Knights avenge loss to Mt. Assisi to repeat as regional champions

 

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By Curt Herron

On paper, the numbers didn't seem to add up for Chicago Christian in its quest to repeat as a regional champion.

After all, Tuesday's finals opponent, Mt. Assisi Academy, had claimed a 4-0 victory over the Knights on May 5th.

And while the Knights went 1-8-1 to close the regular season, the Eagles posted an 8-1-1 mark during that same span.

Mt. Assisi's Olivia Palutsis entered the finals with 36 goals and nine hat tricks, including one against the Knights.

But all of that proved to be of little consequence when the Class 1A Chicago Christian Regional plaque was handed out.

Coach Trevor Schans' Knights entered the title match with a good game plan and executed it well against the Eagles.

As a result, Christian won its second regional and denied Mt. Assisi of its first title by winning 2-1 in Palos Heights.

The win advances the Knights (12-11-1) to the semifinals of their own sectional tournament, which takes place on Friday.

They'll meet Willows Academy, which also rallied for a 2-1 victory over Immaculate Conception in the IC Regional final.

The Knights and Willows play in a 7:00 p.m. after North Shore Country Day and F.W. Parker. meet in a 4:30 p.m. match.

Annalee Hoekstra put in a rebound of a deflected free kick from Carolyn Richards in the 61st minute for the winner.

Richards scored on a free kick in the 27th minute to force a tie after the Eagles converted a PK in the 22nd minute.

"We had our game plan for how we wanted to defend and attack tonight and the girls executed," Schans said. "We did a good job against (Palutsis), who's so fast. We had one player always behind her and we executed that to perfection.

"It was nice to be able to bounce back from a tough 4-0 loss to them and to still be able to believe in ourselves that we could do it, which was important. We've talked all year about taking what we can control and working with that.

"After their penalty kick we scored on a free kick from Carolyn. And Annalee didn't have an easy finish but put it between the defenders. More than anything what I'm most proud of is giving 100 percent regardless of the circumstances.

"We ran into a little rough patch late in the season where we had some injuries and some back-to-back games, but we knew what we had the whole time and it was just a matter of getting everyone healthy and also believing in our system."

The Knights defense of Katie Voss, Lauren Kuipers, Jasmine Kruzel and Kayli Deckinga kept Palutsis at bay throughout.

That made life easier for keeper Becca Hook, who stopped everything that the Eagles threw at her in the run of play.

"The last time we played them, we had two girls out, so it was nice to have them back," Deckinga said. "And after playing them, we knew what to expect and and we met yesterday and planned what we were going to do.

"We pretty much stuck Katie on (Palutsis) because we knew she liked to send over-the-top balls, and she did a great job. Jasmine stuck with their other forward and Lauren and I pretty much covered the whole middle.

"As soon as Carolyn scored the first goal, we knew that we could definitely do it and then Annalee scored to put us ahead. We stuck to our game plan and it's very exciting to win regionals my last two years here."

The Eagles struck first, capitalizing on a hand ball in the box shortly after the midway point of the opening half.

Elly Wetzel lined up for the subsequent penalty kick and connected, giving Mt. Assisi (14-5-2) the early advantage.

But shortly after that, Richards, who missed the first meeting due to an injury, made her presence felt in a big way.

With just under 14 minutes left before the break, the junior lined a free kick over the keepers' head to tie things.

"It was rough the first time that we played them since I was out with a knee injury and we had a couple of other girls who were hurt," Richards said. "We knew coming in that we'd be at full strength and we came out ready to play this time.

"After we tied it up, I was ecstatic because I knew that we were back in it and that we could do this. On our last goal, when I saw the goalie tip it, I got a little nervous but then when I saw Annalee running in, I said 'there's the game.'

"Mt. Assisi has great speed and good ball control, so I'm proud of our girls for being able to shut them down. It's extremely exciting to win another regional and it feels good since we have a close team and I still have another year here."

Shortly before the intermission, Deckinga sent a long free kick toward Richards, who was stopped on a short attempt.

And a few minutes after that, Hook hauled in a liner from Palutsis to assure that things remained even at the break.

What turned out to be the most significant play in the match happened just before the midway point of the final half.

That's when Richards was taken down just beyond the top of the box, which resulted in a free kick that she would take.

The Eagle keeper punched the try away but Hoekstra was in the right spot to get the rebound and put in a short attempt.

"We definitely wanted this win, especially after losing to them," Hoekstra said. "We knew what we were going up against. It means a lot to win a second regional in a row.

"I'm real proud of how we passed the ball and we definitely did what our coach asked us to do. After Carolyn scored, we got the energy and it was like a fresh start for us.

"When Carolyn was setting up for the later free kick, I was in pretty close and coach told me to back up a little bit. He basically set me up perfectly so I could tap it in."

Down the stretch, the Eagles kept the pressure on the Knights as they looked to get the equalizer to extend the match.

But Christian relied on stops from defenders Kruzel, Voss and Deckinga during the closing minutes to assure the victory.