South ready to put hard work to good use

Crystal Lake South's Ashley Ross (left) battles against Johnsburg's Shelby Weaver during a game last month at Crystal Lake. The Gators enter postseason play this week. (Northwest Herald file photo)

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Winning all those matches against highly competitive and respected teams during the prestigious Pepsi Showdown this season was nice.

Finishing second in the difficult Glenbrook Cup was a big accomplishment, too.

But what Crystal Lake South’s girls soccer team really is after has eluded the Gators for five years – longer than any of the current players have been on the roster.

The Gators want to win a regional title and have an opportunity to try for it this week during the Class 3A Jacobs regional in which South earned the top seed.

“Since we fell just short in our goal to regain the [Fox Valley Conference Valley Division] title after letting it get away from us last year, these girls are hungry for some hardware,” said South coach Brian Allen, whose team will face No. 4 South Elgin at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in a regional semifinal.

South (16-7-2 overall) designed its schedule this year specifically for the tough competition in the FVC Valley Division and the postseason challenges.

The Gators were not seeded in the 46-team Pepsi Showdown and made their way through the loaded field by beating No. 13 Maine South and No. 4 Lyons before losing to No. 7 Barrington in overtime. South tied with Homewood-Flossmoor in a non-bracketed game.

“This is exactly why we’ve played the competition we’ve played, just for this postseason,” senior forward Ashley Ross said. “We need to go in and play how we’ve been playing all year, keep our heads high and keep our confidence.”

If the Gators beat South Elgin, they will face the winner of the other regional semifinal at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday between No. 2 Cary-Grove and No. 3 Jacobs.

South beat both teams twice this season during FVC Valley Division play.

“It’s scary playing teams like that, for a third time this year,” senior defender Kelsey Taldone said. “Any day any team can beat the other. It’s the nature of the game. We have to be able to do anything, jump out in front early or come back from behind.”

Playing consistent soccer troubled the Gators early in the season, and there still are aspects of the game South would like to improve, senior defender Katie Burton said.

But the focus is so stringent that the mistakes should be minimal.

“We want it so bad,” Burton said. “We have a lot of seniors that want to break this streak and finally win a regional.”

Should South succeed in its quest for a regional crown, it will face the winner of the Hononegah Regional – which features No. 1 Rockford Boylan, No. 2 Hononegah, No. 3 Harlem and No. 4 McHenry – in a Boylan sectional semifinal at 5 p.m. May 25.

The Warriors face top-seeded Boylan at 5 p.m. Tuesday in a Hononegah regional semifinal.

Huntley earned the top seed in the Rockford Jefferson regional and will face No. 4 Rockford Auburn at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Should the Red Raiders win their regional, which includes No. 2 Guilford and No. 3 Jefferson, they will take on the winner of the Barrington Regional at 7 p.m. on May 25 in the other Boylan sectional semifinal at 7 p.m. on May 25.