GK Brennan keeps WWS in bracket hunt
Sr. stops 3 Wauconda shootout shots, Tigers advance to final
By Rusty Silber
SCHAUMBURG -- Abbie Brennan had a big hand, or at least finger-tips, in directing Wheaton Warrenville South to another PepsiCo Showdown bracket final. The senior goalkeeper found a way to make not one, not two, but three outstanding stops in penalty kicks against Wauconda after the match was tied 1-1 after 80 minutes in a semifinal match Saturday at Olympic Park.
The top overall seed in the tournament prevailed over the no. 4 seed 3-2 in a five-round penalty kick session.
It was the fourth-straight win and a sweep through the first four rounds of the tournament for Wheaton Warrenville South, then ranked no. 12 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. The Tigers also beat Andrew (2-1), Plainfield Central (3-0) and Lincoln-Way West (2-1) in the event.
Wheaton Warrenville South (6-1-0) will play Metea Valley in a bracket championship game on April 28 at a time and site to be determined. The games were moved from their scheduled date of April 14 due to wintery weather. Metea Valley defeated Maine South on kicks after finishing regulation tied a 1-1 in the other semifinal.
Brennan ended up with a total of nine saves against Wauconda (7-2-1). She earned the Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match honor for her effort, especially from during the PK session when she made two incredible stops. Her final penalty save came when she got a touch on the ball that then bounced off the post and came right back to her.
"It's very nerve-wracking, but its exciting to be a goalie," Brennan said. "You kind of pick a side and go for it. The first two saves, I just followed where their hips were, and I just went to that place. On the last one, I think I got the tops of my fingers on it which was just enough to get it out. Honestly, I had no idea where it went. I heard it tip, but I didn't know if it went in or out. It was definitely going to go in if I didn't get a hand on it. It was enough for it not to go in."
Just before the final save, Maria Dohse put a shot into the back of the net that put the Tigers ahead during the shootout. Melisa Hadzic and Elise Farrell scored the other PKs. But on the two other offerings, Wauconda keeper Mackenzie Arden made a diving save for her 13th of the game. The other shot hit the crossbar.
"At the end it was fair that it went to PKs and anything can happen at that point," Wheaton Warrrenville Coach Guy Callipari said. "It's a nice win and gets us to the 28th and will be a long weekend for us with a game on Friday and two on Saturday in Springfield (at the Sacred Heart-Griffin Tournament) and back here with a game on Sunday. It will be good for back-to-back, and we love the tournament for that. It sets us mentally and physically for what's ahead for the playoffs."
Before Wauconda dealt with the PKs, it had some ideas of trying to get the winning goal before the end of regulation.
"It would've been nice to sneak one in before that," Wauconda coach Beau Shogren said. "But again, I do like our chances at penalty kicks. We do have a lot of faith in our goalkeeper. We feel we have girls that hit the ball and can shoot. It was kind of a coin flip at that point, and that's what happened."
During game action, Wauconda got on the board first in the 19th minute off a corner kick from Morgan Lung. Abigail McHugh got her head on the ball and placed it in the back of the net for the opener.
But, Wheaton Warrenville South found a way to tie the game in the 26th minute. The Tigers had applied some pressure up-top, and the Bulldogs defense lost its flow for a few moments trying to track down the ball. After a Wauconda defender failed trying to clear the area, Hadzic got the ball up-top and fired it into the net for her second goal of the season.
"I knew I had to stand on top of the box, because I had faith in my teammates that they could slide it into me. I was just primarily waiting for the ball, and I was able to be in the right spot and finish it off."
It appeared that Wauconda had the better of the play of the first half with more opportunities. Wheaton Warrenville South had to take control under windy conditions that caused a bit of havoc at times when the teams tried to connect passes.
"Wauconda had a great first half," Callipari said. "They used the field and the lack of space perfectly," Callipari said. "They supported each other terrifically. They looked for opportunistic opportunities like they did on the dead ball. They were always dangerous on dead balls. They got the one early with the corner kick. But, I thought we had a good response, and I thought we carried the next 15 to 20 minutes.
"Second half, I think our technical ability helped us keep the ball longer and not get into so many 50/50s. We were able to find space and time. We opened them up a little bit which allowed us to create some opportunities -- not some clear opportunities, but some half-chances. This should help us against other really good organized teams like Wauconda."
The Tigers played the match without Northwestern-bound Paige Miller who sat out with an ankle injury suffered Thursday. The Bulldogs missed Kayla Llewellyn, who also sat out due to an ankle injury from the tournament's third round.
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK-Abbie Brennan
D-Maria Dohse
D-Maddie Monaco
D-Sara Berardi
D-Allie Anderson
MF-Ellery Fahey
MF-Audrey Siebert
MF-Melisa Hadzic
MF-Becca Hauenstein
F-J.J. Aalbue
F-Evelyn Demsher
Wauconda
GK-Mackenzie Arden
D-Sarah Rizzo
D-Olivia Kuch
D-Tara Bierdz
D-Madelyn Thompson
MF-Savannah Johnson
MF-Belle Johnson
MF-Rosalie Wisiewski
MF-Abigail McHugh
MF-Morgan Lung
F-Megan Sinnott
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Abbie Brennan, sr., GK, Wheaton Warrenville South
Scoring summary
First half
Wauc-Abigail McHugh (Morgan Lung) 19'
WWS-Melisa Hadzic (unassisted).26'
Second half
No scoring
Penalty Kicks
WWS (3): Allie Anderson, Melisa Hadzic, Maria Dohse.
