Chatham Glenwood clinches third straight sectional title behind early goal by Lyla Franke

NORMAL — Chatham Glenwood junior midfielder Makenna Yeager retrieved her own throw-in and sent the ball back into the penalty box.

Sophomore teammate Lyla Franke was there for the finish.

Franke capitalized on Yeager’s assist and the Titans eked out a 1-0 victory over Rochester in the Class 2A Normal West Sectional final on Friday.

Glenwood (19-4-1) advances to its home supersectional against two-time defending state champion Troy Triad (15-7-3) on Tuesday at 5 p.m. to set up their third straight postseason meeting.

The Knights knocked out Glenwood 2-0 in both of their previous supersectional clashes. Triad returns to the Elite Eight after prevailing 2-1 over Waterloo Gibault Catholic via penalty kicks in the Marion Sectional final.

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“When I crossed it back in, I was like hopefully someone will get on the other end of this and Lyla Franke just did a wonderful job of finishing that shot on the back post,” Yeager said.

Two premier defenses collide

Neither defense relented other than Rochester’s brief lapse in the opening 12 minutes.

“We were saying the whole time we’ve got to get an early goal and we got one,” Franke said.

Franke, the daughter of assistant coach Kyle Franke, was able to bat the ball through from close range. She also scored two goals in the 8-0 sectional semifinal win over Mahomet-Seymour on Tuesday.

“It was pretty stressful, but I found a way through,” Franke said.

Glenwood won the previous matchup over Rochester 3-0 in late April.

“They’re a really good team and we always have a great time playing them because we know a lot of them,” Yeager said. “We play club with a lot of them and there’s a lot of great girls on that team. We have so much respect for that team, but we were really eager and excited.”

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Glenwood coach Jay Lipe said they expected a battle with Rochester.

“We were fortunate to get that first goal in,” Lipe said. “It allows you to play a little more free. I thought we were unfortunate not to get a couple more goals. Their goalkeeper (Alyse Day) made a couple of good saves.”

Solid season ends for Rochester

Day, a junior, finished with four saves.

Glenwood’s defense, led by center backs Ali Matthews and Haden Vlcek, didn’t allow any shots on goal or corner kicks from Rochester. The Titans, likewise, totaled just four corner kicks.

Rochester coach Chad Kutscher said his defense played with more confidence than the previous meeting. The Rockets particularly shadowed Glenwood’s leading scorer Rylann Law.

They undoubtedly made strides from last season following Kutscher’s return to the helm and finished 19-4-2.

All of Kutscher’s seniors will play at the next level.

Zoe Cormier and Maggie Gleckler will play at Kutscher’s alma mater at McKendree University.

Ditto Claire Carmean at Western Illinois University and Abby Jerszynski at Quincy University.

Maddy Jerszynski, Taylor Matthew, Hannah Hill and Libby Maddox will additionally head to Lincoln Land Community College together.

“I’ve loved every second with these seniors and these girls,” Kutscher said. “I love this team.”

Contact Bill Welt: 788-1545, bill.welt@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/BillWelt

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: IHSA girls soccer: Lyla Franke vaults Chatham Glenwood to 2A supers