BURLINGTON, Iowa – After winning adidas Girls Soccer Tournament of Champions titles Saturday, girls high school players from St. Thomas Aquinas (Overland Park, Kan.) and St. Charles North (St. Charles, Ill.) were ready to dance.

Just not at the soccer field.

After a pair of nail-biting wins, Aquinas and St. Charles North coaches collected the hardware, girls scurried to their bus, and both teams got out of Burlington, Iowa, as fast as possible to honor dance dates in their home towns Saturday night. St. Charles North players headed to suburban Chicago for prom. Aquinas players rushed to the Kansas City area for a father-daughter event.

Freshman Gia Wahlberg scored late in the first half and early in the second as St. Charles North jumped out to a 2-0 lead and held on for a 2-1 victory over Collinsville (Collinsville, Ill.) in the Greater Burlington Partnership Bracket final.

Madison Holmes converted a penalty kick in the second overtime to lift Aquinas to a 2-1 victory over [Visitation mo-w] (St. Louis, Mo.) in a Heartland Lodge & Resort Bracket title match where both Saints goals came from the penalty spot.

In other finals Saturday, [Granite City il-w] (Granite City, Ill.) defeated [Dunlap il-w] (Dunlap, Ill.) 3-1 for the Iowa Economic Development title and Dowling Catholic (West Des Moines, Iowa) topped [Pewaukee wi-w] (Pewaukee, Wis.) 5-2 in the Adidas Bracket final. Lockport went 3-0 to win the North/South Challenge, while [Burlington Notre Dame ia-w] (Burlington, Iowa) kept the Round Robin title in the host town with a 3-0 showing.

Overall, 42 high school teams each played three matches in less than 48 hours.

In the case of St. Charles North and Collinsville, the window shrunk to three matches in 24 hours, and a deeper St. Charles North squad won out in a battle of SIMA FAB 50 teams.

St. Charles North, ranked No. 42, and Collinsville, ranked No. 50, were the only SIMA FAB 50 teams in the showcase event that drew more than 50 college coaches, ranging from NCAA Division I to NAIA.

Wahlberg’s first goal late in the first half gave the North Stars (12-2-1) the lead, but she knew that it was not going to be enough.

“We had to come out even harder [in the second half],” she said. “We kept up our intensity.”

And it didn’t take long to pay off as Wahlberg slotted a shot past the keeper just minutes into the second half for a 2-0 margin.

Collinsville made it interesting when UT-Martin signee Sophia Sharos cut the lead to 2-1, marking her third goal of the day. She scored both of Collinsville’s goals in a 2-0 semifinal win earlier Saturday morning.

“Both [St. Charles North] goals were off our mistakes, and those are fixable,” Collinsville coach Clay Smith said. “But fatigue was a factor. They are deeper.”

In the Heartland final, St. Thomas Aquinas standout Jamie Kutey set up both Saints goals by getting taken down in the box. The first penalty came five minutes into the match, and Olivia Meyers converted for a 1-0 Aquinas lead.

Visitation answered just minutes later when freshman Caroline Davis punched in a shot from short rang and a scrum in front of the net. Visitation nearly went ahead 2-1 when Abby O’Keefe’s direct kick caught the Aquinas keeper in no-man’s land. The ball one-hopped over the Aquinas keeper before striking the crossbar. The ball was cleared by an Aquinas defender to end the threat.

Neither team scored the rest of regulation or in the first overtime. A few minutes into the second overtime session, Kutey was again taken down in the box – the third time she drew a PK this weekend. Aquinas sent Holmes to the penalty spot and the senior buried a shot in the upper right corner.

“(Visitation) already saw Olivia and knew where she’d go, and they hadn’t seen Maddie,” Aquinas coach Craig Ewing said about sending Holmes to the penalty spot after Meyers had taken Aquinas other PKs this weekend.

“We got Jamie up, and (the coach) pulled me out (to take the kick),” Holmes said. “I thought, ‘Let’s do this.’ It’s an opportunity to score and win the game.”

Holmes said the successful kick was the most meaningful goal she had ever scored.

