No. 13 Libertyville surprises Hersey
Maybe the number 13 is going to be lucky number for Libertyville girls soccer team.
The No. 13 seed Wildcats (13-8-1) stunned top seed Hersey 2-1 late Tuesday afternoon on their home turf, and now host No. 9 seed Palatine on Friday night for the regional championship in the Class 3A Palatine sectional.
“We’ve been playing really well lately, and we all knew we weren’t a 13 seed, so this was a great opportunity for us to prove it tonight against the No. 1,” said Libertyville’s Jessie Stanley, who struck the eventual game-winner at 60 minutes, with teammate Kathleen Graham putting the finishing touches on the victory with a second goal late in the match.
The visiting Huskies (15-6-2) were without backline standout Olivia Stasiuk (concussion). Yet they still opened sharply and enjoyed the run of play as they possessed and knocked the ball around from touchline to touchline while Libertyville worked hard to weather the offensive storm the MSL East champs were providing.
Nicole Pietro sent a crashing drive off the bar at nine minutes, and in the 22nd minute, the Huskies peppered Wildcats keeper Elaine Sundberg in a sequence that saw both Jessica Schmidt and Kaitlyn Smetana find the post, both from within 10 yards. Lauren Gierman’s serve into the box helped create the sequence that had Wildcats fans holding their collective breath.
“We had our chances to put a couple away in that first half, and when you don’t, especially in the playoffs, it almost always comes back to haunt you,” said Hersey coach Brad Abel. “(They) got that all-important first goal, and we were then chasing the lead. But that second goal really did us in.”
Abel had opened with all-area midfielder Megan Boyle in the back in place of Stasiuk, and just before the hour struck on the scoreboard, he pushed the four-year standout into the middle while sending Gierman, one of his top scorers, up top to add some firepower to the attack.
Stanley, who along with Ali Urbanski and Graham began to provide some much needed pace and energy for the Wildcats, helped fuel the attack, which increasingly became more of a threat just minutes before Stanley found the back of the net.
Against the run of play, Stanley and Mia Hollingsworth raced forward, and with a couple of quick touches, their combination work paid off when Stanley got a shot past a diving Morgan Harris.
“My eyes got real big when I had the ball in close before I put it into the back of the net,” said Stanley.
The goal was the fortunate break the Wildcats needed, and afterward, they began to show a renewed appetite toward doubling their lead.
The Huskies’ most creative outlet remained Gierman, as well as Casey Weyhrich and Kaitlyn Smetana, but the Wildcats quartet of Jordan Bauer, Allison Kelly, Lauren De Prato and Sydney Mudd were able to neutralize any trouble.
Harris made a wonderfully athletic save on Katie McAuliffe, but in doing so the sophomore keeper allowed a rebound to spill free, and an opportunistic Graham sent another Libertyville goal into the net at 75 minutes.
“It’s a tough way to go out, but I am so proud of this group,” said Abel of a senior-led squad which helped lead the Huskies to four consecutive trips to the Mid-Suburban League Cup.
Kaitlyn Smetana provided Hersey with an unassisted goal in the 80th minute.