host Raiders a 2-1 nonconference girls soccer victory over cross-town rival Glenbard West in Glen Ellyn.

"Coach (Glen Eggert) came up to me before the game and told me if I have the ball I need to start taking it instead of always dishing it off," Pipal said. "Sometimes I'm really stupid with the ball, I pass up open goals, so he was telling me I need to attack more so (the defenders) come on me and the flanks will be open. I was just thinking that I need to attack this time, need to stop passing out, need to finish the game."

Her teammates were happy to see Pipal turn "selfish."

"I was so proud of her," Raiders senior Danielle Warner said of Pipal's game-winner. "I was so happy that we finally finished it at the end and got something out of it. She just did so well dribbling through everyone. It was a great goal. I'm so happy for her. With one minute left it was great."

The Hilltoppers outshot the Raiders 16-10 and had a definite edge in possession, but the Glenbard South defense kept Glenbard West from getting too close to goalkeeper Amanda Yam's net.

"We just work so well as a team together and stepped it up for this game," Warner said. "Everyone wanted it so bad, it was great."

The Raiders (7-7-4) scored in the 26th minute when Alyse Cates put her head to a Warner free kick and snuck the ball under the crossbar. The Hilltoppers (10-8-2) got the equalizer in the 51st minute, Katie Watt finishing a Lexi Crovatto assist near the penalty spot.

"We had a good momentum," Glenbard West senior Kari Abromitis said. "I thought we were going to win. I thought we were going to get another one."

But it was the Raiders who had another goal in them, and Pipal made sure that for once in this rivalry the home team won on its Senior Night.

"I've played with a lot of the (Glenbard West) girls," Pipal said. "Like half the team, we know each other and if we don't know each other, we know of each other. We respect each other and we play hard without bad-talking each other. It's always really competitive, but it's fun playing people you know."