Carmel charges ahead as Jung scores game-winner
Carmel laid to rest the ghosts of its much-too-early exit from last year's state tournament with its defeat of No. 10 Deerfield on Tuesday night at the Fremd regional in Palatine.
Sophomore Shannon Jung struck the eventual game-winner in spectacular fashion, scoring from just outside the 18 with a blast that rattled off the post and into the back of the net just seconds before intermission.
The Corsairs' 1-0 victory advances the No. 7 seed into Friday's 6 p.m. final against top seed Fremd (14-4-2) which earlier shut out Buffalo Grove 3-0 in the first match of this regional doubleheader.
"A lot of us remember losing our regional opener in shootout last year to Mundelein, so there was a lot of motivation for the team even before the game began tonight," said Lauren Bowles, who, along with her mates in the middle of the park earned high praise from Corsairs coach John Halloran.
"Our midfield tonight put plenty of pressure on Deerfield the entire match, and the backline of Kassidy Brown, Caitlin Jung and Jessica Gilstrap did just a great job of keeping nearly everything away from Maddie Allen, our keeper, and to allow us to get the shutout," said Halloran.
The Corsairs (11-6-3) were able to triumph, in part, thanks to some crowd-pleasing attacking soccer, which for most of the match was played with great speed and some creative ball movement. That kept the Warriors (11-9-4) at bay as they struggled to find their best player on the ball, Ali Ragins.
"We played to feet really well tonight, and so much better than our last game of the year against St. Viator," said Jung, of the Corsairs' disappointing 3-2 loss in OT to the ESCC co-champs a week ago.
Backed up by a determined midfield, the Corsairs were rampant up top for long stretches, with freshmen Meegan Johnston, Lauren Lehman and Sarah McHugh each taking turns to cause trouble in the Warriors' end for most of the first half.
The Corsairs lost Leah Einarsen to a knee injury at 18 minutes for the rest of the match, and after a brief letdown following their teammates' injury, they nearly scored when an inward swinging corner from Brown was pulled down by keeper Emily Gilbert - before the senior was pushed over the endline by a pair of opportunistic players from Carmel.
The goal was waved off, and that match stayed scoreless for the rest of the first half.
The Jung strike came just moments after Allen went high to take a well-aimed free kick from Meredith Krifka out of the air - it would have found the net if it had not played so well.
"Maddie came through when we needed her to, and that came at a time when Deerfield had a little push forward before Shannon's goal," said Halloran.
Carmel stayed committed to holding onto its lead after the break and never allowed the Warriors quality chances on Allen. The Corsairs added to their lead when Johnston skimmed the bar from in close, and McHugh almost caught up to a Lehman pass sent to the spot which forced Gilbert off her line to collect.
"Last year we entered the postseason 16-3-0 and on a roll. One game later, we were done for good, and at the hands of our crosstown rival Mundelein," said Halloran. "I really thought we had a good run in us (then), so over the weekend I reminded the girls we should just come out and play with confidence and have some fun, and to put our regular season behind us starting tonight and to just look ahead."