Barrington girls caps amazing run with soccer crown
The Barrington girls soccer team has raised expectations to a whole new level.
The latest accomplishment occurred Sunday afternoon when the Fllies blanked Glenbrook South 2-0 to capture the Pepsi Showdown championship at Toyota Park in Bridgeview.
The Fillies (11-1-1) won five matches in six days, raising their unbeaten streak to 11 straight games.
Freshman Molly Pfeiffer scored another game-winning goal, her second in two days and Caroline Condon knocked in the other. Emily Hyde assisted on both goals.
Goalkeepers Kelly Pedersen and Liz Burzynski combined for the shutout.
"After the game I was pretty emotional," said Fillies coach Ryan Stengren. "All of the emotions came from this last week, because it was crazy week. For our girls to have positive results in all of those games, at the start of the week, I'd never expect it. It shows the character, the effort that they put into the games.
"If you would've told me at the beginning of the season we'd be 11-1-1. I'd be like you've got to be kidding me. I love this team and it's becoming one of my favorite teams to coach. The quality of soccer is unheard of. We still have a way to go and we will be fresher at the end of the year. This overall experience was very, very, very good for our team."
Pfeiffer put the Fillies on the board in the 21st minute. She took a pass from Hyde and found herself alone in front, where she beat Titans keeper Jessica Campobasso.
"Emily (Hyde) was attracting all the attention and I was left unmarked," Pfeiffer said. "Normally, I'm not poised, but I was able to do it."
Pfeiffer had netted the winning goal in double overtime that beat Loyola Academy in the 98th minute Saturday.
"Nice to get another goal, but it's not just me," Pfeiffer said. "A lot has to do with Emily Hyde and the other midfielders They are the ones getting us the ball."
Condon added the other goal from a Hyde touch pass in the 64th minute.
"We got the goals because we work well off each other," Hyde said. "Our forwards and other midfielders make penetrating runs which help make the spaces open. I'm comfortable playing with my back to the goal. So when I turn, I'm able to hit the pass."
The Fillies had beaten Glenbrook South (7-2-1) by a 1-0 decision earlier this season. But the Titans came out strong in the first 15 minutes Sunday and had several scoring chances.
"Our keeper Kelly Pederson kept us in the game," Stengren said. "Once we settled down and calmed down we started to dictate play. We were able to weather the storm and we fully started gaining control of it."
Pedersen stopped a couple of header shots and a couple of point-blank shots.
"I can feed off this enviroment at any point of the game," said Pedersen, who made 5 saves. "It was very nerve-wracking from the word go. Immediately their corner kicks were scattering inside the 6 (yard-line). It could be dangerous, if you don't read the ball correctly. We were fortunately lucky and I was able to make saves that don't come every day."
"For the 15 minutes we had the better of the play," said Titans coach Seong Ha. "Barrington made some counterattack runs and started coming into their own against the wind. We knew we had to take care of business in the first half with the wind. Give credit to their defense and their midfield holding their own. We just didn't find a way to capitalize."