Boys Soccer: Mather advances to 2A final - Chicago Sun-Times

November 4, 2011 2:52PM The tried and true method of beating a Public League soccer team has always been to play a more physical style.

That won’t work against Mather. The Rangers proved that by knocking off defending state champion Peoria Notre Dame 3-0 in the Class 2A state semifinals Friday at Lincoln-Way North.

Mather (20-3-1) will attempt to become just the second Public League team in the 40-year history of the state tournament to win a state title on Saturday when it takes on Marmion or Chatham Glenwood, joining Harrison, which won the 1973 crown under a single-class system.

“We played today for the Public League and tomorrow we will represent the city of Chicago in the state final,” Mather coach Branko Cvijovic said. “The whole three million of Chicagoans are rooting for us, so we are pumped.”

Notre Dame (20-6), which had been seeking its third state title in four years, had a distinct size advantage and tried its best to intimidate the Rangers, but those efforts went for naught.

Mather grabbed a 1-0 lead just 44 seconds into the match when senior Qudus Lawal headed a cross from Hassan Ibrahim past diving Irish goalie Mitchell Auer for his 36th goal of the season.

“We practice that a lot,” said Lawal, who came to the United States last year from Nigeria. “I have to be in the front to flick it over. That was what I did.”

The Irish were held to only four shots and had just one good opportunity to equalize. That came at the 32:50 mark of the first half when Scotty Cicciarelli’s point-blank shot was stopped by Mather goalie Edwin Garcia.

The Rangers controlled much of the play after that despite being slowed by Notre Dame’s physical play, which was matched by Mather.

“We showed that we can play a physical game today,” Cvijovic said. “This was lacking in the past. We always had skills. The Public League teams could not keep up physically. This is just a testament that Public League teams can play.”

There was plenty of skill on display as well, as the Rangers finally broke down the Irish defense in the second half with some fine transition plays. Lawal and senior Steven Younus worked a nifty give-and-go in the box to produce the second goal, which Younus scored with 29:12 left in the second half.

Juan Mendez made it 3-0 with 11:52 remaining when he ran onto a cross from Chisom Ogbana and finished from 10 yards out. The final margin would have been greater if not for Auer, who stoned Lawal twice on breakaways.

“I must tell you that it is not about the physique,” Lawal said. “It’s about working hard, the way you can handle the ball and the way you win those 50/50 balls.”

The Rangers did that well throughout and as a result became the first Public League team to make the state title match since Schurz in 1977.

“We were faster than them,” Younus said. “They couldn’t stop us. We passed the ball and we opened the spaces. That’s why they were using physical play against us.

“I think we play as a team, we share the ball, we never play selfish. That’s what our coaches taught us.”

Football girls | Class 3A: Fremd Barrington Barrington Supersectional to corners ...-Chicago Tribune

A quick glance of football statistics shows Fremd girls Elise Kotsakis with 35 goals and next-nearest friend with six.

The Vikings picked a perfect night to display their depth Tuesday when scoring help from Juniors took Kira Heggeland and Emily Basten — both in the corner kicks — to hold off Mid-Annandale League rival Barrington 2-1 in the class 3A Barrington Supersectional.

Fremd, which was second in 3a in 2009, will deal with granite City State in a semifinal on Friday at 7 p.m. Naperville Central high school.

"We All know Elise, but sometimes other girls have to pick up the slack," said Heggeland, who scored the first goal of the year. "Against a team like the Barrington you need to take advantage of every opportunity."

The bound Butler had a handful of opportunities Kotsakis, but it was apparent that Barrington (17-7-1) was aware of the position throughout.

Heggeland broke the deadlock in a corner from senior Jennifer Freeman cheek that bounce through traffic with 4 minutes and 12 seconds left in the first half.

Mpasten earned 2-0 lead for the Vikings (18-3-2) 11 1/2 minutes into the second half. Barrington, which lost a third consecutive year supersectional, got the score back six minutes later when sophomore Molly Pfeiffer sailed directly to 35-yard free kick past junior goalie Fremd Shannon Norris.

"It was difficult to see us do a mistake, but we cleaned up things after this," Norris said. "For the most part we did a good job keeping us cool slowly back there."

Player of the match: Emily Basten, Fremd, game winning goal.

-Key performers: Kira Heggeland, Fremd, objective 1 1 assist. Jennifer Freeman, Fremd, 1 assist. Molly Pfeiffer, Barrington, objective 1.

: Next Class 3A State semifinal — Granite City vs. Fremd, 7 p.m. Friday, Naperville Central high school.