Hinchman's OT goal lifts Geneva over No. 1 St. Charles N.
The angle wasn't the best to shoot from.
But it was good enough for Geneva senior Emily Hinchman.
Hinchman buried a shot off an indirect free kick 1:10 into overtime Tuesday as No. 4 Geneva stunned No. 1 St. Charles North, 1-0, in a Class 3A Bartlett sectional semifinal at Millennium Field.
"We knew we were the underdogs going in," Hinchman said. "We wanted to prove that we could stick with them. I think we showed that in regulation. In overtime, we just really wanted it."
The Vikings (11-7-3) will play either No. 2 Conant or No. 3 Bartlett at 6 p.m. Friday in the sectional title game. Conant was leading Bartlett, 1-0, on Tuesday when the game was suspended because of inclement weather. The game will continue today.
"It's pretty exciting," first-year Geneva coach Megan Owens said of reaching the sectional title game. "We've kind of flown under the radar all year."
Hinchman made Geneva's only shot on goal count. The North Stars (12-2-3) were whistled for a dangerous play foul inside their penalty area, giving the Vikings an indirect free kick, meaning the ball had to be touched twice before going into the net.
The free kick was from near the left sideline of the penalty area about 8 yards from the end line. Sarah Tennant ran over the ball and just touched it. Hinchman then came through and bent a shot over North goalkeeper Kristen Manski. The shot hit the side netting of the far post for her eighth goal of the season and the celebration began.
"I just aimed far post hoping if my shot didn't get on goal one of my teammates would be there," Hinchman said.
St. Charles North came out quickly and clearly was the better team in the first half. The North Stars' Leah DeMoss took the ball away from a Vikings defender near the top of the penalty area. She was pressured a little bit as she went toward the goal, forcing her shot to hit the right post less than 9 minutes in.
Four minutes later a DeMoss' volley of a cross from Paige Dusek went high.
"We had some great opportunities early in the game," North coach Ruth Vostal said. "I think we have to finish them early. We've talked about that all season."
The North Stars thought they took the lead with 3:05 remaining in the second half, but Alex Messacar was ruled to be offsides before she found the back of the net, allowing the game to go to overtime.
"You hate to lose at this time. So does everybody else," Vostal said.
This was the Vikings' second consecutive win that wasn't decided in regulation. Last Saturday in the regional title game, Geneva needed four overtimes (an extra 40 minutes) and penalty kicks to beat St. Charles East.
Tuesday, the Vikings needed just 70 seconds.
"We got to overtime and I said, 'The good thing is we've been through this before,'" Owens said. "I think they were a confident group throughout the match. We have all the talent on the team we need to go as far in the state tournament they want to go and are willing to work for."
Conant vs. Bartlett: Mother Nature 1, Sectional soccer 0.
After beginning in a steady rain, Conant and Bartlett were chased off the pitch Millenium Field in Streamwood Tuesday night when dangerous weather lit up the radar screen and put an end to the Class 3A sectional semifinal match between the two clubs.
Game officials wisely suspended play after 40 minutes with Conant (16-1-4) leading the No. 3 Hawks (17-7-1) 1-0 and have rescheduled the match for a 5 p.m. start today.
The winner will play for the Bartlett sectional title Friday evening against Geneva, which upset St. Charles North 1-0 in overtime Tuesday.
With slick conditions adding even more speed to the super fast turf, both sides struggled in their attack, however not as much for the host Hawks who found a way to play through its midfield and Luisa Desario, who ran the show with terrific pace and energy.
However the Cougars would strike for the lone goal of the half at 9 minutes when freshmen all-state candidate Courtney Raetzman was able to find just a hint of a touch to redirect a superb ball sent through by teammate Alyssa Stylski to score.
Hawks keeper Erin Zaideman wasn't seriously challenged after the Raetzman strike but an aggressive offsides trap by the home-side nearly gave Conant a trio of break-away attempts if not for the offsides flag being raised, which ended the hopes of a potential 1-on-1 situation with Zaideman.
Conant advanced into the semifinal match after defeating Wheaton North 1-0 last Friday night, while the Hawks held off Schaumburg 5-4 to earn their place against the No. 2 Cougars.