Fast start sparks Red Devils past Lions for sectional title
By Dave Owen
Hinsdale Central was driven to avoid the drama and trauma of last year’s sectional final loss on penalty kicks to Downers Grove South.
How driven? Lyons Township learned the answer 38 seconds into Friday’s sectional final match.
Casey May broke in on right wing off a pass from Lily Chetosky to give the host Red Devils a lightning-fast 1-0 lead, and May’s second goal of the half 12 minutes later left the Lions further reeling in an eventual 3-1 win in Hinsdale.
The Red Devils (16-3-3) won their first sectional title since their state championship season of 2009 and now play Sandburg in Tuesday's super-sectional at Lewis University in Romeoville.
“We wanted to play with an aggressiveness from the beginning,” said Hinsdale coach Michael Smith. “What I liked about the way we played was that we played composed. We played our style. It wasn’t frantic.
"(LT coach) Bill (Lanspeary) has a well-coached team – they’re organized and disciplined. But the fervor we attacked with I think caught them off guard.”
Chetosky provided the first shock, booming a high ball from 70 yards away that soared over an LT defender. May ran down the bouncing ball and drove an 8-yard shot into the lower left corner of the net to give the Red Devils a rapid 1-0 edge.
“Lily Chetosky played me a great ball,” May said, “and I was just composed in front of the goal and I got it.”
Having lost to the Red Devils 2-1 on penalty kicks in a defensive battle April 30, the quick deficit put the Lions on their heels.
“It’s certainly not how you draw it up by any means,” said LT coach Bill Lanspeary, whose Lions (16-5-2) played without injured senior co-captain Abbie Pasquinelli.
“We dug ourselves a hole there. I don’t know if the sun got in our players’ eyes, a little misjudgment or what, but it was a big thing. And their kid capitalized with a great finish.”
The Red Devils’ attack was just gathering speed.
Hinsdale generated a corner kick and a Meghan Schick 20-yard free kick just over the net by the eighth minute of play. Then a great passing combination produced a 2-0 lead 27:31 before halftime.
Schick’s nice pass up the left side found Lauren Zapka in the corner. Alison Cerny then won a battle for Zapka’s short cross attempt and passed to May, whose 22-yard rocket into the upper right corner of the net produced her 12th goal of the season (four in the last two games).
“We came out really hard,” Hinsdale senior defender Katie Camden said. “We moved a lot in the middle, and we had a lot of energy going into it. We just had to stay composed and channel all that adrenaline.”
The push for the fast start was mapped out 24 hours earlier.
"We talked in practice yesterday about imposing our style on them from the beginning, so they have to react to us and deal with us," Smith said. "That two-goal cushion – I knew the game wasn’t over, but it was enough for us to be able to take a deep breath.”
“Before the game we were really focused and excited,” May said. “We wanted this so bad after losing the sectional final last year.”
A more recent memory provided further motivation.
“The last time we played LT we were really anxious,” May said. “We were chasing and just running a lot because we were excited. Now we needed to establish our brand of soccer, and I think we did that. We were really composed, we completed passes and we were playing the way we’ve been playing this entire season. That definitely played in our favor.”
Camden also saw calm confidence as a big difference.
“I really think we learned how to compose our energy and channel that into the game instead of getting too chaotic,” she said. “We had a better mindset going into the game, and it showed.”
But the Lions weren’t rattled for long. After Lidia Breen’s diving save of a Kirsten Kozarits shot in the 21st minute denied another Red Devil threat, LT struck back.
Amanda Kocimski was fouled after a nice steal and dribble up field with 16 minutes left. That set up a free kick from the left sideline by LT defender Catherine King, who amazingly tucked a high, unstoppable 30-yard blast just inside the far post to cut the Lions’ deficit to 2-1.
“That’s a world-class goal,” Smith said.
Hinsdale goalkeeper Riley Glenn stopped a 15-yard shot by Emily Lange off an Erin Fitzgerald pass two minutes later to keep the score 2-1 heading into halftime.
