^{Preview Play-by-play Recap}

Preview

Semifinal #2: Stevenson (26-8) vs St Ignatius (25-4)

Game Time: 10:15am; Saturday, May 21

Coaches: Stevenson-Jeff Wimer (11th year) / St Ignatius-Mike Cashman (6th year)

How They Got Here: Stevenson beat NC 8-7 in the quarterfinals. St Ignatius beat Loyola 10-6 in the quarterfinals.

Previous 2011 Meetings: Tied 1-1. Ignatius won 8-5 on 4/8, while Stevenson won 7-5 on 4/25.

Current Rankings: Stevenson - #6 / St Ignatius - #3

Top Performers: Stevenson (Karen Lowry - 97 goals) (Cheyenne Montijo - 92 goals)/St Ignatius (Kate Stelnicki - 90 goals)

The Goalies: NC (Julia Campbell) / Stevenson (Lisa Michalowski)

Talking Points: Well, this ought to be interesting. The teams split their season series, with Ignatius winning 8-5 at the Fenwick Tournament and Stevenson winning at home 7-5 late in the season. Stevenson will once again have the home-pool advantage, so the Wolfpack will need to try and get off to a solid start to quell the home crowd's enthusiasm. Both teams have been on fire down the stretch of the season, with the Wolfpack winning their first Catholic League title and stomping through their own sectional to get to state, while the Patriots earned several key wins down the stretch, including a 9-5 win over Mundelein at sectionals. None of their wins was as back as the one they earned over Naperville Central in overtime on Thursday, so they will look to carry that momentum into the next round against Ignatius. The Wolfpack looked dominant at times against Loyola, so they will be looking for more of the same on Saturday morning in their quest for a state title.

Other Players to Watch: 

Stevenson (Cami Haas, Erin McCook, Sam Petti, Shelby Kohalmy, Tori St John)

St Ignatius (Maggie Maloney, Becky Insalaco, M. Murphy, Rebecca Martinez, Stephanie Fernandez, Tammy Stelnicki)