When Lyons junior Bella Lestina finally sent a shot past Glenbard East goalkeeper Faith Davies, she gave the second-seeded Lions all the offense they needed to advance to a sectional final.
Lestina scored the game’s lone goal in the 66th minute Wednesday as the Lyons prevailed 1-0 over the third-seeded Rams in a Class 3A Downers Grove North Sectional semifinal. Glenbard East had knocked out Lyons on penalty kicks in the same playoff round last season.
“It felt good,” Lestina said. “(Davies) is very solid, and it stinks when you can’t finish when you’re outplaying a team the way we did in the second half.”
“The first half was back-and-forth, basically. We knew we had to be more aggressive in the second half, and we were finally able to score.”
Lestina’s game-winner was set up when teammate Jenna Fuller sent a shot from the right side across the goalmouth. A Rams defender attempted to clear the ball, but Lestina intercepted it and buried a shot from 25 yards out with Davies racing back out of position.
To that point, Lyons coach Bill Lanspeary was pleased with the attacking pressure his girls put on the Rams’ back line in the second half.
“We had a hard time finding space and getting any (shots) off in the first half, but we had a flurry in the second half where we definitely created more chances,” Lanspeary said. “We just had to stay calm and continue to play in the second half.”
The Lions’ win set up a sectional title game Friday against host and top-seeded Downers Grove North. Lyons (16-4-1) defeated Downers Grove North 3-2 in their West Suburban Silver meeting during the regular season.
“They’ll be out to beat us since we beat them here this year,” Lestina said. “We’ll have to play them here again, and it should be a good game.”
Downers Grove North defeated fourth-seeded York 2-0 in Wednesday’s other semifinal.
York (12-9) struggled to nullify Downers Grove North’s most imposing advantage.
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“They’ve got nine girls on their team that are faster than anyone we have. That kind of speed allows them to get to a lot of second balls,” York coach Don Vana said. “They have a lot of talent and speed.”
Downers Grove North got two goals in a two-minute span midway through the first half from Olivia Bull and Carli Nehls.
York sophomore goalkeeper Kathleen Levins helped keep the game close for the Dukes, making high-quality saves and leaving her line aggressively to disrupt attacks. Wednesday’s loss marked the third time this season the Dukes have lost to the Trojans.
“They have good control of the middle and some fast girls that have a burst of speed and then can carry it for a while,” senior midfielder Jenna Dvorak said. “They’re a very good team.”
Vana will lose eight seniors to graduation: Dvorak, Bri Suchy, Ashley Los, Whitney Wood, Gaby Uribe, Maddy Schiller, Elizabeth Kowalski and captain Jenna Lundgren.
“We have to find some kids that will step up and replace them,” Vana said, “and that will be tough.”
Gary Larsen is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press