Girls soccer: Barrington hands Benet first loss; Fremd, Libertyville advance to quarterfinals at Naperville invite

Barrington, Fremd and Libertyville are all group play winners after successful results on Saturday to advance to the quarterfinals of the prestigious Ed Watson Naperville Invite.

The best match of the day was played at Barrington Community Field where No. 4 Benet Academy met the host Fillies, looking to keep its perfect record intact, while moving on in the tournament.

The Redwings would enjoy most of the first half play as they displayed why they have outscored opponents 66-10 thus far.

However, Olivia Otto's second goal of the match just before the intermission, and some terrific team defense, plus another strong effort from keeper Dominique Klujian, helped Barrington claim a hard-fought 3-1 victory.

Maddie Martin-Johnston would insure the win with a 78th minute goal.

"(Benet) is such a good team, their attack is so dangerous, but we came out in the second half with a lot of energy, and put a lot more into defending to get a big win today," said AJ Sanchez.

Otto bagged the opener off a wonderful ball sent into the box from Skye Lundy in the 15th minute, but the reigning ESCC champs needed little time to equalize when Audrey Eiseman finished at the back post.

Eiseman scored the eventual game-winner in Benet’s (12-1-0) 3-2 home victory over league rival St. Viator last Tuesday.

Otto stunned the Redwings when she thumped an inch-perfect cross from Gabby Masterson into the back of the net at 36 minutes.

"Skye, then Maddy both gave me great balls to finish," said Otto.

"I thought we played a really strong first half of soccer, our attack was great, and we had so much energy. But our play fell off just enough in the second half, and we were not able to play at the level we did in the first half," said Benet forward Preslie Petersen.

The No. 8 Fillies (9-2-0) will play Lane Tech in their quarterfinal contest at home while the Redwings move into the consolation bracket to play St. Charles North on Thursday at 5 p.m. at tourney host Naperville Central.

Fremd (8-2-1) recorded back-to-back shutout victories to advance to play No. 1 Naperville Central (11-0-0).

The Vikings defeated Lincoln-Way Central in their group opener (2-0) before registering a 3-0 triumph over Downers Grove South in Northfield on the campus of New Trier.

Sami Serpico, Gia Gillespie and Josephine Thomas were the goal scorers; for Serpico, her team-leading eighth goal of the season.

No. 3 Libertyville (8-1-2) continues to roll past its opponents in tournament play.

The Wildcats beat Huntley, 4-1 on Friday, then exploded for nine goals Saturday to overwhelm Downers Grove South. Six different players found their way into the scorebook, including doubles from Meghan O'Donnell, Mia Gonnella and freshman Brooke Sullivan.

"Brooke has been a great addition to our team this season. She always seems to make something happen when she's out there for us," said Wildcats senior Shea Krakowski.

The Wildcats’ all-state midfielder, who scored two in the 4-1 victory over Huntley, will lead her club into quarterfinal action Thursday against Waubonsie Valley (8-3-1) at 5 p.m. in Aurora.

Hinsdale Central (9-2-1) will face the No. 1 team in the state when it travels to New Trier (13-0-1) for a 7 p.m. contest

Over in Mt. Prospect, at the annual Knights Invite, Glenbrook South (6-4-1) beat St. Viator, 1-0, to lift the championship trophy for a second consecutive year.

Last season, the Titans defeated St. Viator in 2-1 (3-2) in a shootout.

The Lions (5-2-2) advanced to the final after a 1-0 win over Lake Zurich on Friday.

The Lions are away Tuesday at league rival Marist. The Bears claimed third with a 4-0 win over host Prospect (2-8-2) on goals from Emily Brown, Teryn Gravistin, Reilly Novak, and Zoe Chang. Novak now has 11 goals on the season.