Lions see 3-1 lead slip away in sectional defeat to Deerfield

 

 

By Curt Herron

Things were looking pretty good for Saint Viator after it took a 3-1 lead over Deerfield with just under 17 minutes left on Tuesday.

But fortunes can shift quickly during postseason play, as the Lions found out the hard way in the Class 2A Lakes Sectional semifinals.

Deerfield responded to the two-goal deficit by scoring twice within a 5:37-span to even things up and ultimately force overtime.

Then during the extra 20 minutes of play, the Warriors added another goal to cap an unlikely a 4-3 comeback victory in Lake Villa.

Needless to say, it was a bitter pill to swallow for the Lions (11-8), who were hoping to make another strong postseason showing.

Mike Taylor's program took third place in Class 2A a year ago after claiming a second-place showing in 2010 in the same class.

Instead, Deerfield (16-6-2) will be going after its first sectional title when it meets Lake Forest in Saturday's 11 am finals.

Coach Rich Grady's Warriors got some revenge against the Lions after losing 1-0 to them at the same level and site as a year ago.

Lake Forest beat Grayslake Central 5-0 in the other semifinal. Saint Viator beat the Scouts 1-0 in the 2012 Lakes Sectional finals.

The Lions overcame an early goal on Tuesday to put themselves in a seemingly good position before things suddenly slipped away.

"We had the game won," Taylor said. "But when you make mistakes like we did, you don't deserve to win. When you give up two goals like we did, it's too hard to rebound from it.

"I thought the girls came out in the second half and played well. After getting three goals, they were controlling the ballgame. But then we threw the control of the game away.

"It was just mental mistakes, not physical mistakes but you're dealing with high school kids. We recover and go into overtime and they get a breakaway. At that point I knew we were done."

Saint Viator went up 3-1 in the 64th minute when Lauren Kohn found Maggie Leazer for the squad's second goal within a 2:48-span.

But that lead only held for 41 seconds as the Warriors capitalized when a ball wasn't cleared and a player was fouled in the box.

Patricia Schweinfurth converted the subsequent penalty to make it a one-goal match again, but it didn't remain that way for long.

Not long after Katharine Sexton was denied on a 1 v 1 chance by keeper Bailey Bradford, Deerfield struck again for the equalizer.

In the 70th minute, Claire Mulert scored from close range after the Lions awaited an offside call which they would not receive.

The Lions had a few more chances in regulation play but Bradford halted a pair of attempts from Erin Murphy in the late going.

Then in the 87th minute, Emily Kellow drove downfield past defenders and connected from close-range for the eventual winner.

Murphy was thwarted again early in the final overtime and Kellow was denied another score before the Warriors ran out the time.

 

 

"I thought it was a great high school soccer game," Grady said. "Both teams went after it. We had the momentum in the first half and we knew that they were going to come at us hard in the second half.

"I'm a little disappointed on how we defended a couple of things, but they converted their chances. But what great character from our girls to come back and get two goals right away.

"It's not normal that you're going to come back from down 3-1, but we played with three in the back and sent everyone forward. They committed a foul in the box and then we got a scramble goal.

"Some times you just get the feeling that when things like that happen, it's going to be your day. As I told the girls, if we haven't lost it by now, we're not losing it in overtime."

A year after winning its first regional championship, Deerfield was able to capture its initial victory in sectional competition.

"This is special for us since it's the first time that we've won a game in sectionals," Grady said. "We're trying to build our program so that we can consistently get to the level of the team we just played.

"That's something that takes some experience and a lot of hard work. I'm really proud that our seniors have helped move us in that direction. Our goal right now is to see how long we can keep this going."

Saint Viator finally managed to even things up in the 44th minute when Molly Murphy connected from near the top of the box.

Shortly after Leazer was denied on a liner, the Lions connected during the 61st minute to move in front for the first time.

Following a free kick from Murphy, Kohn put in a loose ball from in front of the net and Saint Viator soon added another goal.

Considering that the Lions had only allowed six goals in their last seven matches, the two-score advantage seemed pretty safe.

Deerfield took a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute when Schweinfurth came up with a loose ball and connected to put her team up.

Late in the opening half, the Lions had some of their best chances of the first 40 minutes going into a strong southern wind.

Leazer was stopped on a flick off of a Murphy free kick and then Samara Haas saw her free kick halted on the opposite side.

Maria Petrillo set up two other chances for Kohn but the first was cleared by Haley Greer while the last went to Bradford.