Hinsdale Central gets nod for regional final
Arnold’s header to start 2nd OT lifts Red Devils past Willowbrook
By Matt Le Cren
DOWNERS GROVE – The mood was one of desperation, but the finish was decisive.
Hinsdale Central had spent 90 minutes trying to solve Willowbrook’s determined defense Tuesday night but had nothing to show for the effort.
Then Maddie Lynch and Haley Arnold made something happen.
Arnold met a cross from Lynch and powered a header past Warriors goalkeeper Zoe Ericson 33 seconds into the second overtime and the seventh-seeded Red Devils held on for a 1-0 victory at the Class 3A Downers Grove North Regional semifinals at Carstens Field.
Hinsdale Central (8-10-2) advanced to play second-seeded Downers North (11-6-4), which routed Curie 7-0 in the other semifinal, in Friday’s championship game at Doerhoefer Park.
“It was so relieving,” Arnold said of her goal. “I looked at Maddie and was like, ‘Oh, my God.’”
“It was a good moment,” added Lynch.
A moment that was a long time coming for the Red Devils, who outshot the 10th-seeded Warriors 21-0 but feared they were headed to penalty kicks. Ericson made six saves for Willowbrook, which consistently broke up Hinsdale Central’s rushes.
Count Hinsdale Central coach Bryan Ciesiulka among the nervous.
“You could see the emotions were coming out,” Ciesiulka said. “Everyone is getting a little antsy.
“You try to get them to stay calm, but that’s the nature of it. Everybody wants to win; everybody is working really hard. And I think in that kind of chaos, when you can put a ball on the ground, switch the field and do what you do best despite all the raised emotions, that’s when you’re going to get goals.”
That’s exactly what happened. The Red Devils switched the field and got the ball to Lynch on the right wing. That opened up Willowbrook’s defense just enough to get Arnold isolated on a defender in the box.
Lynch saw it and knew what to do.
“I saw Haley in front of the last defender, so I decided to place it where she was,” Lynch said. “She had a big-time run and a great header.”
Arnold, a sophomore, credited Lynch with the perfect set-up.
“I saw her running up, so I just cut in front of my defender,” Arnold said. “It was a really good ball from Maddie.”
The play went exactly how coaches draw it up, though it’s rarely executed as well as this.
“You talk about two people who have worked really hard this year at both of those things,” Ciesiulka said. “We work on that all the time with Maddie taking someone 1-on-1, putting a cross in and Haley running in the box.
“All of our forwards are starting to do a really good job, and I think every week we get a little bit better. We started to put the ball on the ground today. We played it a little nicer than we have in the past, and you got to see a great goal as a result of it.”
Willowbrook (9-9-0) didn’t get a sniff the Hinsdale Central goal. Gracie Tumilty and Julianna Paulsen made consistently good runs down the wings and the ball got in the Red Devils box on several occasions, but Hinsdale Central goalkeeper Taylor Ward did not have to register a save thanks to the effort of defenders Madeline Swade, Sophie Simmons, Samantha Moriarty and Samantha Guido.
“We’ve been in a lot of hard games,” Ciesiulka said. “It’s because of our defense that we stay in games.”
Willowbrook’s defense was just as tough and was under more consistent pressure. The Warriors’ backline led by Abbey Spada, Jessica Ragucci and Sara Fitzgibbon impressed Ciesiulka.
“That’s a great team,” Ciesiulka said. “That’s an organized team. They were dangerous on the break and gave us a good run.
“Hats off to them. ... That one could have gone either way.
“We were both searching for a goal, we both had half-chances here and there, and that’s kind of what you get in playoff soccer sometimes.”
Indeed, the pressure will only increase as the postseason continues. Friday’s title tilt promises more of the same tense, nail-biting action between two rivals who know each other well.
The Red Devils lost 1-0 at Downers Grove North in a West Suburban Conference Silver Division action on April 24.
“We’ve been playing a lot better since that game, so I think we can win,” Lynch said.
The Red Devils will be underdogs, but Ciesiulka is preparing his troops for battle.
“I told the girls we’ve been in plenty of tough games this year,” Ciesiulka said. “They’re all going to be tough from here on out, and we know that Downers will give us a good run, so we’re excited.”
Starting lineups
Hinsdale Central
GK Taylor Ward
D Madeline Swade
D Sophie Simmons
D Samantha Moriarty
D Samantha Guido
M Sarah Cernugal
M Jane Bibby
F Camille Lubic
F Haley Arnold
F Jackie Blake
F Madigan Lynch
Willowbrook
GK Zoe Ericson
D Abbey Spada
D Jessica Ragucci
D Sara Fitzgibbon
M Kaleigh Rugg
M Maura Heneghan
M Gracie Tumilty
M Sarah Poirier
F Caitlyn Owen
F Julianna Paulsen
F Lizzy Florey
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Haley Arnold, so., F, Hinsdale Central
Scoring summary
Second overtime
Hinsdale Central – Haley Arnold (Madison Lynch) 9:27
Arnold’s header to start 2nd OT lifts Red Devils past Willowbrook
By Matt Le Cren
DOWNERS GROVE – The mood was one of desperation, but the finish was decisive.
