BARRINGTON — The keeper is both a specialist and all-purpose talent who must always be ready to step up to the challenge.

Hinsdale Central sophomore Katherine Skinner had almost a full week to mull over the matchup against Barrington.

“We tell them (the keepers) what the set-up is going to be at the beginning of the week,” Red Devils coach Tony Madonia said. “On Sunday, Katherine knew she was going to get this game.”

“My coach always says stay classy,” Skinner said. “Never try to do too much, just play the game of soccer, and do my job. We knew if we played hard, we’d get the result.

“We knew Barrington was a great team, so I knew I had to hold them off.”

After holding Barrington without a goal in regulation, she knew her work was just getting started.

Skinner posted six saves during the 0-0 regulation battle and stood resolute as three Barrington penalty kicks missed the netting as the Red Devils, ranked 14th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, stunned their top-ranked hosts 3-2 in the shootout in the quarterfinals of the Naperville Invitational on Thursday night.

Hinsdale Central’s fifth shooter and midfielder Piper Bingham had the last shot before the sudden death rounds started. She smashed a low-lined ball that Barrington all-state keeper Megan Holland got a touch on, but its velocity and force rolled it beyond her reach.

“I just picked a spot, and I hit it as hard as I could,” Bingham said.

Hinsdale Central (12-3-0) will advance to play fourth-ranked New Trier in the second semifinal game at 11 a.m. Saturday morning at Naperville Central. 

Barrington (11-1-1), the defending tournament champion, suffered its first regular-season defeat in two years. Prior to that the Fillies suffered a 3-2 double overtime defeat against Naperville North in the 2022 tournament championship game.

Measured by the the Top 25, upsets were the overwhelming manner of the quarterfinal action. Barrington, no. 6 Naperville North and no. 8 Lyons all lost to lower-ranked opponents.

“We have to be more efficient and effective at crossing the ball and shooting,” Barrington coach Ryan Stengren said. “We’ve been a little off in our last four halves of play. 

“We’re deficient in crossing and shooting right now. We didn’t really make their keeper work that much for as much time as we had the ball. We had corner kicks, but we got nothing off of that either. Our execution in the final third has to be better.”

Barrington went first in the shootout. Two-time all-stater Piper Lucier and Kaitlin Taylor converted their attempts. The first and third shooters were high, and the fifth attempt hit off the left post.

Claire Snodgrass and Avery Edgewater finished their shots for the Red Devils, setting up the dramatic final attempt by Bingham.

“It’s all about the team,” Skinner said. “Our team has this mentality of never backing down mentally or physically from any challenge. We had a game like this year where we beat Fenwick on penalty kicks.

“This was a special opportunity, because we knew how good they are.”

A sophomore, Skinner has shared the keeping responsibilities with junior Emeline McClenahan.

At the urging of his two keepers, Tony Madonia allows each one to play out an entire game rather than dividing their time into separate halves of a specific game.

“It was their suggestion,” Madonia said. “We went to them at the beginning of the year, and asked them whether they wanted to start and play the whole game, or split halves, and they both wanted the whole game.

A forward on the basketball team, Skinner is athletic, quick, and has superb reaction time. She 
earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honor for her outstanding play. She posted her fourth shutout this season, which matches McClenahan’s total.

“She has a lot of intangibles,” Madonia said. “As a freshman last year, she was our primary keeper on a team that went to a supersectional, and she only gave up a couple of goals.

“She has really good feet, and she gets her body to where she needs to make saves. Mentally, she is so strong. I think that helped a lot during the penalty kicks.”

Barrington had the majority of the possession during the second half. The Fillies entered the match off a 2-1 home victory over Hersey in Mid-Suburban League play the night before.

The team played without a major cog. Leading scorer Sarah Sarnowski, an All-State forward, is out recovering from a foot injury.

Lucier was able to get to the right edge and play the ball into the box on several opportunities. 

Skinner and the talented backline of Snodgrass, Marinaccio, Addisyn Krogstie and Adriana Giannini thwarted those chances, clearing the ball or disrupting the action.

“There are no excuses from having a game last night,” Lucier said. “We have a talented team, a very good team, but we’re still learning how to be a team together.

“We are trying to be our best together, and that’s all we can really ask for. I was really proud of our work-rate, and our work ethic out there. We just need to do a better job, in my opinion, of getting the result right.”

The victory was especially gratifying for Hinsdale Central, given the Red Devils tough 2-1 road loss against Lyons on Tuesday in West Suburban Conference Silver Division play.

“We always want this kind of a challenge,” said captain Cate McDonnell, who toggles between the midfield and playing up-top. 

With Edgewater and Bingham operating in the middle, McDonnell and Camila Leal also worked the perimeter to find open channels against a very skilled and fast Barrington defense that had conceded just four goals.

“This was a game we were really looking forward to,” McDonnell said. “We felt if we could withstand their pressure, we could excel in our game. We just said ‘Let’s go. Let’s give it our all and get a result.’

“I thought we did a good job of getting the ball down and connecting, and we never gave up. We stayed strong, and we stayed resilient throughout the whole game.”

In the absence of Sarnowski, other Barrington players stepped up.

Two freshmen with deep personal connections to the program, Aybree Sanchez and Gabby Masterson, showed what they are capable of offensively.

Sanchez began playing in the back and pushed up to the top of the attack in the second half. 

She is the younger sister of Ellie Sanchez, a two-time Chicagoland Soccer All-State defender. The member of the 2022 and 2023 state runner-up teams, and the fourth place 2021 team started nine times as a freshman at North Dakota State last spring.

Their father is Joe Sanchez, the Barrington football coach.

Masterson is angular and rangy. She is the niece of Fillies’ great Jenna Szczesny. She has demonstrated terrific awareness, skill and a feel for the ball. She played purposefully against the Red Devils.

Sophomore Jazlyn Fertig also gave the Fillies good minutes off the bench. 

“You never want to lose, but I’d rather be in this position now than later during the state tournament,” Lucier said. “This is good for us to learn and grow from our mistakes.

“They were a great team. I like playing against good competition. It’s terrible to lose, but our team needed that extra spark or touch on the field tonight. We have to do a better job of capitalizing in the final third.”

Now Hinsdale Central faces another significant challenger Saturday in New Trier. Both teams reached the state supersectional level last year.

The Red Devils are confident.

“This is a huge victory against a team like Barrington that last year won this tournament, and then played in the state championship game,” Skinner said.

“It shows what the competition is going to be like if we get there. It also shows our competitiveness.”

Starting lineups

Hinsdale Central
GK: Katherine Skinner
D: Julia Marinaccio
D: Claire Snodgrass
D: Addisyn Krogstie
D: Adriana Giannini
MF: Emily DiTomasso
MF: Avery Edgewater
MF: Peyton Rohn
MF: Piper Bingham
F: Cate McDonnell
F: Camila Leal

Barrington
GK: Megan Holland
D: Hannah Blue
D: Roos VanRoekel
D: Aybree Sanchez
D: Grace Fuller
M: Chloe Gierthy
M: Maddy Ziebarth
M: Annie Tarpey
MF: Kaitlin Taylor
F: Piper Lucier
F: Gabby Masterson

Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Katherine Skinner, so., GK, Hinsdale Central

Scoring summary

First half 
No scoring

Second half
No scoring

Shootout

Barrington
Annie Tarpey (miss), Piper Lucier (make), Roose VanRoekel (miss), Kaitlin Taylor (make), Aybree Sanchez (miss)

Hinsdale Central
Emily DiTomasso (saved), Claire Snodgrass (make), Cate McDonnell (miss), Avery Edgewater (make), Piper Bingham (make)