Girls soccer: Walsh, Glenbard West prevail against Conant
Conant's hopes of playing in a Class 3A girls soccer regional final on its home turf against long-time rival St. Charles North are over after Glenbard West (10-8-1) made a 34th-minute goal from Emma Walsh hold up in a 1-0 victory Tuesday in a regional opener at Charles Feutz Field in Hoffman Estates.
The No. 9 seed Hilltoppers will face the top seed North Stars (17-3-1) for a regional title on Friday.
"It wasn't the best looking goal, and I never expected it to be the game-winner," said Walsh. "But in that moment, I was trying to make something happen for us, and I guess we were lucky enough it did.
"We haven't won a game in the playoffs for awhile now, so it feels real good to come out of here with one tonight to reach the regional final."
The hosts and coach Jason Franco, who one year ago ended the North Stars' season with a 2-1 decision in a sectional final, knew the importance of finding the back of the net first against Glenbard West.
"(They) defend very well as a team, so they are not a team that you want to be chasing, especially at this time of the year when there's so much more at stake," Franco said. "It was a fairly even first half - maybe we had a little more of the run of play then they did - but when they popped up and scored that goal, I knew we had to play with more urgency in the second half or we would be in trouble."
It was apparent the visitors were indeed a quality defensive side, in the way they routinely got numbers behind the ball while staying organized and sharp in the tackle. At midfield, led by all-action junior Izabel Pina, the Hilltoppers won more than their share of first and second balls.
Conant (11-7-3) planned to target Emily Mazurek up top. Stephanie Mazurek, Kaylin Feeley, Marisa Dizonno and others did create a handful of half-chances in the first period and several more in the final quarter-hour when the Cougars pushed numbers forward in a quest to equalize. But rarely did the home side put anything dangerous toward Glenbard West keeper Bailey Wallace.
Meanwhile, Walsh never stop working toward her goal, which came six minutes from the intermission. She cleared a trio of defenders before sending her wayward angled shot from near the endline off of Cougars keeper Taylor Cyr and into an upper corner.
"I knew at that point our defense would be the difference in this game, and I have so much confidence in all of them, who are all capable of making big plays when we need them," said Walsh.
The back-line unit of Kat Kostolansky, Mary Swikle, Taylor Spencer and Teagan Ryan produced a sparkling final quarter hour as the Cougars pursued a tying goal.
Senior Rachel Raymer was pushed up from her usual spot along the back, and her work rate and speed on the flank were troublesome for her opponents. Yet as Franco said afterward, it still wasn't enough to create quality attempts.
"Their coach (Maciej Kusmierz) told me afterwards he was sorry the game was decided on that one goal, and with the way they played so defensively after that goal," said Franco. "But hats off to them for playing intelligent soccer to manage the lead to get out of here with a victory."