Girls soccer: Hampshire's OT barrage beats Sycamore
After scoring only one goal in 80 minutes of regulation and 15 minutes of extra time in Wednesday's opening round of the Class 2A Freeport Sectional, Hampshire erupted for three goals in the last five minutes of play to beat Sycamore, 4-1.
Whip-Purs sophomore Allison Ingebretsen's goal with 4:11 left in the second overtime period, finally broke a 1-1. Teammate Francesca Pastorelli found the back of net twice in the last minute of play to ice the win.
Hampshire seeded fifth in the B side of the sectional, advances to Friday's next round and will square off against Fox Valley Conference rival and B side No. 1 seed, Burlington Central.
"It really took us into the last minutes to get into that game plan. We have a very young team and so they have a tendency to overplay and overpass," Hampshire coach Kelly Madison said. "We have the skill, we have the speed, we have the passes, and we can shoot, but we just wait until the last second. We really like to bring on an exciting game."
"I like the way we competed," Sycamore coach Kevin Bickley said of the match. "We competed the whole season like that - from minute one to minute 80."
His squad, seeded fourth, finishes its season with a 9-10-0 overall record and 6-2-0 mark in the Interstate 8 Conference.
Hampshire (7-7-0) took a 1-0 lead in the 32nd minute of play. Hampshire's Kortney Fairwood took a shot from just right of the net. Spartan goalkeeper Lilly Horne deflected the strike, which rebounded to Whips forward Genevieve Bangert. The sophomore corralled the ball and volleyed it back into the net.
Hampshire's lead stood until the 8:53 mark of regulation. Spartan forward Ella Shipley lofted a free kick from midfield. The boot hit the cross bar, dropped to the ground and rolled into the net for the junior's 28th goal of the season.
Shipley's strike did not get Hampshire down for long.
"When they scored, we got a little upset but then we got right back on it." Pastorelli said.
Shipley had a chance to put the Spartans ahead with 5:20 left to play. Her corner kick from the near side bounced off of a Hampshire defender.
Although both sides had opportunities, neither one was able to break the tie in the first 10-minute overtime session.
With 4:11 left in the second extra session, Bangert took a shot from just left of the net that Horne batted away. Ingebretsen collared the loose ball and returned it for the score that broke the tie.
The clock showed just 42 seconds left in the match when Pastorelli chipped in a shot from 10 yards out for Hampshire's second goal of the period. Forty seconds later, the sophomore dribbled up field, broke loose from Sycamore defenders and scored for the brace.
Bickley felt Horne's play between the pipes kept the Spartans in the game. The senior made eight saves.
"Honestly, if she hadn't make five or six really good saves, probably the game would have never even been close," Bickley said. "She kept us in it to give us a chance."
While seniors Horne, Grace Lennartz, Anna Carpenter and Catherine Haub played their last game for the Spartans, Bickley has a strong core returning for next season.
"I like the future of this team. We're a young team so we get a lot of them back for next year. We lose four seniors but will probably get the rest back," Bickley said. "Over half of them are freshmen or sophomores. They got a lot of minutes this year and a lot of experience, so we're excited for next year."