Dreams can get you so far, but determination will take you further.
Richmond-Burton’s Gabriella Ross had a dream come true, but it was Lauren Otto’s determination — and second-half goals — that ultimately lifted the Rockets to the Class 1A Westminster Christian Sectional title and a 4-2 win over St. Edward.
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Having denied the Green Wave’s quest for a return to the Final Four, the seniors for Richmond-Burton (15-8-2) are one win away from an encore to 2012 when the program took third place.
The next step is a DeKalb Supersectional game at 5 p.m. Tuesday against Rock Island Alleman, a 3-2 overtime winner over Dixon.
St. Edward (14-8) finished third last year after a heartbreaking 1-0 state semifinal loss to Manteno. And while this year’s run may have been a surprise to some, coach Tim Brieger felt just as frustrated.
“Every postseason loss hurts,” Brieger said. “This group also played their hearts out. It was a great soccer game. We had a couple early crosses go unfinished, but with a little more luck, things could’ve been much different.”
It started in dream-like fashion for Richmond-Burton as Gabriella Ross sent a textbook cross into the box for an eight-yard header by Jessica Guenther three minutes into the game.
“Gabriella told me she had a dream about setting me up for a goal in a big game, I guess we made it happen,” said Guenther, a Northern Illinois signee. “When she got out wide with the ball I anticipated the cross and just made certain to get as much on it as possible.”
“I told her I dreamt about us combining against a team in green and here’s a team in green,” Ross said. “Jessica is the perfect height for my crosses.”
The Rockets took a 2-0 lead three minutes before halftime when Taylor Enders unleashed a 24-yard shot from the right wing that sailed over St. Edward goalie Paige Dykstra and under the crossbar.
But the Green Wave rallied with the kind of resiliency that had them making a fifth straight sectional championship game appearance. Just 12 seconds before a halftime horn sounded, Meagan Kearney got the ball in the box with a defender on her back, but pivoted for an 11-yard strike.
In the 64th minute, Kearney netted her team-high 23rd goal with a 16-yarder from the right side that was too high for Rocket goalkeeper Lindsy Restis but low enough to dive under the crossbar.
“On the first goal, it was getting pretty physical so I held my ground and pivoted for as strong a hit as I could,” Kearney said. “The second one, someone gave me a nice lead pass that helped me get by a defender, and then I gave it my best knowing we needed to get even.”
However, that’s when Richmond-Burton coach Casey DeCaluwe insisted Otto stepped up and put the Rockets on her back, calling her play and determination “phenomenal.”
“After their second goal I said, ‘This is not happening, meaning we’re not losing,'” Otto said. “As a holding midfielder I only get so many opportunities, so I hit my shots with as much force as possible.”
Less than a minute after St. Edward’s equalizer, Otto blasted Richmond-Burton back into the lead. Ten minutes later, she was in perfect position when a block by Dykstra ricocheted out front. The Wisconsin-Whitewater signee’s rebound was like a cannon blast.
“There are three of us who experienced (the Final Four in 2012), we want everyone else to have that same experience,” Otto said.
Nemeth is a freelance writer.