St. Charles East’s Jenna Sitta felt a profound sense of recapturing lost time.
“We had unfinished business coming into this season,” she said. “Last year we knew what we had, and this year we knew what we had.
“I think that drove us forward into what we wanted to be.”
What the Saints ended up being was a great team, with a dream of winning the program’s first state championship since 2014.
That run, however, came to a close Tuesday night with a bittersweet 1-0 loss to the host Fillies in the Class 3A Barrington Supersectional.
Sitta scored a team-best 21 goals for St. Charles East (22-1-1), which finished with 110 and averaged 4.87 a game as one of the most offensively dynamic teams in state history.
She was part of a new iteration that sought to make up for the lost time.
“I think we have been the team to beat for a while this whole season,” said Sitta, a senior midfielder. “Obviously, teams like Barrington are going to want to look at us and see what we’re doing right.”
Playing on their home field, the Fillies ended the Saints’ unbeaten season by scoring off a set piece in the 47th minute.
“They slowed the game down by taking 30 or 40 seconds off each throw-in or set piece,” St. Charles East coach Vince DiNuzzo said. “We didn’t play much soccer.
“When the ball was in play, I thought we were pretty good. They capitalized on one set piece, and we paid for it. When you play against a team that is well-organized defensively, chances are hard to come by.”
The season began on a note of uncertainty.
But St. Charles East parlayed a thrilling and explosive attack that utilized veteran players like Sitta and senior forward Hannah Miller with club newcomers in senior forward Megan Sreniawski and junior midfielder Ashley Stellon.
Junior midfielder McKenna Gahagan also emerged as an elite scorer. She had 18 goals and 13 assists.
The chemistry merged beautifully among a talented and versatile roster. Sreniawski scored 16 goals and Stellon, an Illinois recruit, added 11 goals and 17 assists.
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Miller, the DuKane Conference Player of the Year, ended up with 19 goals and 17 assists.
“I think it was all the heart the girls had,” Miller said. “We put in all the effort and worked hard every practice and game.
“Whether you were starting or coming off the bench, every girl was playing for each other and not themselves.”
The Saints were equally impressive on the defensive side of the ball with 17 shutouts. They allowed only nine goals.
The Fillies’ strike in the second half was the only goal the Saints gave up in five state playoff games.
Junior Sofia Iori and sophomore Grace Stehman split time as St. Charles East’s goalkeepers.
“We have a lot to be proud of,” DiNuzzo said. “Four of our players never played with a Saints jersey on before this season, and to see them step in and do what they did, produced a very fun and entertaining brand of soccer.”
Late in the second half, St. Charles East pushed numbers forward in search of the equalizer. Miller had a dangerous cross into the box that got deflected.
McKenna and Stallion also had quality shots on goal in the final minutes.
Fighting through tears afterward, Sitta personified the toughness and grit of a team with few equals this season.
“I am so proud of ourselves,” she said. “We came together to accomplish many of our goals. It didn’t end the way we wanted, but I wouldn’t trade a thing.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.