Girls soccer: Wauconda clinches tie for NLCC championship
Expectations have been high all season for Wauconda's girls soccer team.
They haven't done much to dampen those expectations, having lost only one game to Wheaton Warrenville South in the PepsiCo Showdown semifinals. And their only draw has been in a recent scoreless contest against Mundelein.
Wauconda stuck to its winning ways with a 2-0 victory over host Grant in a Northern Lake County Conference matchup on Thursday night in Fox Lake.
Wauconda (13-1-1, 6-0) clinched at least a share of the conference title and has one game remaining, against visiting Grayslake Central on Tuesday. Wauconda won the NLCC last year and also claimed the Prairie Division title in the final year of two-division North Suburban Conference play two years ago.
"It feels good that we're in the position to finish it out as the champs, at least as co-champs," Wauconda coach Beau Shogren said. "But these girls won't be satisfied with that. We'll have to come out with fire against Grayslake Central on Tuesday, and it's senior night. There are lots of reasons to get motivated to win that game."
Kayla Wisniewski scored both goals for Wauconda, giving her 14 on the season. She got her first on a penalty kick in the 30th minute after Abigail McHugh was taken down in the penalty area by a Grant defender.
Wisniewski added another goal in the 56th minute with a point-blank shot that was initially saved by Grant keeper Lexi Werve (16 saves). Wisniewski followed up the rebound to give Wauconda a 2-goal edge.
"It really was hard to play the through balls because they were going very quickly with the pace," said Wisniewski, referring to wet turf from rainfall before the contest. "The keeper was good (at closing the angles on the shots)."
Wauconda keeper Jill Rejczyk earned her 12th shutout this season by making 3 stops. She has only allowed 5 goals in 15 games for impressive goals-against average of 0.33.
Over the last two season, Rejczyk has a total of 27 shutouts.
"It's really the communication that I have with my defense," Rejczyk said. "I think we're all really close and we really understand each other in the way we play. We don't get frustrated with each other, we just communicate well. When they need to step, they step - and that helps to prevent direct shots, which really helps with the shutouts. Other than that, I just keep my positioning where it needs to be."
The backline defender for Wauconda were Annalyse Maze, Savannah Johnson, Olivia Kuch and Sarah Rizzo.
Grant (3-16 and 1-5) had one of its better games of the season against a quality opponent and hopes Thursday's performance could be something to build on as the postseason approaches.
"I was very happy with the game," Grant coach Olivia Jansen said. "This was one of those games that doesn't feel like a loss to me, holding a team like Wauconda to 2-0. It really wasn't one of our prettiest soccer games, but seeing them playing hard on the ball and not making it easy for the teams we go up against is a good sign. Everyone out there was tough on the ball, and that's good to see."