The following previews provide a brief glimpse into the four
quarterfinal matchups that take place on Thursday, May 19:
Quarterfinal #1: Homewood-Flossmoor (29-3) vs Fenwick (23-8)
Game Time: 4:30pm; Thursday, May 19
Coaches: H-F - Pat Duignan (9th
year) / Fenwick - Jack Wagner (16th year)
How They Got Here:
H-F beat Bremen 11-2 at the LWN Sectional. Fenwick beat Oak Park 14-0 at the
Fenwick Sectional.
Previous 2011 Meetings: Fenwick leads series 1-0. Fenwick
beat H-F 9-4 on 4/9 at the Fenwick Tournament.
Current Rankings: H-F - #2 / Fenwick - #5
Top Performers: H-F (Rebecca Mathews - 128 goals) (Michelle Mayer -
93 goals) / Fenwick (Annie Collins - 48 goals)
The Goalies: H-F (Sophie Schloen) / Fenwick (Mackenzie Bonk)
Key Factors:
Deja vu. These two teams met in the girls' tournament opener in
2010, with H-F building a 7-2 lead by the end of the third quarter en
route to a surprising 9-6 win. The Vikings' return nearly everyone from
last year's game, so confidence and experience should not be a problem.
On the other hand, Fenwick earned a convincing 9-4 win over H-F to close
out their own tournament at the end of Week 5, plus they are a much
different team than last year with a lineup infused with several
productive freshmen. This one's probably a toss-up, is likely close at
halftime, and could come down to whoever makes the best adjustments
heading into the second half.
Other Players to Watch:
Fenwick (Alexa Ovalle, Cara Borkovec, Colleen Barron, Gena Wendt, Haley
Wickham, Maggie Carey, Maureen Barron)
H-F (Anna Tenny, Annie Schloen, Hannah Ongman, Tess Adamonis)
Quarterfinal #2: Mother McAuley (17-14) vs Fremd (24-4)
Game Time: 5:45pm; Thursday, May 19
Coaches: McAuley-Vanessa Carroll (2nd year) / Fremd-Brian Newby
(10th year)
How They Got Here:
McAuley beat Lyons 7-3 at the Lyons Sectional. Fremd beat Barrington
14-0 at the Barrington Sectional.
Previous 2011 Meetings: McAuley leads the series 1-0.
McAuley beat Fremd 3-2 on 4/23 at the Stevenson Tournament
Current Rankings: McAuley - #7 / Fremd - #8
Top Performers: McAuley (Vicky Arciniega - 52 goals) / Fremd
(Sam Matuszewski - 62 goals) (Sam del Prado - 59 goals)
The Goalies: McAuley (Sarah Abbott) / Fremd (Julie Conrath)
Key Factors:
Low-scoring, defensive, and close. Those are probably a few of the words
one could use to describe the matchup between Mother McAuley and Fremd,
who earlier this season played to a 3-2 finish at the Stevenson
Tournament (McAuley won). Both teams are coming in riding a wave of
momentum, with McAuley busting through a tough sectional with wins over
Lyons and Sandburg, while Fremd shutout Barrington in the sectional
final and earned a convincing win over Prospect to claim the MSL title
the week before. Experience could also be a factor, with most of Fremd's
team returning from last year's state run, while McAuley has no one left
from their roster from the last time they made the state tournament
(2008). Ultimately, it will probably boil down to whoever's team defense
is best on Thursday night. In the first meeting, the Mighty Macs held
the Vikings scoreless over the final four minutes as Fremd desperately
searched for the game-tying goal. Whichever team's defense supplies that
kind of effort will probably win this game.
