One of the most emotional nights of Kadence Jones’ life was spent last November in the stadium at Shepard. She spoke at a vigil honoring her boyfriend, Ryan Plowman, a soccer player for the Astros who died from complications of mononucleosis and Crohn’s disease.
On Tuesday night, Jones — a junior goalkeeper for Andrew — was back on that field at Shepard for a Class 3A sectional semifinal against favored Lincoln-Way Central.
“The thought of playing here, remembering being here for his games and being here for that speech, it meant a lot to me to play on this field,” Jones said. “Going into it, I didn’t know if I’d be mentally prepared for it.
“But I came out like, ‘This one’s for him.’ I gave it my all.”
Playing inspired soccer, Jones combined with sophomore goalkeeper Annabel Walsh to shut out the top-seeded Knights as fourth-seeded Andrew pulled off a 2-0 upset in Palos Heights.
Paige Swaw had a goal and an assist and Emily Crotty also scored for the Thunderbolts (16-7), who advanced to take on second-seeded Lincoln-Way East (19-4) — a 3-0 winner over Lincoln-Way West — at 4:30 p.m. Friday in the sectional championship game.
Flynn Meyer made four saves for Lincoln-Way Central (18-2-2), which fell short in its quest to return to state after a third-place finish last season.
Jones made two saves in the first half before ceding the net to Walsh for most of the second half, then returned when Walsh was injured late in the game.
In addition to the Andrew supporters cheering her on, Jones had some special fans in the stands — Plowman’s parents.
“They’re two of my biggest supporters, and having them here is like having a piece of him here,” Jones said. “It just meant the world having them here for me for such a big game, especially playing on this field where he played.
“He was here (Tuesday).”
Jones was tested early as she had to leap high to make a save on a shot from Madisyn Kenworthy less than four minutes into the game.
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“I was scared for a second that I timed it too early,” Jones said. “But I hung myself in the air as long as I could and snagged it, and it felt amazing.”
At halftime, Jones helped warm up Walsh, who came in and made five saves in the second half.
“They’re both good,” Andrew coach Loren Zolk said of his goalkeepers. “They’re equally good. They have different strengths and weaknesses. They’re very good friends. They work really well together and support each other, and it just seems to be working.
“We talked about playing just one in this game, but we decided to roll with what we’ve been doing.”
The Thunderbolts broke through in the second half as Swaw, a usual starter who came off the bench with Zolk saying he wanted someone to “give a spark,” scored off a free kick from Jessica Morawski with 29:32 to go.
Swaw then assisted on Crotty’s insurance goal with 15:14 left.
The Knights, who have lost just twice in each of the last three seasons, suffered their only other defeat this spring against defending 3A state champion Metea Valley.
“Huge credit to Andrew,” Lincoln-Way Central coach Sean Fahey said. “They were firing on all cylinders.
“We’ve got some three-year seniors who’ve only lost six games the last three years. That’s pretty special.”
Morawski, Bella Kreydich, Ava Smith and Kaitlyn Gudyka led Andrew’s defense, with Kreydich making two non-goalie saves.
The goalkeeper duo did the rest.
“Last year with JV, we always split it too, so we’ve just gotten used to doing it that way,” Walsh said. “During games, we tell each other what to look out for.
“We help each other a lot.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
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