Carmel 4, Libertyville 2

Sara Petermann is well known as a prolific scorer and has led Carmel Catholic in that respect all season.

On Tuesday night, Petermann took a different approach: She assisted on a couple of goals before getting the eventual game-winner.

The second-seeded Corsairs outscored No. 3 Libertyville 4-2 in the Class AA Mundelein sectional semifinal held at Libertyville High School. Carmel next faces No. 1 seed Mundelein in the sectional final at 6 p.m. Thursday at Libertyville.

The Corsairs hit 20 wins with just 1 loss. It's the first time the girls program has reached 20 win.

"We got the 'W' and that's the big thing for us," Petermann said. "We now can move on with a rematch with Mundelein."

Mundelein gave Carmel its lone loss earlier this season.

Petermann broke a 2-2 tie in the 32nd minute with her 33rd goal of the season. She took a Maddie Ogrinc pass and got a shot past Libertyville keeper Erin Waehner (9 saves).

"It was a perfect ball and something we've worked on in practice," Petermann said. "(Ogrinc) slotted it in right on my foot. I took it on, saw the goalie coming out and got it right past her."

Carmel's Stephanie Swanson added another goal in the final minute of the half off an Ogrinc throw-in for the final 2-goal advantage.

"I knew I had to get something on it," Swanson said. "If I got it, I knew it would be important for us to get up by 2 goals."

Goal-scoring was contagious through the first half. Carmel got its first two tallies from Ogrinc and Emilly Tripicchio as Petermann set them up.

But Libertyville (12-4-2) also had 2 goals, one from Michele McCracken and the other from Leigha Bystol.

In the second half, neither team was able to score.

"It was exciting without the goals in the second half." Carmel Catholic coach John Halloran. "We finished enough chances to get through. I thought the missed ones in the second half could've cost us. But our defense stayed organized.

"Libetyville played with a tremendous amount of heart. Libertyville's midfield won a lot of 50/50 balls all game long and flew through every tackle. I give them a lot of credit. They're well-coached and they played their guts out."

Waehner was incredible in goal, keeping Libertyville in the game for the second half. She stopped a breakaway off the foot of Carmel's Kassidy Brown and point-blank shots from both Brown and Petermann.

"Erin (Waehner) is a great goalie," Schinto said. "The way she played was outstanding. We saw breakaways, point-blank saves and going lateral on a few balls. Good news -- she'll be back."

Schinto had a game plan in place trying to slow down one of the highest scoring teams in the area.

"It was a great high school soccer game," Schinto said. "They've got great players up top, with 60 or 70 goals between them."

Mundelein 7, McHenry 0: Kim Carroll and Shayne Carroll are not related, but they sure had something in common Tuesday night -- in addition to having the same last name, of course.

The Carrolls were involved in 6 of Mundelein's 7 goals, leading the top-seeded Mustangs over No. 12 McHenry 7-0 in the Class AA Mundelein sectional semifinal held at Libertyville.

Mundelein (17-2-4) next meets No. 2 Carmel (20-1) in the sectional final Thursday night at 6 p.m. at Libertyville.

Shayne Carroll netted a hat trick and assisted on another goal, while Kim Carroll added 2 goals

"It's kind of cool to get all these goals," said Kim Carroll, a senior.

Lindsey Benedeck and Abbey Ekstrom had the other 2 goals for Mundelein. Courtney Bestler contributed 4 assists, and Ekstrom and Nathalie Mathis also had assists.

Mundelein held a 1-0 advantage by halftime courtesy of Kim Carroll's goal in the 27th minute assisted by Bestler.

Then the Mustangs had a second-half scoring outburst.

"We had some great individual finishing," Mundelein coach Dave Ekstrom said. "We talked about our finishing at halftime. We were getting opportunities but we weren't composed in the attacking third. The girls were relaxed and when we got the second goal they were able to play the way we normally play."

Shayne Carroll, a freshman, knocked in 3 goals in a three-minute span during the middle of the second half. She'd only scored once all year.

"Courtney (Bestler) had some great corner kicks and I was able to finish them," said Shayne Carroll of 2 of her 3 goals. "On the other I was able to get over the keeper at the back end of the goal. I was shocked and in awe, because I don't normally score."

Mustangs goalkeeper Nikki Allen made 2 saves against McHenry (6-13).

"Mundelein is a very good team and they've got a lot of weapons," McHenry coach Jim Nelson said. "They've definitely got some people who can put the ball in the net. We just let them get too many chances.

"Our players stepped up. It wasn't until (Mundelein) scored the second goal before we fell apart. We are a team that plays scrappy. Mundelein just had the players who can finish."