New Goalie Pitches Shutout In Second Varsity Start

Kanako Wagner didn’t get a chance to finish what she started Tuesday night in Glenview.

But the opportunities in goal for Evanston’s girls soccer team will all be hers going forward.

Wagner, a sophomore goalkeeper making just her second varsity start, helped the Wildkits earn a 1-0 victory over Glenbrook South in a battle of once-beaten teams. The victory assured the Kits of a second place finish behind New Trier in the Central Suburban League South division.

The sophomore keeper stopped six shots Tuesday but fell on her left shoulder after making a save in the final minute of play. The Wildkits had to summon an emergency goalie, Jocelyn Leigh --- who incidentally had scored the only goal of the game earlier --- for the final 40 seconds.

Wagner had to take over in the nets when senior starter Shea Lucas suffered a separated shoulder during the team’s trip to a tournament in Iowa last weekend. Until then, Lucas had logged almost all of the minutes in goal with Wagner serving as a backup.

Now it’s her turn on the last line of defense.

“Shea got hurt in the first 10 minutes of our Iowa trip, and that’s just devastating for her. I feel so bad because she’s a senior and has done such a great job for us this year,” said ETHS head coach Stacy Salgado. “But I think Kana is ready to go. I know the team has confidence in her, too.

“I really feel for Shea because she has stepped up as a leader for us this year (team co-captain), but it’s not likely she’s going to be able to play the rest of the year. You never know when something like this is going to come up. They’ve both worked together so well and they’re both each other’s No. 1 supporter. We just hope we train them and prepare them for something like this.

“The big picture is that the team believes in Kana. If the team believes in Kana, and Kana believes in herself, we’re good.”

Ironically, Lucas was in a similar position during her sophomore year in the program. She had to jump in to replace starter Ariel Kite in the third place game at the Illinois High School Association state finals when Kite was sidelined by a rib injury.

Wagner finished off a 2-0 shutout win over Middleton (Wis.) when Lucas was sidelined, but then yielded three goals in a 5-3 victory over another Wisconsin team, Pewaukee, on that Iowa trip.

“I was scared, and I was in my head too much in that game,” Wagner confessed. “I was in my own head at first when this happened because it’s completely different playing against varsity teams. I had to calm down and match the level they were at. And I was relying too much on Shea. Now, I have to rely on myself.

“I was a little upset that they took me out tonight. Absolutely, I wanted to finish what I started, and you saw that I was ready to go back in (but the clock ran out before she could re-enter).”

Wagner didn’t expect much playing time behind Lucas when the season started, but also recognized that she had to stay ready while training alongside the senior goalie.

“I knew I just had to be ready at any time,” she said. “I have to step up. It’s a great opportunity for me and it’s going to be my (goalie) box now.

“I’ve played against Under-18 and Under-19 teams in club but this game tonight was much tougher. These girls really want it at this level. But I’ve been a goalie for six or seven years now and I think my strength is my reaction time. After doing it for six or seven years, I SHOULD be pretty good at it.”

After Leigh converted a pass from Bridget Durkin for a goal in the game’s 26th minute, it was up to Wagner to keep the Titans off the board. Most of her saves were of the routine variety until the hosts started turning up the heat in the final 10 minutes of the contest.

Early in the second half, a hand ball violation against the Kits gave South’s Lindsey Ciss to test the new keeper with a free kick from the 15-yard line, but her shot soared over the net. Ciss posed a threat again with about seven and a half minutes to play with another restart, only to see ETHS defender Maizlyn Kelly block the effort in front of the goal.

Wagner collided with South’s Megan Murray --- who appeared to slide into the sophomore on what clearly wasn’t a 50-50 ball --- near the goal mouth with 4:12 left on the clock and she need a few seconds to regroup.

She did more than just regroup. She flew into the air to knock away South’s best opportunity of the game with 40 seconds left, a laser shot from the right side by South’s Sophie Piekarski, but landed awkwardly and needed some assistance from the trainer before eventually coming out of the game.

“It was a good battle, a good test for us, and overall it was a good team win,” said Salgado after her squad improved to 14-1-1 overall. “GBS is a solid team and this is a strong conference, with a lot of good teams in it.”

The Wildkits learned last week that they have earned the No. 2 seed for the Class 3A New Trier Sectional, behind the host Trevians.

Evanston will serve as regional host when postseason play opens. The Wildkits will play No. 15 seed Maine West on May 14 at 5 p.m., and with a win would move on to the title game May 17 against either Whitney Young or Jones.