Hilltoppers fall to SC North in regional semifinal round

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By Darryl Mellema
Photo courtesy of St. Charles North

Being ahead only 1-0 at halftime of Tuesday’s regional semifinal with Glenbard West put St. Charles North in two minds.

Obviously the North Stars were pleased to be ahead in their Class 3A match with the Hilltoppers. But 1-0 leads have a way of disappearing into match-long struggles, and there was serious discussion about working to extend that lead.

It took less than 2 minutes for the St. Charles North to double that lead and eventually take a 4-1 victory.

“I didn’t think the wind was going to have such a factor in the game, but it did,” St. Charles North coach Ruth Vostal said. “We got the wind in the second half and we talked about taking chances and taking advantage of dead balls and looking for rebounds. We did that.”

Most of all, Vostal wanted her team to feel the pressure that goes with the playoffs. This wasn’t a regular season match where a tie might have been disappointing but not potentially-devastating. In the postseason, someone wins, whether in regulation, overtime or penalty kicks.

“Mostly, we talked about not being comfortable,” Vostal said. “We’ve been in games – Bartlett and Geneva  -- where we’ve been up a goal and seen the other team come back. I was happy that we fought.”

The North Stars entered halftime ahead 1-0 thanks to a Lisa Manski goal inside the opening 5 minutes of play. Shannon Lee’s sharp shot shortly after the second half kickoff doubled that advantage and St. Charles North was never in serious danger from that point forward.

And when Sammy Gage powered in a shot midway through the half, the North Stars had a commanding 3-0 lead.

Still, Glenbard West refused to quit. Molly Abromitis got the Hilltoppers on the board with 13 minutes to play and there were a couple of opportunities shortly after that needed a final effort toward goal – but which did not come to fruition. So when Lauren Koehl dribbled through the Glenbard West defense with 4 minutes to play, won the ball off a tackle and then fired her team’s fourth goal, the North Stars had their victory.

Glenbard West (6-10-4) struggled with injuries during the season, but still battled through a series of hard-luck results the season. Five of the team’s losses were by one goal, and one of those came on penalty kicks.

“I had a great time,” Abromitis said. “This is one of the best teams, talent-wise, that we’ve had. I wish the best of luck to all the girls, but it’s going to be hard not playing high school soccer. It’s a completely different atmosphere than club.”

There was cause for concern when senior midfielder Michelle Johnson went down heavily after a collision with a Glenbard West player and had to be helped from the field. Although she left without putting weight on her left leg, Vostal said there was reason for optimism.

“Initially when she went down, I thought it was the fact that she was in a lot of pain,” Vostal said. “But even now, she’s smiling and feeling better. It’s her knee. But I’m hoping it’s a bruise or something like that. She said she got hit, so that’s hopefully better than her doing it on her own.”