Knights fall on late goal by Willows in sectional semifinals

 

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By Curt Herron

Chicago Christian and Willows Academy entered Friday's Class 1A Chicago Christian Sectional semifinals with something in common.

Both programs won their first regional championships a year ago and then were defeated while making their debuts in sectional play.

So with either the Knights or Eagles assured of advancing to their initial sectional title match in the sport, the stakes were high.

And then adding to the drama, Christian and Willows went nearly 70 minutes before either squad was able to put the ball into the net.

Kate Dunaway finally broke the deadlock when she fired in a liner with 10:16 left to help Willows capture a 1-0 win in Palos Heights.

After falling 3-2 to Hinckley-Big Rock in last year's sectional semifinals, the Eagles earned the right to move on to the next round.

Now they advance to Tuesday's 7:00 p.m. championship match against Francis Parker, who was a 3-1 winner over North Shore Country Day.

It will be a big day for the Independent School League, since it's believed to be its first girls sectional final clash in any sport.

Coach Amy McMahon's Eagles (15-3-2) will be looking for revenge since Francis Parker posted a 1-0 win in the teams' earlier meeting.

Meanwhile, the narrow loss was a tough pill to swallow for the Knights, who dropped a 3-0 decision to Lisle in last year's sectional.

It brings a end to a 12-12-1 campaign where Christian started 9-3, struggled through a 1-8-1 stretch and then won their own regional.

Despite seeing his team miss out on the sectional finals, coach Trevor Schans was still proud of the effort turned in by his Knights.

"I thought Willows was the better team in the first half," Schans said. "So at halftime, I told our girls that this was our season and that we needed to step up and give 100 percent.

"And we responded in the second half and I thought that we actually outplayed them, but that doesn't always translate into goals. They got their chance and it was not an easy finish.

"The development of our program since I took over has been immense. Our ability to play a good style of soccer and our attitude and effort are great and this season was no different.

"Every season has expectations and we met 90 percent of them. I had hoped that we could win this game to take the next step. But Willows played a great game and it deserved the win."

The Knights coach pointed to several performances that he was pleased with from his squad, which will have most of its players back.

"Kayli Deckinga, our central defender, has been incredibly consistent by winning balls and structuring everything," Schans said. "She does everything you could ask for as a coach and more.

"In front of her, Lauren Kuipers structures things, wins balls and integrates into our offense, as well. It's like a holding center midfielder and it's not an easy position to play for us.

"I thought that our center mids, Carolyn Richards and Anica Pausma, played well. I didn't sub for our outside mids, Megan Wise and Therese Walsh, and they continued to make things happen.

"We're going to lose a couple important starters but still have a good solid core group back. Our juniors have gotten better every year and next season they'll want to take the next step."

Beside Deckinga, other seniors who the Knights graduate are sisters Eva and Therese Walsh, plus Julie Michaelis and Annalee Hoekstra.

"This was a really crazy year for us," said Eva Walsh, who freshman sister Jamey also was on the team. "Some games we thought we'd win, we lost and others that we thought we'd lose, we won.

"Then we went through a period where we didn't win many games and that threw off the team for a bit. But our coach got us out of our funk and we were able to win our second regional title.

"It seemed like everyone on our team were best friends with each other, which is really nice since a lot of teams don't have that. It was kind of like we were one big family this season."

As for the victors, they'll enjoy their historic win over the weekend before shifting their focus to trying to earn a trip to state.

"After losing in the sectional semifinals last year, we wanted to go one step further," McMahon said. "Now we're taking it game-by-game and the sectional championship will a league matchup.

"Chicago Christian was great competition for us today. They possessed the ball really well during the second half and they scared us a few times and kept us on our toes until the end.

"I'm very proud of our girls since they work very hard every day. We're hoping that when 80 minutes are done on Tuesday that we can bring Willows Academy its first sectional championship."

Getting the chance to avenge a defeat against a conference rival with a state trip at stake makes Tuesday's match more interesting.

"This is the first time that we've reached a sectional championship, so it's really exciting," Keelin McNally said. "Chicago Christian was good competition and they really challenged us.

"We've been working really hard in practice on finishing since it's been a weakness, so when Kate scored, I was real happy. No one from Willows has gotten this far, so we've made history."