Girls soccer: Labri heads Neuqua Valley past Plainfield North, into sectionals

For about 20 minutes, the Class 3A Plainfield North regional final looked like it was going in Neuqua Valley’s favor. For another 20 minutes, it seemed like it was just a matter of time before Plainfield North took victory.

A back and forth first half was followed by a scoreless second half. Even the first half of overtime remained a dead even heat. It wasn’t until midway through the second half of OT that someone finally broke through.

That someone was Selma Labri of Neuqua Valley.

After neither team had scored for 55 minutes, Labri took a header off the cross and sailed the ball into the back of Plainfield North’s net with 5:38 to go in OT. Plainfield North was unable to respond and force penalty kicks, resulting in a 3-2 win and regional championship for Neuqua Valley.

Possession was firmly in the Wildcats’ favor the first 20 minutes of the contest as they created a litany of chances. Neuqua managed to break through in the 11th minute thanks to a goal by Alaina Chandola.

Around the 19th minute, though, things started to change. It was the Tigers who began to control the game and in dominant form. They knotted things up in the 24th minute with a close range goal from Mady Czarnik.

The final 10 minutes of the first half was a bit of a seesaw battle, but the teeter-totter landed in Plainfield North’s favor in the 37th minute. That was when Ilyana Barriball took her chances from 30 yards out and sailed it past keeper Elizabeth Fried to put Plainfield North up 2-1.

However, things were even again with 53 seconds left in the first half as Neuqua’s Safa Jeffery snuck the ball in to make the first half a 2-2 draw.

The second half was just as much of a dual. The defense was fierce for both with Barriball’s PK attempt in the 63rd minute the only meaningful scoring attempt up to that point. Fried made a diving save to deflect the ball and keep things at a draw.

The game remained 2-2 through the rest of regulation, leading to OT. The first half of OT went scoreless before Labri’s goal in the second half to net the win.

“I was just really, really excited to help my team out,” Labri said. “I knew once (teammate Alessandra) Russo was dribbling to the left side I had to get in because she’s really good at crosses. I knew I had to be right in front of the post and thankfully it went right to me to get the head on it.”

While seven graduating seniors will be tough to replace, Barriball will be back for her junior year after another outstanding season. A number of other underclassmen return, too, so while some rebuilding will take place, the Tigers have a solid group to build around.

“We’ve got a young, young core coming back,” Monterosso said. “Some of them this was their first time playing on varsity. You want to see that progression and we had quite a few sophomores and freshmen step up in big starting roles. We’re hopefully going to see that progression continue.”

Neuqua Valley will play Naperville Central in the Naperville North Sectional semifinals at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

The Tigers (15-4) ended their season two rounds earlier than last season in a year that saw them overcome a lot of youth. The Tigers lost a massive load of seniors from 2024 and even some underclassmen that opted to focus on club play. They still finished second in the Southwest Prairie Conference and made the regional finals.

Now, they say farewell to seven seniors, four of them starters, including Ball State commit Grier Isaacson.

Plainfield North coach Kathleen Monterosso expressed deep gratitude for all that this class has given.

“We asked a lot of our seniors,” she said. “Some of our seniors were not playing in their normal positions. They were filling in for spots that we lost in a huge senior class last year. It’s hats off and kudos to those seniors who never complained and just helped out the team.”

A tearful Isaacson echoed that same gratitude.

“It’s a really great team,” she said. “We’ve always been tight and it really is a family. It’s always tough when it comes to the end of the season. I feel like we’ve worked through a lot and only gotten better despite losing players. I love this team.”