Persistent Metea V. defeats
Plainfield S., enters regional final
3-goal streak in 2nd half the difference in 4-1 win
By Matt Le Cren
AURORA – Metea Valley was knocking on the door for a long time Tuesday night.
It took longer than they expected, but the Mustangs finally barged into the regional finals by knocking off upset-minded Plainfield South 4-1 in a Class 3A Waubonsie Valley Regional semifinal.
Metea Valley, which is the sixth seed in its own sectional, will take on third-seeded Waubonsie Valley, which crushed Oswego East 10-0 in the other semifinal, in Friday’s title game.
Jade Eriksen-Russo scored twice and Alena Sidwell and Madie Sandberg had a goal apiece for the Mustangs (13-7-3), who scored on their first three shots of the second half to break a 1-1 tie.
“Unfortunately we take a little while to settle in but we’re getting a lot better at going out right from the start, and we talked about that at halftime,” Metea Valley junior Madie Sandberg said. “We wanted to keep going, we wanted to rematch with Waubonsie and we want our chance to advance, so we weren’t ready to give up.”
Metea Valley outshot Plainfield South 10-1 in the first half but only had a 1-0 lead to show for it at the break.
The Cougars (9-7-1) nearly tied it five minutes into the second half when a cross from Isabel Cerda bounced over the foot of an open Shelby Bishop in front.
Those two, however, teamed up again to get the equalizer with 31:42 remaining. This time it was Bishop who crossed from the left side of the box to Cerda and the freshman sent a one-timer inside the right post.
The 11th-seeded Cougars stayed in the game with stubborn defense and good goalkeeping from Samantha Hlavac, who made five-of-her-six saves in the first half.
Metea Valley did not get a shot off for nearly 14 minutes of the second half, but that changed when Sandberg broke in alone on Hlavac, who rushed off her line to cut down the angle.
Sandberg and Hlavac collided in the box but not before Sandberg had sent the ball ahead to Taylor Rohm, who tracked it down near the end line and crossed to Eriksen-Russo for an eight-yard finish into the empty net with 26:09 remaining.
It wasn’t the first good play by Rohm, who assisted on Sidwell’s goal midway through the first half. On that scoring play, Rohm chipped a beautiful pass from the right side of the box over the head of a defender to Sidwell, who was true from seven yards out for her 13th goal of the season.
“She worked her butt off the whole game,” Eriksen-Russo said. “She really wanted to prove that she’s a great player, and she definitely did that tonight.”
So did Eriksen-Russo, who was named Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match. In addition to her game-winning goal, the sophomore finished the scoring with her 20th goal of the season to make it 4-1 with 17:48 to go.
That unassisted tally was a beautiful shot from the left side of the box. Eriksen-Russo shrugged off a defender, settled the ball and calmly lobbed a 16-yard shot over Hlavac’s head and inside the far post.
“I’m just doing what I love,” Eriksen-Russo said cheerfully.
There was quite a bit for the Mustangs to be cheery about.
Sandberg, a talented multi-sport athlete who intends to swim in college, missed the first two months of the season with injuries to both quadriceps muscles.
But the junior forward has come on strong since returning three weeks ago. She scored her fourth goal of the season in between Eriksen-Russo’s strikes, running onto a long ball from MaKenna Schoolman and blasting a 15-yard shot by Hlavac, who had denied her with a diving stop in the first half, and into the upper left corner.
“It was just kind of an in-the-moment thing,” Sandberg said of her powerful shot. “I just got excited.”
It was Sandberg’s first playoff goal.
“It was really exciting, but I was just happy that I could help out my team and that kind of led to a bunch of other good things that happened,” Sandberg said. “Altogether the second half was just amazing.”
Metea Valley coach Chris Whaley said his team showed good grit.
“We settled for a lot of opportunities that weren’t high quality in the first half,” Whaley said. “We controlled a big part of the game and just didn’t get good opportunities. All of a sudden we’re getting in behind and taking some good touches.”
Whaley was happy to see more than one player contribute.
“We just talked about it’s hard to pinpoint one player on one moment as much as it was just a couple of different girls stepping up in different situations,” Whaley said. “Marissa [Grassi] stepped up in the back and started winning some 50-50 balls. Our midfielders started to step up. ‘Roc’ [Cailin LaRocque] started pushing up the field and started pushing pressure on their mids. Taylor and Madie pushed hard up and were driving at them.
