Girls soccer: Warren stuns Libertyville for regional title
It's a great time of the season to get heathy from injuries and illness.
Warren's girls soccer team got a number of players back in the final week of the regular season, which fit in quite well in the Blue Devils' game plan for the postseason.
Seventh-seeded Warren, for the second straight game, got some revenge on an opponent it lost to during North Suburban Conference play as the Blue Devils stunned No. 2 Libertyville 1-0 in the Class 3A regional final Friday afternoon in Libertyville.
Warren (13-8-3) take on third-seeded Fremd (13-4-3) in the Buffalo Grove sectional semifinal Tuesday at 7 p.m. Fremd got past Prospect 2-0 in its own regional final on Friday.
The Blue Devils lost to the Wildcats 4-1 earlier this season.
"The win was huge and it's nice starting to get girls back healthy," Warren coach Ryan McCabe said. "We took advantage of an opportunity. I tell the girls never to switch off on dead balls and always be alert. Something like that doesn't happen to us, they took it a step further and we were the aggressor in that situation. I can't be more proud of these girls with all the adversity they've gone through with injuries and illnesses. People have been playing different spots. It was great for them to get paid off with some hardware for their season."
The big goal occurred in the 57th minute off a foul by Libertyville (13-7). The Blue Devils' Courtney Chomko restarted the play quickly and sent the ball forward, leading teammate Cate Cullison, which she controlled and found the back of the net for the game-winning goal.
"I was there with the ball and I saw Cate in a wide-open gap," said Chomko, who will play soccer next fall at Florida Southern. "I screamed her name, put the ball down, she looked at me and I passed it straight to her. It was in the moment and we needed a goal, we needed to get this in the back of the net. (Libertyville) wasn't ready, so it was being one step ahead of the next team. It was about taking chances and taking risks. Coach has always said to take the restarts fast. Just felt like I had to do it."
Warren goalkeeper Sarah Barbosa made 6 stops. The Wildcats challenged a number of times but were denied by Barbosa and her defense. Those on the Blue Devils' back line were Sarah Kreppein, Morgan Liebau, Ella Skelton and Olivia Wolf.
"It was intense and exciting," Barbosa said. "Everyone came together as a team and nobody gave up. I thought the defense started off really strong and got a little shaky. But they kept their heads up high and they kept communicating really well. The Libertyville girls were switching their runs and making it difficult for us."
On the other side, Wildcats keeper Kendall Edwards had an outstanding effort by making 6 saves.
"I thought we played hard, but you have to give credit to Warren," Libertyville coach Daniel De Paz said. "They played us hard and they have some players with speed out there. They just made us pay for it at the end. It was a tough game. It just didn't go our way today.
"Overall, I thought the season was successful," De Paz said. "I was getting used to the program and getting used to the coaches in the program as well, how things are done here and getting used to the girls I think it was still a successful season and I'm pretty happy with it."