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Sports

Maine West Sports Roundup: Girls Soccer Gets Rare Playoff Victory

Softball and baseball both won their opening games in the playoffs.

Girls Soccer: Maine West captured its first postseason victory of the year last week. The No. 8 seed Warriors beat No. 9 seed Leyden, 1-0, in the semifinals of the Class 3A Wilmette Regional.

UPDATE: Originally reported as the first playoff win in school history, Patch has been informed that last week's victory was not the school's first. Former Maine West soccer coach Roland Hahn said that in 1991, West defeated Lake Park 3-1 in the first round of the playoffs before losing to Hoffman Estates 5-0 in the second round. Although he did not have the archived newspapers, Hahn, who was the head coach from 1987 - 1993 for both the boys and girls soccer teams, noted that the 1989 and 1990 Maine West girls soccer teams might have also won playoff games. 

Against Leyden, the Warriors scored in the 27th minute on a corner kick from junior forward Annaliese Walsten. Aided by the wind, Walsten’s kick curved in toward the net and bounded off the Leyden goalkeeper’s fingertips for the game’s only goal.  

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But Maine West’s postseason run would end three days later in the regional final against Loyola. The Ramblers, who have posted 23 shutouts in 26 games this season, defeated Maine West, 3-0, to win the Loyola Regional.

Baseball: Maine West 10, Maine East 2 on May 16. Despite losing two of its final three games to close out the regular season, Maine West showed it has the talent and potential to make a deep postseason run. The Warriors lost to Leyden -- ranked No. 10 in the state by the Chicago Tribune and the No. 1 seed in the IHSA Class 4A Glenview Sectional – in nine innings, 2-1.

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The Warriors pummeled Steinmetz, 12-0, in the first round of the IHSA Class 4A Winnetka Regional. Maine West’s regional semifinal matchup against Niles West at New Trier High School, originally planned for Thursday, was rescheduled to Saturday at 11 a.m. due to inclement weather.

The winner will face either New Trier or Lane High School in the regional final.  

Boys Volleyball: After easily dispatching of Taft in the first round of the regional tournament, Maine West fell to Niles North 25-12, 25-19 in the semifinals, ending its season.

“Niles North served well and we didn't. They passed well and we didn't,” coach Randy Tiller said. “The first time we played them, our great passing led to 26 kills in Sets 2 & 3. Tonight, we only had 12 kills, total. That's not enough offense against a strong team.”

To end the regular season, Maine West won two of three games in the Maine South Hawk Invite. The Warriors beat Maine East and Larkin, but lost to Hersey.

Maine West finished the season with a 15-21 record, including 2-8 in the CSL North. The Warriors had only won two conference games combined in the previous two seasons.

Softball: A conference championship was a nice way to cap the regular season for Maine West, especially after a rocky start to the season. But the Warriors are looking for more.

Maine West dominated Clemente, 13-1, in its regional semifinal matchup at Glenbrook North on Tuesday, scoring all of its runs in the first three innings. Gina Larucci was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and three runs scored while Katie Fitzgerald was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Ariel Valles got the win on the mound, giving up five hits and only one walk.

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