Girls soccer: Frericks sisters lead Richmond-Burton to 1A sectional title with 4-1 win over DePaul Prep

WOODSTOCK — Reese and Layne Frericks have always worked off of each other to score in critical moments, and in Richmond-Burton’s biggest match of the season, the sisters scored when it mattered most.

Each sister scored two goals apiece Friday to help Richmond-Burton defeat DePaul College Prep, 4-1, and win the Class 1A Marian Central Sectional.

“We get super competitive for the goals,” Layne Frericks said. “We get super hungry, and in that moment, we knew we needed to score. We’re just good in those tough moments where we know we need to get the foot and head on it and into the back of the net.”

Reese Frericks struck first for the Rockets (21-1-1) when she raced toward the net and found the ball at her feet with an open net, scoring to make it 1-0 with 30:56 left in the first half.

The two teams struggled to gain momentum for much of the first half. R-B had to adjust to a narrower field, which forced the Rockets to be quicker with the ball and allowed the Rams to attack the ball faster.

DePaul Prep became more aggressive in the second half, but R-B stole the match’s momentum when it earned a free kick off of a yellow card just to the left of the goal, outside the box. Jordan Otto placed the ball perfectly and Layne Frericks headed the ball in to make it 2-0 with 22:29 left in the match.

[ Photos: Richmond-Burton vs. DePaul College Prep girls soccer ]

Layne Frericks scored again when she found the ball at the net off of a free kick with 8:07 left in the match and Reese Frericks put the match away for good when she scored on a fast break with 7:24 left in the match.

“They’re two kids that are always going to be around the goal, always going to be dangerous,” Richmond-Burton coach Casey DeCaluwe said. “In most cases, they’re so composed that they find the back of the net, which has worked out this year.”

DePaul Prep struggled to find strong looks throughout the match thanks to strong play from the R-B centerbacks Maddie Havlicek and Ember Demers. Any time the Rams moved the ball past the outside backs, the two centerbacks recovered and stopped DePaul from getting a strong shot on net.

Ellie Andrews scored the lone goal for the Rams with 5:33 left in the match on a penalty kick earned off of a Rockets handball in the box.

“It’s been fantastic to see them in these types of games, where they’re under pressure, they’re cool under it and handle the big moment,” DeCaluwe said of Demers and Havlicek.

Richmond-Burton returns to the supersectional round after losing in the final minutes to Timothy Christian last season. The Rockets will play IC Catholic (15-3-2), which on Friday defeated Marine Leadership Academy, 3-0, in the Class 1A Concordia University Supersectional at 5 p.m. Tuesday in River Forest.

“Hopefully Tuesday night we come back with the same intensity,” DeCaluwe said. “If we do, I know we’ll be all right.”