Big finish favors Stevenson
After battling to a scoreless deadlock for 78 minutes and 36 seconds, it was only appropriate that host Stevenson would win its girls regional championship game in Hollywood fashion Friday night against Prospect.
The No. 3-seeded Patriots and No. 6 Prospect had some good scoring chances in this defensive gem. But it was a header by sophomore Erin Bailey on a corner kick by Jenna Weiner with only 1:24 to play that carried Stevenson to an exciting 1-0 victory.
Stevenson (15-5-1) advances to the Palatine sectional Tuesday at 7 p.m. while the Knights closed out their season with a 12-8-3 record.
With time quickly running out on both teams at the end of the second half, Stevenson senior Katie Krejsa kept the ball in play to force what proved to be the game-winning corner kick with about 1:40 to play.
Weiner waited for her teammates to get in place in front of the Prospect net before her kick ultimately found Bailey in a crowd of players. Bailey’s header from close range bounced twice into the far left corner of the net and past Prospect senior goalkeeper Megan McCabe, who never really had much of a chance to stop the decisive goal in a heartbreaking loss for the Knights.
“I’m a defender so I only go in there once in awhile, but I thought it was worth a shot,” said Bailey during the postgame celebration. “We still have more practice to do and I think we’ll be ready for the next game.”
With their backs to the wall in the final minute, the Knights did put together one final offensive surge. But a solid shot from the left wing by Jenny Novak sailed wide left of the net and past Stevenson goalkeeper Cori Calcaterra with 48 seconds remaining before the Pats were able to run out the clock.
“That was an awesome soccer game and there was no give by either team,” said Stevenson coach Mark Schartner. “Erin (Bailey) just worked hard to get to that ball and one step really makes a difference. We’ve got a lot of mature upperclassmen and that’s a big deal.”
Prospect’s best scoring chance of the game happened with 10:05 to play as a close-range shot by freshman Mary Rose Pettenuzzo was booted just wide left to keep the score 0-0 at that point.
The Patriots had an even better scoring opportunity with 14:15 left in the first half after a Knights turnover led to a shot from 10 yards out by Stevenson’s Olivia Whalen. But with McCabe well out of position following the turnover, Prospect defender Kelly Ziegenfuss saved the day as she was able to deflect away Whalen’s shot to preserve the scoreless tie.
“Both teams had opportunities and it was going to come down to the team that finished their opportunities,” said Prospect coach Tom Froats. “I’m proud of how valiantly our girls fought and I couldn’t have asked for a greater group of seniors. It is painful because they put a lot of effort and hard work into this season.”
Stevenson had another good chance for a 1-0 lead with 15:03 to play when Whalen took a pass from teammate Kara Ballard within good striking distance. But once again the Knights’ defense stood strong without allowing Whalen a shot to keep their hopes alive.
Weiner came close to finding Krejsa with an assist on a corner-kick attempt with 15:27 left in the first half. But a header by Krejsa just missed the net, leading to a long offensive drought by both squads.