Conant calmly stops Lake Park
There were many ways Conant coach Jason Franco could have addressed his team at halftime of Tuesday’s St. Charles East Class 3A girls soccer sectional semifinal.
With his team in a scoreless tie with Lake Park and having struggled to find their feet in the contest, Franco could have taken a “raise the roof” attitude or he could have calmly discussed with his team what needed to be done.
Hailey Andress said the second option was the one taken and the one which proved almost immediate dividends in what ended as a 2-1 Conant victory.
“He talked calmly but he was like ‘the longer they stay in there, the longer the game will be closer,’” Andress said. “We knew that as soon as we scored, we could break away, and that’s what he said, to score as quick as we can.”
Conant (18-4) advances to meet Mid-Suburban West rival Schaumburg in Friday’s 6:30 p.m. sectional title match.
The Cougars went straight to work and broke the deadlock in the second minute of the second half. Andress sent a right-wing cross toward Kaitlin Chiero in the center of the penalty area. Chiero finished the chance to put her team in the lead.
“One of the things (Franco) said at halftime was that we didn’t have to have the perfect chipped ball but to have a line drive,” Andress said. “I heard him from the sideline telling me to hit it low and hard. I saw Chiero and I hoped it’d find the perfect place.”
Conant doubled its lead six minutes later when Sammi van de Linde sent over a left-wing cross to Andress on the right wing. Andress sent the ball back toward the left and scored.
“I was a little nervous taking it with my left foot, but (Franco) said that if you’re open, take the shot,” Andress said. “I saw a gap and believed and hoped and it went in.”
That usage of the wings was planned. Both teams got crowded into the center of the field in the first half.
But to prove that the match wasn’t going to finish easily, Lake Park (14-5-3) rallied immediately and halved Conant’s lead in the 10th minute of the second half and only two minutes after Andress’ goal. Megan Lindbert ran onto a through ball, split between two Conant defenders, worked into the penalty area and scored.
“Overall, I couldn’t be happier with how my girls played today,” Lake Park coach Chris Fruehling said. “We had a couple of injuries and the girls who stepped in played great.”
Both teams had chances in the first half. Chiero forced a save from Amanda Siciak early in the match. Late in the half, the Lancers nearly took the lead when Nicole Moore hit the goalpost. But then Conant scored its goals and the Lancers had to regroup.
“We were able to play through that and make a game of it,” Fruehling said. “That’s a tribute to the team and the seniors. They never stop and they give everything they have. They fight for each other until the last whistle blows.”