Girls soccer: St. Charles East captures Rose Augsburg-Drach Invitational title in second overtime
There was a sense of dread that St. Charles East would find itself going to penalty kicks once again.
After going the distance the night before to secure a spot in the championship match of the Rose Ausburg-Drach Invitational, the Saints found themselves tied with Plainfield North with the clock winding down in the second half of overtime.
But with three minutes to go in the half, sophomore Mya Leon found herself with a chance to avoid going to penalties. And she went head-on into the defense to do so.
“My coach was really honest about dribbling at the defenders because if you see someone dribbling at you, you’re going to freeze up a bit,” Leon said. “I just took that chance in that moment. Then I turned and shot it and just prayed that it would go in.”
Leon found the back of the net with her shot in the 98th minute, helping the Saints secure a 2-1 victory over the Tigers to win the Rose Ausburg-Drach Invitational title for the second consecutive season.
“It was just the best feeling,” Leon said. “I saw everybody else coming up, and it really took all of us to get up there. It was definitely a team effort.”
Anika Dodrill tied the game for the Saints (5-0) in the 76th minute to force the game into overtime. The senior collected a pass in the penalty box from Sophia Wollenburg and sneaked the ball into the bottom corner of the net.
“We just knew that we had to push in those final minutes,” Dodrill said. “Sophia made a beautiful run and I knew that I found the space from behind. When she cut it back, I just knew I had to touch and shoot it.”
The Saints also got help in goal from junior Mia Olenek, who recorded 11 saves over the 100 minutes of play. And after a tumultuous two-day stretch in net, which included a game-winning save against York in penalties the night before, the Minnesota commit admitted she was more than a little tired.
“I just had so much adrenaline coming in from saving the PK to have us in this game,” Olenek said. “I was so locked in for this moment and I’ve been waiting for it. I was definitely fatigued, but that adrenaline just kept me going until the last minute.”
None were bigger than in the 55th minute, when Olenek made a diving stop on a penalty kick by DePaul commit Katelyn Haiser to keep it a one-score game.
“I’m very confident in myself, and no matter who’s at the line I’m going to bet on myself any day,” Olenek said. “Going into the PKs, we train them all of the time at practice, so I’m experienced with them, and I’m going to continue to bet on myself every time.”
Jourdan Henderson gave the Tigers (3-1) the lead less than a minute into the second half. The freshman corralled a pass from Haiser and had her shot bounce off the crossbar before landing inside the goal.
“We always tell our girls that it’s from the go, and Jourdan stepped up huge for us,” Tigers coach Katie Monterosso said. “She just ripped that ball and thankfully it tucked under the bar, which was huge for us coming out of the gate right away.”
The Tigers, who improved on a third-place finish in the tournament last year with a runner-up finish, recorded 15 shots on goal in the contest, with Haiser leading the team with six.
“There’s just some different factors, like the defense you’re playing against and having some new players trying to find those combinations,” Monterosso said. “It’s just moving forward and analyzing the film and going back at it at practice and analyzing the film. We just need to do our homework and get back at it.”
St. Charles North secured third place in the tournament, getting a 2-1 victory over York.