Girls soccer: Glenbard East, West Aurora fight to draw
Someday, winter will loosen its icy grip and give way to spring.
But Thursday was not that day. With the temperature hovering in the 30s and heavy snowflakes cascading down from the sky for the last 20 minutes of the second half, Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division rivals West Aurora and Glenbard East battled to a 1-1 tie on Thursday evening in Lombard.
Glenbard East ran its record to 6-1-2, 0-0-2 in the UEC Valley. West Aurora is 1-3-2, 0-0-2.
"We definitely game planned differently (because) we knew today that the field was going to be very fast and very slick and the ball would bounce," said West Aurora coach Laura Wagley on how her team prepared for the conditions. "We wanted to crash their goalie, but their goalie is great."
Glenbard East senior goalkeeper Faith Davies was perfect for the final 76 minutes of the game. In the fourth minute Blackhawks senior Riley O'Brien delivered a corner kick to junior Lexi Juarez, who deposited it into the goal for West Aurora's only score.
"I think mentally for our team it picked us up. We had that extra courage," Juarez said about the effect of an early goal. "We've been struggling a bit here and there with our finishing, but I think that gave us that extra courage we needed to keep on pushing and keep on moving through the cold and communicating with each other. "
The action heated up again 19 minutes later, when Glenbard East senior forward Mimi Camacho dribbled down the left side, gained a step on her defender, turned the corner to the middle and deposited a shot that rocketed into the right side of the net to knot the game at 1-1. It was the one blemish on the night for West Aurora goalkeeper Samara Martinez.
"I thought it was really unfortunate that in the last 30 minutes of the first half we didn't get another (goal)," Glenbard East coach Kent Overbey said. "We played well, but we came out flat. We had a tough 80 minutes on Tuesday (in a 0-0 tie against Bartlett) and tried to turn it around and we weren't able to. They came out ready and they got a goal right away and I thought for the most part we did a good job afterwards."
Like the weather, both teams went ice cold in the scoring department after trading a pair of goals early. Early in the second half a free kick from Rams senior Katie Hansen ricocheted hard off Martinez's hands toward the middle of the field. But there was no Ram there to pursue the loose ball. Later, Rams senior Elizabeth Toledo headed in a free-kick opportunity, but the referees called her offsides and waved off the goal.
On the next possession Hansen harmlessly rattled the crossbar with another shot, providing a suitable summation for the Rams' night. While Overbey expressed disappointment about another tie, at least one Blackhawks player was pleased with her team's effort.
"I think a tie really sets us up for the future," Juarez said. "If it was a loss it would have been starting off with that mentality of we might not be good enough. With a tie we are able to pick ourselves up and say we (hung with) a good team and played them tough."