WW South frames a victory
A soccer goal is 8 feet high and 24 feet wide, and sometimes putting a shot between the posts and under the crossbar is harder than you'd think.
And sometimes the ball just finds the perfect spot.
That's how Wheaton Warrenville South's girls soccer team defeated Neuqua Valley 1-0 Tuesday night at the Class 3A Naperville Central sectional semifinals.
Heidi Ansiel's chip-shot goal to the far corner of the net in the 63rd minute was all the Tigers (18-3-3) needed to eliminate the Wildcats (19-3-2).
"I was just trying to put it on frame," Ansiel said of her second goal of the season.
"The great thing about Heidi is she's very optimistic, and she can create things her speed and her aggressive spirit," Tigers coach Guy Callipari said. "She reads the game well and anticipated to step in and block, and are we fortunate? Absolutely. No one could do that again if we tried, but we'll take it. Goals are goals, and goals count."
Neuqua Valley fired 18 shots at the WW South net but forced Tigers goalkeeper Kelsey Graham to make just 3 saves. A header in the 32nd minute during a scramble in front of Graham's net hit the crossbar and bounced away.
"They had a lot of good shots, they just kept shanking them," Ansiel said.
"We had lots of chances," added Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau. "Shots on goal just wasn't a great stat for us today. Shots off goal was a pretty high stat."
Neuqua Valley was especially aggressive in first half, when it outshot the Tigers 12-4. Somehow the Tigers withstood the pressure.
"It's a tall order. They have so many weapons and some great young kids that they expose us in a 1v1 environment, especially in the last 20 minutes of the first half," Callipari said. "We had to regroup, and we needed some more midfield pressure. We needed more pressure on the ball."
WW South will meet Waubonsie Valley for the sectional championship at 6 p.m. Friday.
"We're going to have our work cut out for us Friday," Callipari said. "...We just feel good. We just feel good. The journey continues."