Libertyville latest victim
in O’Fallon's rags-to-riches run
Panthers rally for 2-1 win, 3A finals berth
By Dave Owen
HOFFMAN ESTATES – It’s a long way from O’Fallon to Hoffman Estates, and even further from a two-win season in 2018 to the 2021 Class 3A state championship game.
O’Fallon finished both journeys Friday.
Trailing Libertyville 1-0 at halftime of the Class 3A state semifinals at Hoffman Estates High School, the Panthers (19-2-0) used a pair of second half goals by Aubrey Mister to emerge with a 2-1 win.
The victory sends O’Fallon on to face Lyons (20-0-0) for the big school championship on Saturday evening. And with that, an incredible climb from a 2-15-2 record in Mister’s freshman year continues.
“My freshman year was like a fever dream,” Mister said. “Those two wins, I thought they were the most exciting games I had ever played in.
“We literally won two games my freshman year. Now we’re in the state championship. It’s crazy.”
Despite the rough record, the 2018 squad put the foundation in place.
“Even though we only won two games, that senior group we had really set the tone in character and what kind of teammates we want in this program,” said O’Fallon coach Justin Judiscak, a rookie coach in 2018 whose team improved to 14 wins the next season.
“The girls that are now seniors are continuing that on to the younger girls. Program wide it’s a mentality that we’re character first. It’s paid dividends for us.”
Mister’s talents paid dividends Friday. She upped her season total to 27 goals with two clutch finishes.
The first came with 27:43 left to play and tied the score at 1-1.
Avery Christopher made a right side run and powered a cross to Mister in front. A point-blank put-evened the match.
“I’ve been working recently on being confident on the ball,” said Christopher, a junior with 19 goals and a team-high 11 assists, “and me and Aubrey know where each other are on the field. Once I turn that corner I know if I play that ball, Aubrey will be there to finish it.”
Said Mister: “Avery played me a beautiful ball, and all I really had to do was turn. I was set up perfectly by my teammates. I just have to do the easy work half the time.”
A set piece seven minutes later produced more great teamwork, and the deciding goal for O’Fallon.
After Avery Taake was fouled, Kiley McMinn took the ensuing 35-yard free kick and provided an unusual twist.
Instead of launching the ball towards the net, McMinn angled the ball nicely towards Mister on the left side. With Libertyville goalkeeper Hannah Vieth racing out to cut down the angle, Mister nicely lined a low drive into the lower right corner to put the Panthers up 2-1.
“We had been practicing a lot of set pieces recently,” Mister said, “and we just did what we’ve been practicing. Kiley played me a really good ball and all I had to do was find the corner and finish it.”
Vieth’s aggressive charge off her line didn’t faze the O’Fallon striker at all.
“I was kind of expecting it,” Mister said, “because I saw in other games that she comes really far out, and she was really fast. So I just told myself that I had to keep it (the shot) low and put some pace on it.”
O’Fallon changed the pace and direction of the game after Libertyville (17-2-0) had built its first half lead.
That 1-0 advantage came almost exactly halfway through the first half (20:09 before halftime), when a Wildcats set piece struck gold.
On a play initiated by Riley Brennan’s well-placed corner kick, Abby Gordon connected on a liner inside the left post for her eighth goal of 2021.
“We had a corner,” Gordon said, “and (Sally) Grace (Rogers) headed it to the front post there. We had had a water break right before the goal, and she told me that the front post was wide open -- ‘Get there and get on the end of my header.’ And that’s exactly what I did. I kicked it right in.”
The Libertyville goal followed back-and-forth early chances.
O’Fallon nearly struck just 1:40 in, when Vieth’s diving catch denied a low Rebecca Koening left-side drive off a Christopher dish.
Libertyville answered in the seventh minute, after a Gordon pass interception set up an Avery Gleason high liner that O’Fallon goalkeeper Grace Vincent leaped to just deflect over the crossbar.
Vincent also swatted a Lauren Rocco shot over the crossbar with 20:40 left in the half – moments before the two-minute water break, and Gordon’s corner kick-initiated goal.
The half ended 1-0, and O’Fallon repelled a Libertyville chance to double their lead on corner kick 1:10 into the second half. Regan Schrenkenberg blocked the try in a crowd in front of the net.
Then the Panthers proceeded to flip the score in their favor.
“That’s a good team,” Libertyville coach Daniel DePaz said. “To try to contain those two forwards they have (Mister and Christopher) was a tough task throughout the game, and they finally just broke free a couple times.”
After the nice McMinn-to-Mister set piece made the score 2-1 O’Fallon, the Panthers defense made the lead stand up.
In fact, it was O’Fallon with the best chances the rest of the way.
With 15:15 left, a nice combination play by Christopher and McMinn ended with a McMinn shot from 10 yards that Libertyville’s Addie Whisenand nicely blocked and cleared.
Then with 6:45 to go, Rebecca Koenig’s left-side rush and shot was denied on a Vieth save.
