Krakowski's goal gets Libertyville past Glenbrook North for Warren Sectional title
Jenna Krakowski's second half goal was the difference for Libertyville Friday in a 1-0 victory over Glenbrook North and the Warren Sectional title.
The Wildcats (17-3-2) meet Evanston (20-2-3) Tuesday in the New Trier Supersectional.
"We battled, fought, and had a lot of energy tonight against a great team that has two really great players. In the end I think we had a little bit more to help us come away with the victory," Krakowski said.
The Wildcats were able to keep the all-state duo of Margy Porta (21 goals) and Morissa Lambert (16 goals, 13 assists) from prying open a stingy Wildcats back line which saw the Spartans (20-2-1) hit the post once in the first half, but never put anything dangerous on keeper Kate Hopma.
"It was important to keep a close eye on No. 3 (Porta) and to pass her off to other defenders when we needed to. Our entire back line and team played really good defense tonight," junior Pru Babat said.
The Spartans bench would howl in its disappointment when a 50-50 ball between their keeper, sophomore Maddy Noll, and Wildcats senior Paige Gleason collided the referee did not signal a foul. The ball spilled out of the area where Krakowski unloaded her 30-yard one-timer into the back of the net in the 60th minute.
"It all happened so fast, and I think it was (Paige) who got me the ball before looking up, and taking a shot," said Krakowski.
The loss prevented the Spartans from claiming its first sectional title in program history.
The Wildcats will not only have a chance to avenge a 3-2 loss to Evanston in April, put another opportunity to book a spot in the 3A state finals for the second consecutive season.
Deerfield 3, Lake Forest 1: Top seed Deerfield (21-3-2) would need extra time to defeat No. 6 Lake Forest (10-11-1) to win the Wauconda Sectional Friday.
Rich Gradys' club will face Rockford Boylan (19-1-0) in Tuesday's Freeport Supersectional.
"Lake Forest has played so many 3A teams this year, including Libertyville, Stevenson and Warren, so we knew we would be (in) for it tonight," said Grady, whose last club to go this far was in 2016 when it was a Class 2A state runner-up.
The Scouts hit the opener off a flip-throw seconds before intermission, and in the 53rd minute Emily Fox scored her 21st of the season.
Both sides had chances the rest of the way, according to Grady, and when 80 minutes could not decide a winner it went to two 10-minute extra sessions.
Once there, Ryane Emory netted the eventual game-winner 40 seconds into the period, before Fox ensured victory in the 90th minute, with an assist from Aubrey Galvan, her second of the night, and Holly Deutsch, her 29th of the season.
"When teams get this far in the postseason, every game is played at a high level, so we are happy to get the result over a very good Lake Forest team," Grady said.