Loyola stuns top-seeded Huntley in Pepsi quarterfinals

Huntley's girls soccer team didn't really expect to go through the entire season undefeated. But the Red Raiders probably didn't anticipate what happened Thursday.

Laura Gardner scored 2 goals as No. 5 seed Loyola Academy downed the top-seeded Raiders, 3-0, in the quarterfinals of the Pepsi Showdown on a windblown field in Huntley.

Although the Ramblers benefited from a couple of bounces, they outplayed the Raiders, outshooting them 12-7.

"We didn't come out and compete," said Huntley coach Kris Grabner. "They flat-out beat us. They worked harder than we did. They played harder, they wanted it more."

Gardner's first goal came on a rebound after a windblown shot hit the crossbar. Her second goal, early in the second half, came on a long shot from the deep corner that the goalkeeper attempted to punch save. The ball caromed off her fist into the upper right-hand corner of the net. But Grabner wasn't using the bounces as an excuse.

"Both times they outworked us," he said. "We had people jogging back and they had people sprinting up. When you do that, you're going to score goals."

Loyola got a chance to scout the Raiders during Saturday's games in Schaumburg.

"We got a chance to see them play on Saturday and they didn't get a chance to see us, which certainly helped out," said Loyola coach Craig Snower. "I don't know if the score was indicative of the game. We're a defensive team. That's what we do. We try to hold teams to zeros and win games 1-0, 2-0, or 3-0."

Meaghan Smith also scored, putting the Ramblers (7-2-1) ahead 2-0 at halftime. She found herself all alone and hit a shot on the ground from about 30 yards out.

The closest Huntley came to scoring was when Aimee Wronski came in on a breakaway midway through the second half. Loyola keeper Carly Stevens bobbled the shot, but recovered before the ball crossed the goal line.

Aimee and Corinne Wronski tried to lead the Raiders back, but couldn't find the range.

Huntley dropped its first game of the season after 13 straight wins.

"When you just continue to win games, it's easy to get complacent," Grabner said. "One game does not make a season. This game does not say who we are. It does not do anything, except put a loss on the record, and that's no big deal. We said all along that nobody's going to go through the season undefeated. If you've got a good schedule, to do that is almost impossible."

Sara Hoffman and Kaytlyn Owens shared goalkeeping duties for Huntley.