Wauconda (2): Abigail McHugh, Savanna Johnson
Sr. stops 3 Wauconda shootout shots, Tigers advance to final
By Rusty Silber
SCHAUMBURG -- Abbie Brennan had a big hand, or at least finger-tips, in directing Wheaton Warrenville South to another PepsiCo Showdown bracket final. The senior goalkeeper found a way to make not one, not two, but three outstanding stops in penalty kicks against Wauconda after the match was tied 1-1 after 80 minutes in a semifinal match Saturday at Olympic Park.
The top overall seed in the tournament prevailed over the no. 4 seed 3-2 in a five-round penalty kick session.
It was the fourth-straight win and a sweep through the first four rounds of the tournament for Wheaton Warrenville South, then ranked no. 12 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. The Tigers also beat Andrew (2-1), Plainfield Central (3-0) and Lincoln-Way West (2-1) in the event.
Wheaton Warrenville South (6-1-0) will play Metea Valley in a bracket championship game on April 28 at a time and site to be determined. The games were moved from their scheduled date of April 14 due to wintery weather. Metea Valley defeated Maine South on kicks after finishing regulation tied a 1-1 in the other semifinal.
Brennan ended up with a total of nine saves against Wauconda (7-2-1). She earned the Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match honor for her effort, especially from during the PK session when she made two incredible stops. Her final penalty save came when she got a touch on the ball that then bounced off the post and came right back to her.
"It's very nerve-wracking, but its exciting to be a goalie," Brennan said. "You kind of pick a side and go for it. The first two saves, I just followed where their hips were, and I just went to that place. On the last one, I think I got the tops of my fingers on it which was just enough to get it out. Honestly, I had no idea where it went. I heard it tip, but I didn't know if it went in or out. It was definitely going to go in if I didn't get a hand on it. It was enough for it not to go in."
Just before the final save, Maria Dohse put a shot into the back of the net that put the Tigers ahead during the shootout. Melisa Hadzic and Elise Farrell scored the other PKs. But on the two other offerings, Wauconda keeper Mackenzie Arden made a diving save for her 13th of the game. The other shot hit the crossbar.
"At the end it was fair that it went to PKs and anything can happen at that point," Wheaton Warrrenville Coach Guy Callipari said. "It's a nice win and gets us to the 28th and will be a long weekend for us with a game on Friday and two on Saturday in Springfield (at the Sacred Heart-Griffin Tournament) and back here with a game on Sunday. It will be good for back-to-back, and we love the tournament for that. It sets us mentally and physically for what's ahead for the playoffs."
Before Wauconda dealt with the PKs, it had some ideas of trying to get the winning goal before the end of regulation.
"It would've been nice to sneak one in before that," Wauconda coach Beau Shogren said. "But again, I do like our chances at penalty kicks. We do have a lot of faith in our goalkeeper. We feel we have girls that hit the ball and can shoot. It was kind of a coin flip at that point, and that's what happened."
During game action, Wauconda got on the board first in the 19th minute off a corner kick from Morgan Lung. Abigail McHugh got her head on the ball and placed it in the back of the net for the opener.
But, Wheaton Warrenville South found a way to tie the game in the 26th minute. The Tigers had applied some pressure up-top, and the Bulldogs defense lost its flow for a few moments trying to track down the ball. After a Wauconda defender failed trying to clear the area, Hadzic got the ball up-top and fired it into the net for her second goal of the season.
"I knew I had to stand on top of the box, because I had faith in my teammates that they could slide it into me. I was just primarily waiting for the ball, and I was able to be in the right spot and finish it off."
It appeared that Wauconda had the better of the play of the first half with more opportunities. Wheaton Warrenville South had to take control under windy conditions that caused a bit of havoc at times when the teams tried to connect passes.
"Wauconda had a great first half," Callipari said. "They used the field and the lack of space perfectly," Callipari said. "They supported each other terrifically. They looked for opportunistic opportunities like they did on the dead ball. They were always dangerous on dead balls. They got the one early with the corner kick. But, I thought we had a good response, and I thought we carried the next 15 to 20 minutes.
"Second half, I think our technical ability helped us keep the ball longer and not get into so many 50/50s. We were able to find space and time. We opened them up a little bit which allowed us to create some opportunities -- not some clear opportunities, but some half-chances. This should help us against other really good organized teams like Wauconda."
The Tigers played the match without Northwestern-bound Paige Miller who sat out with an ankle injury suffered Thursday. The Bulldogs missed Kayla Llewellyn, who also sat out due to an ankle injury from the tournament's third round.
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK-Abbie Brennan
D-Maria Dohse
D-Maddie Monaco
D-Sara Berardi
D-Allie Anderson
MF-Ellery Fahey
MF-Audrey Siebert
MF-Melisa Hadzic
MF-Becca Hauenstein
F-J.J. Aalbue
F-Evelyn Demsher
Wauconda
GK-Mackenzie Arden
D-Sarah Rizzo
D-Olivia Kuch
D-Tara Bierdz
D-Madelyn Thompson
MF-Savannah Johnson
MF-Belle Johnson
MF-Rosalie Wisiewski
MF-Abigail McHugh
MF-Morgan Lung
F-Megan Sinnott
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Abbie Brennan, sr., GK, Wheaton Warrenville South
Scoring summary
First half
Wauc-Abigail McHugh (Morgan Lung) 19'
WWS-Melisa Hadzic (unassisted).26'
Second half
No scoring
Penalty Kicks
WWS (3): Allie Anderson, Melisa Hadzic, Maria Dohse.
Wauconda (2): Abigail McHugh, Savanna Johnson