Wauconda falls to Freeport

BELVIDERE - The young Wauconda girls soccer team extended its season into the IHSA Class 2A Belvidere sectional semifinal on Tuesday afternoon.

The Bulldogs had some bite left, but they were knocked out of the postseason tournament by Freeport 2-0.

"The Girls are very happy after a year playing tough teams and we were very young," said Bulldogs coach Terry Stevig, whose team won its first regional title since 2005 and third in school history by defeating Marian Central 3-1 Friday.

"It's nice to win a regional and something to work on for next season."

The Bulldogs were able to stay close to Freeport (19-3-2), and the first half ended in a scoreless tie.

"Freeport had a nice team, played well and put more pressure on us than the last two games (regional wins over Richmond-Burton and Marian Central)," Stevig said. "We weren't the best team out there. This game for some reason, the first half was more of a kicking situation. The Second half was better, even though we gave up a couple of goals."

Aimee Prudhomme tried getting the Bulldogs into position for several scoring opportunities throughout the match.

But the Pretzels twisted up the Bulldogs and kept the ball out of danger.

"It was hard with the field and we couldn't connect with our passes," Prudhomme said. "Freeport had better passes and control of the ball. They seemed to beat us to every ball. We didn't play to our expectations."

After intermission, the Pretzels took advantage of a defensive miscue. Hope Stayer took the loose ball and chipped it over Wauconda keeper Becky Breakfield (6 saves), snapping the scoreless tie 48 seconds into the second half.

The Pretzels added another goal in the 79th minute, when Stayer scored on a header after taking a cross from Jenny Wright.

"I thought Wauconda played well and had some good opportunities," said Freeport coach Nick Namio, whose team won its first-ever sectional game. "It came down to the first minute of the second half.

"This was our first postseason match that was competitive. I didn't like the way we knocked the ball around, most of it was because of the way Wauconda put pressure on us. Wauconda's defense was pretty good today."