Girls soccer: Neary helps Vernon Hills to regional repeat

Julia Neary scored the only goal, as Vernon Hills' girls soccer team defeated Antioch 1-0 in the Class 2A Ridgewood regional final on Friday.

It was the Cougars' second regional championship in a row.

Neary scored at the 36-minute mark in the second half, as the Cougars ousted the fourth-seeded Sequoits. Daniella Jarrell got the shutout in net with 5 saves.

No. 5 Vernon Hills advances to the St. Viator sectional and will play in Tuesday's 5 p.m. semifinal against top-seeded Wauconda.

"This young group has had to overcome so much adversity this season," Vernon Hills coach Mike McCaulou said. "The coaching staff, community and entire high school are so proud of the way they represented the Cougar family tonight. They do it in the classroom and on the field, regardless of the situation they are put in. It was a hard-fought game by both teams and we just found a way to grind deep tonight.

"There are not words to describe how proud the entire program is of this group of athletes. It is great to be back in the sectional, and this group deserves it. We knew that our very difficult (Class) 3A regular-season schedule will pay dividends in playoffs. We just need to keep believing."

Wauconda 2, Lakes 0: At Lakes, the top-seeded Bulldogs used first-half goals from Megan Sinnott and Kayla Wisniewski to win the Class 2A regional final.

Morgan Lung and Sinnott had assists, and keeper Jill Rejczyk had 1 save in shutting out the eighth-seeded Eagles.

"Defensively we were solid, and we controlled the ball for most of the game," Wauconda coach Beau Shogren said. "Lakes' keeper made a few really nice saves on shots that were seeking the crossbar, and their defense did a nice job making it difficult for us to get clean shots. We are very proud of this win over a quality opponent."

Wauconda next plays No. 5 Vernon Hills in the St. Viator sectional semifinals at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Libertyville 1, Lake Forest 0: At Lake Forest, the third-seeded Wildcats captured the Class 3A regional final, ousting the No. 6 seed.

Libertyville advances to its own sectional and will play in Tuesday's 6:30 p.m. sectional semifinal against the winners of Saturday's game between No. 2 Stevenson and No. 7 Fremd.

Palatine 2, Lake Zurich 1: At Warren, the eighth-seeded Pirates pulled off the upset in the Class 3A regional final, scoring in the second half to snap a 1-1 tie and knock off the top-seeded Bears.

Lake Zurich, which finished 11-3-3, got its goal from Kristin Brousseau off an assist from Morgan Long.

Palatine next plays No. 4 Carmel in Tuesday's 4:30 p.m. sectional semifinal at Libertyville.

St. Viator 6, Grayslake Central 1: At Marine Leadership Academy, the third-seeded Lions won the Class 2A Amundsen regional.