Hinsdale Central had spent 90 minutes trying to solve Willowbrook’s determined defense Tuesday night but had nothing to show for the effort.
Then Maddie Lynch and Haley Arnold made something happen.
Arnold met a cross from Lynch and powered a header past Warriors goalkeeper Zoe Ericson 33 seconds into the second overtime and the seventh-seeded Red Devils held on for a 1-0 victory at the Class 3A Downers Grove North Regional semifinals at Carstens Field.
Hinsdale Central (8-10-2) advanced to play second-seeded Downers North (11-6-4), which routed Curie 7-0 in the other semifinal, in Friday’s championship game at Doerhoefer Park.
“It was so relieving,” Arnold said of her goal. “I looked at Maddie and was like, ‘Oh, my God.’”
“It was a good moment,” added Lynch.
A moment that was a long time coming for the Red Devils, who outshot the 10th-seeded Warriors 21-0 but feared they were headed to penalty kicks. Ericson made six saves for Willowbrook, which consistently broke up Hinsdale Central’s rushes.
Count Hinsdale Central coach Bryan Ciesiulka among the nervous.
“You could see the emotions were coming out,” Ciesiulka said. “Everyone is getting a little antsy.
“You try to get them to stay calm, but that’s the nature of it. Everybody wants to win; everybody is working really hard. And I think in that kind of chaos, when you can put a ball on the ground, switch the field and do what you do best despite all the raised emotions, that’s when you’re going to get goals.”
That’s exactly what happened. The Red Devils switched the field and got the ball to Lynch on the right wing. That opened up Willowbrook’s defense just enough to get Arnold isolated on a defender in the box.
Lynch saw it and knew what to do.
“I saw Haley in front of the last defender, so I decided to place it where she was,” Lynch said. “She had a big-time run and a great header.”
Arnold, a sophomore, credited Lynch with the perfect set-up.
“I saw her running up, so I just cut in front of my defender,” Arnold said. “It was a really good ball from Maddie.”
The play went exactly how coaches draw it up, though it’s rarely executed as well as this.
“You talk about two people who have worked really hard this year at both of those things,” Ciesiulka said. “We work on that all the time with Maddie taking someone 1-on-1, putting a cross in and Haley running in the box.
“All of our forwards are starting to do a really good job, and I think every week we get a little bit better. We started to put the ball on the ground today. We played it a little nicer than we have in the past, and you got to see a great goal as a result of it.”
Willowbrook (9-9-0) didn’t get a sniff the Hinsdale Central goal. Gracie Tumilty and Julianna Paulsen made consistently good runs down the wings and the ball got in the Red Devils box on several occasions, but Hinsdale Central goalkeeper Taylor Ward did not have to register a save thanks to the effort of defenders Madeline Swade, Sophie Simmons, Samantha Moriarty and Samantha Guido.
“We’ve been in a lot of hard games,” Ciesiulka said. “It’s because of our defense that we stay in games.”
Willowbrook’s defense was just as tough and was under more consistent pressure. The Warriors’ backline led by Abbey Spada, Jessica Ragucci and Sara Fitzgibbon impressed Ciesiulka.
“That’s a great team,” Ciesiulka said. “That’s an organized team. They were dangerous on the break and gave us a good run.
“Hats off to them. ... That one could have gone either way.
“We were both searching for a goal, we both had half-chances here and there, and that’s kind of what you get in playoff soccer sometimes.”
Indeed, the pressure will only increase as the postseason continues. Friday’s title tilt promises more of the same tense, nail-biting action between two rivals who know each other well.
The Red Devils lost 1-0 at Downers Grove North in a West Suburban Conference Silver Division action on April 24.
“We’ve been playing a lot better since that game, so I think we can win,” Lynch said.
The Red Devils will be underdogs, but Ciesiulka is preparing his troops for battle.
“I told the girls we’ve been in plenty of tough games this year,” Ciesiulka said. “They’re all going to be tough from here on out, and we know that Downers will give us a good run, so we’re excited.”
Starting lineups
Hinsdale Central
GK Taylor Ward
D Madeline Swade
D Sophie Simmons
D Samantha Moriarty
D Samantha Guido
M Sarah Cernugal
M Jane Bibby
F Camille Lubic
F Haley Arnold
F Jackie Blake
F Madigan Lynch
Willowbrook
GK Zoe Ericson
D Abbey Spada
D Jessica Ragucci
D Sara Fitzgibbon
M Kaleigh Rugg
M Maura Heneghan
M Gracie Tumilty
M Sarah Poirier
F Caitlyn Owen
F Julianna Paulsen
F Lizzy Florey
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Haley Arnold, so., F, Hinsdale Central
Scoring summary
Second overtime
Hinsdale Central – Haley Arnold (Madison Lynch) 9:27