Evanston girls soccer coach Marx Succes was well aware of the answer to his rhetorical question.
“Without Rachael Hansen, what would we have done?” Succes asked.
Without her, the unbeaten Wildkits might have been the beaten Wildkits and eliminated from the Class AA soccer tournament.
Without her, Evanston might have lost the regional final against visiting Maine South on Thursday.
Instead, Hansen was definitely with it in this game. She scored three goals and added an assist to lift the Wildkits to a 4-2 victory over their Central Suburban League rival. No. 1 Evanston kept its record perfect at 21-0-2 and advanced to the sectional semifinals to face Schaumburg at New Trier’s west campus Saturday.
“Four goals, and she scored three of them,” Succes said in appreciation of just how valuable Hansen was. “She comes up big for us every time.”
Evanston raced to a 3-0 halftime lead, but when Maine South’s Jestina Orlando and Rhea Basseas scored late in the second half to make it 3-2, the Wildkits sensed danger. No team had scored two goals on Evanston this season and the Hawks (13-7-3) still had more than 11 minutes left to tie the game.
But instead of Maine South getting another goal, it was Hansen’s turn. She dribbled by two Hawks defenders and drew goalkeeper Claire Bartel out of the net to score with 28 seconds left for some breathing room and a hat trick.
“My coaches were saying, `Hansen, you have it in you. Just give it your all,'” she said.
So she did.
Hansen was literally head and shoulders above everyone on her first goal–a leaping header after a direct kick from Marisa Brown for a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute. Hansen then assisted on Franny Iacuzzi’s 23rd goal of the season in the 34th minute for a 2-0 lead.
With just over four minutes left in the first half, Hansen raced to reach Kate Fuller’s long kick from midfield and got enough of the ball to wish it over the goal line for a 3-0 lead.
She now has 23 goals and 20 assists. And Evanston still hasn’t lost.
“Not yet,” Hansen said. “Hopefully not at all.”
— Alan Sutton
In other Class AA girls soccer regional title games:
St. Charles East: Kristin Zoelle scored two goals and assisted on another as No. 2 St. Charles East (18-2-5) shut out Bartlett 3-0.
Addison Trail: Amanda LeDonne and Lauren Holcomb scored to give No. 3 Wheaton Warrenville South (20-1-2) a 2-0 win over Glenbard West.
Lyons: Carolyn Lambiasi, Crystal Lanski, Lindsey Schemenaur and Lauren Gierut scored for No. 4 Downers Grove South (19-4-1) in its 4-1 win over Hinsdale Central.
New Trier: Madeline Johnson’s goal with 33 seconds left in the first half stood up as the No. 6 Trevians beat Glenbrook South 3-0. Sara O’Rourke and Crysti Howser added second-half goals for New Trier (18-3-3).
Joliet: Kiley Tirreno’s overtime goal gave No. 7 Neuqua Valley a 2-1 win over Plainfield. Erin McDowell scored in the 78th minute for the Wildacts (18-2-2) to send the game to overtime.
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Libertyville: Joyce Kleinheinz scored in the fifth minute of the first half and Courtney Miksch added a second half goal in No. 8 Libertyville’s 2-0 win over Deerfield. Goalkeeper Cassie Satala earned the shutout for the Wildcats (18-2-3).
Antioch: Beth Waspi, Molly Uyenishi and Jenny Jeffers scored for No. 9 Lake Zurich (18-3-3) as it downed Stevenson 3-1.
Argo: Lincoln-Way Central (13-6-4) prevailed 6-1 over previously unbeaten Argo (16-1) behind Elyse Nikonchuk’s four goals and one assist.
Barrington: Suzanne Hewitt scored a goal and Kelsey McKeown assisted on two for the host Fillies (14-6-4) in their 3-1 win over Larkin.
Batavia: Kate McCarter scored the decisive goal in the penalty-kick round as the host Bulldogs (14-6-1) defeated St. Charles North 1-0. Batavia beat the Stars (15-5) 3-2 on penalty kicks.
Buffalo Grove: Kate Green’s first-half goal was the difference as Fremd edged Palatine 1-0. Goalkeeper Nicole Rinaldi made five saves for the Vikings (14-7-1).
