Three-goal spree lifts St. Charles East past West Chicago
Suspended playoff soccer matches always pick up where the match was halted, no matter if the match continues the same evening, or as in the case of St. Charles East's match with West Chicago, 22 hours later.
So after lightning and hail forced the final 72 minutes of Tuesday's match to be moved to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the Saints and Wildcats resumed play 8 minutes into a scoreless first half and West Chicago had a corner kick to take.
"To be honest with you, I was thinking last night that this couldn't have been a worse position to start off in," St. Charles East coach Paul Jennison said.
The Saints defended that corner kick, then withstood a 5-minute barrage by the regional hosts before turning to their own attack. And when they did, they did so with devastating efficiency.
St. Charles East defeated West Chicago 5-0 in the Class 4A West Chicago regional semifinals and advanced to Friday's title match. The Saints face Wheaton Warrenville South in a 5 p.m. match for the regional championship. The Tigers edged Schaumburg 1-0 in overtime in Wednesday's second semifinal.
"We got the job done, which was to get the win, get the shutout and to get ready for Friday night, so we're happy to have done that," Jennison said. "It was a good game and I felt both teams played well."
West Chicago (6-15) was dangerous early after the resumption. Vicky Cantu sent a shot wide, hit a shot that rattled off the football crossbar just over the top of the soccer goal and then Kayla Kirkwood hit the soccer crossbar with a free kick.
"I thought that yesterday and the first 12 minutes today, we brought everything we had," West Chicago coach Cesar Gomez said. "We had a wide open shot from Vicky Cantu. At some point, they do what they do consistently."
St. Charles East (14-4-2) regrouped and took control of the match with three goals in 5 minutes. First Sophie Jendrzeczyk passed to Darcy Cunningham, whose shot from the right channel of the penalty area tore into the net.
"We've been practicing a lot and I think we've been succeeding, I think," Jendrzeczyk said. "We try to work hard and play to each other so we can finish."
That goal came with 18:58. Three minutes later, the Saints doubled their lead following a throw-in at which both teams seemed to pause briefly. St. Charles East moved at match pace first and scored when Amanda Hilton hit an open shot from the top of the penalty area.
Two minutes later - 13 minutes before halftime - the Saints effectively sealed the victory when Kelli Santo Paolo sent a right-to-left pass to Hannah Rawson, whose low shot back toward the right post scored.
With a 3-0 halftime lead, the Saints attacked nearly non-stop. The fourth goal came 14 minutes into the second half when Hilton passed to Jendrzeczyk. With five different scorers, confidence was high among St. Charles East's attacking players.
"It gets me more confident and I think it pumps the whole team up too," Jendrzeczyk said.
St. Charles East's midfield negated most of West Chicago's attacks and provided an advanced platform from which to organize attacks of its own.
Five minutes from the end of the match. Claire Rasmussen scored the Saints' fifth goal when she moved infield from left-to-right at the top of the penalty area and still found herself unmarked for a shot.
Despite the ever-increasing deficit, West Chicago continued to press for a goal, and had the ball in the Saints penalty area late in the match, forcing Alison Chesterfield to make a save.
"I want to give a compliment to West Chicago," Jennison said. "It's very easy when you win a game 5-0 to turn around and say the other team played well. But they're trying to do things the right way, and it's a credit to (Gomez) for the time he's putting in. A lot of teams don't play for 80 minutes and don't try to play soccer the right way. What he's done to elevate the program is fantastic."
The Wildcats only graduate Shelly Moskow from this year's squad.
"We're looking forward to next year," Gomez said. "I told the team they faced a very tough team that's disciplined with what they do and is athletic. We're still a little bit away from that."