“We fought back,” Lanspeary said. “I give our kids a ton of credit because we seemed to find a little bit of a rhythm there, especially in the second half.
“But we were just under a little too much pressure. We weren’t able to possess the ball and find our players’ feet like we normally do, but again you have to attribute a lot of that to how hard they worked defensively.”
While Hinsdale’s offense cooled from its blazing start, Red Devil defenders Camden, Christa Kuhlman, Katherine Treankler, Jenny Saviski and Erin Smith repelled any close-in LT threats.
Glenn needed just one save after the break, that on a 30-yard one-hop shot by Kocimski 15 minutes into the half.
“In the second half defensively we shut the game down,” Smith said. “They (LT) had a lot of time and space in the last 20 minutes of the first half.”
Containing the speed of LT’s Ari Kowalski with double-teaming defenses was a top priority.
“Before the game we said that every time they get the ball, we have to have high pressure,” Camden said. “We knew No. 2 (Kowalski) was a pretty strong player on their team, and we said ‘double, double’ and they’ll eventually give it up.”
Midfielder Caitlin Smith’s block and steal on a Kowalski attack four minutes into the second half epitomized the Red Devils’ focus.
“Kowalski will go down as one of LT’s best players ever,” Smith said. “We had to limit her time and space. And No. 20 (Lange) for them is a phenomenal player. What I liked was that our team defense stopped their big players. We don’t man mark, so there’s the understanding that we do it together. We double team and triple team.”
Madeline Engelking, Chetosky, Kaitlyn Livingston, Alex Otto and Emily LaRocque joined Caitlin Smith as midfield stalwarts.
“At halftime we talked about our midfielders stepping up higher and putting more pressure on them,” Smith said. They (LT) weren’t able to change their point of attack easily in the second half because our midfielders did just that.”
King’s potent free kicks were the Lions’ biggest threat. Besides her highlight film goal, the junior just missed a tying strike with 8:45 left when her 38-yard restart went inches over the crossbar.
Four other LT free kicks in the second half were blocked at the defense.
“When we did foul, we had the organization to deal with the free kick that we knew was coming hot and heavy,” Smith said. “That speaks to our juniors and seniors who have been at this level for a long time. They were able to take to our game plan, especially defensively.”
The offense wasn’t finished, either. After Breen stopped a Cerny shot with 5:10 left, the Red Devils’ next big chance was too much.
Off a perfectly-threaded long pass upfield by Zapka, senior Jenn Jarmy raced in on right wing and powered a low breakaway shot into the net with 2:40 left to ice the win.
“At 2-1 going into the half it’s a score we probably don’t want because we know they’re going to come out really hard,” Camden said. “But we just told everyone ‘we’ve got this, let’s come off hard in the second half.’ And we did a really nice job. I’m really proud of everyone on the team.”
The Lions also had plenty to be proud of, reaching their tenth sectional in the last 11 years.
“I think this team exceeded our expectations,” Lanspeary said. “We thought we could play with anybody, but we ran into an awfully good team tonight.”
Lanspeary will have good memories of a small but strong senior class.
“Ari and Abbie have been four year players for us and have been outstanding,” Lanspeary said. “And Audrey (Anfield) has really stepped up – to watch her improvement the last couple of years has been great. And one of our other goalies Sam Kopping is one of the best kids I’ve ever coached. She’s just a tremendous team player.
“The leadership from all four of them has been fantastic. We just talked about how the younger players have to pick up that torch, because those four really made this a tight group and a fun group to be around.”
The fun continues this season for Hinsdale Central.
“This feels fantastic,” Camden said. “We really wanted to get past the sectional final this year because it was so tough losing in PK’s last year. We’re all super excited.”
A win over Sandburg means a spot in the Class 3A state semifinals.
“We need to stay mentally focused and play the way we’ve been playing this entire season,” May said. “We don’t really need anything new. As long as we’re playing our brand of soccer, we’re going to be OK.”
