Girls soccer: Barrington, Naperville Central advance to Watson invite title game

Two days after its thrilling victory in penalties, Barrington celebrated yet another win in the same fashion Saturday morning in the semifinals of the Ed Watson Naperville Invite.

Keeper Dominique Klujian, one of several heroes in the Fillies’ 2-1 (6-5 pens) quarterfinal win over city champion Lane Tech, was at it again, this time against New Trier (15-1-1), the No. 1 team in the state.

Klujian, who saved two on Thursday against Lane Tech, turned away a fifth round spot kick from the Trevians’ two-time all-state star Addy Randall to set the stage for teammate Whitney Stacey, who buried her spot kick to give the Fillies a 5-4 advantage in penalties, and a 1-0 victory.

The win sends Ryan Stengren's club into the Monday night final of this high profile tournament to face tourney host and undefeated Naperville Central, who earlier defeated Libertyville, 2-1.

Barrington improved to 12-2-0.

"We weathered an 80-minute storm today with a lot of heart, grit, strong defensive play in our end, plus another terrific effort from Klujian," said a relieved Stengren, who won here back in 2023.

"It was all about team defense today, and some amazing work from Dom (Dominique Klujian) who made a big save in PKs for us, as well as a couple of other great saves in the game,“ said Stacey.

The senior, along with teammates AJ Sanchez, Lauren Cobb, Maddie Martin-Johnston, and Jazlyn Fertig, were all flawless from the spot, as were the first four Trevians.

"Lauren (Cobb) and Jazzy (Jazlyn Fertig) did a great job taking turns defending (Addy) Randall, never really letting her get a real good look on goal," said Klujian.

The senior did, however, make a superb save on Randall just before the intermission -- then Ellie Shafer redirected the ball that spilled freely after the initial stop by Klujian.

The Trevians, six-time champions of this invite, advanced into the quarterfinals following its 3-1 quarterfinal home triumph over Hinsdale Central on Thursday in Northfield.

Naperville Central 2, Libertyville 1: In contrast to the intense physical effort of the second contest Saturday, the opening match featured free flowing, fluid and dynamic attacking soccer that in the first quarter hour saw Libertyville enjoy nearly all of the play.

The Wildcats (10-2-2), who advanced after a 3-2 victory over Waubonsie Valley on Thursday, impressed with their off-the-ball movement, quality possession and quick passing that kept the home side in its own end far more than they would have liked.

"We were not very sharp in the first 20-25 minutes, while Libertyville came out really strong. And with their crisp and quick passing, that gave us some trouble until we slowly began to get into the game," said Naperville Central’s Malia Shen.

The talented senior would prove to be a key figure later on when she scored the eventual game-winner in the 50th minute.

"(They) did a good job of pressuring us, and it wasn't until the second half that we were able to deal with it. Once we did, the game turned more in our favor," Shen said.

The reigning tournament champions would concede the opener at 15 minutes when the continued high work rate of Mairead Fleming, Danica Meller and freshman Brooke Sullivan created a corner that the Redhawks (13-0-0) failed to parry out of the area.

Meller would make them pay for it with her seventh goal of the season, an angled effort through a crowd into the far inside netting.

"It was the start we wanted, and it came because of our great start, which we kept for most of the first half. But unfortunately, we had just a few good spells after the break," said Wildcats keeper Tatiana Valdez.

"We knew coming in how good of an opponent Naperville Central was, and I thought we played them really well, but their equalizer before the half really turned the momentum around," added Valdez, who will play at Carthage College in the fall.

Paige Connelly would earn a corner for the home side, and sophomore Kira Lambin would level things in the 33rd minute when she curled in her left-footed effort into the far inside netting.

"It was really important for us to equalize before the break," said Shen.

Junior Emerson Burke, whose 21st goal of the season proved to be the game-winner against Fremd on Thursday night, was the facilitator in the Shen game-winner when she played an inch-perfect cross to her teammate at the back post.

"I always know that Emerson will give a great serve, so all I had to do was back up just a few steps in order to head my shot the other way of the keeper," said Shen.

The Wildcats faithful thought Brooke Sullivan leveled a wonderful helper from Shea Krakowski from distance, but the assistant referee thought otherwise, and would raise his offsides flag.

Valdez would keep her club in the match with a pair of goal-saving stops, her best on a left-footed blast from Burke.