“I think the girls knew all along that they would make something happen, and it was just a matter of getting better opportunities.”
For all of their defensive diligence, the Cougars were unable to get many good scoring opportunities. They did get three-consecutive corner kicks midway through the second half but nothing dangerous materialized.
Even so, first-year Plainfield South coach Lauren DeWolf praised her team during its post-game huddle, saying she couldn’t be prouder of how the Cougars played and that the senior class left big shoes to fill.
The Mustangs will have a big task ahead of them Friday. They lost to Waubonsie Valley 5-1 on April 21. Eriksen-Russo scored for Metea Valley that day, but the Warriors got three goals and an assist from star Paige Filipek.
The Mustangs have since lost only once to an Illinois team.
“I know a lot of things have changed [since then],” Eriksen-Russo said. “We’ve grown a lot and our skills have grown, but at this point I would say it all comes down to our heart and really who wants it more. It’s going to be exciting.”
While acknowledging the Warriors, who have never lost to the Mustangs and beat them in the sectional finals last year, will be heavy favorites, Sandberg said the regular season result will not be repeated.
“I can promise you it’s going to be way different,” Sandberg said. “We’re ready.”
Starting lineups
Plainfield South
GK: Samantha Hlavac
D: Madison Ourada
D: Lindsey Bond
D: Kaylee DeVivo
D: Peyton Marmoll
M: Angie Corcoran
M: Shelby Bishop
M: Michele Govern
M: Ciara Coneset
F: Isabel Cerda
F: Taylor Metcaf
Metea Valley
GK: Amy Ahern
D: Megan Morris
D: Marisa Grassi
M: Miranda Williams
M: Sophia Senese
M: Alena Sidwell
M: Cailin LaRocque
M: Abigail Severson
F: Madie Sandberg
F: Jade Eriksen-Russo
F: MaKenna Schoolman
MVP of the Match: Jade Eriksen-Russo, F, Metea Valley.
Plainfield S., enters regional final
3-goal streak in 2nd half the difference in 4-1 win
By Matt Le Cren
AURORA – Metea Valley was knocking on the door for a long time Tuesday night.
It took longer than they expected, but the Mustangs finally barged into the regional finals by knocking off upset-minded Plainfield South 4-1 in a Class 3A Waubonsie Valley Regional semifinal.
Metea Valley, which is the sixth seed in its own sectional, will take on third-seeded Waubonsie Valley, which crushed Oswego East 10-0 in the other semifinal, in Friday’s title game.
Jade Eriksen-Russo scored twice and Alena Sidwell and Madie Sandberg had a goal apiece for the Mustangs (13-7-3), who scored on their first three shots of the second half to break a 1-1 tie.
“Unfortunately we take a little while to settle in but we’re getting a lot better at going out right from the start, and we talked about that at halftime,” Metea Valley junior Madie Sandberg said. “We wanted to keep going, we wanted to rematch with Waubonsie and we want our chance to advance, so we weren’t ready to give up.”
Metea Valley outshot Plainfield South 10-1 in the first half but only had a 1-0 lead to show for it at the break.
The Cougars (9-7-1) nearly tied it five minutes into the second half when a cross from Isabel Cerda bounced over the foot of an open Shelby Bishop in front.
Those two, however, teamed up again to get the equalizer with 31:42 remaining. This time it was Bishop who crossed from the left side of the box to Cerda and the freshman sent a one-timer inside the right post.
The 11th-seeded Cougars stayed in the game with stubborn defense and good goalkeeping from Samantha Hlavac, who made five-of-her-six saves in the first half.
Metea Valley did not get a shot off for nearly 14 minutes of the second half, but that changed when Sandberg broke in alone on Hlavac, who rushed off her line to cut down the angle.
Sandberg and Hlavac collided in the box but not before Sandberg had sent the ball ahead to Taylor Rohm, who tracked it down near the end line and crossed to Eriksen-Russo for an eight-yard finish into the empty net with 26:09 remaining.
