Metea Valley, Triad bring home Illinois state titles

<strong>2A Championship: Triad 1, Benet 0</strong> Triad put the pressure on Benet early. Senior MF Ezra Wilder showed off some great ball skills down the field and sone nice passing. Kinlee Lippert also made plays as she spread the field and showed off some nice overall awareness to see who’s open and get them the ball. But it was Benet’s defense who impressed the most. GK [player_tooltip player_id="41725" first="Shannon" last="Clark"] had an excellent first half for the Redwings. She caught two set-piece saves and snagged a tough corner kick in the box. I saw her move around the box really well. Her ability to stay on her feet can lead to quick counter attacks. Center back Annastacia Thiel kept the back line in tact. I saw her cut off several lanes for through balls, and forced attackers to go away from goal. Benet’s best chance in the first half came when freshman Eleanor Mahan took a shot and forced GK Reagan Chigas to make a tough save to her right. The game was scoreless at the break. This was when Gina Catanzaro started to get hot. She used her speed to burst past players on the right side of there field, as Triad had more chances. Defender Defender Brynn Presley also became a factor. The center back made some nice tackles and played some excellent long-balls into the attack. By the 55th minute, Catanzaro moved from the right side to the left. Four minutes later, she buried a goal from the left side of the field that curved in to the top right corner. Benet immediately applied more and more pressure. At the same time, the game got more and more physical. Linlee Lippert drew a yellow card on a really hard foul. There was also a controversial collision in the box, but that call went for Triad. Benet’s Mariana Pinto and Anna Casmere made some great moves to create chances for the Redwings up top. They finally had the opportunity to equalize when Benet’s Katie Lewellyan drew a foul inside the box. There were only four minutes left in regulation when senior Mariana Pinto placed the ball on the spot. Her shot went low and hard into the bottom left corner, but it hit the post and went out. Triad would hold on to repeat as state champions. &nbsp; <strong>3A Championship: Metea Valley 0, Barrington 0 (Metea wins 6-5 on 9 Rounds of PKs)</strong> A large crowd was on-hand to watch Metea Valley and Barrington square off for the 3A state championship. Throughout regulation, it was Barrington who had the best chances. [player_tooltip player_id="33353" first="Piper" last="Lucier"] was on fire. Only a freshman, she has top-notch speed with and without the ball. Her control and decision-making were extraordinary all game. She made a great play in the 33rd minute when she stripped the ball from Jordan Lange and burst down the middle of the field with the ball. After a couple of step-overs, the shot was forced wide. Lucier had another nice scoring opportunity in the 21st minute when she cut right and took another shot from 20 yards out. Left back [player_tooltip player_id="40971" first="Ellie" last="Sanchez"] had an excellent tackle in the 24th minute that stopped a counter-attack. Barrington probably had their best chance to score in the 45th minute, but Metea Valley GK Julia Straub made a terrific save to her top left side. [player_tooltip player_id="22081" first="Brooke" last="Brown"] also began to make plays. Her ability to change direction and use both feet is something I didn’t notice before. She also had a header that went just over the goal. [player_tooltip player_id="33353" first="Piper" last="Lucier"] had two other chances, but both were saved by Straub. For Metea Valley, midfielders Jordan Lange and freshman [player_tooltip player_id="22183" first="Olivia" last="Hernandez"] played great games. Lange made some excellent runs down the left side and did more than what was asked of her. For Hernandez, she showed off some excellent ball-control and stopped several attacking opportunities. She also made nice plays with the ball and spread the field out. But the momentum really changed in overtime. [player_tooltip player_id="22221" first="Tyra" last="King"] had her best chance to score in the 91st minute. But the ball hit the crossbar. In the 94th minute, Addison Wargo had her free-kick hit the crossbar. After 100 minutes, the game was headed to a shootout. In round 1, Jordan Lange and Gracie Stangito made their kicks. In round 2, Keepers Abby Raynor and Julia Straub made saves. [player_tooltip player_id="22081" first="Brooke" last="Brown"] and Riley Strcic made their kicks in the third round. Straub made another save to her left to open the fourth round, but Addison Wargo had her shot go over the bar. After two goals in the fifth round, the match was headed to sudden death. Both teams scored in rounds six and seven, but in round eight, they both missed. Barrington sophomore Reagan Schultz took the ball in round nine, but she hit the crossbar. It all came down to senior Abbey Ondrus. She shot to her right, and Abby Raynor dove to the correct spot. But it was too late, and the ball crossed the line for the goal. Metea Valley, a No. 4 seed in its sectional, had won its first-ever state championship.