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No overtime this time for Glenbard East in DuPage Valley

The Glenbard East girls soccer team was due for its second DuPage Valley Conference win.

The Rams (15-4-1, 2-3-1) were coming off a double-overtime loss to Wheaton North and a double-overtime draw against Naperville Central before it closed out a 3-1 win at Lake Park.

"It wasn't always pretty for us, but it's about time one bounced our way," Rams coach Kent Overbey said. "I thought they put a lot of pressure up front. I thought we did well defensively, but we had to muster the wind in that second half and I thought our girls just played real hard and it was about time we got one here."

With the first half scoreless the Rams didn't take long to find their opening goal.

Forward Brittany Paganucci got past a Lancers defender 30 yards out from goal and got past a challenge from Lake Park goalkeeper Rebecca Thorne - who was well out of the 18-yard box - and took a shot into an open net to put the Rams up 1-0 three minutes into the second half.

Paganucci wasn't surprised to see Thorne out of her box after the keeper came off her line several times in the first half.

"When I saw her I was thinking not to back off," Paganucci said. "Just go for it. If she kicks it at least I tried and pressured her and maybe it would go out of bounds. I just kept going and we got tangled up … and I just picked my head up and finished it."

Lake Park (3-11-4, 0-5-0) almost equalized just two minutes later from a well-worked corner play as Emily Adelman let the ball through her legs for a Lauren Bolnius shot that hit off the crossbar.

"It would have been really big," Lancers coach Chris Fruehling said. "We do practice that one. I thought it was a great opportunity and I thought it would have been a great lift if we could get it in there. It went off (well), it was just unfortunate it hit off that top bar."

Jordyn Fulton put Glenbard East up 2-0 finding herself wide open on the back post off a cross from Holly Ward in the 55th minute.

Lake Park got itself right back into the game thanks to a 35-yard bomb from midfielder Lauren Kiel with 10 minutes left in the match, but a defensive letdown just two minutes later ended the match for the Lancers. Glenbard East's Jessica Ripple got on a long ball and beat the offsides trap, beat the oncoming defender and hit a shot into the top corner of the net to keep her team out of another overtime battle.

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