Darcy Cunningham understands the bitter reality of her sport.
“In soccer, you can dominate the whole game and still not win it,” Cunningham said.
St. Charles East coach Paul Jennison narrowed it down further.
“We spoke about how an entire year can come down to one second. One second today we weren’t the better team,” Jennison said.
Conant turned that one East lapse into a goal and then held on for dear life and a 1-0 victory Wednesday in the Class 3A Schaumburg Sectional opener. The Cougars (15-6-1) advance to Saturday’s 3 p.m. championship against either St. Charles North or Wheaton North.
Jennison acknowledged that a tremendous season for East (21-2-1) ends on the kind of a bitter note after last year’s state runner-up finish.
“I still believe we’re the best team in the state,” Jennison said. “So I’m heartbroken for these girls. It wasn’t a matter of effort. Conant’s girls played to the maximum of their potential and we picked the worst time to have that one second when things go horribly wrong.”
Despite East’s 13-8 advantage for overall attempts and 9-4 edge in shots on goal, the pivotal play came with 28:47 left in regulation. Sidney O’Keefe’s through ball set Emily Mazurek free for a right side run at goal. With Saints goalie Alison Chesterfield rushing out, Mazurek slotted the ball past her for a long roll inside the far left post.
“Once we started connecting passes we knew we’d get a goal,” Mazurek said. “It was a beautiful pass and I just had to finish it. We just wanted a chance at a top seed to prove what we’re capable of doing.”
“Our only chance was to keep it close, yes we played kick ball, but sometimes you have to do whatever is effective,” Conant coach Jason Franco said.
“The game plan worked, we wanted to keep it low and catch them on a counter attack. We knew 22 is a heck of a player. They took it to us in the first 10 minutes and in the first five of the second half, but we tightened up our defense and our goalie made some phenomenal plays.”
Cougar goalie Haley Anderson was tested just 3:10 into the game when Cunningham attacked from the left wing.
“When we went straight down and their keeper made a great save, I thought we’d really take it to them,” Jennison said. “But that’s playoff soccer. Our seniors have been phenomenal and I wish we could keep the entire group together, but it doesn’t work that way.”
Cunningham put the game in a nutshell.
“We just couldn’t finish some of our early chances and in the second half, we did get a little flustered,” she said.
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“Late in the second half, (Conant) kept winning the ball or making the necessary clear. I’m still very proud of our regular season. We felt we could win every game and even though we didn’t dominate every game, we still came back to get wins. I believed we could win this one until the final horn. I have to credit the underclass players for their effort. This group got it, as a senior it was great to know they had my back. I had a wonderful ride and thank them.”
Nemeth is a freelance writer.