Hawks defeat Joliet, advance to regional final

On a cold, windy, overcast and occasionally misty day that seemed like perfect football weather, a game of another sort was being played in Palatine as Harper College hosted Joliet Junior College in regional semifinal play Tuesday.

As there counterparts did on Saturday, the Harper women defeated Joliet 2-0.

The game was forced to be moved from the Hawks' main field to an alternate field on campus because of the weather.

“We trained on that yesterday,” said Harper coach Dwayne Cruz. “We were prepared for it.”

The Wolves spent most of the first half with possession of the ball in their attacking half.

“We changed our formation (to a 5-3-2) due to the wind,” Cruz said.

With the game scoreless, Harper's Alanah Thompson dribbled the ball down the left flank. She stopped, then started her dribble again, passing two Wolves defenders and taking a shot past the Wolves goalie and into the back of the net to make the score 1-0.

“As soon as I saw an opening I decided to shoot,” Thompson said. “With a little luck and the wind, it went in.”

“With Alanah scoring in the first half, that was huge it took a lot of pressure off us in the first half,” Cruz said.

The Hawks continued to attack the left flank during the latter portions of the first half to earn more quality scorning chances.

“We had trained all week on getting on the flank and slotting the ball to the 6-yard line” said Cruz.

With the winds getting stronger and starting to swirl and a light mist falling, the Hawks' attack seemed to get stronger during the early portions of the second half. Harper added to its lead when freshman Jaclyn LaRocco scored to make the score 2-0.

Harper goalie Allie Fernandez was able to come up with saves when tested to keep the game scoreless.

“It could have been my last game, but I didn't want that to happen,” said Thompson. “We all played our butts off. I am proud of everyone.”