Kaneland tops Rosary to win 1st regional title

Every year in its history, Kaneland girls soccer season has ended somewhere in the opening week of the postseason, a defeat in the regional bringing each campaign to a close.

The Knights need to add some dates to their season's calendar. Thanks to Friday's 4-2 victory over postseason nemesis Rosary in the Class 2A Rochelle sectional, Kaneland has the first regional title in school history.

And Kaneland certainly spent time recording the moment, with the team taking over a half-hour when the match ended to pose for photographs.

"This is so good for the girls program, with all the heartbreaking games we had," Kaneland coach Scott Parillo said. "Everybody wanted to take pictures, and I was so happy for them."

Kaneland (17-3) advances to next week's Rockford Boylan sectional and faces Prairie Ridge on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

"I think we believe we have a legitimate shot at winning the game," Parillo said. "We know Prairie Ridge has had some success and this is all new to these girls. But I don't think they should be nervous or scared because we've never been there before. We should be relaxed."

Kaneland was energized from the opening kickoff of Friday's match and was two goals ahead within the opening 20 minutes. First Paige Guyton converted a Holly Collingbourne cross and, 1:22 later, Courtney Diddell scored from a Kiandra Powell pass.

"Right before the start of the game," Parillo said, "I said 'remember how hard they came out against us at their place, because they will come out hard the first 10 minutes."

The thing was, Rosary's intensity wasn't at that same high level, which was a worry to Royals coach Brian Frank.

"Kaneland came out aggressively, which is fine," Frank said. "You want your team to match that, and we didn't match their intensity for the first 22 minutes, and that's when they scored their first two goals. That was a wake-up call."

With the score 2-0 at halftime, the third goal was going to be decisive as either Kaneland would take a commanding lead or Rosary would be back in the contest. Kaneland got that crucial goal just 2:35 into the half when Collingbourne converted a Guyton pass for her 13th goal of the season. Heather Ortiz headed in a Madi Jurcenko corner kick 15 minutes into the half to give the Knights a 4-0 lead.

"We knew we had to score early in the second half, and we did," Parillo said. "We haven't given up a lot of goals this year, and we felt that once we got the fourth goal, the game was ours."

Having four different scorers was nothing new for the Knights, who are as offensively-balanced as any team in the area.

"We've had 14 different girls score this year and a couple others who have an assist," Parillo said. "And we have 21 on the roster, so that's good distribution."

At the midpoint of the second half, Rosary rallied against Kaneland's reserves. With just under a quarter-hour to play, Quincy Kellett scored her 22nd goal from a Julianne Hutchison pass. Minutes later, Kellett fed Hutchison and the Royals were within 4-2.

"It was bang-bang and we had some momentum and were back in the game," Frank said. "The team never quit and the intensity level was there. Maybe (Kaneland) let up a little bit with it 4-0, and we were fortunate to get it to 4-2. But I wish we could have had that intensity the entire game, it might have been different."

Rosary (8-8-1) had a streak of six straight regional championships come to an end with Friday's defeat.

"It feels strange this year to not bring home and hardware and to not be getting ready for a match next week," Frank said. "You have lots of challenges in any season, and this year was no different. We had a different schedule with not playing in a conference. But I told them we needed to work hard in the off-season and make sure we get it back next year."

Friday's match saw the end of the career for some very talented Rosary seniors, including Kellett, Lizzie Kelley and Maria Witte.

"The three of them came up as freshmen and we gave them every minute of every match we could give them," Frank said. "They are leaders on the field and they have worked well together. They are all going to do well in the programs they play in next year and they will definitely be missed by us next year."

In freshman Hutchison, the Royals have a player to watch for the next three seasons.

"I think she was a bit overwhelmed by the opponents we play early in the season," Frank said. "Working with (Witte) in the middle of the field, and also with (Kellett) was good for her. (Hutchison) has speed and skill and she doesn't back down."