After coming back from a 0-1 goal deficit to Palatine in the early first half, South’s women’s soccer team won the state regional finals 2-1 last Friday, May 17. The team then ended their season losing the setional semi finals  to Buffalo Grove on May 21.

“To go down 1-0 in a regional final with high expectations for us, we could’ve easily panicked and folded, but the girls just kept on barreling through,” Coach Seong Ha said.

According to senior captain Carolyn Nash, the team’s chemistry is what contributed to the succes.

“Our team dynamics are amazing,” Nash said. “We are such a close-knit team and when someone is struggling with their play, we back each other up. Every time someone makes a great play everyone has some positive feedback.”

Along with team chemistry, Ha attributes their success to their winning of 50/50 balls.

“We didn’t want Palatine to set the tone by winning the ball first, we wanted to do that,” Ha said.

The girls were down 0-1 up until Nash assisted senior April Cronin, resulting in a tied score. Sophomore Tami Erlich then assisted the second goal to Cronin, who scored in the 26th minute of the game.

“[Tami] beat everyone with her speed to win the Regional title,” sophomore Kaily Bruch said.

In order to keep their lead, the team had to play solid defense against Palatine’s strong midfield, according to Ha. Unsung hero Lindsey Oldshue stepped in at center mid to help.

“Oldshue stepped up and did an amazing job in the second half in the middle, and our defense did a great job minimizing their chances after they scored,” Bruch said.

Despite their success in the regional finals, the girls believe their biggest successes yet were their games against conference rival GBN, according to Bruch.

“The whole team came together in order to get the win,” Nash said. “Playing [North] is always a difficult game since everyone knows everyone.”

According to Nash, the team’s success  derived from continuously communicating on and off the field throughout the season.

“If a team has bad communication, they don’t perform to the best of their ability,” Nash said. “At least one person throughout the whole game is talking.”

The team next played Buffalo Grove on Tuesday May 21. Buffalo Grove is currently ranked third in state.

“I [felt] that the pressure is on them, and we are the underdog,” Ha said. “I love that roll because we have played it so well.”

According to Ha, Buffalo Grove is their biggest non-conference rivalry.

The Lady Titans fell to Buffalo Grove two years ago in a penalty kick off. However, last year, South beat them in the sectional finals.

This year, Buffalo Grove was their final rival. South lost to Buffalo Grove 1-3 in the sectional semi finals.

“I’ve told the girls many times, ‘who cares about numbers?’” Ha said. “It’s not the numbers or the coaching, it’s the effort in between the lines for 80 minutes.”

The success earlier in the season resulted in winning the conference title for the first time ever in history. According to Bruch, it was their immediate goal entering the season.

“I think it was a huge advantage for us to have 14 returning players because coming into the season we were already accustomed to each other’s playing styles and already had great chemistry from last year,” Bruch said. “I would definitely credit our success to our awesome senior leadership.”