St. Charles N. fights back

Shortly before halftime, Sophie Pohl was one of three St. Charles North players who had a chance to knock in a Jenny Barr free kick — and the miss left Pohl with tears in her eyes at halftime, according to coach Ruth Vostal.

Five minutes into the second half, Pohl scored the most important goal in her team's postseason run — the goal that put smiles on all North Stars faces and propelled the team to a 2-1 victory over Downers Grove South.

The Class 3A semifinal win moves the North Stars into tonight's title match against Naperville North.

“I should have put that one away,” Pohl said. “I knew I had to put that away and finish the game.”

Pohl's goal, from a Kelly Manski cross after midfield work by Natalie Winkates, moved the North Stars into their second title match in school history. The 2004 team lost to New Trier and the 2010 North Stars finished third. The school has never had a state championship team in any sport.

Pohl's goal was her first of the playoffs and seventh of the season and changed the complexion of the match completely. Only rarely after her strike did Downers Grove South (19-6-3) threaten the St. Charles North (19-5-2) goal.

“It's awesome,” Pohl said. “Hopefully we get first. We've never gotten that far. It's unreal. We're ready and we have the heart. It's going to be a battle tomorrow.”

St. Charles North needed plenty of resiliency to rally to defeat the Mustangs after falling behind 93 seconds into the first half. Emily Wauer sent a left wing cross into the middle of the penalty area to a wide-open Stephanie Hall, who scored.

It took St. Charles North a few minutes to settle from falling behind, but leading scorer Lauren Koehl announced the North Stars resurgence after 8 minutes when she hit a volley from the top left of the penalty area just wide of the upper right corner of the goal.

The match settled after the first 15 minutes, but Downers Grove North nearly doubled its lead with 17 minutes left when Jessica Pikul hit the post directly from a corner kick. Shortly after, Winkates shot over the bar and the flurry ended with 10 minutes left in the half when Wauer hit a shot that St. Charles North goalie Carly Dietrich tipped over the crossbar.

But the North Stars had one final effort at goal in the half, and the move tied the match. Alex Gage sent a pass over the Mustangs' defense and into the path of Koehl, who scored her 23rd goal of the season.

“I was proud of the girls,” Vostal said. “We haven't been scored on in five games. For us to get down a goal against a good team that we knew had great offensive threats and to be mentally focused and to fight back was awesome.”

The Pohl gave her team the lead. From that moment, St. Charles North held the edge in play — although Downers Grove South was always dangerous from Jessica Bronke throw-ins deep into the penalty area. Bronke nearly tied the match with 5 minutes to play when she hit a 25-yard free kick off the crossbar. On an ensuing throw-in, Bronke found Downers Grove South leading scorer Sarrah Ludwig, whose flick header went just wide of the post.

In the match, the North Stars kept Ludwig and other Downers Grove South forwards from having clear efforts on goal.

“I felt confident that we knew where their strengths were,” Vostal said. “We spent the whole practice (Thursday) defending their strengths offensively.”

Vostal spotlighted Alex Gage as one of the players who excelled in the win. The junior is one of a quartet of players who played in the team's 2010 third-place playoff run. Asked about the chance to play the Huskies for the state title, Gage's eyes filled with tears.

“I can't put it into words,” Gage said. “As a freshman, I didn't get a lot of time. Now being such a part of this team, and then going this far, it means so much.”

The win was the second this season for St. Charles North against Downers Grove South. The North Stars won 1-0 in the regular season.

Downers Grove South faces Glenbrook South in the tonight's third-place match. That 5 p.m. contest is the last in the 29-year career of Mustangs coach Barry Jacobson, who has brought four previous trophies back to the school.