Aurora Central Catholic coach Kristy Kane knew the matchup against Latin in Tuesday’s Class 1A River Forest Supersectional would be a tough one.
Latine used its past Final Four experience to its advantage, the Romans having the extra incentive of that success in prevailing 2-1 over a Chargers’ team already labeled as overachievers.
“Before this year we’d never won a regional, so discovering how much tougher each step became was a new experience,” Kane said. “You could see the experience in their team, several of them are club team members and have played together.
“We have a couple players with that background, for others most of their soccer experience comes strictly during the spring.”
That knowledge and a gusty wind gave Latin (19-1-2) a boost early on, with the majority of opportunities coming from the Romans. ACC (14-8) finally succumbed after 26:05 when Madison Gilbreth’s 18-yard blast caromed off an defender, changed directions and eluded goalkeeper Bry Mandarino.
“Having split between two defenders to win the ball, I made a cut and knowing it was some distance, launched as much of a power shot as I could,” Gilbreth said of her 12th goal.
There was 5:57 left before halftime when Gilbreth had another blast that Mandarino tipped over the crossbar. That save seemed to energize the Chargers with Paulina Quiroz taking aim from the left wing only to have Latin goalie Catie Cronister smother the ball.
“Just like I tell the boys in the fall, there’s nothing like making the state finals. It’s special and you’ll remember it the rest of your life,” said Latine coach Tom Bower, who guided the Romans to a 1A state title in 2006. “We knew ACC would be tough if they got momentum. They play a very direct style and power their way to goals and wins.”
However, it was Latin powering to a two-goal advantage just 4:58 after halftime when Eden Pritkin notched her 19th assist, setting up Lily Keiderling for a one-touch volley.
“As soon as the ball came out, I hit it for the top corner,” Keiderling said. “If you nail the technique in practice, it becomes like muscle memory. But post-season goals seem to mean more because they enable you to advance.”
Aurora Central settled in and began mounting more chances, capitalizing with 20:58 left. Scoring leader Jordyn Sundberg (24 goals) earned her team-best 11th assist by finding Megan Crabb in the clear from just left of center for a shot off the right post.
“Seeing Jordyn’s cross to me in the open enabled me to shoot for the corner where I knew their keeper couldn’t reach it,” Crabb said. “It’s disappointing to lose, but it’s still been a great year for us in other ways.
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“Quite frankly, my freshman year we were awful, but we figured if we worked hard enough we could win a regional. We did that and more.”
The one thing ACC couldn’t produce was an equalizer and to Latin’s credit, the Romans limited the Chargers’ chances during the final five minutes.
“Liv (Gwilliam) deserves a lot of credit for taking the responsibility to limit their No. 12’s (Sundberg) chances and to help our defense stay in control,” Bower said.
Nemeth is a freelance writer.