NAPERVILLE โ Williamsville was under pressure from the University of Chicago for nearly the entire second half, but Madison Rigdon kept her cool even in the most heated moments.
76 yearsNumber One minute into Thursday's Class 2A girls soccer state semifinal at Northcentral University's Benedetti Verli Stadium, Rigdon smashed a 40-yard free kick over the University High goalkeeper and past the far post to give Williamsville University a 1-0 victory and advance to Saturday's Class 1A state championship.
“It feels really great,” Rigdon said. “We all knew the clock was ticking. We looked at the clock and they told us to put it in the goal, so we're starting.”
It was Rigdon's sixth goal of the season and just his second in the past three games to decide the game with a free kick. His goal, a 40-yard free kick, put the Bullets within a point of tying the score in the 74th minute.Number On May 21, the team won the Williamsville Regional Championship with a 2-1 victory over Bloomington Central Catholic.
“There was some nervousness, like, 'I have to make the ball go in,' but at the same time, I knew I could do it,” Rigdon said of the nerves at the time. “(The win at Williamsville) was just down to somebody hitting the ball far or getting out of there, but at the time, I thought that was it.”
Williamsville (24-4) will play Belleville Althoff for the state title on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Althoff (15-9-3) defeated Des Plaines Willows Academy, 2-0, in the first semifinal game.
“A wise man once said, 'Even the better teams can lose,'” varsity coach Josh Potter said. “At the end of the day, like I told the girls, you've got to score runs to win. You could say you were the better team, but at the end of the day, if you don't score runs, you're not going to win the game.”
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The Maroons (13-4-1) had the ball deep in Williamsville territory for much of the second half.
But one foul between two players fighting for the ball changed everything.
“The other player extended her arm, so the ref called it,” Williamsville coach Joe Fandel said, “and to get a shot off No. 10 (Rigdon) from that distance is a specialty of hers.”
Both teams seemed to use the first half as a time of exploration, with University winning time of possession for the first 15 minutes and Williamsville's offense holding the ball for the majority of the final 20 minutes.
“We had to get used to the atmosphere,” Van Del said. “We were giving them a lot of space. When we brought on our substitutes in the first half, I told them we had to mark them tightly so they couldn't drop the ball and do what they wanted. We continued to do that in the second half and kept the pressure on them when they had the ball.”
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Williamsville never got that momentum again. University pressed the Bullets defense in the second half, but the Maroons only managed two shots on goal for a total of 11 for the entire game. Williamsville third-year goalkeeper Lillian Johns was never fully challenged.
“It was just a great team effort, just communicating on the backline and being mindful of covering each other,” Williamsville freshman defender Kailyn Milnes said. “I thought it was good for us. I thought they had a lot of chances, but we were able to fight back and get the ball every time. I think that gave us the opportunity to believe we were strong enough to get the ball.”
Milnes said he had a hunch Rigdon would be successful.
“I think as soon as the referee blew the whistle we knew it was our chance,” Milnes said. “It was our chance and we took it.”
Williamsville finished fourth in the Class 1A state tournament in 2016. Regardless of what happens Saturday, the Bullets girls soccer program will come away with the best finish in the program's history.
Contact Ryan Mahan at 788-1546; ryan.mahan@sj-r.comTwitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.