Girls soccer: Hinsdale Central stuns Willowbrook in second OT
It was exactly like other soccer matches that go extra time. The tension level goes up, the physical play picks up and the teams are wondering when something will break.
Soccer is a sport where one goal might just be enough and no squad wants to give up the first one. The fortunate team on Tuesday night was Hinsdale Central when Haley Arnold headed in a cross from Madigan Lynch just 33 seconds into the second overtime in a Class 3A Downers Grove North regional semifinal to send their team to a 1-0 win over Willowbrook.
The Red Devils, seeded seventh in the Class 3A York sectional, advance to the 4:30 p.m. Friday regional final against the second-seeded hosts at Doerhoefer Park in Downers Grove.
Downers North beat the Red Devils 1-0 in West Suburban Silver play on April 24.
Hinsdale Central coach Bryan Ciesiulka, whose team improved to 8-10-2, was happy, like his team, with the win but realized that neither team dominated the game.
" (Willowbrook is) a great team. They're organized, they're dangerous on the break. This game could have gone either way," he said. "Everyone is getting antsy and you try to get them to stay calm in a game like tonight's."
Warriors goalkeeper Zoe Ericson and the Willowbrook defense earned the praise of coach Julio Del Real for keeping Hinsdale Central out of the net for just over 90 minutes.
"(The defense) has been a strength all season and the defense has created opportunities for us," he said.
Ericson finished with 15 saves.
Tenth-seeded Willowbrook, which finished the season at 9-9, had its best opportunity to score with just 2:11 remaining in regulation time.
Lizzy Florey took a pass from Julianna Paulsen and her shot from 10-15 yards out forced Red Devils goalie Taylor Ward to quickly grab the shot, which bounced off her hand, and she then grabbed the ball for good.
Other strong scoring chances for the Warriors came courtesy of Gracie Tumilty in the first half. She went on a breakaway with 12:59 remaining with just one defender keeping up with her, who was only able to push her off the play at the last second. With just 24 seconds until halftime, she got close enough to collide with Ward, but the ball went wide.
The first overtime was uneventful and the stage was set in the second OT for the winning goal.
"We were working real hard at the end and did not let down even if we were tired," Lynch said.
Del Real considered the 2018 season one of progress for Willowbrook.
"This game is the most intense we've played all season and we were better than we were at the beginning of the season," he said.