State preview: Barrington
By Curt Herron
Two years ago Barrington came ever so close to capturing a third-straight Class 3A championship, but its hopes of accomplishing that impressive feat were dashed when it lost on penalties to Naperville North in the IHSA finals.
This season, the 17-1-2 Fillies continued their run of reaching the state finals with a 1-0 supersectional win over previously-unbeaten St. Charles East on Tuesday. This assured Barrington of its sixth trophy since 2013 for coach Ryan Stengren.
Owning a 13-match winning streak since playing to a 1-1 draw with Buffalo Grove on May 5, Barrington has given up just two goals since and carries a streak of 11-straight scoreless matches into Friday's 4:30 p.m. semifinal against 19-0-0 Lyons at Hoffman Estates High School.
The clash between two outstanding defenses that have yielded a combined six goals is a great kickoff for the 3A finals. The winner faces a challenging championship match against either 17-1-0 Libertyville or 18-2-0 O'Fallon.
"With having 15 new players to varsity, I am just happy that these kids get to experience the state finals," Stengren said. "As we have done all year we are just really going to focus on the process and not the outcome. We are still looking at little ways we can improve as a group.
"I am so happy and thankful to our seniors who have done a tremendous job of leading this group and who are just overall classy girls. They have set a culture that has led to improvement throughout the year."
Barrington's senior captains are Coast Liapis, Lara Lubinsky, Jen Denova and Kate McGreevy.
The lone blemish on the Fillies' season is their 1-0 loss to Libertyville on April 21. Since that time, they've allowed just three goals while netting 57.
Leading the Fillies' attack is senior midfielder Jen Devona, who has a team-high 18 goals and two assists. Junior forward Riley Raynor follows with 12 goals and eight assists.
Other top scoring threats for Barrington include senior forward Lara Lubinsky (8 goals, 9 assists), sophomore midfielder Brooke Brown (6, 12), junior midfielder Nicole Gwiasda (5 goals), sophomore forward Kate Lubinsky (3, 5) and sophomore defender Ellie Sanchez (4, 4).
Senior goalkeeper Coast Liapis has only allowed four goals in 15 matches and her defense featuring senior McGreevy, juniors Ella VanNess and Gracie Stagnito and Sanchez is every bit as formidable as Lyons' backline, which has allowed just two playoff goals all season.
Players who competed for the Fillies during their last state appearance include Lara Lubinsky, Devona, Liapis, McGreevy, Gwiasda, Raynor and VanNess.
By Curt Herron
Two years ago Barrington came ever so close to capturing a third-straight Class 3A championship, but its hopes of accomplishing that impressive feat were dashed when it lost on penalties to Naperville North in the IHSA finals.
This season, the 17-1-2 Fillies continued their run of reaching the state finals with a 1-0 supersectional win over previously-unbeaten St. Charles East on Tuesday. This assured Barrington of its sixth trophy since 2013 for coach Ryan Stengren.
Owning a 13-match winning streak since playing to a 1-1 draw with Buffalo Grove on May 5, Barrington has given up just two goals since and carries a streak of 11-straight scoreless matches into Friday's 4:30 p.m. semifinal against 19-0-0 Lyons at Hoffman Estates High School.
The clash between two outstanding defenses that have yielded a combined six goals is a great kickoff for the 3A finals. The winner faces a challenging championship match against either 17-1-0 Libertyville or 18-2-0 O'Fallon.
"With having 15 new players to varsity, I am just happy that these kids get to experience the state finals," Stengren said. "As we have done all year we are just really going to focus on the process and not the outcome. We are still looking at little ways we can improve as a group.
"I am so happy and thankful to our seniors who have done a tremendous job of leading this group and who are just overall classy girls. They have set a culture that has led to improvement throughout the year."
Barrington's senior captains are Coast Liapis, Lara Lubinsky, Jen Denova and Kate McGreevy.
The lone blemish on the Fillies' season is their 1-0 loss to Libertyville on April 21. Since that time, they've allowed just three goals while netting 57.
Leading the Fillies' attack is senior midfielder Jen Devona, who has a team-high 18 goals and two assists. Junior forward Riley Raynor follows with 12 goals and eight assists.
Other top scoring threats for Barrington include senior forward Lara Lubinsky (8 goals, 9 assists), sophomore midfielder Brooke Brown (6, 12), junior midfielder Nicole Gwiasda (5 goals), sophomore forward Kate Lubinsky (3, 5) and sophomore defender Ellie Sanchez (4, 4).
Senior goalkeeper Coast Liapis has only allowed four goals in 15 matches and her defense featuring senior McGreevy, juniors Ella VanNess and Gracie Stagnito and Sanchez is every bit as formidable as Lyons' backline, which has allowed just two playoff goals all season.
Players who competed for the Fillies during their last state appearance include Lara Lubinsky, Devona, Liapis, McGreevy, Gwiasda, Raynor and VanNess.