Wrap: Round three is set

The magical season continues.

With the program's first Mid-Suburban League and regional championships already safely secured, Hersey has an opportunity to add a sectional plaque to its trophy case on Thursday after Tuesday's 3-1 victory over host Palatine in a Class AA girls soccer sectional semifinal.

"You know Palatine's always going to be a very strong, aggressive, defensive-minded team," said Hersey coach Brad Abel, whose squad had its season ended by the Pirates the past two seasons. "It's finally nice to get over that hump."

No. 3 Hersey (18-2-4) will try to beat top-seed Fremd a third time at 6 p.m. Thursday.

After connecting for the lone goal in last Friday's regional championship victory over Lake Zurich, the lethal combination of Kristen Gierman and Kathryn Korff were at it again in the first half on Tuesday.

Only this time it wasn't on a corner kick.

Gierman found Korff streaking from the left side with 12:18 on the clock as Korff buried a shot into the lower-right corner past Palatine goalie Nicole Clark.

"I'm sent up there every free kick to get into the box and make the run," said Korff, a sophomore. "Once again, I was there when the ball came and I just got any body part on it."

With 10:24 remaining in the first half, the lightning-detector system blared and sent fans and teams scurrying for shelter as rain pelted Chic Anderson Stadium.

"It was kind of nice, it was kind of like a timeout," Korff said. "We got to discuss what we were doing wrong, and we were preparing for that free kick."

The match was restarted 45 minutes later at 8:17 p.m. with Palatine senior Luting Sun launching a free kick from just outside the penalty box.

Hersey built a 2-0 lead just 1:39 into the second half off another free kick from Gierman. Senior Amanda Slove battled through the crowd in front of Clark and pounded the ball into the back of the net.

"(Kristen) gives us our goals, basically -- she kicks them right to us," Slove said.

Palatine senior Erika Yabile scored past Julia Fredian with 23:17 left to prevent the Huskies' 16th shutout of the season, but the Pirates (8-10-5) couldn't contain freshman Maeva Waterman from scoring on a breakaway with 2:34 remaining.

Waterman whiffed on a wide-open look from 5 yards out just two minutes earlier.

"We worked, but we're capable of working harder," said Palatine coach Willie Filian. "It's disappointing because I think we still have kids that have a little gas in the tank."

The Huskies' road continues Thursday at 6 p.m. when they return to Palatine to face Fremd, a 2-1 winner against Stevenson on Tuesday.

"It's one game," Abel said. "We'll see what we're made of."

Fremd 2, Stevenson 1: It would be safe to say the Fremd girls soccer team did not necessarily capitalize on all of its opportunities in Tuesday afternoon's Class AA sectional semifinal in Palatine against No. 3 seed Stevenson.

A 31-3 shots-on-goal advantage for Fremd certainly should have increased its chances for victory, yet come postseason time, the final score is all that matters.

Fremd senior forward Alex Ehr could not agree more.

"I'm just waiting to see what is given to me," Ehr said of her on-field mindset. "I can't worry (about what happened) and just have to stick (the ball) in the back of the goal."

Ehr's sense of worry was due in large part to a handful of first-half opportunities missed by Fremd deep in the Patriot's territory.

As a result, despite controlling the tempo of the entire half, the Vikings entered the half tied at zero.

However, worried would hardly be the word to describe Ehr in the second half as she broke the scoreless tie five minutes into the half by scoring her first of 2 goals for No. 1 seed Fremd (17-3-1) in a 2-1 victory.

"It was a huge relief," Ehr said of her first goal. "We knew we should have scored some (goals) in the first half."

Five minutes later, she struck again, this time knocking home a header, once again off a deflected shot on goal.

While the Patriots scored their lone goal of the match with 24 minutes left, the Vikings' defenders including goalie Allison Norenberg, stood tall and held off the relentless Stevenson attack.

Fremd coach Steve Keller, while clearly pleased with the outcome, was noticeably upset with how his team played in the first half.

"We tried to light a fire under them (at the half)," Keller remarked. "We told them they had to get it done: take the bull by the horns and do their job."

Helping do just that for Fremd, in addition to Ehr, was senior forward Arianna Foster. Foster, while held scoreless, was instrumental in the Vikings' attack.

"We had to come out, play hard, and score," Foster said. "We just need to relax, play hard and not panic (in order to keep winning)."

The Vikings will get another shot to avenge a pair of losses to Hersey in Thursday's sectional championship.

Yet, as Keller maintains, it's just another game to be won.

"We have our work cut out for us," Keller said. "We've got to come more focused and ready. I use the phrase 'attention to detail' with the girls all the time. If we can do that (on Thursday) we'll be tough to beat."

-- Dan Hyman

Huntley 1, Conant 0: The best season in Huntley girls soccer history keeps getting better.

The Red Raiders will play in a sectional championship match for the first time thanks to Tuesday's 1-0 victory over Conant in the Class AA Streamwood sectionals at Millennium Field.

"I think it definitely sets the tone for the coming years," Huntley senior Megan Hamm said.

Huntley (21-1) already has set a school record for wins and now has made it one step farther than last season when it lost in its first ever sectional-semifinal appearance.

The third-seeded Red Raiders will play No. 1 seed Maine South, a 2-0 winner over Lake Park, at 6 p.m. Thursday for the title.

Hamm scored the game's only goal in the 37th minute.

Hamm took a corner kick that bounced around the Cougars' penalty area. Kaylee O'Brien was first to the loose ball and tapped the ball back to Hamm. Her left-footed shot curled over several players, including three Conant defenders near the goal line, and into the far-post side netting.

Both teams struggled to find many scoring opportunities during the run of play. Most chances came off free kicks and corner kicks.

The best chances for Conant (16-4-1) were off free kicks in the opening 20 minutes. Five minutes in, Shania Marnell's free kick from 20 yards was deflected and went just wide.

Midway through the first half, Meghan Melone's free kick from 23 yards was hit into the Huntley wall. The ball came right back to Melone, who fired a left-footed blast. Red Raiders goalkeeper Sara Hoffman was able to get her hands on the ball and deflected it off the crossbar before being cleared by Huntley defenders.

"We couldn't break them down, especially the last 25 minutes when we pressed to try to get a goal," Cougars coach Jason Franco said. "We were dangerous at times. We just didn't put the ball away."

-- Brian Schaumburg