Metea Valley does it again
No doubt about it - Metea Valley has Plainfield North's number.
For the third time in the past four seasons, the Mustangs tamed the Tigers during the girls soccer postseason, this time with a 2-0 victory in Tuesday's Class 3A Metea Valley sectional semifinal in Aurora.
Plainfield North (17-4-2), which entered the game having only allowed 10 goals all season, surrendered 2 first-half goals and never really mounted any form of a comeback.
"We have a lot of young girls and I'm not sure if they were just nervous about everything in the game," Tigers coach Jane Crowe said. "With first touches and anticipating, it just wasn't there, especially in the first half."
Metea Valley earned a 2-2 tie in mid-March against the Tigers, and the Mustangs' ability to score twice on them was something that the Tigers rarely allowed to happen. The only other time was in a 2-0 loss to New Trier.
Yep, these Mustangs, in the midst of a five-game winning streak and riding high after a regional final win against rival Waubonsie Valley last week, are playing extremely well.
"They love being out there," Mustangs coach Chris Whaley said. "I was a little concerned with the holiday weekend and the big win on Friday and how they'd respond. I don't think I was as worried about as it as I was just wondering and curious, and man, did they step up."
Sophomore Jade Eriksen-Russo contributed a big early goal, giving the Mustangs a 1-0 advantage just 11:11 into the action.
"The girls came out with a lot of energy, like they have pretty much all year, but especially recently," Whaley said. "We had a nice goal there. A nice finish and a nice pass through to Jade."
A couple other underclassmen then stepped up and gave the Mustangs (15-7-3) a little cushion with 16:55 remaining in the first half. Sophomore Taylor Rohm lined a shot toward the goalkeeper, who could only bat it away. Freshman Maeve Riordan was there to clean up and smack in the rebound.
"I was just in my position and Taylor had a great shot and the goalie had a good save," Riordan said. "She pushed it off and I just got the rebound. It was Taylor's goal, though. It was her shot and I just finished."
And the Mustangs then finished off the Tigers. They really limited their chances and made a statement in shutting them out. The Tigers entered with four straight shutout wins. They had previously made a good impression in the Naperville Invitational and went undefeated in their conference.
"(We) have a little bit of confidence right now," Whaley said. "They're young, but they believe in themselves. They have good leadership. The seniors, for the most part, have been around all four years, so they want nothing more than to do give them something to really enjoy."
The Mustangs will face another district rival, Neuqua Valley, in Saturday night's sectional final at 7 p.m.