soccer
GIRLS SOCCER | H-F REGIONAL
Semifinals
* H-F 8, Thornton Fractional 0
* Lincoln-Way Central 8, Thornton Twp. 0
FLOSSMOOR | Ashley Berner picked just the right time to have the game of her life, scoring a career-high four goals to lead Homewood-Flossmoor to an 8-0 win against Thornton Fractional Tuesday in the H-F regional semifinals.
H-F (17-4-2) will play Lincoln-Way Central (17-4-1) on Thursday for the regional title. Central trounced Thornton Twp. 8-0 Tuesday in the first game.
Lincoln-Way Central had a balanced attack, but the H-F Vikings were a two-girl show during the first 23 minutes of their game against Thornton Fractional, which consists of players from T.F. North and T.F. South. By that time, Berner, a sophomore, had four goals, two of them as a result of beautiful passes by senior Thea Johnson, who also scored the game's first goal.
"She's really fast and she is really good at accelerating," teammate Maggie Hoskin said about Berner. "Everyone has this (great) game. This was Ashley's game. I'm not really surprised."
Berner had never scored more than two goals in a high school game before Tuesday, but she scored four goals in 14 minutes against Thornton Fractional. Just seconds after Johnson scored to put her team up 1-0, Berner raced by several T.F. players and beat goalie Leah Rusk in a one-on-one showdown.
After the game was 2-0 for about 11 minutes, Berner scored three goals in three minutes. The first two came after Johnson dribbled past several defenders.
"When Thea steps up her play, everyone plays better," said coach Todd Elkei about the Johnson to Berner connection. "She has no idea how good she can be."
"Thea boosted my confidence," added Berner. "I think I helped the team a lot. (My goals) pumped up the team."
T.F. finished the season 12-9. The loss was made the more difficult by an injury to star Sandra Knezevic.
In the first game, Lincoln-Way Central outshot Thornton Township -- which consists of players from Thornton, Thornwood, and Thornridge -- 30-0 although it stopped shooting with 25 minutes left in the game. The Knights scored three goals in the first six minutes and coasted.
Thornton finished the year 2-13, but coach Leo Andrade said "our year was pretty successful" because "they learned how to position themselves in the right way. A lot of these girls never saw soccer before, not even on TV."
Semifinals
* H-F 8, Thornton Fractional 0
* Lincoln-Way Central 8, Thornton Twp. 0
FLOSSMOOR | Ashley Berner picked just the right time to have the game of her life, scoring a career-high four goals to lead Homewood-Flossmoor to an 8-0 win against Thornton Fractional Tuesday in the H-F regional semifinals.
H-F (17-4-2) will play Lincoln-Way Central (17-4-1) on Thursday for the regional title. Central trounced Thornton Twp. 8-0 Tuesday in the first game.
Lincoln-Way Central had a balanced attack, but the H-F Vikings were a two-girl show during the first 23 minutes of their game against Thornton Fractional, which consists of players from T.F. North and T.F. South. By that time, Berner, a sophomore, had four goals, two of them as a result of beautiful passes by senior Thea Johnson, who also scored the game's first goal.
"She's really fast and she is really good at accelerating," teammate Maggie Hoskin said about Berner. "Everyone has this (great) game. This was Ashley's game. I'm not really surprised."
Berner had never scored more than two goals in a high school game before Tuesday, but she scored four goals in 14 minutes against Thornton Fractional. Just seconds after Johnson scored to put her team up 1-0, Berner raced by several T.F. players and beat goalie Leah Rusk in a one-on-one showdown.
After the game was 2-0 for about 11 minutes, Berner scored three goals in three minutes. The first two came after Johnson dribbled past several defenders.
"When Thea steps up her play, everyone plays better," said coach Todd Elkei about the Johnson to Berner connection. "She has no idea how good she can be."
"Thea boosted my confidence," added Berner. "I think I helped the team a lot. (My goals) pumped up the team."
T.F. finished the season 12-9. The loss was made the more difficult by an injury to star Sandra Knezevic.
In the first game, Lincoln-Way Central outshot Thornton Township -- which consists of players from Thornton, Thornwood, and Thornridge -- 30-0 although it stopped shooting with 25 minutes left in the game. The Knights scored three goals in the first six minutes and coasted.
Thornton finished the year 2-13, but coach Leo Andrade said "our year was pretty successful" because "they learned how to position themselves in the right way. A lot of these girls never saw soccer before, not even on TV."