Girls soccer: Maria Falkowska’s goal holds up as Prairie Ridge upsets Sycamore

Wolves to face No. 1 Crystal Lake Central for regional crown Friday

Prairie Ridge's Alayna Cooper-Turnage gets ready for a shot from Sycamore's Cortni Kruizenga during their game Wednesday, May 17, 2023, at Sycamore High School.

SYCAMORE – Alayna Cooper dove onto the ball as it came rolling in with a Sycamore playing leaping over her as the final buzzer sounded.

As she had all game, the Prairie Ridge goalie turned away the Spartans’ attack, making sure Maria Falkowska’s first-half goal held up in a 1-0 win for the No. 7 Wolves in a Class 2A Sycamore Regional semifinal Wednesday.

“There’s going to be those games where you might out-possess teams, you might out-play teams, and you lose 1-0. DeKalb was a perfect example of that. ... It was kind of our nightmare scenario that if we can’t find that goal, it’s going to come down to defending.”

—  Kevin Bickley, Sycamore girls soccer coach

“I think this win is something we’ve worked very hard for,” Falkowska said. “I think this is the best soccer we have played the entire season. I’m just very grateful I got the opportunity to help us win this game.”

The Wolves (3-10-3) will face Fox Valley Conference foe Crystal Lake Central for the title at 4:30 p.m. Friday in Sycamore. The teams played last week, with the Tigers winning 8-0.

Falkowska connected in the 31st minute for the Wolves, taking control on the left side of the net and shooting it far right past Tayla Brannstrom and in.

“I honestly did not really think it was going to go in,” Falkowska said. “It was more like a shot in the dark, and I’m just very happy it went in.”

Prairie Ridge coach Justin Brown said he was happy Falkowska was able to score.

“She doesn’t stop,” Brown said. “She’ll run through a brick wall. She does not stop. I’m glad her relentless effort paid off in a goal for her.”

No. 4 Sycamore (11-10) had shots in the final minute from freshmen Cortni Kruizenga and Isabelle Segreti just miss the mark. Kruizenga was in front of Cooper all day but couldn’t connect. Her best shot came in the first 4 minutes of the second half, getting loose on the left side and launching a shot, but Cooper was there to stop it.

Sycamore coach Kevin Bickley said lack of scoring had been a weak point for the Spartans all year, pointing to a 1-0 loss to DeKalb last week.

“There’s going to be those games where you might out-possess teams, you might out-play teams, and you lose 1-0,” Bickley said. “DeKalb was a perfect example of that. ... It was kind of our nightmare scenario that if we can’t find that goal, it’s going to come down to defending.”

The Spartans won more games than they had since Bickley’s first season, a 20-1-1 mark in 2018.

“Could we have had a couple more? Yes, but 11 wins is good,” Bickley said. “We have a pretty tough nonconference schedule. I thought we played well and competed, beat Bartlett, beat Streamwood, big schools that are good results for us.”

Bickley said the focus of the offseason will be on finishing opportunities and upping the offensive output. Kruizenga was the team’s leading scorer this year, and Bickley said he expects her to get even better.

Mix in a large young corps and Bickley said he’s optimistic about next year.

“We have a good group of freshmen and sophomores I’m excited about, a good group of juniors coming back,” Bickley said. “We’re excited for next year. It was a hard loss today, but kind of how the season went kind of I feel. These seniors have been a good group for them, and it’s going to be hard to let them go.”

The win sets the Wolves up for a rematch with the Tigers. Falkowska said the win certainly gives Prairie Ridge a ton of confidence.

“They’re excellent. They’ve got players all over the field,” Brown said. “We’re just going to show up, look to compete and that’s it.”

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