Glenbrook S. comeback sinks Palatine
Glenbrook South's girls soccer team recovered from trailing by 2 goals to stun No. 10 seed Palatine 4-3 Tuesday night to advance into the regional final Saturday morning against No. 3 sectional seed Hersey in Arlington Heights.
Trailing after two MacKenzie Filian first-half strikes, the Titans (16-4-3) turned this encounter around with efforts from Lily Sands, Kelly Bruch and Olivia Peters to erase an rough start for coach Seong Ha, who figured his club was in for a long night after the Pirates' sensational 40-minute opening effort under coach Willie Filian.
"If this was a 40-minute game, our season would be over," said Ha, who disputed off-sides calls which negated two Titans goals during the first period. "I told the girls afterward, that should be us crying and sad about our season being over with the way we played, and at how tremendous Palatine did in that first half.
"I was jealous of the way Willie's team grabbed the tempo and play right from the start, which usually ends with a bad result. "But credit our stars tonight, because those rose up when we needed them, and that's why we're still alive."
The Pirates (7-11-2) gave an inkling of what was to come when they opened with so much energy. Palatine's top seven were running rampant in the Titans end, led by Michelle Raymond and Kellie Reynolds.
"That was about as good as you can play for the first 40 minutes, and although it got a little dicey in those last five minutes of the first half, we followed up by coming out real well after the break - and almost scored, which would have likely finished them off for good," coach Filian said.
The first goal came when, on the turn, Palatine sophomore MacKenzie Filian fired in a half-volley past Maude Tarbox, who had no chance at the attempt at 12 minutes.
Filian's first goal was a clear reward for the dominance of the Pirates up to that point. And after weathering a short storm when the Titans' attack found some life around the half-hour, she added another when she thumped a header past Tarbox after meeting a long throw from Kaitlin Conklin.
"We went to a 3-4-3 after the break to jump-start our attack, but we were almost down and out when they just missed making it 3-0 at the back post," Ha said. "After that, we somehow got back into it."
Against the run of play, Sands made it 2-1 in the 47th minute before Bruch buried a 22-yard freekick to draw the Titans level at 52 minutes.
Troubles in the Pirates' end allowed Peters to score the eventual game-winner with her 73rd career goal in the 64th minute, and suddenly Palatine was chasing the lead.
"It's rare that we have managed to keep a 2-0 lead, but our fitness, depth, and a couple of defensive lapses may have done us in tonight, which is too bad because we played so well in that first half," said Filian.
When it appeared Bruch's second in the 69th minute would all but end the season for the Pirates, MacKenzie Filian stepped up one last time, striking another sensational ball past Tarbox after a Kacie Filian throw to make it interesting five minutes from time.