Girls soccer: WW South gets past Wauconda in PKs
Wheaton Warrenville South's girls soccer team made its way back to the PepsiCo Showdown final once again. But this time around it was a true battle with the Tigers having to claw their way to a win on Saturday.
Tigers keeper Abbie Brennan came up with 3 saves in the penalty kick round that ensured top-seeded Wheaton Warrenville South a victory over No. 4 Wauconda 2-1 (3-2 on PKs) at Olympic Park in Schaumburg.
Brennan, who made 9 stops during the match, saved the best for last on a dive to her right on the final kick. She got her fingertips on the ball and it bounced off the post and back at her.
"It was pretty nerve-wracking but exciting for a goalie," said Brennan. "You pick a side and go for it. I think I got the tops of my fingers on it (the last one), which was just enough to get it out. Honestly, I had no idea where it went. I knew I hit it, I heard a little tip, I just didn't know if it tipped in or tipped out. It was definitely going in if I didn't get a hand on it. It was enough to keep it out."
Seeing the match go the distance really wasn't the game plan for Wheaton Warrenville South (6-1). The Tigers were playing without Northwestern-bound Paige Miller (ankle injury) and Wauconda (7-2-1) was missing Kayla Llewellyn, also out with an ankle injury.
"Kudos to Wauconda, they had a great first half and they used the field and the lack of space perfectly," Wheaton Warrenville South coach Guy Callipari said. "They supported each other perfectly and looked for opportunistic opportunities. I thought we responded well and had a good response. Second half, I thought our technical ability helped us keep the ball longer and not get into so many 50-50s. We were able to find space and time and open them up a bit.
"At the end it was probably fair for the game to go to PKs because anything can happen at that point and it did at that point."
Wauconda struck first in the 19th minute of play off a set piece. Morgan Lung sent a corner into the box where Abigail McHugh headed the ball into the goal for a 1-0 Bulldogs lead.
The Tigers responded seven minutes later, tying the match off a Wauconda miscommunication in the back. The Tigers' Melisa Hadzic found the back of the net with an unassisted goal.
After 80 minutes with the game tied at 1-1, the match went to penalty kicks. Wauconda keeper Mackenzie Arden (13 saves) made a save opening the PK round and saw another hit the crossbar.
But, the Tigers' Maria Dohse converted her kick that broke the 2-2 tie on the fifth kick for the game-winner and then Brennan made the big stop to ensure the victory.
"It would've been nice to sneak one in before the kicks," Wauconda coach Beau Shogren said. "I still liked our chances in the penalty kicks and we have a lot of faith in our goalkeeper. We feel we have girls that can hit and shoot. So, it's like a coin flip at that point and that's what happened."
Wheaton-Warrenville South will next play in the final against Metea Valley but not until April 28 at a site to be determined as Sunday's scheduled championship game has been postponed due to the impending inclement weather.