Girls soccer/ Scouting the Barrington, Fremd supersectionals
By Mike Garofola
Daily Herald Correspondent
At Barrington
Class 2A
Who: St. Viator (14-8-4) vs. Freeport (20-4-1)
When: 5 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Barrington Community Stadium
Storyline: Hardly tested in the postseason, the No. 1 seed from St. Viator survived its biggest challenge when it defeated No. 2 Lake Forest for the second time this season 1-0. The Lions have had more than their share of injuries, forcing coach Mike Taylor to have a different first-11 in each match, until late in the season when it really counted. Although a 2A participant this spring, Taylor continued to keep his schedule packed with 3A opponents and the move has paid off as his club looks primed for a spot in the final four this weekend. After three losses in the sectional finals in as many seasons, the Pretzels finally broke through in defeating Prairie Ridge 2-1 to capture the Belvidere sectional crown.
Outlook: The Lions were out so early last season in the 3A tournament, that many didn’t even know they were in, and before the 2012 season began, the injury bug hit the club, and continued to sting several players, causing many to wonder if it would be more of the same when this year’s postseason came around. All but Taylor, that is. “The thing about all of our injuries was it made it near impossible for us to find our form, but with all of our injuries, we found out a lot about ourselves, and at the same time, we were able to get (others) the experience needed to give us that much more depth when a few of the players finally returned to the team,” said Taylor. The recent move of three-time all-area MF Katelyn Hammarlund alongside junior Chloe Luthringshausen has formed a dynamic duo up top, while at the same time, Katie Gavin has made the transition into the middle to create, tackle, and win the air and ground war better than most of her counterparts there.
Next: Winner advances into 2A state semifinals at North Central College in Naperville at 11 a.m. Friday to play either Benet or Wheaton St. Francis from the Benedictine University supersectional.
Class 3A
Who: Barrington (19-5-0) vs. St. Charles North (17-5-2)
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Barrington Community Stadium
Storyline: The Fillies are here for the fourth consecutive time after their 2-0 victory over Huntley on Friday in the sectional final at Rockford Boylan. That victory, along with many of the others, culminates a marvelous run by a Fillies club which has somehow endured the loss of their top two strikers, as well as sophomore MF Mia Calamari, who helped anchor the middle for Barrington until an ACL injury ended her season. The North Stars arrive here for the second time in three years, thanks to an exciting shootout victory over Schaumburg at the Saxons home park, and do so with a club just as young as its opponent as it lists nine sophomores on its 2012 roster.
Outlook: The loss of Calamari was a major blow to the Fillies’ hopes early as they lost a superb ball-winner, tackler, and set-piece artist, but after recovering from that injury, the MSL champs went without its all-state star Molly Pfeiffer (hamstring) for a handful of matches, before losing her running mate up top, Ellie Ackermann, to a broken bone in her foot. “It’s kind of crazy that we’re this deep into the playoffs with all of the injuries that we’ve gone through, and with the kind of schedule that we play, but this is a special group — because there are no egos, their work rate is so high, and they just go about their business and train hard, then (show) up and really play,” said Fillies coach Ryan Stengren.
Next: Winner advances into 3A state semifinals at North Central College in Naperville at 7 p.m. Friday against Homewood-Flossmoor or Downers Grove South from the Benedictine University supersectional.
At Fremd
Class 3A
Who: Glenbrook South (20-4-4) vs. New Trier (20-3-1)
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Hale Hildebrandt Field
Storyline: The Titans begin the season 3-3-4, then never looked back, and are currently on a 14-game unbeaten streak, which included a stretch where the club didn’t concede a goal in 12 straight matches. There are 5 holdovers from the 2012 club which finished fourth at the state tournament after defeating New Trier 2-1 in the supersectional to advance. The Trevians avenged two regular-season defeats to Loyola on Friday to secure a place in tonight’s match.
Next: Winner advances into 3A state semifinals at North Central College in Naperville at 5 p.m. Friday against Naperville North or Collinsville from the Normal Community supersectional.