Gators go 3-1 to claim second place at Glenbrook Cup

By Dan Santaromita

Crystal Lake South played more than three hours of soccer and a penalty shootout in a nine-hour period on Saturday.

But the end result was an appearance in the final of the Glenbrook Cup in Northbrook.

Although the Gators fell to Glenbrook South 2-0 in the final, they were pleased with their showing in the tournament.

"It was the best effort we could give," Gators coach Brian Allen said. "I've got four regulars out of the lineup. We've been destroyed all tournament long.

"It's been a long season against some of the best teams in the state so I'm extremely pleased with how well the ladies worked. Glenbrook South is another top 10 team. I think they're the fifth out of our six losses."

Jannelle Flaws scored both goals for the Titans in the 40-minute final. Both teams were exhausted from the long day, but GBS had more quality up front and that was the difference.

"(Jessica) Blair and Flaws are very good players," Allen said. "We got caught a couple times and our legs were a little fatigued. Our outside backs have battled some of the best in the state and they did all they could.

"They've got two horses that we gave them a little bit too much space and they made us pay for it and that's the ball game. That's why they're where they're at."

For the Gators, though, the day will be remembered for the journey it took to get to the final.

They opened the day at with a 60-minute group play match against Kenosha Bradford.

The Gators were flat for most of the match but senior goalie Beth McGinn made 10 saves to secure a scoreless draw.

Then they got a few hours rest before taking on Lake Forest Academy, who they defeated 2-0.

Senior leading scorer Ashley Ross was taken down in the seventh minute by a rough tackle and limped off the field.

"Right now it looks like bursitis for the knee so we're just going to play it safe," Allen said. "I'm going to probably just rest her up this week, but she should be back for conference.

"It doesn't look like it will be a long-term thing so this is just another thing that will make us stronger in the long run finding some other ways to score without her in the mix."

CL South dominated possession and got on the scoreboard in the 17th minute through Kelsey Taldone off a corner kick.

The Gators doubled the lead in the 39th minute when a sensational run from Christina Szocka eventually set up Kali Loescher for her second goal of the tournament.

The win advanced the Gators to the semifinal round where they took on Glenbrook North after only a half hour break.

The semifinal match was only 40 minutes long and the teams played to a defensive stalemate.

The best chance of the match came just a couple minutes before the final whistle when GBN had a shot at an open goal, but senior defender Katie Burton blocked the shot off the line to keep the match scoreless.

Tournament rules had the match go straight to penalty kicks where it was McGinn (7 saves in regulation against North) who was the hero.

She saved two penalties to give the Gators a 5-4 win after six shooters.

"(Coach) gave me a few pointers and then said pick a way and go and don't hesitate so that's exactly what I did," McGinn said.

Allen said the shootout win broke a streak of 11 straight PK losses for his team in the last two years.

"Beth played phenomenal today," Allen said. “She posted three shutouts out of the four. Two PK saves. You couldn't ask for more for someone who has been second string. We're giving (starting goalie Elizabeth Quinn) some time off.

"She had the tournament of her life and I couldn't be happier for her. She was fantastic. Now I got to reevaluate the situation as we get back. It's one of the best problems you can have."

Both semifinals were played at the same time and the final started about ten minutes later, continuing the hectic schedule.

The Gators remained upbeat even after falling to GBS.

"To lose our leading scorer after we already lost our center mid and not give up," Allen said. "They just kept battling until the very end and I couldn't be prouder.

"This was a great result for us and we'll look to build on it when we get back into conference."

CL South has been a side showing more confidence as the year has gone on and has lofty goals remaining.

"I just think some of our wins have kind of proved ourselves to each other," Taldone said. "We know what we're capable of and we know that if we come out confident that no one can stop us.

"As we build our confidence hopefully we can take that to playoffs with us and when it's most important we will come through."

Allen said he had trouble deciding whom to give his four spots on the all-tournament team to because so many players performed well for him but he settled on Taldone, Loescher, McGinn and Burton.

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