Girls soccer: Grayslake Central delivers tourney title at Antioch

The Grayslake Central girls soccer team gave a gift of sorts to coach Bethany Martin on Saturday afternoon, as the Rams captured the championship of the Antioch Invitational.

A scoreless draw against the host Sequoits got the job done, and shortly after the final whistle, Martin and her first-born, 11-day-old Callum Russ Martin, made an appearance.

"It's really exciting for the girls, and it was a great team effort," said acting coach Stephanie Rossie, who saw the Rams improve to 3-3-5 overall after a 1-0-2 finish in the invite. "We played hard, playing three games in two days, and it was a great accomplishment. The girls do enjoy seeing (coach Martin), and it's her program."

Katie Pearson earned shutouts in both Grayslake Central games Saturday, and Jordyn Gosell and Maura Fitzgerald had 2 goals apiece in the Rams' 4-0 victory over Westosha Central (Wis.).

Antioch's Courtney Coleman (10 goals, 5 assists) had a handful of scoring chances but hit the post and crossbar on a couple of occasions.

"It can be frustrating but you have to go for the next one," said Coleman, who's headed to Massachusetts-Lowell next fall. "Our team is a young team, but there's a lot of potential with them."

Antioch (4-3-4) won its Friday game and ties its other tournament games. The Sequoits had a scoreless draw against Belvidere in their early game Saturday.

Antioch remains unbeaten over its last six, going 4-0-2 in that span. Keeper Monica Wilhelm earned a couple of clean sheets on the day, giving her 5 this season. She made 3 stops against Grayslake Central.

"In the run of play, we outplayed the teams that we played," Antioch coach Marni Polakow said. "We were producing some goals. It wasn't the lack of opportunities. The second game was much better then the first game. Our team has come together. It's good momentum to ride going into a tough week."