Ryleigh Smith saves the day, advances Crystal Lake Central to IHSA sectional championship

DEERFIELD – Ryleigh Smith tried to comprehend what had just happened as she pushed herself up from the ground Tuesday night.

After she got up and walked away from the south goal at Deerfield’s Paul Adam Field, her Crystal Lake Central teammates swarmed around her and hugged her, nearly knocking Smith down mid-stride.

About a minute before, Smith had been repeating the same phrase in her mind.

“I’ve got to get it,” Smith, a junior, kept saying to herself.

Now Smith found herself surrounded by cheering teammates.

Once Smith got a moment to figure it all out, she couldn’t believe what had just happened. Smith helped Central beat Deerfield 1-0 in penalty kicks in the Class 2A Deerfield Sectional semifinals. It was her first time taking penalty kicks as the Tigers’ starting goalkeeper.

“It means a lot to me,” Smith said. “Especially since this is my first year playing varsity and my second year playing goalie. It means a lot.”

Smith and Central (17-4-1) found themselves in the same spot for the second straight season. A year after the Tigers beat Lake Forest in penalty kicks in the Class 2A Deerfield Sectional semifinals last season, they had to do it all again Tuesday.

Although Smith played mostly junior varsity last season, she joined the Tigers on their championship run in the playoffs. Smith watched from the sidelines as last season’s starting goalkeeper Addison Cleary made a couple big saves in order for Central to win.

Smith carried those lessons with her Tuesday.

“I learned a lot from Cleary,” Smith said. “She kept her feet really active and all that.”

After Deerfield’s Ryane Emory and Central sophomore Katelyn Hallum each made their first shots to keep it tied after the first round, Smith stopped a direct shot from Leah Cohen. Central senior Lizzie Gray made her shot and then Smith made another save in the third round.

Tigers freshman Allison Barnett made her shot to make it 3-1 after the third round before Deerfield’s Olivia Levin made her shot in the fourth round. Tigers junior Addison Schaffer missed in the fourth, but so did Deerfield’s Rachel Bennie in the fifth.

Then the celebrations began.

“She knew she had the 20 girls behind her and we’re gonna support her no matter what,” Central coach Leah Rutkowski said. “That’s pretty powerful, going into those things knowing that you’ve got your team behind you.”

Smith came through for her team after she didn’t have to do much for most of the match. She didn’t see her first shot on goal until there were 21 minutes left in the match and ultimately made three saves.

Although things were relatively quiet for Smith before the penalty kicks, the Tigers constantly pressured Warriors goalkeeper sophomore Aubrey Putz. Central dominated the match’s time of possession and ended the match with nine shots on goal.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, they couldn’t get a final touch on the ball to finish a scoring chance.

“I think it was just because the middle was so congested,” Gray said. “It was a lot harder to get it out. And then when we did get it out, we didn’t really have the numbers up. But I think during the overtime, we had a lot more numbers and that’s why we were so much closer.”

Central will look to finish on those scoring chances when it plays St. Viator for the sectional title at 4:30 p.m. Friday. The Tigers will play in their fourth straight sectional championship and look to win their third straight.

“It means a lot to me. Especially since this is my first year playing varsity and my second year playing goalie. It means a lot.”

—  Ryleigh Smith, Crystal Lake Central goalkeeper

The Lions beat the Tigers 2-0 in April, but Central feels like it’s a different team than it was back then. The Tigers will get a chance to show that Friday.

“We’re so close to making it as far as we can go,” Gray said. “So I want to keep the energy up, keep it positive and make sure everyone knows how exciting and special it is how far we’ve come.”