
When you’re hot, you’re hot. And York’s girls soccer team is on fire right now.
The Lady Dukes have been unstoppable as of late and continued their run through a difficult Class 3A sectional by upsetting No. 2-seed St. Ignatius 2-1 in triple overtime during a semifinal match Wednesday in Chicago.
| If you go WHAT Class 3A sectional final WHO York vs. Hinsdale Central WHEN 4:30 p.m. Friday WHERE St. Ignatius, 1076 W. Roosevelt Road, Chicago NEXT Winner plays for a trip to state against either Waubonsie Valley or Naperville North at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Benedictine University supersectional |
Sophomore Angela Bianchi scored the game-winner at the 5:23 mark of the third 10-minute overtime off an assist from sophomore Danielle Vujovic to keep the No. 5 Lady Dukes’ season alive.
York (14-5-3) is unbeaten in six straight matches and 12 of 13 overall.
“This is a young team and just getting more experience each game has helped them make better decisions and be more confident,” said assistant coach Stephanie Downen, who has filled in for head coach Rachael Shepherd as she waits to have her baby. “We’ve made some lineup changes which I think have helped, and they’ve just been clicking together. They all get along well and work hard in practice.”
The Lady Dukes will try to continue their run through the playoffs against top-seeded Hinsdale Central, a team they beat 1-0 during the recent stretch, for the sectional title on Friday. The Red Devils advanced by beating Lyons Township 3-2 on Tuesday.
“It’s going to be a battle,” Downen said. “It was a battle the first time we played them, and they are a very good team. Plus we know they are going to be out to get us since we beat them the first time.”
In the semifinal game, the Wolfpack — an Elite Eight team last spring — took a 1-0 lead in the first half. It stayed that way until Bianchi netted the tying goal (Charlotte Cook assist) with 12 minutes remaining in regulation.
Both teams played to a standstill the rest of regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods until Bianchi sent the team into celebration mode.
“To see the girls battle back and get that tying goal in regulation and then win in overtime was awesome,” Downen said. “I thought we gained momentum as the game went on. And I felt like our fitness level really showed, especially in the overtimes. We kept up our work rate and went hard the whole time.”
After losing in the regional finals last spring, the Lady Dukes completed the job this time around with a 3-0 victory over No. 3 and regional host Oak Park-River Forest last Friday in Oak Park.
It is the first regional title for the Lady Dukes, who lost to OPRF 1-0 during the regular season, since 2002.
Ashley Bowman put the team ahead 1-0 on a penalty kick, while Vujovic (Bianchi assist) and Christina Ordonez also scored. Stefanie Matsas made seven saves in the shutout.


