Buffalo Grove wins key MSL East match

In a Mid-Suburban East girls soccer match both sides needed to have, only Buffalo Grove got what it was looking for Friday night.

The Bison came alive in the second half on the road, striking for 3 goals to defeat undermanned Elk Grove 4-0 and move 3 points clear of the Grens while staying closer to division-leading Hersey. BG meets Hersey next Friday in a match that will likely decide who represents the East in next month’s MSL Soccer Bowl.

“It was clearly our most important game of the season in the conference, and I know it was the same for Dan (Elk Grove coach Klaus) and his team as well, and we did the things we needed to do, and were fortunate to come away with the victory, and stay in the race in the division,” said Bison coach Pat Dudle, whose club survived an awful night of bone-chilling weather to earn 3 points.

“Everyone stepped up to give a little extra effort, especially with us already without Carolynn (Wieland) who’s injured and out for awhile, and we (kept) up the effort when we lost Colleen Zickert in the first half also,” said keeper Katie Okamoto, who is just one of five seniors on a young BG roster for 2012. “Despite our youth, there’s a lot of great chemistry here this season, and it’s one of the main reasons for our success thus far.”

Elk Grove which until just last week was cruising along undefeated and right in the mix of the division race, suddenly has hit the inury wall. The Grens (8-3-1, 3-2-1, 10 points) are without their top three scorers, including one of the best strikers in the state, Kelli Hubly.

With the senior out, along with her running mate Nikki Zaino and outside midfielder Kelly Naughton, the Elk Grove attack was stuck in neutral for most of the match. It was only able to muster some quality opportunities when the strong wind was at its back in the first half and Klaus moved all-state sweeper Katie Naughton up to jump-start the offense when the Bison (10-2-1, 4-2-1, 13 points) took the lead at 32 minutes.

“We really have little firepower with those three out of the lineup, and maybe if we had scored on an early chance, we might have packed it in and taken our chances that way instead,” said Klaus, who brought up three players from the JV to give his roster a boost. “But that’s not really the way we play, and certainly not my M.O. either.”

Grens keeper Melissa Solorio initially saved Kelli Zickert’s shot on frame, but in the process, the freshman gave up a rebound to Colleen Zickert, who poured in the only goal the visitors would need.

Klaus pushed Naughton up front to join Emily Wary, who moved from her usual spot along the back to give the Grens some experience and pace in the absence of Hubly and Zaino. But the Notre Dame-bound Naughton wasn’t able to provide enough magic in the Grens’ attack to help draw the even before the break.

“Katie is such a great player in the back, and makes it nearly impossible for anyone to get in on their goal,” said Dudle. “We were hoping when Dan moved her up that we would be able to take advantage of her not being back there, while not allowing her to get their attack going.”

Sara Busse’s nonstop running was rewarded just three minutes after intermission when the freshman thumped a header past Solorio at the end of a scrum to help the visitors double the lead.

The Bison continued to attack, and with the freshman-sophomore duo of Jessica Kovach and Kelli Zickert pushing the pace, the Bison soon got back into the scorebook when Zickert’s blast off the gloves of Solorio nestled into the back of the net at 68 minutes.

Senior Nicole Gardner added a goal in the 78th minute to finish the scoring.

“We can possess and move the ball around really well as a team, but I’ve got a lot of confidence in my defense in front of me, and that’s been another reason that our record is what it is,” said Okamoto.

“To get a win, our 10th of the season, against a quality opponent like Elk Grove and in a game that we needed to have, says a lot about this team and how they can deal with having some key players out with injuries,” Dudle said. “Now we just have to keep it going.”

The Grens complete in the Pepsi Showdown at 1 p.m. Saturday against Glenbrook South at Schaumburg’s Olympic Park.