A NOSE FOR THE NET
After missing six games with a broken nose, Dayton recruit Karli Ferguson highlights return with seven goals in three playoff matchups
Senior forward Karli Ferguson broke her nose April 19 during Sandburg’s loss to Lincoln-Way Central. She missed six games down the stretch in the regular season. Her impatience grew while she sat out. “Sitting on the bench is worse than being injured,” Ferguson said. “You’re just watching and you want to be there for your teammates. You also love the sport and want to be out there playing.”
Ferguson has returned with a vengeance. And she has helped make sure the Eagles will get another chance at Lincoln-Way Central.
The Dayton recruit scored twice and dished out an assist Tuesday night for the host Eagles during a 3-2 win over LincolnWay East in a Class 3A Sandburg Sectional semifinal.
Second-seeded Sandburg (14-8) will take on top-seeded Lincoln-Way Central (21-1) at 6 p.m. Friday in the sectional championship game.
For the Eagles, having Ferguson back on the field changes everything.
“When you have a player of her caliber, when she’s not on the field, you lose something,” Sandburg coach Tom Kubowicz said. “When she’s out there, she’s such a presence.
“She takes the focus off other players and gives them time to have the ball and be able to create. Teams are constantly focused on where Karli is.”
Ferguson has scored 29 goals this season, her first with Sandburg after previously playing club exclusively.
Since the injury, when Ferguson has played, she’s been unstoppable.
After missing two games after the injury occurred, she was cleared by doctors to play in one game before surgery. That was April 26, when she scored six goals in an 8-0 win over Bolingbrook.
Ferguson missed four more games after her surgery before returning for the regular-season finale against Lincoln-Way West. She scored four times in that game.
In three playoff games, Ferguson has scored seven goals.
“This is my last go at high school soccer, club soccer, everything before college,” she said. “So, I want to go far and give it my all.”
That means pushing through an 80-minute soccer game even when breathing through her nose is limited.
“It takes six months to heal, so I’m struggling to breathe a little bit,” she said. “It was just a matter of me being ready to come back. It’s not that bad. It’s just a little sore.
“It doesn’t really affect me playing. I’m hoping I don’t get hit in the head, and I’m trying not to head the ball too much. But if I have to, I will.”
History made, part 1: With a 4-0 win Saturday over Bremen, De La Salle captured the program’s first regional championship.
“It’s incredible, really, because we worked so hard all season, and for our hard work to pay off, it really means a lot to us,” said senior forward Jazzlyne Orozco, who scored a goal in the victory.
The Meteors (20-3) followed that up with another 4-0 victory, this time over Oak Forest, in Tuesday’s Class 2A Kankakee Sectional semifinal.
Top-seeded De La Salle will take on second-seeded Marist (15-9-1) at 6 p.m. Friday in the sectional championship game.
“With this group, I know we can push it even further,” De La Salle coach Carlos Nunez said.
History made, part 2: Junior forward Gina Czochara scored her 28th goal of the season in Marist’s 4-0 win over St. Laurence in Tuesday’s Kankakee Sectional semifinal, breaking the single-season school record for goals.
“Gina has been a fantastic player for us all year,” Marist coach Chris Roe said. “She’s dangerous any time she has the ball, and she’s been finishing her chances. That’s huge for us when she does.”
Marist will look to avenge a 2-0 regular-season loss to De La Salle in Friday’s sectional championship game.