Girls soccer: Kaneland earns regional title in impressive fashion
Once again, Kaneland’s combination of an explosive offense and an airtight defense delivered a positive result for the Knights on Saturday morning — a 6-0 Class 2A Kaneland regional championship win over Woodstock.
Kaneland, a Belvidere Sectional No. 2 seed, will play top-seeded Rockford Boylan in the second semifinal on Wednesday. In addition to advancing to the sectional title match, the 18-5-2 Knights will be looking to tie the program record for most wins in a season.
Junior Erin Doucette and freshman Taylor Mills scored in both halves. Junior Kyra Lilly and sophomore Sophia Rosati also found the back of the net.
Senior goalkeeper Natalie Myers and the Knights’ backline racked up the squad’s 16th shutout of the season.
“We are playing very, very well as a team. This match was probably one of our best performances all year,” said Kaneland coach Scott Parillo. “We dominated from the get-go. Woodstock only had three shots on goal.”
Kaneland has scored 109 goals this season while giving up only 18 to opponents
Doucette put Kaneland in front in the ninth minute on a feed from Lilly.
The Knights extended their lead late in the first half. Mills’ shot crossed the goal line with 13:17 before halftime. A Lily strike less than four minutes later gave Kaneland a 3-0 advantage at intermission.
“I think we played really well. We had good connections on the fields and obviously we have some really good attackers who really made a big difference,” said Kaneland freshman defender Corinne Faivre. “And I also think our defense is pretty strong.”
Doucette scored her record-setting 40th goal of the season in the 59th minute. Two minutes later, the junior earned an assist on Rosati’s strike for a commanding 5-0 lead.
“Erin’s forty goals is a program record not just for girls but for boys too,” Parillo said.
With 14:31 left to play, Mills’ second goal ended the scoring.
Woodstock (12-8) had to quickly recharge after Friday night‘s 5-1 semifinal win over Plano.
“Playing back-to-back is always a tough thing to do,” Woodstock coach Brian Thomas said. “We finished our game last night at 6:30 and then we had to be back here again at. 9:00 this morning”
The Knights’ front line challenged Woodstock’s defense.
“I think that they had a really good offense,” Blue Streak senior Brooklyn Kentgen said. “We were communicating, and the effort was there, but we just couldn’t keep on our marks.”
The Knights have regrouped after a disappointing 0-3 performance in an early May tournament in Iowa.
“When we went to the Tournament of Champions, we did not do well there. It humbled us and made us refocus,” Parillo said. “And since then, we haven’t lost a game.”
Although his squad was denied the regional crown, Woodstock’s 2025 campaign was a fruitful one, according to Thomas.
“A super successful season. I can’t remember the last time that program won a regional game and if we had completed the win today, it would have been the first one (girls soccer regional championship) in school history,” the Blue Streak coach said. “So, I think we had a great season. We were (Kishwaukee River) conference champs and finished third in the conference tournament.”