Junior midfielder Ashley Sak anticipated her offensive heroics Friday night for Sandburg, but she never expected her team would also need her to step up on the defensive end.
Sak scored to give the Eagles an early lead before injuries forced her to the back line. Then, she helped host Sandburg hold off Lincoln-Way Central for a 2-0 win in a Class 3A sectional championship game.
It’s the first sectional title since 2013 for top-seeded Sandburg (18-1), which will take on Lyons (18-0) at 4 p.m. Monday in the Reavis Supersectional.
In the eighth minute, Sak took a pass from Bella Corluka and tucked a shot inside the left post to put the second-seeded Knights (15-2-2) in a quick hole.
It was a goal Sak predicted before the game.
“In the moment, I just kind of shot,” Sak said. “I told my teammates before the game that I was ready to take one. I told them to find me and I’ll get one in. I just put it in the back of the net.”
Illinois State recruit Kristiana Pappanastos scored in the 18th minute, beating Lincoln-Way Central goalkeeper Alexa Hadley to a loose ball off a long pass from Erin O’Connor, dribbling around Hadley and firing into the back of the net for a 2-0 lead.
The Eagles, though, dealt with adversity in the second half.
O’Connor and Rosie Richardson, central defenders who have helped the Eagles allow only three goals all season, both went down with injuries.
Sak moved to center back and helped keep the shutout intact despite major pressure from the Knights.
“I play center back for my club,” Sak said. “I haven’t played it in a while, so I was a little nervous, but I was glad I was able to step in and keep us together.
“With the record our defense has, it’s a lot of pressure to live up to that. It was scary, for sure.”
Sydney Gunkel also filled in off the bench. Outside defenders Shelby Fuller and Maddy Pertle stepped up while O’Connor and Richardson were out before returning late.
“Your heart kind of skips a beat when one of your center backs has to come out,” Sandburg coach Tom Kubowicz said. “When five minutes later the other one has to come out, I don’t want to say you go into panic mode, but I’m going through all these scenarios in my head.
“I knew Ashley was a defender when she played club, so I knew she could go back there. Girls stepped up. Nobody questioned their role. They all did their job, and we kept the shutout. Central never let up. They dictated the second half. It was good for our girls to get a sense of that and come out with a win.”
The Knights, whose only two losses were to Sandburg, had no shots on goal in the first half, but had six over the final 40 minutes along with six corner kicks.
Molly Fischer made six saves for Sandburg, including big late stops on Megan Gerasch and Sydney Slomski. Hadley made three saves for the Knights.
“Sandburg is super talented and super composed,” Lincoln-Way Central coach Sean Fahey said. “We had the better run of play in the second half. They’re tough to score on. We were just missing that last touch.
“We had a lot of young girls and with no season last year, we had a ton of girls who were new to high school soccer, so to have a season like this was special. I couldn’t be prouder.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.