Bison move past GBS, showdown with Hersey looming
By Mike Garofola

Way back in early April, Glenbrook South manager Seong Ha said that he’s always concerned about the post-season, and his side’s inevitable meeting with the likes of Buffalo Grove, Hersey or Fremd.

Two years ago, Ha’s Titans lost to Buffalo Grove in regional play before returning the favor last year in a sectional title-game win over BG, en route to a 4th-place finish at the 3A state finals.

Tuesday night in Mundelein, there would be no dramatics when the No. 1 Bison (23-1-0) and the No. 5 Titans (20-5-1) met yet again in the postseason, as Pat Dudle's club proved the potency it possesses in its offense in a 3-1 win, in the sectional opener on a gorgeous May afternoon in the northern suburbs.

The win pits the Bison against its MSL East division rival Hersey in a sectional title game on Friday.

"They are everything you hear about, and more," Ha said of BG. "The Zickerts are fun to watch, I have Skylar (Groth) in our club, and she is a wonderful talent, Kovach is a great player in the middle, and they know how to play the game. And let's not forget how good of a job (Dudle) does with that team."

Two goals inside of nine minutes of the first half would finally erase some of the early misses, and the fear of not being clinical enough in the final third, and after the Bison opened up their two-goal advantage it allowed them to breathe easier the rest of the way.

"We came out real strong, possessed, knocked it around, and pretty much kept them under pressure for most of the first 30 minutes,” sophomore Jessica Kovach said. “But we couldn't put one in and that's something you always want to do when you’re dominating the play.”

"It really helped us when (the Titans) had to move (April) Cronin back into the midfield to help defend, because their best player never really touched the ball,” Colleen Zickert said. “That kind of ended any chances for their attack in the first half."

Colleen Zickert, sister Kelli Zickert, Sara Busse, Allie Ingham, Groth, and Kim Herzog off the bench all took advantage of the big gaps in the Titans’ end, as South dropped numbers behind the ball in an effort to defend.

"The key to stopping them is defending (Cronin) and it was a lot easier for us when Seong dropped her back,” Dudle said. “But even there she was dangerous in their counter-attack. Our backline (Shannon Guercio, Sara Brawley, Kelly VandeMerkt and JayJay Lowery) was strong all day, even when they had the second-half wind, and we knew they were going to come at us.”

The first goal of the match was a reward for the Bison's body of work and endeavors forward during the first 20-plus minutes, but if it hadn't been for a timely header off the line by the all-state striker Cronin – on a marvelous corner from Kovach which curved over keeper Emma Sailer -- the Bison would have had a 1-0 lead earlier in the match.

Kovach would have a second attempt minutes later, and the talented young midfielder didn't miss on this one. Ingham roared up the right side, crossed from the endline to create a scrum, and a failed clearing attempt found Kovach, who squared her shoulders and fired into the open right side of the net from 12 yards.

A dandy piece of combination work from Kelli and Colleen Zickert led to the second goal, which happened as the sister-act moved the ball quickly on the floor, leaving an unmarked Colleen Zickert time to turn and fire past a helpless Sailer going the other way.

"That second goal was big for us, but we've all played long enough to know a 2-0 lead is the most dangerous lead to protect, and a little scary against a team like (GBS) so we wanted to get that third goal as soon as we could in the second half," Colleen Zickert said.

It didn't take long.

When Colleen Zickert’s superb through ball put sister Kelli through and in on Sailer, the Bison's leading goal-scorer didn't miss out on her chance to make it 3-0 in the 45th minute.

Ha and his staff would open the second period with three up top as the Titans, desperate to cut into the then two-goal advantage, lined up Cronin, Tami Erlich and Olivia Peters across the front.

But if not for a brilliant effort from Cronin -- who would finish as the second all-time goal and point-scorer in program history – South’s attack was all but shut down by an often overlooked BG defense, which has only given up 12 goals in 24 games this year.

"I know I was surprised at how well our defense has played, especially when you consider we have a new goalkeeper and some different faces back there this year,” Dudle said. “But they have been steady and strong all throughout the season.”

Guercio would alertly clear a near-goal from Cronin off the line in the 52nd minute, then the Valparaiso-bound senior got in to deliver a blistering drive just off the post in the 66th minute, before finally putting in her 34th and final goal of the season, four minutes from time.

"The toughest thing about a final game like this is saying goodbye to your seniors, and the ten that I've had have been wonderful players, student-athletes and just plain great girls," Ha said.

"But Buffalo Grove was the better team today, and they deserved to win this game. All I can say is best of luck to them. They’re a fun team to watch, but only if you’re not playing them.”

The Bison were glad to get past their biggest postseason rival over the past few years.

"A lot of us have been here for both of those last two games with Glenbrook South,” Colleen Zickert said. “Last year we lost to them but we didn't spend a lot of time talking about getting revenge and all that. Instead, our focus was on just winning and advancing, and that's what we did."

"There's a lot of heart and desire with this team, and it shows in a game like this, against a team who we respect so much,” Dudle said. “So it was a big game for us to get past and into another, against a Hersey team that has been one of the best in the MSL for a long time.”