As the sixth shooter in Crete-Monee’s lineup for Tuesday’s penalty-kick shootout against Bloom, Ashley James didn’t know if she’d get a chance.
Bloom nearly won the shootout in five rounds, but its fifth shooter fired a shot off the crossbar. James had her opportunity.
“I was so excited,” she said. “When I saw that shot miss, I just jumped up and was really happy. I was really nervous for my shot, but I just went up there and looked right at the goalie, tried to confuse her.”
It worked, as James fired a laser of a shot to her left and in. Crete-Monee goalkeeper Nicole Eatmon then made a clinching save as the host Warriors won the shootout 5-4 for a 2-1 victory in a Southland Conference game.
The loss ended hopes of an outright league title for Bloom (10-10, 9-2). The Blazing Trojans and Crete-Monee (9-6, 9-2) can each share the title with first-year league member Beecher (10-2 in conference) with wins in their final league games Thursday.
Bloom will host Rich East and Crete-Monee will visit Rich Central, both opponents in the lower half of the league standings.
“This was a huge win for us,” James said. “Bloom is a big rival. We had all our girls back for this game. We’ve had some injuries and stuff, so it was great to have our whole team here for this game and to get a win and hopefully get the conference title.”
After James’ goal, Eatmon was able to bat away a hard shot fired right at her by Kenia Torres to seal the win.
“PKs are nobody’s strong point,” Eatmon said. “Nobody likes them. You never know how they’re going to go. It was tough, but I was super excited to win it. I cried a little bit.”
Eatmon had a feeling things were going to go her way before Torres took her shot.
“I had this really intense look on my face,” Eatmon said. “I saw the look in her eyes and I knew she didn’t want to be there. I don’t blame her. That’s a lot of pressure.”
Alyssa Baron, Alexis Cockle, Ashley Cockle and Adrianna Vera also scored in the shootout for the Warriors.
Andreina Hernandez, Melissa Guerrero, Vannesa Lopez and Erika Garcia scored for Bloom.
Hernandez went top shelf to bury a free kick from just outside the box to give the Blazing Trojans a 1-0 lead with 21:08 left.
The Warriors answered with 8:40 to go, Baron playing a drop pass to Lea Skafgaard, who sent a cross that Vera was able to run on to and finish.
Skye McNutt made five saves for Bloom.
“Jasmin (Villanueva) was out hurt for us and she scored two goals in our last game against them (a 3-0 Bloom win),” Bloom coach Kelly Gutierrez said. “So that hurt. PKs are kind of the luck of the draw and unfortunately it didn’t go our way this time.”
Baseball
Mount Carmel 2, Providence 1: Mike Lorenzi (4-hitter) guided Mount Carmel (26-2, 14-0), which clinched the Catholic League Blue title. Providence is 19-8, 9-5.
Brother Rice 3, St. Rita 2: Jake Petraitis hit an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth for Brother Rice (22-7, 10-4 Catholic Blue). Ryan Kutt (6-4) pitched a three-hitter with eight strikeouts and Mike Schlasky hit his eighth home run of the season for the Crusaders. St. Rita is 27-3, 11-3.
Joliet Catholic 2, Marian Catholic 0: Drake Fellows (3-hitter, 13 strikeouts) boosted Joliet Catholic (20-6-1, 10-3 East Suburban Catholic).
Lincoln-Way North 6, Lincoln-Way West 5: Tom Szczasny’s RBI single in the bottom of the seventh capped a two-run rally for Lincoln-Way North (18-8-1, 7-2 SWSC Red).
Lemont 2, Bremen 1: Ryan Sublette (unearned run) pitched a two-hitter and fanned 11 to pace Lemont (14-9, 12-2 South Suburban Blue).
St. Laurence 6, Loyola 2: Frank Greco belted a grand slam for St. Laurence (18-8, 8-6 Catholic Blue).
Richards 6, Reavis 5: Ryan Willett (4-for-5, RBI, 2 runs) scored in the bottom of the eighth to spur Richards (15-10, 11-4 SSC Red).
