Another PK triumph for Fremd
Confidence.
Laura Mayer had it, and so did Allison Norenberg. And it ended up making all the difference for Fremd's girls soccer team late Friday night.
For the second time in a week, Norenberg turned away 2 spot kicks directed at her, this time by Mid-Suburban League rival Conant, and teammates Danielle Romano, Kristen Kupstys and Elise Kotsakis converted 3 straight penalty kicks to help the Vikings to a 3-1 advantage in the shootout for a 2-1 victory and a spot in tonight's Class 3A state championship match.
Fremd (20-4-1) meets Hinsdale Central at 7 p.m. Saturday to decide's the state's first Class 3A state champion at North Central College in Naperville. Conant (19-2-4) will face Sandburg at 5 p.m. in the third-place match.
"I guess it's all about feeling confident when we get to shootout, and knowing that I will be up to the challenge," said Norenberg, a junior who last week helped the Vikings defeat Glenbrook South 4-3 in a shootout in the Libertyville sectional final - with a little help from the aforementioned trio, who on that night went 3-for-3 in PK attempts.
It proved impossible to separate these teams during normal time, with 120 minutes only able to conjure up a couple of goals, through superb strikes they were.
Mayer's brilliant 74th-minute free kick equalizer cancelled out Brenna Fitzpatrick's 37th goal when the Cougars junior was sent through before taking a sublime touch to her left to get space for a blast past Norenberg.
"It was a little bit of deja vu for us in that we took the lead as we did against Barrington the other night before the break, but we never equaled (that) pace in the second half like we were able to with Barrington," said Conant coach Jason Franco.
When the action was fast and furious from the top two clubs in the MSL West this season, it reached an entertaining, well-played level that demonstrated the high level of soccer played in the conference.
Both teams produced a handful of quality chances up until the end of regulation, and throughout the four 10-minute extra periods leading up to the shootout, the best perhaps came for the Cougars near the half-hour mark when Alyssa Stylski began a build-up along the right side before finding Kaitlin Chiero in close.
Chiero connected with Courtney Raetzman near the back post, but an alert Norenberg was there to save.
In regulation, Mayer was fouled in the center of the pitch just outside the 18-yard line. The senior calmly stepped up and found the back of the net just under the frame to send the match into overtime.
"Laura told me she was taking it," smiled Fremd coach Steve Keller.
"Those are fouls you don't want to give up, especially against a player like (Mayer) who is so capable of putting the ball into the back of the net from that spot," said Franco.
Keller figures his club had the better run of play in the first and third OT periods, while his opponent held an edge in the other periods.
However, when the match went to shootout, both Conant goalkeeper Jackie Piasecki and Norenberg looked ready as each stopped in the opening round.
After that it was all Fremd.
"I told the girls that a lot of credit goes to coach Franco and to his club for the way they played tonight," said Keller, "and that we will have to play a much cleaner and better match if we expect to have a chance against Hinsdale Central."
Neither Fremd nor Hinsdale Central has a won a state title in girls soccer. Fremd appeared in the Class 2A championship game in 2007 but fell short against Waubonsie Valley.
Hinsdale Central 2, Sandburg 0: Second-half goals from Toni Kokenis and Lee Battaglia propelled the Red Devils (19-3-2) past Sandburg (19-3-1) and into the championship game. Hinsdale Central has never won a girls soccer state title and is making its first Final Four appearance since the 1989 season.