Bison capture sectional crown
By Mike Garofola

With its first trip to the state tournament since 1995 within reach, Buffalo Grove (24-2-1) took a giant step towards achieving that goal when it put together a workmanlike 80 minutes of soccer Friday night to defeat MSL East rival Hersey 3-0, capturing the Mundelein sectional title and a spot in Tuesday's Glenbrook South supersectional.

The Bison will meet Loyola Academy at 6:00 in Glenview after the Ramblers defeated long-time north-shore rival New Trier 1-0 in their sectional championship match.

"Just one more game, and we're there," said Bison midfielder Skylar Groth, who was all smiles after her teammates survived a less than sparkling first half before finding their form after the break, taking hold of the run of play and the match to progress into the Elite 8.

"Hersey did a very good job of taking us out of the type of game we play in that first half,” Groth said. “We were playing kick-ball instead of possession. But at the same time, our defense did really well in our end and we did a good job of keeping Lauren (Gierman) from taking control of the game, which was a big part of our plan for this game."

Groth already knew what previous game film would tell the Bison -- that all-state candidate Gierman is the engine in the Huskies’ attack, and if the three-year star isn't distributing or jump-starting the attack, she is a constant danger when she is standing over the ball on dead-ball opportunities.

"We knew Gierman is maybe the best in the area on free-kicks,” Bison coach Pat Dudle said. “Carmel found that out the other night when she put two in on them.

"So when we looked at the film, we knew we had to pay special attention when she had those types of chances, while also keeping her touches to a minimum if we could. I thought Skylar and (Jessica) Kovach did a good job of keeping her fairly under control for 80 minutes."

Gierman nearly made the Bison pay in the early stages when they conceded a free-kick in the first minute, when Hersey’s Kayla Knauss ran freely to the back post to fire a one-timer off of a wonderful serve from Gierman.

The Bison grabbed a 1-0 lead but in the process they lost the player who gave them the advantage.

BG’s Sara Busse thumped a header into the back of the net in the 8th minute off a helper from Kelli Zickert, but appeared to suffer an ankle injury on the play.

The talented sophomore, who consistently brings heart and energy to the Bison effort, left the stadium on crutches following the match.

Megan Gardner would fill in for her fallen mate with some terrific minutes up top, and with both Kim Herzog and Carly Brown turning in valuable minutes on the outside, especially going forward, the loss of Busse was a little easier for Dudle to manage.

Sophomore Shannon O'Connor was busy between the sticks for the Bison, and when she wasn't turning around another long free-kick from Gierman, with the sun in her face, she was coming off her line with speed and confidence to gather up potentially dangerous through balls or serves.

Gardner did just that on a 50-50 ball at the edge with the Huskies’ Abby Wendell in the 18th minute, and then pulled a trio of long balls from Gierman out of the air, just before Hersey’s Kaitlyn Smetana smashed a one-timer off the post when the speedy senior got free inside the box.

Minutes later, O'Connor and Sara Brawley had a brief communication breakdown on a lovely ball sent over the top from Gierman, with Brawley heading back to O’Connor from just a few feet away.

The near own-goal put a scare into the Buffalo Grove faithful, but the Bison kept Hersey from finding a goal for 80 minutes.

"We didn't want to give up that first goal but we had a couple of chances to find the equalizer on a few of Gierman’s freekicks, and maybe even a lucky one near the end of the first half,” Hersey coach Brad Abel said. “But when we didn't equalize and they got that second one, it suddenly became much more difficult for us to get back in the game."

Abel had to know it might be one of the games when Gierman dented the far corner of the woodwork with her 42nd-minute freekick, and when the Bison countered on the other end, resulting in Morgan Harris saving a Kelli Zickert attempt, the tide would begin to turn.

With both Groth and Kovach helping BG to come out of its defensive shell after intermission, the Bison attack began to resemble the high-octane offense that opponents have come to know and fear.

The MSL East champs gradually eased themselves into their game, and as the second half wore on it was they who created the better of the chances, despite some valiant defensive work from Hersey’s Knauss, Sara Magnuson and Anne Korff.

When the Huskies were having trouble controlling the middle of the park, Kelli Zickert took advantage by bending a near-perfect shot just around the extended gloves of Harris, who stretched her body as far to her right as she could.

The 58th minute goal not only doubled the Bison advantage, it also let the air out of the Hersey sails. Despite playing hard, Hersey’s hope of cutting the lead in half was dashed by the ability of Buffalo Grove to get forward, and attack and possess quickly and sharply.

"We played a very good first half, but when they scored the second goal, we just couldn't keep up our energy and work rate,” Abel said. “They are so good at that and have some great players who understand how to play the game, so give them credit. They were the best team out there tonight and credit (Dudle) and his staff for doing such a fabulous job with them."

The Bison added one more goal when Ingham finished what Groth started along the far touchline, and her goal in the 70th minute sealed Buffalo Grove’s first sectional crown in nearly 20 years.

"Our 5-0 win against (Hersey) in the first week was all but forgotten, and we knew they were so much better,” Ingham said. “But so are we, and it was important to show that.”

"I am really proud of this team," Abel said of his Huskies. "When you look at where we were, and how we started (0-2-1), how we finished is quite amazing.

"We went on to win 14 games, and got into a sectional final with a lot of new faces, after some unbelievable four-year players had graduated. This group made something out of a season that we didn't expect to have.

"We have just about everyone back next year, so it should be another fun season to be involved in."