It wasn’t the first good play by Rohm, who assisted on Sidwell’s goal midway through the first half. On that scoring play, Rohm chipped a beautiful pass from the right side of the box over the head of a defender to Sidwell, who was true from seven yards out for her 13th goal of the season.
“She worked her butt off the whole game,” Eriksen-Russo said. “She really wanted to prove that she’s a great player, and she definitely did that tonight.”
So did Eriksen-Russo, who was named Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match. In addition to her game-winning goal, the sophomore finished the scoring with her 20th goal of the season to make it 4-1 with 17:48 to go.
That unassisted tally was a beautiful shot from the left side of the box. Eriksen-Russo shrugged off a defender, settled the ball and calmly lobbed a 16-yard shot over Hlavac’s head and inside the far post.
“I’m just doing what I love,” Eriksen-Russo said cheerfully.
There was quite a bit for the Mustangs to be cheery about.
Sandberg, a talented multi-sport athlete who intends to swim in college, missed the first two months of the season with injuries to both quadriceps muscles.
But the junior forward has come on strong since returning three weeks ago. She scored her fourth goal of the season in between Eriksen-Russo’s strikes, running onto a long ball from MaKenna Schoolman and blasting a 15-yard shot by Hlavac, who had denied her with a diving stop in the first half, and into the upper left corner.
“It was just kind of an in-the-moment thing,” Sandberg said of her powerful shot. “I just got excited.”
It was Sandberg’s first playoff goal.
“It was really exciting, but I was just happy that I could help out my team and that kind of led to a bunch of other good things that happened,” Sandberg said. “Altogether the second half was just amazing.”
Metea Valley coach Chris Whaley said his team showed good grit.
“We settled for a lot of opportunities that weren’t high quality in the first half,” Whaley said. “We controlled a big part of the game and just didn’t get good opportunities. All of a sudden we’re getting in behind and taking some good touches.”
Whaley was happy to see more than one player contribute.
“We just talked about it’s hard to pinpoint one player on one moment as much as it was just a couple of different girls stepping up in different situations,” Whaley said. “Marissa [Grassi] stepped up in the back and started winning some 50-50 balls. Our midfielders started to step up. ‘Roc’ [Cailin LaRocque] started pushing up the field and started pushing pressure on their mids. Taylor and Madie pushed hard up and were driving at them.
“I think the girls knew all along that they would make something happen, and it was just a matter of getting better opportunities.”
For all of their defensive diligence, the Cougars were unable to get many good scoring opportunities. They did get three-consecutive corner kicks midway through the second half but nothing dangerous materialized.
Even so, first-year Plainfield South coach Lauren DeWolf praised her team during its post-game huddle, saying she couldn’t be prouder of how the Cougars played and that the senior class left big shoes to fill.
The Mustangs will have a big task ahead of them Friday. They lost to Waubonsie Valley 5-1 on April 21. Eriksen-Russo scored for Metea Valley that day, but the Warriors got three goals and an assist from star Paige Filipek.
The Mustangs have since lost only once to an Illinois team.
“I know a lot of things have changed [since then],” Eriksen-Russo said. “We’ve grown a lot and our skills have grown, but at this point I would say it all comes down to our heart and really who wants it more. It’s going to be exciting.”
While acknowledging the Warriors, who have never lost to the Mustangs and beat them in the sectional finals last year, will be heavy favorites, Sandberg said the regular season result will not be repeated.
“I can promise you it’s going to be way different,” Sandberg said. “We’re ready.”
Starting lineups
Plainfield South
GK: Samantha Hlavac
D: Madison Ourada
D: Lindsey Bond
D: Kaylee DeVivo
D: Peyton Marmoll
M: Angie Corcoran
M: Shelby Bishop
M: Michele Govern
M: Ciara Coneset
F: Isabel Cerda
F: Taylor Metcaf
Metea Valley
GK: Amy Ahern
D: Megan Morris
D: Marisa Grassi
M: Miranda Williams
M: Sophia Senese
M: Alena Sidwell
M: Cailin LaRocque
M: Abigail Severson
F: Madie Sandberg
F: Jade Eriksen-Russo
F: MaKenna Schoolman
MVP of the Match: Jade Eriksen-Russo, F, Metea Valley.