In NSC title match, the day belongs to Stevenson

Going through a rugged schedule in the North Suburban Lake Division and dealing with injuries all season long, Stevenson's girls soccer team had more than its fair share of adversity.

To help them face it, the players coined a phrase: "All day, every day."

And it became a big part of the Patriots' belief system, including Thursday afternoon as the visiting Patriots topped Prairie Division champion Lakes 3-2 for the North Suburban title.

"Basically, one night someone said, 'We're going to play everyday great,' " said Emily Niedermayer, a senior defender, who hoisted the conference trophy and led the rest of the team into the cheer after the big win. "We just have a way of saying it at halftimes and at the end of games.

"Winning the conference was one of the things we wanted to accomplish."

Stevenson improved to 13-4-1, while Lakes had its 13-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 18-6.

It was a fierce battle, with the lead changing sides a few times until the Patriots prevailed.

"Both teams represented the entire conference," Stevenson coach Mark Schartner said. "It was not the side of the brackets we were on, it was good hard soccer. Playing on a wet field made a difference. It created some advantages and disadvantages."

With the game tied at 2-2 going into the second half, Katie Krejsa scored the game-winning goal in the 43rd minute. She stole a pass near midfield,went the distance and beat Lakes goalkeeper Sarah Fitzpatrick (9 saves).

"It's exciting, but you can't necessarily call it a game-winning goal," said Kresja of her 10th goal of the season. "There are other goals and without the other two, there would be nothing. I give credit to the rest of my team. We wouldn't be here without everybody else."

Lakes had its chance of tying it up again in the 66th minute as Ashley Chernich kicked from an acute angle and her shot grazed the crossbar before going wide.

"I saw it hit the bar and go out," Chernich said.

The Eagles got on the board nine minutes in for a 1-0 lead. Michele Kosmen scored her 21st goal off a pass laid back from Alex Neal.

The Patriots countered by tying the game in the 21st minute when Nicole Sodomire found the back of the net off her own rebounded shot.

Stevenson took the lead for the first time at 2-1 in the 27th minute. Jackie Wynn, moved up from midfield to forward, took a pass from Krejsa, made a move beating a Lakes defender and shot past Fitzpatrick.

"I went up when we were tied," said Wynn, who'd made the move one other time earlier this season. "It was a good idea.

"I saw the defender off balance a little, made a move and got by her. I took it to the inside and then I saw the goalie bent over and took it over her head."

Lakes tied the game just 19 seconds later as Chernich beat Stevenson keeper Lizzy Sanscrainte (3 saves) off a Jenna Baker assist.

"We had some nice goals in the run of play," Lakes coach Kevin Kullby said. "We had some other chances early, too. We did let (Stevenson) back in. Give them credit - (Stevenson) was a nice team. They pressure the ball real well and they seem to make the loose balls bounce their way.

"We just had some breakdowns when they scored their goals. We were there knocking on the door and couldn't get another one."