Benet 3, Marist 1: Jack Snyder (4 hits allowed) pitched seven scoreless innings for Marist (16-9, 5-6 ESCC).
Stagg 11, Bolingbrook 6: Max Downs (3-for-3, 3 runs) contributed a solo homer and two RBIs for Stagg (12-13, 4-6 SWSC Blue).
Evergreen Park 12, T.F. North 2: Will Doran (8 strikeouts) tossed a no-hitter for Evergreen Park (13-7, 8-6 SSC Red).
Lincoln-Way Central 3, Thornwood 0: Trevor Newton (4-hitter, 6 strikeouts) sparked Lincoln-Way Central (13-13, 6-4 SWSC Red).
Shepard 9, Oak Lawn 2: Kyle Longfield (3-for-4) posted three RBIs for Shepard (18-7, 12-3 SSC Red).
Lockport 6, Sandburg 0: Austin Moralis (1-hitter, 12 strikeouts) steered Lockport (16-8-1, 9-1 SWSC Blue).
Illiana Christian 1, Ridgewood 0: Bo Hofstra (3-hitter) went the distance for Illiana Christian (13-7, 10-3 Metro Suburban East).
Illinois Lutheran 19, St. Anne 0: Grant Farmer (5 innings, 14 strikeouts) fired a perfect game for Illinois Lutheran (16-6, 7-2 River Valley).
Homewood-Flossmoor 12, Joliet Central 2: Bryce Gray ripped a two-run double for Homewood-Flossmoor (17-5, 8-2 SWSC Blue).
Softball
Andrew 8, Lincoln-Way North 7: Cierra Taylor’s two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh lifted Andrew (17-9, 6-3 SSC Red).
Providence 2, Lincoln-Way East 1: Kendal Judge fanned 11 in tossing a no-hitter for Providence (17-9).
Marist 10, Marian Catholic 0: Brooke Wilson (3-run HR) powered Marist (22-4-2, 14-0 ESCC).
Reavis 11, Evergreen Park 7: Natalie Dudek (3-for-5, double, 4 RBIs) vaulted Reavis (13-15, 9-7).
Lockport 5, Joliet West 4: Justine Cielinski (9 innings, 6 strikeouts) pitched a complete game and also hit an RBI single for Lockport (18-7, 8-2 SWSC Blue).
Mother McAuley 5, Regina 1: Katie Dine bashed a three-run homer for Mother McAuley (19-4) in the GCAC Red quarterfinal.
Tinley Park 6, Lemont 2: Megan Laib (2-for-4) provided two RBIs for Tinley Park (16-6, 13-4 SSC Blue).
Stagg 15, Joliet Central 8: Sam Owens (2 runs, 3 RBIs) was 5-for-5 in leading Stagg (10-12, 4-5 SWSC Blue).
Chicago Christian 15, Elmwood Park 6: Abbie Bulthuis (2-for-3, 3 runs, 3 stolen bases) elevated Chicago Christian (11-14-1, 7-4 Metro Suburban East).
Oak Lawn 11, Eisenhower 1: Marisa Loya starred on the mound (3-hitter, 5 strikeouts) and at the plate (2-for-2, 3 RBIs) for Oak Lawn (12-14, 8-8 SSC Red).
College Baseball
NAIA Opening Round: Matt Scott, Mike Chimera and Kjeld Torkelson stroked RBI singles for St. Francis (27-27), which lost 9-3 to Lyon (Ark.) on the first day of bracket play.
College Softball
NAIA Opening Round: Morghan Dieringer pitched a two-hitter as St. Francis (33-18) defeated Southeastern (Fla.) 3-0 to advance to the championship of the Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) Bracket. Earlier, the Saints bested Marian (Ind.) 8-5 in the elimination round. St. Xavier (46-6-2) qualified for the final of the Oregon Tech Bracket after winning two of three games, the last an 8-3 decision over Corban (Ore.). Nicole Nonnemacher (1-hitter) tied an Opening Round record with 17 strikeouts in leading the Cougars past Avila (Mo.) 3-0 in the first game.
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown. Freelance reporter Josh Krockey contributed to this story.
