Girls soccer: Illinois recruit Adams’ big shot sends Wheaton Warrenville South past St. Charles East to DuKane title
Wheaton Warrenville South senior Ashlyn Adams has a history of coming up big in big moments.
Friday’s rare afternoon DuKane Conference game was no different.
The Illinois recruit added a few more highlights to her stellar career on Friday at Red Grange Field in Wheaton.
Adams scored a goal on a 39-yard free kick banger that sailed over St. Charles East goalie Sidney Lazenby’s fingertips in the direct center of the box in the sixth minute.
The Tigers added another goal in the second half to pull out a 2-0 victory over the Saints to clinch the conference title.
“We work so well together and combine and know what each other is going to do,” Adams said. “I knew we had to win the first half and we used the wind. This win is awesome and amazing to be conference champions. We’ve been fighting for this. St. Charles East is a great team.”
Lazenby, an Illinois-Chicago recruit, was stellar in the net with three saves, while Wheaton Warrenville South goalie Marilyn Dixon also finished with three saves.
Adams’ goal was the difference-maker, helping the Tigers gain some early momentum. The Tigers’ backline did the dirty work, playing physical and composed to slow down the Saints’ high-octane offensive attack.
After missing several games this season with an injury, Adams said she was happy to return to the field for the stretch run and contribute to the Tigers’ conference championship.
“I’m excited for the playoffs,” Adams said. “We’ve been playing well as a team.”
The clash of the top two teams in the conference was originally scheduled for Thursday at 6:30 p.m., then pushed back to 7:30 p.m. and eventually was postponed — even with both teams on sight — due to bad storms and lightning.
The Tigers (15-1-2, 6-0-1) captured their first DuKane title since the conference was formed in 2018, and just the eighth overall in the program’s 39-year history, including 34 years under the direction of current coach Guy Callipari.
“It’s our first DuKane Conference title, so that represents a different star for us,” Callipari said. “These don’t come easy nor do they make it easy. It’s difficult to run the table and it’s difficult not to lose and only giving up one goal. It’s says a lot about our team and the spine of this team through the middle is incredible. They are doing good things on both sides of the ball and all thirds of the field. We have to keep the rhythm.”
The Saints (18-6-1, 4-2-1) had a chance to tie for the conference title, but the Tigers rode a strong defensive effort and managed to contain St. Charles East freshman midfielder Mya Leon, who has 31 goals on the season, for most of the game.
A strong wind and oppressive heat slowed down play at times, with the Saints not generating much offense in the game. The Tigers played physical with Leon, holding her to basically one good shot attempt all game — a shot from 17 yards out late in the second half that hit the side of the near post net.
Wheaton Warrenville South senior defender Kayla Waterman said the backline followed the game plan to near perfection to limit Leon’s impact on the game.
“It was nerve-racking going into the game because I knew how good she was and how many goals she had in the season,” Waterman said. “We knew we just had to put someone on her from the very beginning to the very end and not let her turn or not let her have any opportunities. I thought we did a very great job on that.”
The Tigers, who have won six games in a row by a combined score of 25-1, couldn’t add to their lead in the final 36 minutes of the first half, as three quality shots weren’t capitalized on by the home team.
Less than seven minutes into the second half, the Tigers struck again on two perfectly placed passes that started on the left side. Adams sent in a cross to the middle that Lily Petrie passed over to reserve Reagan Jones, who knocked in the goal from seven yards away for a 2-0 lead.
St. Charles East coach Vince DiNuzzo said the early goal, off a free kick by Adams, was a back breaker.
“The free kick goal kind of changed the game,” DiNuzzo said. “We were chasing from there and trying to defend for our lives the rest of the first half and then in the second half, they scored in the run of play and we just couldn’t get anything going in the attack. They did a good job of containing our front two and kept a bunch of numbers back, so credit to them and well-deserved conference championship. We overcame a number of injuries and now just trying to find a little bit of momentum in that first game and get ready for a regional.”