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Girls soccer: Wheaton Academy keeps league win streak intact

Exactly five years ago, Wheaton Academy lost for the last time in conference play.

That impressive streak continued on Monday at Elmwood Park, but not without drama. The Warriors had to rally for a 2-1 victory in overtime in Metro Suburban Conference Blue Division play.

Wheaton Academy (10-6, 6-0) finished its fifth straight perfect season in conference, winning its 30th consecutive game in the MSC.

The Warriors previous conference loss came in the Suburban Christian Conference against St. Francis on Apr. 29, 2014, in a game that had to be decided by penalty kicks.

This one didn't.

A.C. Hardy was able to fend off a defender and procure a loose ball with 3:45 remaining in the first overtime period, sending a shot past Elmwood Park goalkeeper Yasmine Garcia to give the Warriors their first lead of the night.

"I thought I was going to be offside so I was super paranoid," Hardy said. "As I took a step I saw (the defender) was going at (the ball), but it went under her foot. And I saw there was no one back so I took a touch and told myself I cannot miss this because I won't get another opportunity. The goalie came out a little bit and a hit it to the left side."

Elmwood Park (10-4, 2-3) really didn't threaten in overtime, getting one shot from Vanessa Verna right after Hardy scored but nothing really more than that.

The Tigers had taken a lead with 10:38 remaining in the first half when Elliana Jimenez's shot found the bottom of the crossbar and caromed downward and off of Wheaton Academy goalkeeper Julia Liposky before settling into the net.

The Warriors had a handful of solid scoring chances before Jimenez converted, as well as a few others before halftime but still trailed 1-0.

"We started off with five really good chances and when we didn't score we got frustrated and then they went up a goal," Hardy said. "You could tell we didn't know what to do. We weren't playing our type of soccer. At halftime we rallied together and united as one team."

Hardy pointed to Elmwood Park's high line and physical play as making it difficult for the Warriors to play their game, but they finally broke through with 18:03 left in regulation when freshman Emily Setran scored.

"I was in between and (senior) Sophia (Lindquist) slotted the ball," Setran said. "I just hit it into the side netting."

Chances from junior Emma Goebel and Lindquist nearly allowed the Warriors to win in regulation, while a long attempt from Elmwood Park's Denisse Avila clanked off the crossbar with 15 seconds left leaving the home crowd disappointed at what would have been a thrilling finish.

"We'll still take some confidence out of this," Avila said. "We were nervous against them because we know how good of a team they are, but that pushed us to try to win. We wanted to show them who we are so we pushed through it."

The Warriors appear to be playing well at the right time as the calendar turns over to May this week, and without a doubt, their dominance in conference play is pretty remarkable.

"We had to battle tonight, and I think we've grown a lot in these past two weeks," Warriors coach Jeff Brooke said. "I wish we were more composed in the final third of the first half because I felt we were creating chances, but when we got in we didn't play the last ball across sharp enough to finish things. But anytime you can win and leave feeling like you could do some things better and still learn through the lesson, it's a good thing."

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