PALATINE – The Mid-Suburban League West Division battle between Conant and host Palatine was played on a special night.

Sure, the intensity and physical play was on par for a late regular-season match between two teams battling for playoff momentum.

But Palatine made its Friday night home game even more exciting by incorporating numerous events, food specials and pre-game and halftime festivities into the mix to celebrate Cinco de Mayo weekend.

Adding to the atmosphere was that it was the Pirates Senior Night.

Upon entry into the stadium, visitors were greeted by several tables on each side with various Hispanic foods and items. Even the concession stand added some ethnic treats and a mariachi band was on hand to perform the national anthem.

In the end, visiting Conant stole the show. The Cougars scored a goal in each half to record a 2-0 triumph over the Pirates.

Conant senior midfielder Megan Ferengul enjoyed everything surrounding the match and the win.

“It was a lot of fun,” Ferengul said, smiling. “It was a lot different, because music was playing during the game, but it was a lot of fun. It was also a very good win. We had some good shots and assists. It was a tough game. We were able to keep up with them physically, but I see room for us to improvement.”

Palatine failed to score a goal, but possession wasn’t an issue. The Pirates had ample opportunities and had the ball in the offensive third for several lengthy segments. Getting off shots, though, was the issue. The Cougars’ defense played a big part. The Pirates had several good attempts. Star Jolee Waddington, who had 14 goals and five assists coming into the match, missed a shot wide right in the 56th minute.

“Going in and winning against Prospect in our last game was really big for us,” she said. “We wanted to get a win for our seniors. It comes down to who wants it more.”

The sophomore will be unavailable for the Pirates last regular-season match against South Elgin. The spring dual-sport athlete will be running for the track team.

Conant’s picked up goals by Brianna Serna and Vivian Brand to outlast a strong second half effort by the host Pirates (7-7-1, 5-6-0). Conant goalie Annabel Danso had three saves to help her team record its seventh shutout of the season, and improve its road record to 6-1-1. The Cougars (8-6-1, 5-5-1) were happy to walk out of the party-like atmosphere stadium with a win in the league-finale for both teams.

Conant coach Jeff Melone was pleased his team battled and held on to a quality road win in a tough environment.

“It was a great night,” Melone said. “It was fun. Senior Night is fun. I like the effort the girls put in. We were able to get everyone in the game, which was nice with the playoffs around the corner. Everyone played well. The backline did great. 

“Sophie Dobrincu is a tireless worker and a great target who just gets hammered all the time. She just takes a beating. She doesn’t fall, so we don’t usually get the calls. Sometimes everyone is falling, and they get the calls left and right. But she’s a trooper.”

Although disappointed with the defeat, Palatine coach Aaron Morris didn’t let the outcome affect his mood. 

“The atmosphere was great,” Morris said. “We did the same thing for the boys in the fall on Hispanic Heritage night. It was great for the athletes to see all of these fans here supporting them. It was great for the community here to watch these high school athletes. 

“It’s a special part of our school. It was a special night. I wish the result was different, but it doesn’t take away from everything else that went on at this game.

“It’s nice for us coaches, good for everybody. This game felt like a playoff game. Both sides were competing very hard. There was energy in the stadium. Even coaches can feel the energy in the crowd. I’m proud of our work-rate. After the second goal and losing our goalie, we continued to fight.”

Conant’s Vivian Brand scored the first goal of the game. Brand had some luck on her goal with 1:52 left until halftime. Her rebound shot trickled out of the hands of Palatine goalie Kate Latek after she saved the first shot. It rolled slowly across the goal line.

“I saw (Amani Urban) was winding up, so I just got behind, because it was going to be too high to head it. I put a foot on it and got lucky, because the goalie got a hand on it,” Brand said.

She added she, and her Cougars teammates, had a lot of chances in the final third.

“I don’t care if we win 1-0 or 8-0, as long as we get back on defense,” Brand said. “I’m really happy with the result. I feel like we’re finally starting to get our act together and play as a team. The results are showing. I think as long as we start getting more goals that we will be fine. Our defense and midfield are doing great every single game.”

Twelve-plus minutes into the second half, Conant junior forward Brianna Serna drilled home a long shot to conclude the scoring.

“Throughout the game, there was a lot of open space in the middle,” Serna said. “I saw Sophie had the ball. She and I knew she has some really good passes and good assists. So I asked for the ball and took a touch and shot it, because that’s what you need to do.”

Serna said the Cougars are slowly starting to peak before the Class 3A playoffs.

“We just need to take the opportunities when we can, because they don’t come often. When they do, we’ve just really got to try and put them in the back of the net to get the win,” she said. “I’m really happy that our team is starting to encourage each other. We’re keeping the hype up throughout the game and making sure that we keep every aspect of the game up, not just our offense but obviously also maintaining our defense.”

Palatine goalie Kate Latek played the first 50-plus minutes before leaving with an injury. Prior to the match, Latek had missed several starts with a shoulder injury but returned to face Conant. She thrilled the crowd with her outstanding play, including stopping two shots in a two-plus minutes span late in the half, and finished with six saves. 

“It stinks to get hurt again,” Latek said. “I played well, but disappointed I couldn’t play the whole game. It would’ve been nice to get a win.”

Lila Hanson finished the game in goal. Her volleyball background showed with a big save in the 59th minute.

Melone and his Cougars have a long period of time to practice and recover before their Class 3A playoff opener. Conant, the no. 10-seed in the Hersey Sectional, play seventh-seeded Elk Grove in a Buffalo Grove Regional semifinal at 6:30 p.m. May 14. The Cougars dropped a 1-0 decision on their Senior Night to the Grenadiers (14-5-0, 7-4-0) on May 1.

“This is our last game before the playoffs,” Melone said. “We face Elk Grove who we just lost to in the last two minutes. We’re excited to face them again. They have a solid squad and have a lot of speed in the back, and do an off-speed trap which was very hard to figure out in the first 15 or 20 minutes. We had a few breakaways that were called back. 

“I like our chances. (Maggie Maher) is a solid player, and we have to stop her. It’s will be a battle and require a lot of hard work.”

Morris said Palatine has to build off the tough home loss.

“It was disappointing,” Morris said. “We had some good momentum going into this game. I thought our ball movement had been better. Today we just got outcompeted. 

“I like the energy Conant played at. We were a step slow, not able to connect in spaces. Credit to Conant. We didn’t win enough first balls. When you don’t see the ball enough, you get frustrated.”

 
Starting lineups

Conant
GK: Annabel Danso
D: Amani Urban
D: Reese Staniak
D: Gianna Richter
MF: Brianna Serna
MF: Megan Ferengul
MF: Gabby Coyne
MF: Avery Connelly
F: Vivian Brand
F: Olivia Hagler
F: Sophie Dobrincu

Palatine
GK: Kate Latek
D: Madeline Rams
D: Claire Zach
D: Gretchen Kiesler
D: Alyssa Hannon
D: Danielle Hannon
MF: Allie Sobel
MF: Ava Millan
MF: Maya Virgin
F: Autumn Johnson
F: Jolee Waddington
 
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Gabby Coyne, fr., MF, Conant

Scoring summary

First half
Conant: Brand (Urban), 38’

Second half
Conant: Serna (unassisted), 52’