NAPERVILLE — The Peoria Notre Dame Irish quest for a state championship ended in the semifinals Friday with a 1-0 loss to the Troy Triad Knights in the Illinois High School Association Class 2A girls soccer state finals at North Central College’s Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.
Triad broke a scoreless tie with 7:57 left in the second half as senior forward Maddie Hunt’s corner kick was redirected by sophomore Kamryn Bohnenstiehl past netminder Sydnee Wharton.
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“I think we deserved to win this one,” Notre Dame coach Ben Ralph said. “It’s a tough loss, the way it ended. They are heartbroken with how this game went. I’m proud of them.
“We had chance after chance. We’ve had an historic season. I told them after the game, ‘There’s only two teams that walk out of this weekend with a win — first place and third place.’ We still have a chance to be one of those teams.”
The Irish played most of the second half in the Triad end. PND had seven corner kicks in the half but couldn’t convert.
“It’s been an unbelievable season,” Notre Dame elite forward Mya Wardle said. “This is a really special group. We have talent all across the board.
“We came up short today in a game I thought we dominated in the second half. That’s soccer.”
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Wardle will have one more game left in her high school athletic career when the Irish play in the state third-place game against 15-9-2 Burlington Central at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Then it’s on to Eastern Kentucky to launch a college basketball career. In her thoughts as she walked off the field Friday?
“A lot of gratitude for the teammates and coaches I’ve had,” she said. “Sadness, because I’ll never get to play with my sister (freshman defender Emy) again after Saturday.”
The score didn’t do justice to the Irish on Friday. They played most of the second half within 35 yards of the Triad cage.
Triad goalkeeper Payton Hartmann made a diving stop in each half. Her save with 3:35 left in the first half kept the game scoreless when she dove to stop Notre Dame forward Ava Lafollette’s drive after she spun and launched a good shot toward the top left corner of the net.
Wardle’s speed created problems for Triad in the first half, when she raced down the edges. With 16 minutes left, she burst down the middle between defenders and broke in on Hartman, but the ball trickled away from her and went wide left.
PND (24-2-1) was back at state for the 11th time, but was seeking its first state title. Triad (22-4-1) has four state championships since 2011, including back-to-back crowns in 2021 and ’22.
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The Irish girls finished third at state in 2015, and fourth in both 2003 and 2010.
Ralph is 129-30-11 in seven seasons at the helm, and this year’s 24-win total is a program record, earned with the team winning its first 16 games.
The Irish will head into the third-place game Saturday with a deep lineup that includes LaFollette (24 goals, 12 assists), forward Mya Wardle (17 goals, 21 assists), Abigail Shaddock (13 goals, six assists), and goalkeeper Sydnee Wharton, who came into Friday’s game having allowed only nine goals all season and with a 0.36 GAA and 20 shutouts.
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men’s basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
At North Central College, Naperville
Friday’s semifinals
Saturday’s finals
5:27 p.m.: Triad breaks through for a 1-0 lead with 7:57 left in the second half as senior forward Maddie Hunt’s corner kick was redirected by sophomore Kamryn Bohnenstiehl past netminder Sydnee Wharton.
Irish have had six corner kicks in this half but couldn’t finish on them.
5:16 p.m.: Scoreless with 17:18 left. Most of this second half has been played within 30 yards of the Triad cage. Irish with chances, just haven’t finished.
5:05 p.m.: Maddie Stickelmaier with a big drive from about 30 yards out but rips it high. Notre Dame has maintained control and good pressure throughout first 10 minutes of the second half. Still scoreless.
4:41 p.m.: Notre Dame 0, Triad 0 in IHSA Class 2A state semifinals at North Central College’s Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.
4:35 p.m.: Notre Dame forward Ava Lafollette turns and gets a clean shot to the top left portion of the net and Triad sophomore netminder Payton Hartmann makes a diving stop with 3:35 left.
4:27 p.m.: Notre Dame and Triad scoreless battle with 13 minutes left in the first half.
Alli Stickelmaier had a free kick from 28 yards out on the left side with 19:21 left, but it floated wide right.
Forward Mya Wardle’s speed has been a problem for Triad and she’s creating chances. Wardle split defenders and walked in to the middle of the box but the ball trickled away from her and went wide left of the net at 16 minutes remaining.
4:04 p.m.: The Irish have won 22 sectional titles — second-most in state history only to New Trier.
Notre Dame is 129-30-11 in seven seasons under head coach Ben Ralph.
4:02 p.m.: The Irish were full-on pressing Triad hard from the opening minute, and forced a defensive breakdown that caused an open Triad net.
Notre Dame’s game plan has been to score in the opening minutes, and mostly they have.
The game was scheduled to begin at 3 p.m., but was delayed for more than an hour because the prior semifinal between Crystal Lake Central and Burlington Central ran longer than expected.