 

Saturday’s Results

ToC Heartland Lodge & Resort Bracket

Final -- St. Thomas Aquinas (Kan.) 2, Visitation (Mo.) 1. STA: Olivia Meyers, Madison Holmes. V: Caroline Davis.

Third Place – Divine Savior-Holy Angels (Wis.) 4, Kearney (Mo.) 2. DSHA: Maria Kass 2, Kelly Reilly, Emily Tangney. K: Alexis Howard 2.

Fifth Place – Jefferson City (Mo.) 6, Liberty 2. JC: Sarah Luebbert 3, Karina Esquival, Eden Hoogveld, Mackenzie Lochhead. L: n/a.

Seventh Place – Waukee (Iowa) 5, Helias Catholic (Mo.) 0. W: Rebecca Corbett 2, Carlie Littlefield, Shannon Deatrick, Miranda Wilson.  

 

Greater Burlington Partnership Bracket

Final – St. Charles North (Ill.) 2, Collinsville (Ill.) 1. SCN: Gia Wahlberg 2. C: Sophia Sharos.

Third Place – Batavia (Ill.) 3, Lee’s Summit West (Mo.) 2. B: Megan McEachern 2, Olivia Callipari. LSW: n/a.

Fifth Place – Ankeny Centennial (Iowa) 4, Metea Valley (Ill.) 1. AC: Chloe Couves, Claire Dahm, Kayla Grenier, Adrie Gunn. MV: n/a.

Seventh Place – Waunakee (Wis.) 2, Whitefish Bay (Wis.) 0. W: Samantha Duhr, Grace Lujan.

Semifinals

Collinsville 2, Batavia 0. C: Sophia Sharos 2.

St. Charles North 2, Lee’s Summit West 1. SCN: n/a. LSW: n/a.

Consolation

Ankeny Centennial 3, Waunakee 0. AC: Meg Brandt 2, Kate Johnson.

Metea Valley 3, Whitefish Bay 0. MV: n/a.

 

Iowa Economic Development Bracket

Final: Granite City (Ill.) 3, Dunlap (Ill.) 1. 

Third Place: Sussex Hamilton (Wis.) 3, Moline (Ill.) 1.

Fifth Place: St. James (Kan.) 3, West Des Moines Valley (Iowa) 1.

Seventh Place: Peoria Notre Dame (Ill.) 7, Assumption (Iowa) 1.

Semifinals

Dunlap 3, Moline 2.

Granite City 3, Sussex Hamilton 0.

Consolation

St. James 3, Assumption 2 (PKs).

West Des Moines Valley 3, Peoria Notre Dame 0.

 

Adidas Bracket

Final: Dowling Catholic (Iowa) 5, Pewaukee (Wis.) 2.

Third Place: Belleville West (Ill.) 3, Ankeny (Iowa) 2.

Fifth Place: Middletown (Wis.), Springfield (Ill.), 0-0 tie

Seventh Place: Ozark (Mo.) 4, Lemont (Ill.) 3 (PKs).

Semifinals

Dowling Catholic 1, Belleville West 0.

Pewaukee 2, Ankeny 1.

Consolation

Middleton 2, Lemont 1.

Springfield 2, Ozark 1.

 

Round Robin

Lockport (Ill.) 1, Pekin (Ill.) 0 (PKs).

Belleville East (Ill.) 3, Manteno (Ill.) 0.

Homewood-Flossmoor (Ill.) 2, Peoria Christian (Ill.) 0.

Homewood-Flossmoor (Ill.) 2, Pekin (Ill.) 0.

Manteno (Ill.) 3, Peoria Christian (Ill.) 0.

Final Standings: 1. Lockport 3-0, 2. Belleville East 2-1, 3. Homewood-Flossmoor 2-1, 4. Pekin 1-2, 5. Manteno 1-2, 6. Peoria Christian 0-3.

 

North/South Challenge

Fort Madison (Iowa) 1, Decatur Lutheran (Ill.) 0.

Burlington Notre Dame (Iowa) 10, Decatur Lutheran (Ill.) 0.

Burlington Notre Dame (Iowa) 8, Macomb (Ill.) 0.