Stevenson nets North Suburban Lake championship
If Jackie Wynn can't win the ball on the first touch, she won't quit.
Wynn somehow finds a way of getting the ball under control in the Stevenson midfield - which she did on a number of occasions Monday afternoon to give the Patriots a big boost.
The net result: a true Wynn-win situation as the Patriots girls soccer team edged past stingy Warren 2-1 in Gurnee. With the victory, the Patriots captured the North Suburban Lake Division title (5-0-1), finishing ahead of runner-up Mundelein (4-0-2).
Stevenson (12-4-1) will play in the NSC championship game at Prairie Division champion Lakes on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
"For me, it's putting my heart into it and working for everyone else on the team," Wynn said.
"I always go after the ball and stay with it. It doesn't matter if it's a mis-hit. I never stop. You have to run until you can't run anymore. I just give it my all."
"For our seniors, it's very rewarding and younger players are getting better with each game," said Patriots coach Mark Schartner. "There are so many good teams on our side of the conference to come out on top undefeated with 2 goals given up (in Lake division play). It's been a long, hard-fought year.
"We've got a hard-fighting team and we all play defense. Our offense has come through with so many goals this year and they have to play hard."
The Patriots scored both goals in the first half. The first came in the fifth minute, when Katie Krejsa scored off Jo Jo Kurth's assist.
On the other goal, Krejsa passed to Nicole Sodomire, who scored in the 22nd minute.
"A lot of us forwards worked real well together," said Krejsa about Sodomire and Missy Loretto. "Everything went our way today. We worked our hardest and try working to the outside. The early goal set the tone of the game. I think it helped the whole team get into it."
The Blue Devils (10-9-1, 3-3) got a goal back in the second half when Natalia Jovanovic scored her 26th goal on a free kick in the 63rd minute. But Blue Devils were unable to net the equalizer against Stevenson goalkeeper Lizzy Sanscrainte, who made 8 saves.
The Blue Devils played without their goalkeeper Amanda Macuiba, who had suffered an injury in a match against Mundelein on Saturday. Megan Byrd made 6 saves in the nets.
"I thought our girls battled hard," said Warren coach Jeff Knouse. "It was a conference and a home game. The girls get up for it. We did play some different players in different spots and we know we can compete, but we've got to take advantage of our opportunities when we can."