Hoffman Estates: Katie Campion scored two goals and assisted on another to lead Schaumburg (12-4-4) to a 3-0 win over Hersey.
Lincoln-Way East: Lauren Johnston scored on a penalty kick in the second overtime to lift the host Griffins (13-9-1) to a 2-1 win over Stagg.
Marian Catholic: Homewood-Flossmoor (20-2-1) downed the host Spartans 2-0 as Fallon O’Connor-Brooks netted two goals.
Mundelein: Lake Forest (15-3-4) defeated the host Mustangs 2-0 behind Stephanie Zare’s two goals and Brittany Ousterhout’s 16 saves.
Waubonsie Valley: Waubonsie Valley’s Megan Kolkay put in the game-winning goal with seven seconds to play in regulation as the Warriors advanced with a 3-2 win over Oswego.
“I knew there were only a few seconds left and our team needed a shot,” Kolkay said. “I really never shoot, but I did and got lucky.”
Becky Russe and Kristin Zmijewski added goals for Waubonsie Valley (15-4-4).
Public League semifinals: Diana Ortega saved eight shots to record her fifth shutout as Kelly defeated Von Steuben 3-0. Elizeth Zizumbo’s goal in the 21st minute was the only score the Trojans needed. Kelly (15-5) returns to the Public League championship game for the first time since it won the title in 1997. . . . Melissa Berret’s first-half goal stood up as Lincoln Park beat Young 1-0 to advance to its fourth straight Public League title game. Maria Limon saved eight shots for the Lions (16-4), while Lea Ramos saved 11 for Young (8-12).
Baseball
Class A sectional
Driscoll: Tim Sierak threw a five-inning perfect game and Steve McCuiston had two RBIs as the host Highlanders (19-14) rolled past Plano 10-0.
Regular season
Richards 7, Homewood-Flossmoor 4: Steve Klementzos was 2-for-3 with a three-run homer to lead the Bulldogs (21-15) past the No. 9 Vikings.
Glenbard South 6, Waubonsie Valley 5: Brian Olson led off the bottom of the eighth with a double and later scored the winning run on an error for the Raiders (20-13). Brett Cooper pitched two innings of scoreless relief to earn the win.
Hersey 7, Mundelein 6: In a five-inning win, the Huskies (21-13) got 3-for-3, two-RBI performances from Casey Garms and Matt Hodge.
Sandburg 6, Lincoln-Way East 3: Geoff Orr’s two-run homer in the sixth tied the score 3-3 and Mike Marshall’s RBI single later in the inning put the Eagles (20-9, 7-5) up for good in a SICA West game. Marshall also had a solo home run in the second inning.
Softball
Class AA regional final
Maria: Kim Garner ran her record to 14-1 as Meg Sullivan’s two RBIs and Becky Moran’s 2-for-3 performance led Mother McAuley (28-4) to a 3-1 victory over Queen of Peace.
Class A sectional semifinal
Shabbona Indian Creek: Debra DeGraff threw a four-hit shutout and went 2-for-3 with two RBIs to lead Illiana Christian past Beecher 4-0. Kelly Kuiper went 3-for-3 with two stolen bases for the Vikings (25-10).
“That was one of Deb’s best games of the year,” Illiana Christian coach Fred Terpstra said. “We came to play defense and we came to hit. The kids were nice and loose and just went out and did their job.”
Public League playoffs: In second-round action, Morgan Park (14-4) breezed past Kelly 14-4 in six innings as Michelle Vasquez and Emmia Sykes had three RBIs apiece. . . . Aangelica Santana did not allow a hit and had nine strikeouts as Mather (15-11) eliminated Von Steuben 14-0 in four innings.
Regular season
Oak Park 1, Riverside-Brookfield 0: Gina Antoni had the game-winning RBI for the top-ranked Huskies (29-1).
Lincoln-Way Central 12, Benet 0: Laura Severson hurled a six-inning no-hitter and Kristin Noble drove in three runs for the No. 4 Knights (25-4).
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Richards 1, Andrew 0: Lindsey LaChiana earned the win and drove in the winning run for No. 5 Richards (26-5).
Marian Catholic 4, Reavis 2: Angela Marshall was 1-for-2 with one RBI and one run scored to lead the Spartans (29-6) to a school record for wins.