West Suburban Sports

Huskies see late lead slip away as Dukes prevail in sectional semifinals

By Curt Herron

York had good reason to be feeling a bit down as it headed into the final minutes of regulation play on Tuesday.

Although the Dukes dominated in chances, they found themselves trailing 1-0 to rival Oak Park and River Forest.

But just as an appearance in its own Class 3A sectional final seemed to be slipping away, the Dukes rose to the occasion.

After finally scoring with less than seven minutes to force overtime, York found the net again during the extra sessions.

Mary Kate Cicinelli connected following passes from Christina Ordonez and Angela Bianchi with 5:27 left in the third overtime.

As a result, York rallied to capture a 2-1 victory over the Huskies in the second semifinal match of the evening in Elmhurst.

"It really hurt being down in the first half," Cicinelli said. "But as a team we worked really hard to get that back with a great goal. After that we had great momentum and an attitude to win.

"On the last play, we all worked together as a team and no matter who scored, it was due to all of us wanting it. Christina started it with the cross to Angela, who hit it and I finished it.

"We're all playing injured and tired and there were girls who don't usually play at the varsity level who stepped up. We're excited to play Lyons again in the finals and we'll see what happens."

The Dukes (20-4-1) advance to Friday's 4:30 p.m. finals against Lyons Township (20-4-1), which won 5-0 over Hinsdale Central.

In the teams' May 10th match, York edged LT 3-2 in two overtimes to clinch the West Suburban Conference Silver Division title.

But a rematch with the Lions looked like it might not come about, thanks to an inspired effort by the Huskies (12-6-2).

OPRF had dropped a 4-3 decision to the Dukes when the squads met on April 12, but this match proved to be far different.

The Huskies scored in the 27th minute when Emily Gullo fired in a short shot following a long free kick from Sara McCall.

That score looked like it might stand, despite the fact that York held a significant advantage in good chances over OPRF.

Much of the Dukes' frustration was due to the work of Huskies keeper Darcy Hargadon, who turned away several good threats.

Meanwhile, York keeper Anna Bell Lawnsdowne stopped the relatively few good challenges that the visitors sent her way.

York finally got the equalizer in the 73rd minute when Danielle Vujovic sent a cross to Ordonez, who made a short try.

That completed a second half which began when Lawnsdowne stopped another McCall to Gullo combination in the early going.

About 10 minutes in, Hargadon dove to stop a shot from Ordonez and then hauled in the subsequent corner from Ellie Ordonez.

Liners from Taylor Navarro and Judith Flores were later denied by the Huskie keeper and Bianchi sent a shot off the crossbar.

In the second overtime, Bianchi was just wide on an attempt before both her and Christina Ordonez were halted by Hargadon.

"I just talked to our girls about all of the sacrificing that they did in order to win this game," York coach Krzysztof Halupka said. "I think that OPRF did its best to take us out of our game.

"They scored to go up 1-0 and then we had to adjust and change our style a little bit. But in the end, our girls did not give up for a single second and played for each other the entire time.

"Our girls fought hard and got a goal to give themselves a chance and then won it. There's not enough words to describe how hard the girls played for each other, which makes me extremely proud."

The opening half featured a pair of early attempts from Sam Luke and Shari Lund that were turned away by the Huskies keeper.

Ellie Ordonez sent corners to Abbey Wilkins, whose try was cleared by a defender, and Christina Ordonez, whose header was denied.

"We got a goal and were seven minutes away from putting this away and seeing Lyons again," OPRF coach Paul Wright said. "And unfortunately they scored on a play where they have been offsides.

"But that's what the playoffs are all about. We battled all game back and forth and I really felt that we had some chances in the late going. But they had three girls coming at us constantly.

"It was a blessing having Darcy out there. She made some great saves but the big thing that people don't see is that she's constantly talking. It's like having another coach on the field."