Mid-Suburban League divisional titles
up for grabs on final day
By Mike Garofola
Barrington 1, Conant 0 (OT)
BARRINGTON -- Barrington is now two points clear of second place Conant after its thrilling 1-0 victory in overtime late Wednesday night at Barrington Community Stadium.
The defending Mid-Suburban League and state champions had been the team to beat in the West Division title race until Fremd threw a wrench in its plans with a 2-1 loss one week ago. That gave Conant new life in its bid to advance into the annual MSL Soccer Cup for the first time since 2011.
The stage was then set when the northwest suburban superpowers met at the Fillies home park. Just as most expected, this one required extra time to decide a winner.
Freshman Riley Raynor stunned the visiting Cougars with a magnificent left-footed strike in the 82nd minute. That left it up to the Fillies to stay clean for the next 18 minutes to inch one step closer to its eighth-consecutive appearance in the MSL Soccer Cup.
"We all knew we had to win tonight or our chances to win the division would be over," said Raynor, who now leads her club with 11 goals. "But even though many of us have never been a part of the varsity team, our seniors on this team, who are all great leaders, have been there to help us younger players be ready for such a big game."
"This may have been the best game our two center backs have played this season, and it came at a time when we really needed them do so," said Fillies manager Ryan Stengren of Juliana Moreno and Kate McGreevy, who along with outside backs Madi Rosen and Christine Batliner kept the Cougars all-state forward Stephanie Mazurek (24 goals) under wraps all evening long.
The Fillies (13-2-1, 9-1-0, 27 points) remain in a must-win situation Friday when they play Buffalo Grove on the road. Conant (14-2-2, 9-1-1, 28 points) regained the league lead when it beat Wheeling 7-0 Thursday in its final league game.
Hersey 1, Rolling Meadows 1 (OT)
MSL East-leading Hersey missed its chance to send off both Buffalo Grove and Prospect when it played its hosts to a draw on Wednesday.
Mike Rusniak's club had their aforementioned division rivals right where they wanted them -- a win over the Mustangs would have secured Hersey's place in the 30th annual MSL Soccer Cup next week.
"This was a good game for us, but we just couldn't finish," said Rusniak.
"We had a series of good opportunities, and even though we played well and enjoyed a consistent, strong effort all throughout the game, it was our inability to finish our chance that did us in."
At the start of the day, both Buffalo Grove and Prospect chased Hersey's four-point advantage (18-14), but with each claiming victories Wednesday, the lead is now down to two points.
The Huskies (6-3-1, 19 points) will host Prospect (5-3-2, 17 points) while Buffalo Grove (5-3-2, 17 points) welcomes Barrington with everything on the line for all four.
Chloe Sena scored her 12th of the season after both sides played to a goal-less first half.
"Avery (Larson) had a fantastic game for us tonight," said Rusniak. "She had two great opportunities of her own, and she earned a nice assist on Chloe's goal."
Rolling Meadows star forward Alexa Davis bagged her 19th to keep the home side in the game. One night earlier Davis scored all three in the Mustangs 3-1 win over Palatine.
Should the Huskies advance into the league championship game, it would be the first time since 2015 when they lost to Barrington.
up for grabs on final day
By Mike Garofola
Barrington 1, Conant 0 (OT)
BARRINGTON -- Barrington is now two points clear of second place Conant after its thrilling 1-0 victory in overtime late Wednesday night at Barrington Community Stadium.
The defending Mid-Suburban League and state champions had been the team to beat in the West Division title race until Fremd threw a wrench in its plans with a 2-1 loss one week ago. That gave Conant new life in its bid to advance into the annual MSL Soccer Cup for the first time since 2011.
The stage was then set when the northwest suburban superpowers met at the Fillies home park. Just as most expected, this one required extra time to decide a winner.
Freshman Riley Raynor stunned the visiting Cougars with a magnificent left-footed strike in the 82nd minute. That left it up to the Fillies to stay clean for the next 18 minutes to inch one step closer to its eighth-consecutive appearance in the MSL Soccer Cup.
"We all knew we had to win tonight or our chances to win the division would be over," said Raynor, who now leads her club with 11 goals. "But even though many of us have never been a part of the varsity team, our seniors on this team, who are all great leaders, have been there to help us younger players be ready for such a big game."
"This may have been the best game our two center backs have played this season, and it came at a time when we really needed them do so," said Fillies manager Ryan Stengren of Juliana Moreno and Kate McGreevy, who along with outside backs Madi Rosen and Christine Batliner kept the Cougars all-state forward Stephanie Mazurek (24 goals) under wraps all evening long.
The Fillies (13-2-1, 9-1-0, 27 points) remain in a must-win situation Friday when they play Buffalo Grove on the road. Conant (14-2-2, 9-1-1, 28 points) regained the league lead when it beat Wheeling 7-0 Thursday in its final league game.
Hersey 1, Rolling Meadows 1 (OT)
MSL East-leading Hersey missed its chance to send off both Buffalo Grove and Prospect when it played its hosts to a draw on Wednesday.
Mike Rusniak's club had their aforementioned division rivals right where they wanted them -- a win over the Mustangs would have secured Hersey's place in the 30th annual MSL Soccer Cup next week.
"This was a good game for us, but we just couldn't finish," said Rusniak.
"We had a series of good opportunities, and even though we played well and enjoyed a consistent, strong effort all throughout the game, it was our inability to finish our chance that did us in."
At the start of the day, both Buffalo Grove and Prospect chased Hersey's four-point advantage (18-14), but with each claiming victories Wednesday, the lead is now down to two points.
The Huskies (6-3-1, 19 points) will host Prospect (5-3-2, 17 points) while Buffalo Grove (5-3-2, 17 points) welcomes Barrington with everything on the line for all four.
Chloe Sena scored her 12th of the season after both sides played to a goal-less first half.
"Avery (Larson) had a fantastic game for us tonight," said Rusniak. "She had two great opportunities of her own, and she earned a nice assist on Chloe's goal."
Rolling Meadows star forward Alexa Davis bagged her 19th to keep the home side in the game. One night earlier Davis scored all three in the Mustangs 3-1 win over Palatine.
Should the Huskies advance into the league championship game, it would be the first time since 2015 when they lost to Barrington.