Pietro, Hersey top Stevenson
Nicole Pietro scored 2 second-half goals Friday night and help decide a dramatic ending to give Hersey a 2-1 victory and claim a regional championship over host Stevenson.
Next up for the Huskies (13-4-5) is No. 1 seed Glenbrook South on Tuesday evening at the Palatine sectional.
"I am so happy for (Pietro) because she does so much of the dirty work out there every match, running hard, coming back to defend, and always a key contributor, all without much fanfare," said Hersey coach Brad Abel. "It's just great that tonight she is rewarded for all of that work with those two great goals to help us get through."
After a goal-less first half - which was kept so by some inspirational saves by Hersey keeper Julia Fredian - the final quarter hour of play was where it was all at, with the hosts drawing even at 73 minutes after Pietro finished an Alexa Ruzkowski serve.
"Fredian was terrific in the first half, a first half where we played 40 minutes of great soccer but were unable to solve (Hersey) or their keeper," said Stevenson coach Mark Schartner.
"Julia was amazing," added Abel. "She was in command in and around the 18 all night long, especially in (that) first half, and she's the reason it was 0-0 at the break."
Missy Loretto brought the Patriots even when she broke free inside the area and placed her shot past a diving Fredian after being sent through by Nicole Sodomire from the right side.
Moments later, Pietro took center stage when the sophomore struck the game-winner after teammates Andrea Perkins and Kathryn Korff orchestrated her opportunity.
"Kathryn gave a great ball out of the back, and Andrea found me and I just one-timed it in," said Pietro, who along with Erin Reiff and freshman Casey Weyrich gave the Huskies plenty of pace and energy up top in the absence of the team's leading scorer, Maeva Waterman, who is out for the year after suffering a fracture to her right foot in the Mid-Suburban Cup last week against Barrington.
"We didn't really play very well in the first half, but we came back with a strong second half, and I thought we responded well after Stevenson tied up the game," said Perkins, grasping a regional trophy Hersey won for the third straight year.
The North Suburban champs finish the season at 14-5-1, quite an accomplishment after the club dealt with key injuries throughout the season, including one to standout Taylor Connington, who was lost for the year in the first week of the season.
"This has been a difficult year for this team because of the rash of injuries that we have suffered, beginning with Taylor, who is clearly one of the top players in the state," said Schartner. "But the great thing about this group of players is that everyone just stepped up and filled in where and when we needed (them) to, and I've been extremely proud of all our players for doing just that."