Illinois girls soccer sectional recaps

Here’s a quick recap of sectional playoff action from the two largest-school classifications: <strong>Third time’s a charm for St. Charles East against North</strong> The sectional final was the third time these neighborhood rivals faced one another this season. The first two matchups were dominated by North. North won 2-1 in the St. Charles Invitational championship in early April. North again won 2-0 a few weeks later in conference play. Last season, the Saints lost to the North Stars in the sectional final. But things were different this time around. Grace Williams has made a massive impact for the Saints since she transferred from Neuqua Valley. She came through big with two goals in the sectional final. Junior Ella Stehman also had a goal and assist as St. Charles East cruised to a 3-1 victory. <strong>Glenbard West shocks Lyons in 3A sectional </strong><b>Final</b> Lyons was a heavy favorite to come out of this sectional. A few weeks ago, the Lions beat Glenbard West 2-1. This time, both teams were scoreless heading into overtime. In Illinois, there are two 10-minute overtime periods with no golden goal. Lyons midfielder Niamh Griffin scored in the first five minutes of OT to take a 1-0 advantage. In the opening minutes of the second OT period, the Hilltoppers bounced back. Emily Johnson scored from 20-25 yards out to tie the game at 1. In penalty kicks, junior goalkeeper Ava Callaway made two huge saves to secure a 4-3 win for Glenbard West in the shootout. She also came through late in overtime with a terrific save towards the corner to keep the game tied. She finished with eight saves in regulation and OT. Glenbard West will face Lincoln-Way Central for the right to go downstate. <strong>Libertyville gets revenge on Stevenson and Glenbrook North for the sectional crown</strong> The Wildcats surprisingly lost to both programs earlier this season. Libertyville first lost to Glenbrook North 3-1 on April 23 during the Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish Classic. A few weeks ago, Libertyville lost at home to Stevenson 1-0. Libertyville’s first rematch was against Stevenson in the sectional semifinal. Here, it was all Libertyville. Paige Gleason was a force up top with two goals in this one. Junior midfielder [player_tooltip player_id="22131" first="Jenna" last="Krakowski"] also had two assists. Defender Sally Grace Rogers also scored. In the sectional final, it was much tighter. The Wildcats broke through around the 60th minute with a long blast from [player_tooltip player_id="22131" first="Jenna" last="Krakowski"]. A terrific effort from the defense made this the game’s lone goal, as Libertyville held on to beat Glenbrook North 1-0 in the sectional final. The Wildcats will look to avenge another regular-season loss in the Super Sectional on Tuesday against Evanston. <strong>Red-Hot Boylan wins 2A Sectional</strong> A program nobody is talking about is Rockford Boylan. They’ve gone 19-0 since their opening-day loss to St. Charles East. The boys team won the 2A state title back in the fall, and the girls are looking to repeat. Juniors Izze Fritz and Maggie Schmidt have been sensational. The two have combined for 49 goals and 27 assists this season. Schmidt scored off a Fritz assist in the sectional final to take Crystal Lake South to penalty kicks, where they advanced. Before that, Schmidt scored two goals to beat Cary-Grove 2-0. Fritz and junior Kyra Cruikshank assisted her goals. <strong>Freshman impactful in Deerfield’s win over Lake Forest</strong> Sophomore Emily Fox had two goals to lead Deerfield past Lake Forest in the sectional championship. But a couple of freshmen also made their mark in this one. Aubrey Galavan is a tremendous athlete who picked up two assists in the midfield for the Warriors. Another freshman, Ryane Emory, scored her 11th goal of the season in the sectional final. Emory also scored during last Tuesday’s sectional final to beat Wauconda 6-2. Deerfield faces Boylan in the Super Sectional.