When it comes to conference championships, absence also makes the heart grow fonder.
Ashley Ahrens and Miranda Coombs left no doubt after Burlington Central’s 11-1 record placed the Rockets atop the Big Northern Conference East Division.
“It’s been four years since the last conference title, so this means everything to our seniors, and it’s something all our freshmen can aim to continue,” Coombs said. “It’s great to have this part of our careers and as an accomplishment going into the postseason. Hopefully coming off this success leads to more success.”
The Rockets’ 24-player roster features 12 freshmen, two sophomores, a junior. There are nine seniors, including Coombs and Ahrens.
“When we won I just wanted to scream with pride,” Ahrens said. “We’ve been so close these last few years and with such a roster split, few people thought we could do this.Since sophomore year, I’ve been part of a backline with Miranda and Jessi (Marchetti), and I’m so proud to have 2015 added to the conference banner. Adding (freshman) Alyssa (Mariani) helped us, but combining the defense with such a young but hungry offensive group made it happen.”
Both players pointed to a 1-0 loss on April 7 to Johnsburg as the catalyst for running the table for eight more conference games, then reaching the semifinals of the PepsiCo Showdown’s Gatorade Bracket as part of a 17-2 season.
“At the beginning, my goal was to build toward wins,” first-year coach Jess Arneson said. “But I became so incredibly impressed with the girls developing such great chemistry and working so hard to support each other, it became a reality this year.”
Title flip
Shortly after St. Charles North and St. Charles East battled to a 1-1 tie, Ruth Vostal said she’s not a fan of a penalty kick shootout to determine a winner. Of course, the North Star coach didn’t elaborate on how she feels about coin flips.
The latest saga for the crosstown rivals will be among the memories for Vostal, who informed her team Monday that she is stepping down at the end of her 15th season. The only coach in North Stars’ program history, Vostal’s 2012 team was the 3A state runner-up after finishing third in 2010 and also second in 2004 at the 2A level.
With 6-0-1 records, North and East are Upstate Eight River co-champions, but conference rules call for one representative in the conference crossover championship game. Goal differential is the first criteria to break the deadlock. Both teams, however, were plus-30 for seven games. The second criteria? A coin flip.
East athletic director Mike Sommerfeld flipped a quarter and Vostal called heads before the coin bounced on the Saints’ track and rolled five feet before settling in favor of North. Ironically, North and Waubonsie Valley’s original crossover meeting was postponed by weather, so Tuesday’s rescheduled game becomes the title showdown.
That’s also because Waubonsie avoided a potential second coin flip with Monday’s 5-0 victory over Bartlett. The win gave the Warriors a plus-28 differential in comparison to Upstate Eight Valley co-champ Neuqua Valley’s plus-25.
Hawks on high
Although Bartlett’s season has been a roller-coaster ride, the Hawks produced a highlight effort in the West Chicago Wildcat Shootout winning two of three games. Bartlett matched Downers Grove North and Glenbard North in tourney results, but the fewest goals allowed tiebreaker put the Hawks in second place.
“Hope such a positive performance gives us a boost for the upcoming regional,” coach Ben Beary said.
One lift for Bartlett defensively has been the return of Nykya Wetterman to share goalkeeping duties with Tessa Jatczak. Offensively, another positive is having 11 players contribute goals or assists while Bartlett scored 15 goals in winning four of its last six games. Jenna Dombrowski led that surge with three goals and two assists.
Nemeth is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
