The only thing as dramatic as the overtime goal by Warren’s Courtney Chomko was her deeper sense of history.
“Being so young and around all of these other players who have been around here for so long, this is really a great feeling to be a part of such a historic team,” said Chomko, a sophomore midfielder.
She even performed her own encore.
Chomko scored goals in the opening minute of each overtime in powering the Blue Devils to Tuesday’s unprecedented 3-1 double-overtime victory over Libertyville in a Class 3A Warren Sectional semifinal. It marked the first sectional win in program history.
Second-seeded Warren (21-1-2) advances to meet top-seeded Barrington for the sectional championship at 7 p.m. Friday.
Chomko recorded her 10th and 11th goals of the year. Warren seized the 1-0 lead on Natalie McNally’s header in the 18th minute.
Libertyville (10-6-1) stayed close behind the exceptional play of freshman goalkeeper Kendall Edwards, who recorded nine saves.
Warren defeated Libertyville handily in North Suburban play in April.
Libertyville tied the Blue Devils in the 52nd minute on a free kick by sophomore defender Bryn Miller.
“We played with a lot of confidence,” Miller said. “The seniors did not want to end their season, and as we saw tonight they have really stepped it up the last couple of weeks. They have really showed the way for the younger players, like me and Kendall.”
Chomko is elusive and quick and hard to track down in space. She ran under a McNally through ball at the start of the first overtime. She put the game out of reach with a rebound goal at the beginning of the second overtime.
“I happened to be in the right place at the right time,” Chomko said.
Next Warren confronts its biggest challenge of the year. Barrington (24-1-0) beat the Blue Devils’ North Suburban rival Lake Zurich 3-0 in the first semifinal.
“I watched their first half and it is going to be a tough game,” McNally said. “I think they are beatable, and if there is a team that can do it, I think it is us.”
Lake Zurich senior forward Rebecca Kubin had the Bears’ best scoring chance thwarted by Fillies’ goalkeeper Samantha Schmitz in the 51st minute that preserved Barrington’s 2-0 lead.
“I was very happy with the effort of our girls,” Lake Zurich coach Mike Castronova said. “Barrington is a great team, and I thought we put a lot of pressure on them in that second half.”
Kubin finished the season with 31 goals for the Bears (18-6).
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance writer for the News-Sun.
