St. Edward upsets No. 1 seeded Willows Academy

For the first 9 games of the season, Willows Academy did not allow a goal.

In a matter of 13 minutes and 35 seconds, St. Edward bombarded it with 4. The Green Wave scored all 4 of their goals in the final 13:35 of the first half to upset No. 1 seeded Willows Academy 4-1 in a semifinal game of the Class 1A Westminster Christian girls soccer regional Saturday. St. Edward will look for its second-straight regional title when it faces No. 3 seed Genoa-Kingston in Tuesday's championship match at 4:30 p.m. G-K downed Elgin Academy 2-1 Saturday in the other semifinal.

"We started out pretty well," St. Edward coach Tim Brieger said. "(Willows Academy) wanted to play long and through and that's the thing we can defend pretty well."

The Eagles (10-2-4) had trouble defending the Green Wave (7-12-2) on the long shot. All 4 of St. Edward's goals were set up from play of 18 yards or further. Senior forward Brittany Brozek tied the game at 1-1 drilling a shot from about 20 yards out which bo unced past Eagles' goalkeeper Bryanna Gomez (6 saves) with 13:35 left in the first half.

"They're a very good team," said Brozek, who added 2 assists. "Their sweeper was the leader of their team. (We were confident) once we got tied."

The Green Wave was able to tie the game by taking shots outside of the goal box. After finding success from Brozek's goal, St. Edward went right back to the well trying to take Willows Academy sweeper Maureen Brown out of the game.

It worked as Brozek used a free kick to find Colleen Kerger with 11:08 remaining in the first half to put St. Edward up 2-1. Mallory Malone would score the final 2 goals for the Green Wave, the first assisted by Brozek.

Willows Academy jumped out to an early lead, scoring in the game's first 3 minutes. Kelly Knorr drew St. Edward goalkeeper Taylor Hunsberger out to the right and crossed the ball left to pick up the 1-0 advantage. Hunsberger, upset by allowing a goal she felt she could have stopped, more than made up for herself in the second half. The senior stopped 10 Willows Academy shots in the second half and finished with 16 total saves after allowing the initial goal.

"I had a fire under me from that point on," Hunsberger said. "It helped that our offense could push it up."

Genoa 2, Elgin Academy 1: The most successful season in Elgin Academy history came to a close Saturday afternoon.

A swarming defense from Genoa-Kingston was just too much for the second-seeded Hilltoppers to overcome as they fell 2-1 to the No. 3 seeded Cogs in a semifinal of the Class 1A Westminster Christian regional. Genoa-Kingston (11-10-1) will face No. 4 seed St. Edward 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday seeking the program's first regional title.

Elgin Academy (13-6-2) was looking for a third game against the Green Wave. The Hilltoppers recorded 17 shots on goal in the game, but did not connect on a goal until Lauren Steimle scored off a free kick with 1.2 seconds remaining in the game.

But for Steimle, that goal will be overshadowed by the array of almost-goals Elgin Academy had.

"It was pretty frustrating," the junior said. "We had someone there, we just couldn't get it in."

Twice in the second half, Elgin Academy had sure goals stopped by pesky G-K goalkeeper Nicole Crozier (13 saves). Although shorter than most goalkeepers, Crozier used her athleticism to prevent the Hilltoppers from scoring until the end of the game.

Steimle looked to cut the Cogs' lead down to 2-1 when she drove past 3 G-K defenders and had an open look at the goal. Steimle's shot went to the very edge of the left side of the goal box and Crozier was able to come up with the save. Again, Steimle looked to put the ball in the net late in the second half, with a similar result. This time, Steimle's shot was called off due to an offside penalty.

"We played well, especially in the second half," Elgin Academy coach Greg Repede said. "We picked up the play. They're a strong defending team. They were quicker in the back then I thought they would be."

Genoa-Kingston used its quickness, particularly that of defender Vanessa Quandt to shadow Steimle for the entire game. With Quandt all over her, Steimle was unable to set up the offense and Elgin Academy trailed 2-0 at halftime.

"She had good position," Steimle said. "She was good at being at the right spots. Their defense played a good game."

The Cogs also used their speed as an offensive weapon scoring twice on the first half on breakaway goals. Kathryn Graff scored both goals for Genoa-Kingston, the first coming with 24:26 remaining in the first half. Graff scored again with 3:28 left in the first half when she drove the left side of the field, this time taking a pass from Kara O'Herron.