Conant's Knoll takes her toll
Becky Knoll was laboring to keep pace with her Conant girls soccer teammates Saturday night.
The good news for Knoll was she was lagging behind during a celebratory run from their bench to their fans in the Elgin Memorial Field stands.
Knoll's goal midway through the first half put the second-seeded Cougars (16-3-1) ahead to stay and on the way to a repeat Class AA regional title with a 4-2 win over Mid-Suburban West rival Schaumburg (7-7-4).
"It's awesome and I knew we could pull through," Knoll said of Conant's second regional crown. "We've worked so hard and our seniors deserve it. It's an amazing feeling."
Conant standout Brittany Bodziak scored off an Alyssa Stylski feed about three minutes after Knoll's goal. Brittany Haggerty, who left with a right knee injury with 10 minutes left, and Bodziak fed Shaina Marnell for Conant's first goal.
Stylski set the final score with 10 minutes left off a right-side run on a counterattack to put Conant in Tuesday's 6:30 p.m. sectional semifinal at Streamwood's Millennium Field against No. 3 Huntley (20-1-3).
"When those three (Bodziak, Stylski and Lauren Jason) are like that, I think it's hard for any defense to handle," said Conant coach Jason Franco of starting with 3 forwards before moving Bodziak back to sweeper for the second half.
"She's kind of the engine of their offense," Schaumburg coach Greg Charvat said of Bodziak. "She made it tough for our team to defend."
Conant's first lead lasted less than a minute as Heather Pawlish scored off Rachael Kahan's run down the middle. But Knoll connected for the tie-breaker from 25 yards when Schaumburg couldn't clear the ball.
"We knew we'd have to play a near-perfect game to beat them," Charvat said, "and we didn't do that."
But Schaumburg didn't make it easy. Kendra Sanderson's hard work led to Sarah Christy's blast from 16 yards that cut the deficit to 3-2 with 25 minutes to play.
"We were disappointed but I had faith in our team," Knoll said. "We knew we could pull through and we worked so hard."
Knoll's post-match fatigue was the enjoyable proof.
Huntley 3, Rolling Meadows 0: Lauren Opolony likes to use her head.
Literally.
Both of Opolony's goals came on headers as No. 3 seed Huntley defeated No. 6 Rolling Meadows 3-0 in the championship game of the Class AA Jacobs regional held in Algonquin on Saturday night.
"I just reacted on both goals and the header was my best shot," said Opolony. "I got great passes on both goals. We practiced great the last couple of days and we came out ready to play hard."
Huntley (20-1), winners of two straight regionals, claimed its school record 20th win against. The Red Raiders advance to the Class AA Streamwood sectional, where they Will play No. 2-seeded Conant on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
"We were well prepared to play and we came out with great intensity," said Huntley coach Kris Grabner. "It is nice to win another regional, but we want more."
The Red Raiders attacked the Mustangs (7-10-4) from the beginning.
With only 3:17 elapsed, Ashley Williams got behind the Rolling Meadows and blasted an uncontested shot from 5 yards out, but it hit the post.
Less than two minutes later, the Red Raiders got on the scoreboard on a perfectly executed corner kick finished by Opolony, who headed the ball past Rolling Meadows goalie Katie Odon.
The Red Raiders grabbed a 2-0 lead when Williams raced past three Rolling Meadows defenders and blasted a shot past Odon, who didn't have a chance.
The Red Raiders, who outshot Rolling Meadows 14-4, tallied an insurance goal on Opolony's header with 16:05 left.
Meadows coach Jeff Adkins. "They have 6 to 8 kids who can shoot the ball from 30 yards out and further," said Rolling Meadows coach Jeff Adkins. "That is very hard to defend."
-- Dave Hess