Girls Soccer: St Edward advances to second straight supersectional

Updated: May 19, 2012 4:32PM

St. Edward has knocked the wind out of its opponents this postseason by scoring early and often. The Green Wave continued that trend on Saturday against Rockford Lutheran in the title game of the Class 1A Harvard Sectional by scoring twice during the first 12 minutes en route to a 3-1 win. The triumph marks St. Edward’s second consecutive sectional title — each over Rockford Lutheran — as it advances to Tuesday’s Hinckley-Big Rock Supersectional to face Lisle.

“I don’t have the words to describe how happy I am for these girls,” St. Edward coach Tim Brieger said. “Today, in this heat, they just battled.”

The Wave got on the board 5:30 into the game after Kathleen Duffy sent a pass from the midfield to freshman Chelsea Gnan, who scooted it past keeper Olivia Cain, who was charging up to contest the shot, for a 1-0 lead.

“Duffy did a great job. I knew I had to finish,” Gnan said. “We talked about scoring early. We knew both teams were gonna come out strong, and we had to get on top first.”

The Wave increased its lead to 2-0 with 28:07 left in the half when junior Rena Ranallo headed in a corner kick from Gnan, leaving the Crusaders in a bit of disbelief.

“Those early goals put us on our heels,” Rockford Lutheran coach Scott Lofgren said. “Not too many teams jump on us that quickly. We fell into a bit of a shell and couldn’t get out of it.”

However, the Crusaders cut the deficit to 2-1 with 28:07 left in the half after Krista Carlson put it past keeper Paige Gannon off a corner kick.

St. Edward (19-7-2) dominated possession in the second half and again scored off a corner kick when the ball seemed to find senior Kelly Tripicchio 30 feet in front of the net as she went far side for a 3-1 lead. Gnan was credited with the assist.

“It just bounced off one of the girls and landed right at my feet. I shot it and was ecstatic when it went in,” said Tripicchio, who scored a similar goal in last year’s sectional semifinal win. “I don’t know if it’s just good luck for me in the playoffs and I just happen to get a goal.”

St. Edward dominated possession in the second half as Rockford Lutheran (18-4-2) had just two shots on goal over the final 40 minutes, and only seven all game. The Crusaders’ best second-half scoring opportunity came off a corner kick, but the shot sailed over the goal.

“Our defenders pretty much played all 80 minutes,” Brieger said. “We played our four backs and goalie for basically the whole game and they played their hearts out, shutting (Rockford Lutheran) down.”

Gannon made six saves in net for the Wave.

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