Other Players to Watch:
McAuley (Amy Kopale, Adriana Izquerido, Bria Nolan, Clare Bryar, Jackie
Knightly, Kristen Kleist)
Fremd (Emily McCarthy, Emily Orlowski, Lauren Zambelli, Megan Kennedy)
Quarterfinal #3: Naperville Central (32-1) vs Stevenson (25-8)
Game Time: 7:00pm; Thursday, May 19
Coaches: NC-Jeff Plackett (9th year) / Stevenson-Jeff Wimer
(11th year)
How They Got Here:
NC beat NN 13-6 at the Neuqua Sectional. Stevenson beat Mundelein 9-5 at the VH Sectional.
Previous 2011 Meetings: NC leads series 1-0. NC beat
Stevenson 7-5 on 5/6 at the Stevenson Tournament.
Current Rankings: NC - #1 / Stevenson - #6
Top Performers: NC (Abbey Kerth - 128 goals) / Stevenson (Karen
Lowry - 94 goals) (Cheyenne Montijo - 90 goals)
The Goalies: NC (Julia Campbell) / Stevenson (Lisa Michalowski)
Talking Points: Home-pool advantage. While the Patriots
have the benefit of staying close to home while getting prepared,
Central faces an hour-long drive to let their nerves set in.
Experience. On the other hand, something tells me nerves won't be an
issue with the Redhawks, who are heading to the state tournament for the
fourth straight year. They've finished third, second, and fourth in the
last three years, so they must be doing something right to win in the
quarterfinals. The rematch. Central beat Stevenson less than two
weeks ago at this very pool by a 7-5 score to kickoff the Stevenson CoEd
Tournament. In that short period of time, the Patriots have probably
doubled their confidence level after getting past rival Mundelein in
convincing fashion last weekend at the Vernon Hills Sectional.
Meanwhile, the Redhawks are probably not lacking in confidence
themselves, as they have won twelve games in a row and cruised to a
sectional title win at Neuqua Valley last weekend.
Other Players to Watch:
NC (Claire Wirtz, Emily Sejna, Gracie May, Lizzy Giuliani, Madison
Nervig, Robyn Stanley)
Stevenson (Cami Haas, Erin McCook, Sam Petti, Shelby Kohalmy, Tori St
John)
Quarterfinal #4: St Ignatius (24-4) vs Loyola (23-6-3)
Game Time: 8:15pm; Thursday, May 19
Coaches: St Ignatius-Mike Cashman (6th year) / Loyola-Rich Schici (7th
year)
How They Got Here:
St Ignatius beat Lane 11-3 at the UIC Sectional. Loyola beat New Trier
11-7 at the GBN Sectional.
Previous 2011 Meetings: St Ignatius leads the series 2-0.
St Ignatius beat Loyola 8-5 (OT) on 4/6 and 9-6 on 5/7.
Current Rankings: St Ignatius - #3 / Loyola - #4
Top Performers: St Ignatius (Kate Stelnicki - 88 goals) / Loyola
(Brittany Wallace - 123 goals)
The Goalies: St Ignatius (Kate Murphy) / Loyola (Kristina
Alexander)
Key Factors:
The Wolfpack have had the Ramblers number this season, winning both of
the contests between the two teams. So who does that benefit? St
Ignatius probably has the confidence to beat Loyola after those two
encounters, but playing more than once has likely given Loyola head
coach Rich Schici and company plenty of time to try and figure out a way
to beat the Wolfpack when it matters most. St Ignatius will look to
their defense to carry them as usual, just like they did when they
limited Loyola to just 11 goals in the two games earlier this year. Can
the vaunted St Ignatius defense keep the Ramblers from scoring, or will
the one-two punch of Brittany Wallace and Evan Swenson find a way to
outscore the Wolfpack and get to the semifinal round?
Other Players to Watch:
St Ignatius (Maggie Maloney, Becky Insalaco, Meghan Murphy, Rebecca
Martinez, Stephanie Fernandez, Tammy Stelnicki)
Loyola (Caitlin Sershon, Emily Levison, Evan Swenson, Kate Ansani,
Rachel Nieman, Sarah Gross)
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