Red Devils put it all together vs. Fenwick

 

HINSDALE CENTRAL VS. FENWICK PHOTOS BY HARRISON BULL

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By Curt Herron

With time winding down in Friday's Class 3A Hinsdale Central Regional final, Jenn Jarmy turned in a play that typified the host's overall effort.

The Red Devil sophomore moved the ball up field against Fenwick's defense, carrying it all the way to the endline before passing to Mallory Feinstein.

From there, Feinstein was able to put in a a short attempt during the 67th minute that proved to be the difference in the match at Dickinson Field.

Jarmy's assist that resulted in Feinstein's easy goal with just 13:09 remaining assured the Red Devils of a hard-fought 2-1 victory over the Friars.

On a beautiful afternoon in front of a nice gathering, Hinsdale (11-11-2) toughed out a win against a Fenwick squad that challenged it until the end.

The victory sends the Red Devils to Tuesday's York Sectional, where they'll meet the winner of today's Lyons Township Regional in a 4:30 p.m. match.

This was Hinsdale's sixth regional title in the last nine years. The Red Devils last won a regional in their state championship season of 2009.

After using an early score from Drea Issleib off a corner from Feinstein to grab a 1-0 halftime edge, the hosts had other chances before the break.

But their advantage suddenly was gone when the Friars (14-8-3) stunned them with a long goal from Clare Madden just 11 seconds into the final half.

Following good chances from both sides during the next half hour, the Red Devils moved back in front and then made sure that this lead would stand.

"I'm proud of our kids," Red Devils coach Skip Begley said. "Even though we've struggled to play consistent soccer, I thought we played a good 80 minutes and only played a bad 11 seconds.

"We talked about a few things at the beginning of the season, like trying to win the conference and to try to play some of our better soccer at the end of the year, and I thought we did that.

"I thought we had a couple of other chances in the first half which maybe could have opened the game up. But you have to give Mallory credit for the run and the work Jenn did to get it to her."

The Red Devil coach also was very pleased with the work of the many different defenders that he called upon to try to slow down the Friars' attack.

Beside the long-range score at the start of the second half, Hinsdale's back line and keeper did a fine job of keeping Fenwick at bay offensively.

"Casey May played really well and I thought Lauren Shroyer did an outstanding job marking on Clare Madden," said Begley, whose squad meets Lyons Township or Trinity in sectional competition.

"Kate Shea, Caitlin Smith, Meghan Schick and Drea Issleib all did a great job and got to balls and disrupted the flow of play for Fenwick. And Riley Glenn did a great job again for us in goal.

"We talk about soccer but also what athletics are supposed to be about, and that was a key factor. I don't think anybody was happy about Fenwick's goal, but they didn't let that affect them."

After coming up empty on many opportunities over the latter part of the opening half, the Red Devils saw fewer chances during the final 40 minutes.

There was a bit of activity shortly after Madden's score, but then not much before the Jarmy-to-Feinstein connection resulted in the match-winner.

Fenwick challenged in the 43rd minute when Megan Frank got the ball back on her own corner and crossed it to Audrey Keifer, who sent a header high.

Then in the 49th minute, it was the Red Devils' turn to apply some pressure but Feinstein's short attempt was halted by keeper Sydney Galvez-Daley.

The Friars were back it in the 58th minute when Frank sent a corner to Mary Kathleen Hussey, but her header toward the net was cleared by a defender.

It was Hinsdale's turn again during the 64th minute, but Eryka Hawkins' long attempt was hauled in, which set the table for the match's key moment.

That began when Lauren Shroyer sent a pass from the back toward Jarmy, who managed to take the ball a ways up field before getting to the endline.

Then she sent a perfect pass in front of the net to Feinstein, who merely had to make an easy touch in order to assure the Red Devils of the lead.

"After Fenwick scored at the start of the second half, we really worked hard to get another goal and we finally got it in," Jarmy said. "Lauren got it to me from all of the way in the back.

"I just brought it up to the line and tapped it in and Mallory got it. I tried my hardest to keep possession of it and finally got around their girl fully and then passed it into Mallory.

"For the past couple of games I've been working hard and it all paid off and we won the regional championship. We haven't been doing that great, so it felt really good to play like this."

Things started well for the Red Devils, with them grabbing the lead in the 13th minute after Feinstein sent a corner to Issleib, who headed it in.

The hosts continued to create good opportunities as the opening half wound down but came up a bit short on a series of attempts down the stretch.

During the final 15 minutes of the half, they included a cross from Jarmy to Darby Moran and a short attempt from Jarmy which were both denied.

Following that, Jaclyn Gutman saw her try from close range get halted and then Moran ended the threats with another attempt that was hauled in.

"On our first goal, it was a perfect ball and Drea is really good in the air and it worked," Feinstein said. "And then on our last goal, Jenn did it all and I was just there to tap it in.

"We made a mistake on the second half kickoff and should have gone forward but other than that, this was a good effort against a good team. We showed today that we can play like a team.

"We've had our ups and downs this year. We're the first senior class in awhile that didn't win a conference championship so it's nice to win a regional championship to continue our season."