HP_052517

30 | May 25, 2017 | The highland park landmark sports
hplandmark.com
Resilient Giants fall short in regional semifinal
David Jaffe
Freelance Reporter
Highland Park is accustomed
to overcoming
deficits.
Although the Giants
only trailed by a goal at
the half during the Class
4A Mundelein Regional
semifinals, it had been
a struggle against No. 8
seed Mundelein.
But Highland Park was
more aggressive on offense
in the second half
and looked like a different
team. That, along with
the terrific play of goalie
Maile Lunardi, helped the
No. 9 seed in the Warren
Sectional send the game
to overtime.
In extra time, however,
the Mustangs scored late
in the first overtime period
to win 2-1 on Tuesday,
May 16, in Mundelein.
The Giants played better
after the first half, but
Lunardi thwarted Mundelein
breakaway opportunities
throughout the game.
The Mustangs, however,
converted one when they
needed to, as Kate Hay
scored one-on-one against
Lunardi with 39 seconds
left in the first of two
10-minute overtime periods.
“Maile and Sarah Stahlberger
were the players of
the game for us,” Highland
Park coach Kate
Straka said. “Maile made
so many breakaway saves.
I think if it had been just
about any other keeper in
the state, this game would
have been a lot different.
But she was phenomenal.
She’s playing at the
next level and Texas-Rio
Grande Valley is getting
a heck of a goalie. And
Sarah at midfield brought
a lot of pressure and speed
and her goal and overall
play reenergized us.”
Mundelein’s Leah
Goldman scored six minutes
into the game. Stahlberger
tied it for the Giants
in the 14th minute
of the second half. Mundelein
attackers managed
to move the ball up the
field quickly, but could
not convert many of their
chances because of Lunardi’s
play (12 saves). In
the second half, Lunardi
twice left the net to challenge
shots in one-on-one
situations, making diving
stops in both situations.
It was a solid team defensive
effort, especially
given the injuries Highland
Park’s defense sustained
this season.
“Our defense has had
its bumps and bruises,”
Straka said. “We have two
defenders that have been
out for the season. Sydney
Cohen just came back
from a broken ankle and
this was her first full game
all season. Ryan Cary had
played every minute of
every game but then went
out early in this game with
an injury. So that’s a lot to
make up for. It’s a testament
to the defenders we
had out there and also to
Maile because she makes
everyone more confident
knowing that we have her
in the net.”
Even though the Giants
(12-8) came up short,
Straka praised the team’s
resilience.
“We loved to come
from behind,” Straka
said. “We weren’t able to
pull it off today but we
had five games where we
came back and won in the
final 15 minutes. We had
three that we won on penalty
kicks. We beat Maine
Junior Sarah Shiner keeps the ball away from two Mundelein players during the ninth-seeded Giants’ 2-1 overtime
loss to No. 8 seed Mundelein in the Class 4A regional semifinal Tuesday, May 16, in Mundelein. Photos by Miroslaw
Pomian/22nd Century Media
Sophomore Jolie Carl dribbles the soccer ball.
South and beat some
tough competitors. This
season has really helped
move the program forward
in a big way.”
And there’s plenty of
reason for excitement for
next season as Highland
Park only graduates five
seniors.
“We have a very strong
sophomore class,” Straka
said. “Jolie (Carl) was
our leading scorer as a
sophomore. Sarah was
our second-leading scorer
as a sophomore. A lot of
our returning starters were
sophomores this year.
So there’s a lot to look
forward to and there’s a
lot of potential for next
year to be an exciting
season.”