High school girls soccer: Richmond-Burton shuts out Johnsburg in Class 1A regional final

JOHNSBURG – Richmond-Burton’s Kendall Haugaard knows how important communication is for a goalkeeper. Her booming voice could be heard from all over the field in R-B’s 4-0 regional championship win over Johnsburg on Friday.

“It’s easy to leave someone open,” Haugaard said after her shutout. “Communicate and shift over and keep marking up in the back.”

The Rockets (7-9-2) scored three times in the final 15 minutes to extend a one-goal lead to four by the final horn at the Class 1A Johnsburg Regional. That included two goals in the final 4:28.

The R-B back line often staved off the Skyhawks (3-12-1) before Haugaard had to.

“She’s a leader back there,” R-B coach Casey DeCaluwe said of his goalkeeper. “She will demand everything out of that back line, and if she sees something she doesn’t like, she will demand that it changes. It’s really nice having a safety blanket.”

Haugaard made eight saves Friday.

The Rockets advance to face North Shore Country Day at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Class 1A Cristo Rey St. Martin Sectional in Waukegan. North Shore Country Day was the Class 1A state runner-up last year.

R-B won its fourth regional title in five seasons. Three of those came in Class 1A, while the 2016 title was in 2A. A year ago, R-B went home empty-handed.

“It’s a new group of girls,” DeCaluwe said. “We had a few that were back from our 2017 regional title. Getting a new group of girls to buy in and to understand that the postseason is a new season – we start fresh – and to bring intensity like they did today really showed that they’re ready to go. Who knows how long this trip can go?”

Senior captain Charlie Holas was one of the few who was a member of that 2017 regional title team her sophomore season.

“I didn’t really know what it meant at the time because it was my first year on varsity,” Holas said. “Now the expectations were so much higher, and we just wanted to come together so that we can have some pride for our school and ourselves.”

R-B’s Audrey Orkild opened the scoring in the ninth minute. For a long time, it was the only goal. Anne Bilik (66th minute) and Sierra Wells (76th minute) were credited with goals that deflected off Johnsburg defenders. Victoria Rockwell added the fourth goal in the 77th minute.

Johnsburg coach Adam Bronars didn’t think the Skyhawks created enough quality scoring chances.

This was the third time these two met. R-B won both Kishwaukee River Conference matchups by a score of 1-0.

“It’s a little tricky because you would like to do something a little different, but you don’t want to get your players out of their comfort zone,” Bronars said. “At the same time, you don’t know if they’re going to add a wrinkle."

Johnsburg’s Hayley Schmidt made 13 saves in goal.

STAR OF THE GAME

Kendall Haugaard, Richmond-Burton, jr., GK

Haugaard made eight saves in a Rockets shutout against rival Johnsburg. R-B won the Class 1A Johnsburg Regional championship game, 4-0.

THE NUMBER

4: R-B won its fourth regional title in the past five seasons. The Rockets won regionals in 2015, 2016, 2017 and now again in 2019. The 2016 regional was in Class 2A, while the rest were in Class 1A.

AND ANOTHER THING …

Johnsburg was seeking its third consecutive Class 1A regional title.

Richmond-Burton 4, Johnsburg 0

Jbg 0 0 – 0

R-B 1 3 – 4

First half 

R-B – Orkild, 9th minute.

Second half 

R-B – Bilik, 66th minute.

R-B – Wells, 76th minute.

R-B – Rockwell, 77th minute.

Goalkeeper saves – Johnsburg: Haley Schmidt 13. Richmond-Burton: Haugaard 8.