Rosary falls in sectional semifinals

There was an inescapable feeling throughout that the winning team would score with the wind at its back.

Tuesday afternoon at the Burlington Central girls Class 2A soccer sectional semifinal, Rosary held Freeport scoreless in the opening 40 minutes while going into the teeth of a gusting northeast wind on the offensive end.

The Royals, making a third consecutive sectional semifinal appearance, had far more scoring opportunities when the teams switched ends after the first half.

But Freeport would make the most of its sole second-half opportunity.

Darice Brooks scampered some 25 yards with a breakaway chance late in the second half; the Freeport sophomore midfielder overran the ball, but teammate Julia Luecke drove home a low scorcher past the Rosary keeper for the only goal of the game.

Rosary had its season come to a close at 11-11-3 with its 1-0 defeat.

“That was definitely not by design,” Freeport coach Nick Namio said of the Luecke match-winner with 10 minutes, 36 seconds to play. “(The ball) came right to Julia’s foot. Aurora definitely played much better with the wind.”

Rosary dictated the action for virtually the entire second half.

The Royals desperately sought the equalizer over the final 10 minutes, but Freeport keeper Becca Ursin denied all of their scoring chances.

“We had plenty of chances,” Rosary midfielder Kaitlin Johnson said. “It was a matter of (their) goalie being really good. The one chance they had, they finished.”

“(The goal) was really our only real goal-scoring opportunity of the half,” concurred Namio.

“I didn’t anticipate (Freeport scoring against the wind),” Rosary coach Kevin Callaghan said.

It appeared as though Johnson, a Geneva resident, may have tied the game late in regulation, but her goal with three-plus minutes remaining was disallowed.

“She was half a yard offside,” Callaghan said.

Rosary had 5 more shots on goal, 10-5, than the Pretzels (15-5-2), but none of the Royals’ shots found the proper destination.

Johnson and Taylor Gibson spearheaded the Rosary assault, and the duo had several quality looks deep inside Freeport territory.

But the Pretzels’ inner line of defense invariable held, or Ursin — as she did with two minutes remaining with a deft punch — cleared or handled all of the Royals’ shots.

“I think we outplayed them,” Callaghan said. “We controlled the field far more than they did.

But it was Luecke whose lone second-half chance found the back of the net.

“(Brooks) accidentally stopped (her dribble), and all I had to do was finish it in the left corner,” Luecke said.

Christine Dickerson, Brittany Hutchinson, Jaclyn Nelson and Tara Early played their final match for Rosary.