Girls soccer: Buffalo Grove upends Fremd in regional final
Buffalo Grove's girls soccer team responded to its disappointing loss in the Mid-Suburban League Soccer Bowl last week in the best way possible Friday night at Hildebrandt Field in Palatine.
The No. 5 seed Bison (10-5-3) outperformed host Fremd to record a well-deserved 2-0 victory and claim a regional title. The win advances BG into next Tuesday's sectional semifinal against the winner of Saturday's Libertyville-Mundelein contest.
"We came out so flat against Barrington in the Soccer Bowl. We were all feeling really bad with the way we played, but tonight we came out strong, and played the way we all know we can play," said Bison central defender Savannah Larsen, whose back line teammates kept the Vikings' (11-5-0) dynamic duo up top of Lily Spotak and Caeleigh Stone under wraps, while Leah Limber neutralized Ashley Scensniak, who was unable to jump-start the attack of coach Steve Kellers' club.
"(They) did a great job on Ashley tonight with No. 10 (Limber) but in reality, we played with little confidence, purpose or energy so it's a tough way to see our season end with the kind of effort we put forth," admitted Keller.
The Bison would start brightly enough but were unable to get anything of quality on frame. However, neither did the home side, which found itself losing a high percentage of first and second balls in the middle of the park, a fact both Keller and BG coach Pat Dudle agreed was key in the eventual result.
"Leah obviously did a terrific job on Scesniak, but I thought our midfield would help us control things with our ball winning, and tackling," said Dudle.
Pam Bolis would pry open the Vikings' back line with a marvelous ball to Alyssa Weede who, when fouled inside the box, sent Weede) to the spot where she promptly converted in the 38th minute.
When Gianna Palano tackled, then intercepted near the midline it would end with Palano all but ending the Vikings' hopes after an early ball from Bolis saw her bend her attempt around keeper Sam Gary, who came far off her line to challenge the 1v1 situation.
"It was a very good win against a quality opponent that was strong in the midfield, and dangerous in set pieces, and we did it with a solid effort that left them little space to operate in," said Dudle.