Libertyville did create threats to draw even. The best came with 4:45 to go, when a Lanie Szatmary send to the box produced a close race to the loose ball.
Vincent won that race an instant ahead of Payton Nolan. A Schreckenberg shot saved by Vieth with 1:55 to go would be the last good chance of the match for either side.
“I definitely think when we scored that first goal, our intensity picked up and our confidence picked up,” Mister said. “The tables turned. We wanted to control the rest of the game after that, and we were pretty dominant the rest of the time.”
Coming off a win over Naperville North, O’Fallon again showed poise in a tough test from a Chicago-area squad rich in tradition.
“One thing about this team that makes it unique is its composure,” Judiscak said. “The last two games we were down, and we found a way to calm ourselves down.
“Without a doubt that was an excellent team we just played. A lot of credit to them for battling and making it one of the most difficult games we’ve seen all year.”
Libertyville’s 2021 successes included a 1-0 win over fellow Class 3A semifinalist Barrington in April and two wins over New Trier (one in the supersectionals).
“I’m absolutely proud of what we’ve done this year and in this game,” DePaz said. “We can hold our heads high. It’s obviously not the result that we wanted, but we played hard. It just didn’t go our way.”
The Wildcats wrap up the year with a rematch against Barrington in the Class 3A third place game. Libertyville will collect its first state trophy since winning the title in 2001.
As for O’Fallon, the incredible rise from the two-win woes of 2018 culminates with a title shot. The Panthers reached the state quarterfinals in 1995, with no trophy.
“For us this is monumental, because we’ve never been to a state final,” said Judiscak. “We’re going into it with no experience, but I think that plays to our advantage, because we’re excited to have a chance to win a state championship.”
Starting lineups
O’Fallon
GK Grace Vincent
D Katelyn Knaust
D Regan Schrenkenberg
D Mackenzie James
D Rebecca Koenig
M Ella Peterson
M Olivia Ori
M Kiley McMinn
M Avery Taake
F Avery Christopher
F Aubrey Mister
Libertyville
GK Hannah Vieth
D Addie Whisenand
D Riley Brennan
D Lauren Milz
D Sally Grace Rogers
M Lanie Szatmary
M Lauren Rocco
M Paige Gleason
M Abby Gordon
F Avery Gleason
F Payton Nolan
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match:
Aubrey Mister, sr. F, O’Fallon
Scoring summary
First half
L – Abby Gordon (Sally Grace Rogers assist), 20th min
Second hjalf
O- Aubrey Mister (Avery Christopher), 53rd min
O- Mister (Kiley McMinn), 59th min
in O’Fallon's rags-to-riches run
Panthers rally for 2-1 win, 3A finals berth
By Dave Owen
HOFFMAN ESTATES – It’s a long way from O’Fallon to Hoffman Estates, and even further from a two-win season in 2018 to the 2021 Class 3A state championship game.
O’Fallon finished both journeys Friday.
Trailing Libertyville 1-0 at halftime of the Class 3A state semifinals at Hoffman Estates High School, the Panthers (19-2-0) used a pair of second half goals by Aubrey Mister to emerge with a 2-1 win.
The victory sends O’Fallon on to face Lyons (20-0-0) for the big school championship on Saturday evening. And with that, an incredible climb from a 2-15-2 record in Mister’s freshman year continues.
“My freshman year was like a fever dream,” Mister said. “Those two wins, I thought they were the most exciting games I had ever played in.
“We literally won two games my freshman year. Now we’re in the state championship. It’s crazy.”
Despite the rough record, the 2018 squad put the foundation in place.
“Even though we only won two games, that senior group we had really set the tone in character and what kind of teammates we want in this program,” said O’Fallon coach Justin Judiscak, a rookie coach in 2018 whose team improved to 14 wins the next season.
“The girls that are now seniors are continuing that on to the younger girls. Program wide it’s a mentality that we’re character first. It’s paid dividends for us.”
Mister’s talents paid dividends Friday. She upped her season total to 27 goals with two clutch finishes.
The first came with 27:43 left to play and tied the score at 1-1.
Avery Christopher made a right side run and powered a cross to Mister in front. A point-blank put-evened the match.
“I’ve been working recently on being confident on the ball,” said Christopher, a junior with 19 goals and a team-high 11 assists, “and me and Aubrey know where each other are on the field. Once I turn that corner I know if I play that ball, Aubrey will be there to finish it.”
Said Mister: “Avery played me a beautiful ball, and all I really had to do was turn. I was set up perfectly by my teammates. I just have to do the easy work half the time.”
A set piece seven minutes later produced more great teamwork, and the deciding goal for O’Fallon.
After Avery Taake was fouled, Kiley McMinn took the ensuing 35-yard free kick and provided an unusual twist.
Instead of launching the ball towards the net, McMinn angled the ball nicely towards Mister on the left side. With Libertyville goalkeeper Hannah Vieth racing out to cut down the angle, Mister nicely lined a low drive into the lower right corner to put the Panthers up 2-1.
