Cumulative effort helps Hersey
You'd be hard-pressed to pick just one player of the match for Hersey on Tuesday night in its win at Conant.
Whether it was any of the starters, or one of the many coach Brad Abel brought it in off the bench, it was a total team effort which allowed the Huskies to not only record a 1-0 victory but also keep pace in the divison along with Elk Grove. Hersey and the Grens meet Thursday in a match that will likely decide the Mid-Suburban East championship.
"That was perhaps the best 40 minutes of soccer that we played this season," said Abel when asked about the effort his club gave.
Hersey (9-3-4, 5-1-1) came out ready to play, dictating the pace from the very start up until intermission.
Megan Boyle struck the game-winner in the first half, and her midfield teammates the Huskies defenders stifled one of the best clubs in the area for much of the night, much to the disappointment of Conant coach Jason Franco.
"(Hersey) may have had a lot more to play for, but I really thought there would be a little more urgency in our play, especially with our quarterfinal match here on Thursday in the Naperville Invite.
"But credit Hersey because they play terrific defense, as advertised, and they really didn't allow us to do much of anything in their end for most of the night."
Maeva Waterman was at the hub of the Huskies' attack. Each time the junior striker had the ball on her foot, she would open up space for others while creating plenty of first-half trouble for the hosts.
"We've gone to thee up top during the past 3-4 games, and its helped us create a lot more chances," said Waterman. "But tonight, everyone contributed to help us get the win."
In additon to the wonderful effort from their leading scorer up top, the Huskies were able to continue to pressure and attack with the help of Andrea Perkins, Megan Boyle and Alexa Ruzkowski, who were fierce in the tackle while swiftly going forward to join the attack.
"We were well aware of how dangerous both (Courtney) Raetzman and (Kaitlin) Chiero were, so we attempted to, and successfully, tried to deny them the ball as often as we could," Abel said.
Boyle's left-footed inward swinging corner from the near flag somehow nestled into the far inside netting at 12 minutes, and with Perkins and company allowing nary a inch of space for Raetzman and Chiero to operate, the Huskies enjoyed the run of play for the rest of the first half.
"We had been talking about how important this particular week was for our team, starting with tonight, and we knew if we won tonight, it would set up Thursday night and our biggest match of the season in our division," said Perkins.
Abel said just before the second half began that the next 40 minutes was the biggest half of the season for his club, and after the Huskies weathered a five-minute storm from the Cougars, the next 35 minutes leveled out some, until the picture was markedly different in favor of the hosts.
With an eye on the equalizing goal, Franco pushed Raetzman forward. Joining Chiero and sophomore Sam Armando, the trio createed a blistering pace in the final quarter hour, joined at times by Paige Wentzel and Hailey Andress out of the back.
The best chance for the Cougars (8-3-1, 5-3-0) came at 76 minutes, when a lightning-quick push forward from Alyssa Altosino, Armando, Raetzman and then Chiero saw Huskies keeper Julia Fredian save a Chiero drive to help preserve the victory.