Girls soccer: Lake Zurich survives Huntley in penalty kicks, will play Barrington for sectional title
It was heartbreak city for the No. 2-seeded Huntley girls soccer team, but instant jubilation for No. 3 Lake Zurich Tuesday night at the Class 3A Warren sectional semifinals.
The very evenly matched teams wound up having to go to a shootout to decide the winner, and it was the Bears (17-2-2) that won the shootout 4-3 to pick up the 1-0 victory.
Lake Zurich will face top-seeded Barrington for the sectional championship Saturday at noon while the Red Raiders closed out their season with a 17-2-3 record.
The Fillies (17-1-2) defeated No. 5 Mundelein 4-0 in the first semifinal contest Tuesday to reach the finals.
Huntley got penalty kick shootout goals from Sophie Bator, Kate Sandora and Brooke Grabs. But Lake Zurich matched those shootout goals as Reilly Novak, Sawyer Klein, and Cammy Niepomnik all found the back of the net to tie the shootout at 3-3.
Then Lake Zurich senior goalie Erin Bohn (5 saves) came up with the save of the night as she stopped a shot by Jaci Laramie to give the Bears a golden opportunity to close in on the win.
Freshman Sophia Korovilas did not let Lake Zurich down as she booted a shot past Huntley goalie Ashlyn Grabs for a 4-3 lead. Then Huntley's next shot by sophomore Itzel Martinez sailed too high over the net setting off a big celebration for the victorious Bears.
"Hats off to Huntley. We just kind of grind out these tough games. We were 3-0 in penalty kicks and now we're 4-0 in penalty kicks,“ said Lake Zurich coach Mike Castronova, whose team showed nerves of steel in the shootout. "Erin (Bohn) is our backbone, she's our vocal leader, and everyone knows we can count on her."
After recently being named to the all-state team, Bohn's plan was just to be decisive during the pressure-packed, penalty-kick round.
"We work on shootouts every day in practice, and I just wanted to go hard and fully commit," said Bohn. "We knew coming into the game it was going to be close. Our defense came together, we communicate well, and we know what our strengths are."
Lake Zurich probably had the best chance to score in the contest when senior Ellie Wise's soft shot hit the right post 12:50 into the second half after a free kick by Novak.
The Red Raiders put a scare in the Bears' defense with a dangerous sequence of passing right in front of the Lake Zurich net with 11:25 left in the second half, but they could not find a solid shot on goal.
Niepomnik and Huntley's Bella Fusco exchanged shots on goal early in the second overtime.
Huntley starter Maizie Nickle was injured with 14 minutes left in the second half and never returned.
"It was pretty evenly matched I would say,“ said Huntley coach Matt Lewandowski. ”Our girls left it on the field for sure, and I think we had the upper hand through the two overtimes and the very end of the game.
"But sometimes it doesn't fall your way. When you get to a shootout like that the night kind of takes its course I would say and soccer is a weird game. It is a heartbreaking one at that too, but to only give up seven goals throughout the whole season is incredible."