Glenbard East scores narrow win over Willowbrook
A 2-0 win against a local rival like Willowbrook seems like a pretty good night, but coach Kent Overbey and the Glenbard East girls soccer team weren't as satisfied as you might think.
The Rams (8-9-2) squandered numerous opportunities against the Warriors on Thursday night at Willowbrook (8-7), chances that might have come back to haunt them had this been a postseason match.
Within the first five minutes of the game, it was clear that the speed of the Glenbard East striking corps would play a factor in this game. Pair that speed with the high defensive line that Willowbrook was playing and a misfiring offside trap, chances were certainly there to be had.
"To compress the field, sometimes it was 20-yard long, so I was surprised to (see the high line), and I think certainly the 10 offsides we had in the first five minutes our forwards were definitely surprised as well," Overbey said.
Oddly enough though, Glenbard East's first goal came off a set piece rather than through the run of play.
Just less than 10 minutes into the game a Sammie Sarles corner kick dropped to Jordyn Fulton, who got a piece of the ball and slipped it between the Willowbrook goalkeeper and post defender, who had a bit of a miscommunication on the play.
The Rams kept pushing after the goal, playing long balls over the top for forwards and midfielders to run onto. Had it not been for Warriors goalkeeper Alexis Jones coming off her line the whole game and playing the sweeper-keeper position to perfection, the score could have gotten out of hand very quickly.
Unfortunately for Jones, the trend of the game felt like Glenbard East would at least get one off of a Willowbrook defense that had trouble following runners, and that chance fell to Holly Ward just five minutes after the second goal.
"On the goal I saw it coming over the top, just ran as fast as I could and dribbled around the goalie and scored," Ward said.
Continuing to press for the rest of the first half and the rest of the second, the Rams couldn't find a third goal, struggling to put away their chances along with continuing to be denied by Jones, who finished the game with 11 saves.
"We gave them quite a few opportunities in the first half," said Willowbrook assistant coach Pete Montgomery, filling in as coach for the night. "Our keeper came up with some very good saves and I think she really turned it up in the second half. Came up with some outstanding plays and outstanding saves in the second half."