“We had been practicing a lot of set pieces recently,” Mister said, “and we just did what we’ve been practicing. Kiley played me a really good ball and all I had to do was find the corner and finish it.”
Vieth’s aggressive charge off her line didn’t faze the O’Fallon striker at all.
“I was kind of expecting it,” Mister said, “because I saw in other games that she comes really far out, and she was really fast. So I just told myself that I had to keep it (the shot) low and put some pace on it.”
O’Fallon changed the pace and direction of the game after Libertyville (17-2-0) had built its first half lead.
That 1-0 advantage came almost exactly halfway through the first half (20:09 before halftime), when a Wildcats set piece struck gold.
On a play initiated by Riley Brennan’s well-placed corner kick, Abby Gordon connected on a liner inside the left post for her eighth goal of 2021.
“We had a corner,” Gordon said, “and (Sally) Grace (Rogers) headed it to the front post there. We had had a water break right before the goal, and she told me that the front post was wide open -- ‘Get there and get on the end of my header.’ And that’s exactly what I did. I kicked it right in.”
The Libertyville goal followed back-and-forth early chances.
O’Fallon nearly struck just 1:40 in, when Vieth’s diving catch denied a low Rebecca Koening left-side drive off a Christopher dish.
Libertyville answered in the seventh minute, after a Gordon pass interception set up an Avery Gleason high liner that O’Fallon goalkeeper Grace Vincent leaped to just deflect over the crossbar.
Vincent also swatted a Lauren Rocco shot over the crossbar with 20:40 left in the half – moments before the two-minute water break, and Gordon’s corner kick-initiated goal.
The half ended 1-0, and O’Fallon repelled a Libertyville chance to double their lead on corner kick 1:10 into the second half. Regan Schrenkenberg blocked the try in a crowd in front of the net.
Then the Panthers proceeded to flip the score in their favor.
“That’s a good team,” Libertyville coach Daniel DePaz said. “To try to contain those two forwards they have (Mister and Christopher) was a tough task throughout the game, and they finally just broke free a couple times.”
After the nice McMinn-to-Mister set piece made the score 2-1 O’Fallon, the Panthers defense made the lead stand up.
In fact, it was O’Fallon with the best chances the rest of the way.
With 15:15 left, a nice combination play by Christopher and McMinn ended with a McMinn shot from 10 yards that Libertyville’s Addie Whisenand nicely blocked and cleared.
Then with 6:45 to go, Rebecca Koenig’s left-side rush and shot was denied on a Vieth save.
Libertyville did create threats to draw even. The best came with 4:45 to go, when a Lanie Szatmary send to the box produced a close race to the loose ball.
Vincent won that race an instant ahead of Payton Nolan. A Schreckenberg shot saved by Vieth with 1:55 to go would be the last good chance of the match for either side.
“I definitely think when we scored that first goal, our intensity picked up and our confidence picked up,” Mister said. “The tables turned. We wanted to control the rest of the game after that, and we were pretty dominant the rest of the time.”
Coming off a win over Naperville North, O’Fallon again showed poise in a tough test from a Chicago-area squad rich in tradition.
“One thing about this team that makes it unique is its composure,” Judiscak said. “The last two games we were down, and we found a way to calm ourselves down.
“Without a doubt that was an excellent team we just played. A lot of credit to them for battling and making it one of the most difficult games we’ve seen all year.”
Libertyville’s 2021 successes included a 1-0 win over fellow Class 3A semifinalist Barrington in April and two wins over New Trier (one in the supersectionals).
“I’m absolutely proud of what we’ve done this year and in this game,” DePaz said. “We can hold our heads high. It’s obviously not the result that we wanted, but we played hard. It just didn’t go our way.”
The Wildcats wrap up the year with a rematch against Barrington in the Class 3A third place game. Libertyville will collect its first state trophy since winning the title in 2001.
As for O’Fallon, the incredible rise from the two-win woes of 2018 culminates with a title shot. The Panthers reached the state quarterfinals in 1995, with no trophy.
“For us this is monumental, because we’ve never been to a state final,” said Judiscak. “We’re going into it with no experience, but I think that plays to our advantage, because we’re excited to have a chance to win a state championship.”
Starting lineups
O’Fallon
GK Grace Vincent
D Katelyn Knaust
D Regan Schrenkenberg
D Mackenzie James
D Rebecca Koenig
M Ella Peterson
M Olivia Ori
M Kiley McMinn
M Avery Taake
F Avery Christopher
F Aubrey Mister
Libertyville
GK Hannah Vieth
D Addie Whisenand
D Riley Brennan
D Lauren Milz
D Sally Grace Rogers
M Lanie Szatmary
M Lauren Rocco
M Paige Gleason
M Abby Gordon
F Avery Gleason
F Payton Nolan
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match:
Aubrey Mister, sr. F, O’Fallon
Scoring summary
First half
L – Abby Gordon (Sally Grace Rogers assist), 20th min
Second hjalf
O- Aubrey Mister (Avery Christopher), 53rd min
O- Mister (Kiley McMinn), 59th min