West Chicago’s 3-0 soccer victory over second-ranked Wheaton North (20-2-1) Saturday was so convincing that it’s hard to call it an upset.
Upstart and unranked West Chicago (15-4-2) captured the Willowbrook Class AA sectional championship–the school’s first–with the victory. The Wildcats will play top-ranked St. Charles on Tuesday in the Addison Trail supersectional.
“It was the biggest victory in our soccer history,” West Chicago coach Robert Owens said. “We nullified (Wheaton North’s) Zach Bland, who is just a great player.”
West Chicago’s offense was sparked by Joe Kaczmarek, who scored in the first half off an assist from Damian Guerrero. Guerrero and Kaczmarek added second-half goals, and goalkeeper Kevin Rugaard made 11 saves for the shutout.
Other sectional results:
Conant: No. 6 Conant (20-5) held St. Charles (22-2-1) in check until Derek Shanahan scored his 15th goal midway through the second half on an assist from Jason Franco. Kevin Brady then added an insurance goal to secure a 2-0 victory for the Saints.
Barrington: Blair McLaughlin made 11 saves, including two consecutive point-blank stops late in the second half, to preserve Cary-Grove’s 1-0 upset of No. 8 Lake Zurich (19-4-2). Cary-Grove (15-8-1) will make its first trip to a supersectional Tuesday when the Trojans travel to Rockton Hononegah to play Rockford Boylan.
Lincoln-Way: The host Knights (18-6-2) ousted No. 4 Sandburg 3-2 in double overtime as Kevin Blocker scored the winning goal. Lincoln-Way plays Marist on Tuesday.
Eisenhower: Matt Meyer headed in a Matt Kilpatrick corner kick late in the first overtime to lift Marist (11-6-1) to a 2-1 victory over Thornwood.
Lyons Township: Chris Cybulski and Jesus Renteria each scored as Morton (17-2-2) gained a 2-1 upset over ninth-ranked Lyons (15-4-4). Morton and Glenbrook South will play in the Leyden supersectional Tuesday.
New Trier: Jim Kelly and Vito Ungaro scored second-half goals as Glenbrook South (14-7-5) topped Evanston 2-1.
Hersey: Fremd eliminated Hersey 3-1 as Joe Desalvo, Louis Litrenta and Christian Lonteen scored. With Fremd leading 2-1 in the second half, goalkeeper Doug Warren came up with two spectacular saves to help preserve the victory. The Vikings (19-2-3) face Libertyville in the Stevenson supersectional Tuesday. Hersey finished 17-5.
Mundelein: Matt McDonald scored the game-winner as No. 10 Libertyville (15-2-3) beat Highland Park (16-7-1) 2-1 on penalty kicks.
Naperville North: Adam Hitchman scored his second goal with 5 minutes remaining to lift Waubonsie Valley (14-4-2) to a 2-1 victory over Naperville North (17-5-2).
Downers Grove South: Downers South (12-7-5) prevailed 2-1 over Hinsdale Central as Ryan Wunderlich scored the game-winner. Waubonsie Valley and Downers South meet Tuesday at Downers North.
Class A soccer sectionals
Batavia: Pat Rothecker, Mike McCutcheon and Justin Dugena scored as No. 7 Geneva (20-1-3) topped No. 5 Benet 3-0. Geneva will play host to Hinckley-Big Rock in a supersectional Tuesday. Benet fell to 15-3-3.
Hinckley-Big Rock: Hinckley-Big Rock scored three second-half goals, including two by Joe Acksel to erase a 3-0 deficit and force overtime. After two scoreless extra sessions, the Royals outscored Earlville 4-2 in penalty kicks as Chris Wilson converted the deciding tally to give the Royals a 4-3 victory.
St. Viator: Tim Storino connected on a penalty kick with 30:29 left for the game’s only goal in St. Viator’s 1-0 victory over Deerfield (14-6-4). The Lions will face Crystal Lake Central in the Wauconda supersectional Tuesday. St. Viator is 11-6-7.
Marian Central Catholic: Don O’Malley scored three goals as Crystal Lake Central (10-13-2) beat Grayslake 4-0.
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Bremen: Paul Jiminez scored the decisive goal as St. Joseph (13-6-1) topped St. Ignatius 1-0 in penalty kicks. The Chargers will meet Francis Parker in Tuesday’s supersectional.
Rich South: Tom Theis scored two goals as Providence (16-5-3) defeated Lemont 3-1.
Volleyball regionals
Naperville Central: Jamie Oelke spiked 12 kills as Naperville Central defeated Glenbard South 15-5, 15-8 in a Class AA final.
Westmont: In a Class A final, No. 4 St. Francis (33-4) swept Mt. Assisi 15-2, 15-9 behind Erin Byrd’s six kills. Mt. Assisi finished 24-13.
Field hockey
State tournament: New Trier captured the state title with a 2-1 triumph over Oak Park. Bridget Cooper scored both goals and finished the season with 32.
Swimming
Mid-Suburban League meet: Barrington won five of 12 events and set two conference records on the way to its sixth straight championship. Senior Liz Olsen established a diving mark with her 452.30 score while teammates on the 400 freestyle relay shattered a 13-year-old record. Kelly Janura, Jenny Brew, Becky Mutz and Jackie Molzahn swam the event in 3:39.37, about 2 seconds better than a Barrington team swam in 1984. Hersey senior Kathy Kielty also set a conference record as she finished the 100 backstroke in :59.80. The Broncos outdistanced Schaumburg by 98 points.