Condon's surge carries Barrington

ROCKFORD - Caroline Condon knew she needed to score.

The Barrington senior midfielder didn't waste much time doing so, either.

Condon took the ball at the start of the second half, drove past the entire Cary-Grove defense and put away the game-winning goal just 32 seconds into the half. Barrington's tight defense held off the Trojans the rest of the way as the Fillies claimed a 2-1 victory in the Class 3A Rockford Boylan sectional title game Saturday.

"At halftime we talked about beginning better in the second half," Condon said. "We knew we had to come out. In past games, it's been hard to score, so I was glad we got a quick goal."

The win marks the second straight sectional crown for the Fillies (24-2-3). Barrington will face St. Charles North, a 5-0 winner over Conant on Friday, in its own supersectional at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Condon was able to break free of all three Cary-Grove defenders by dribbling up the right side of the field and outrunning the defense.

"That goal was an unbelievable effort by Caroline Condon," said Trojans coach Ray Krystal. "We know her. That's the type of player she is."

After Condon's goal, Barrington switched to a defensive attack to prevent the quicker Trojans from scoring again.

"They were getting free service in the middle of the field," Fillies coach Ryan Stengren said. "We knew they were fast. They created chances with their speed."

After trailing 1-0, Cary-Grove (15-8) answered back with a goal from Brittany Kroening. The senior, who missed her graduation to play in the sectional championship game, took a pass from Korey Kronforst and sent it over the head of Barrington goalkeeper Kelly Pedersen (4 saves). Pedersen made an attempt to leap up and grab the ball, but Kroening placed it just out of her reach to tie the game at 1-1 with 3:45 left in the first half.

"I almost took another touch, but I thought I should shoot it," Kroening said. "I knew I had to place it really high or really low. They're a good team and I think we gave them a good game."

The Fillies had quick starts at both halves against Cary-Grove.

Barrington had 8 shots on goal in the first half but managed just a 1-1 tie at halftime.

Condon looked to score with just under seven minutes left in the half, but her shot was deflected off of Trojans defender Sierra Romero. Freshman Molly Pfeiffer grabbed the ball and sent it on the ground past Trojans goalkeeper Paige Lincicum (11 saves) with 6:31 left in the first half.