Entering the St. Charles sectional, all teams involved knew just how tough the competition would be: Three of the top four teams in the Tribune`s rankings were battling just to survive.
Saturday night, in a bitterly contested sectional semifinal, top-ranked Waubonsie Valley didn`t.
No. 4 Naperville North (20-2-2) shut down the potent Waubonsie offense in the second half and won the shootout battle to post a 3-2 win and advance to Tuesday`s final against No. 2 St. Charles.
”It`s tough,” said Waubonsie coach Judy Keller, whose club finished 19-2-3. ”I thought we dominated the game, but we made two big defensive mistakes-and paid for them.”
The second mistake was most critical. Waubonsie keeper Ellen Husarik bobbled a shot and allowed Ali Rooney to score her 28th goal of the season to tie the game at 2-2 with just 5:58 left.
After two scoreless overtimes, the shootout ensued. Tied at 3, Stephanie Hartung, who scored the first Naperville goal, beat Husarik with a high shot to win the game.
Debbie Keller scored twice for Waubonsie in the first half, including one goal with :06 to play.
In the first game, St. Charles (18-1-4) outshot Wheaton Central 17-2 en route to a 3-0 victory.
Ruth Poulin rebounded her own miss early in the second quarter to put the Saints on the board. Lisa LaSalle upped the lead with just 1:19 to play in the half, drilling in a 15-footer from the left side.
Cristy Foster closed the scoring midway through the third quarter, and Merit Elzey and Stacey Spriet combined on their 15th shutout.
Niles West sectional-A sore back couldn`t stop New Trier fullback Sandra Cox. Not when it was a sectional semifinal. Not when the opponent was No. 6 Maine South, which beat New Trier earlier in the season.
Cox, stretching her back muscles between quarters, helped neutralize Maine South`s Angie Meyer, and Denise Soultanian posted the shutout to give New Trier (18-6-1) the 2-0 victory.
”Maine South is a fine attacking team,” said New Trier coach Bob Ward.
”What helped us was the ability of our defenders to neutralize them. Cox wouldn`t let Meyer do anything.”
Freshman Sarah Joehl handed the Trevians a 1-0 lead with a second-quarter goal. Betsy Axley helped end Maine South`s season at 18-4-1 when she scored her 29th goal in the third quarter.
In the night game, Oak Park (12-5-5) held off Evanston 2-1 on two goals from Ann Berberich, her 10th and 11th of the season.
”The second quarter was probably the best we`ve played all year,” said Oak Park coach Doug Hunt. Evanston finished 14-5-5.
Lincoln-Way sectional-No. 8 Lincoln-Way used its talented freshman and quip-filled coach to eliminate Bolingbrook 5-1.
”We looked like garbage in the second quarter,” said Lincoln-Way coach Tim Kilrea. ”But we came out tough in the third quarter and, in my opinion, won the game with two quick goals. I told them a couple of funny stories at the half to loosen them up.”
Freshman Katie Sullivan helped Lincoln-Way (17-3) smile with two more goals, running her tournament total to 10 in three games.
”Physically, she`s a freshman,” said Kilrea. ”But on the field her composure is like any senior`s.”
Bolingbrook (10-7-3) hung tough for a half, trailing 3-1 before Sullivan and Heather Malloy (two goals) tallied in the third quarter.
In the other game, Sandburg clipped Homewood-Flossmoor 1-0 on Colleen Byrne`s second-quarter goal with 1:36 left.
Sandburg (15-6) prevailed despite being outshot 15-8 by H-F (16-5). Goalie Audrey Konauka had 13 saves for her 10th shutout, including eight of her last nine games.
