Oak Park and River Forest High School senior Addison Bliss was still spinning after she scored the season’s biggest goal in the Class 3A Morton Regional final, May 23.
“Honestly, I don’t normally score,” Bliss said after the Huskies defeated the Mustangs 1-0 to advance to the sectional semifinals at Downers Grove South. “I got a ball off the left side of the box. I saw a shot and I took it. It went in and I was extremely happy about it.”
Bliss’s goal, coming off a corner kick from Abby Cockerill, came with 13:55 left in the first half.
“Addison had a great left-footed shot,” said OPRF coach Lauren Zallis, “and it was beautiful.”
Oak Park and River Forest High School girls soccer player Addison Bliss (#3) protects the ball from Morton’s Karina Estrada-Vargas (#16) at the Class 3A Morton Regional final, May 23. Bliss scored the only goal of the match as the Huskies won 1-0 to advance to the Downers Grove South Sectional. (Courtesy of Carol Dunning) 
Oak Park and River Forest High School girls soccer player Lola Zarate brings the ball upfield against Morton during the Huskies’ 1-0 victory at the Class 3A Morton Regional final, May 23. (Courtesy of Carol Dunning) 
Oak Park and River Forest High School girls soccer players Malie Cassel (#7) and Abby Cockerill (#2) happily run towards Madison Bliss (#3) after Bliss scored the game’s only goal in the Huskies’ 1-0 victory over Morton at the Class 3A Morton Regional final, May 23. (Courtesy of Carol Dunning)
OPRF (14-6-1) largely dominated possession for the majority of the contest and narrowly missed out on more goals. Cockerill twice hit the crossbar in the first half, and Tea Dassinger had a great look at a wide-open net late in the half, but pushed her shot wide left.
The Huskies thought they had scored early in the second half on a header from Malie Cassel off a free kick, but they were ruled offside.
Morton came on strong down the stretch and appeared to tie the game with 5:18 left when Karina Estrada-Vargas tapped in a rebound on the right side. However, the officials ruled the Mustangs offside, nullifying the goal. Morton wouldn’t seriously threaten again as OPRF went on to win its first regional since 2021. OPRF has played in several close matches this year, and Zallis believed that experience proved beneficial against Morton.
“We’ve seen a lot of adversity and faced these situations,” she said. “They’ve been able to learn how to manage that intensity.”
The Huskies, seeded second at Downers South, met York in a semifinal May 27, after press time. A win would put OPRF in the sectional title game, May 30, versus either Hinsdale Central or Lyons Township.
“I haven’t had [a regional title] in high school, so this feels great,” Bliss said.
Fenwick
Missing 10 games with a broken right hand, Fenwick senior Kiera Mullarkey returned to action, May 13, on Senior Night. Sporting a pink cast, Mullarkey was among just three senior starters as the Friars lost to Lyons Township 3-1 in the Reavis Regional final Friday.
This was the second straight year in 3A for Fenwick (11-9-1) in the postseason.
“We definitely were a newer team this year, but once we got our playing style, we were able to play well together,” said Mullarkey, who started along with seniors Kiera Kapsch on defense and midfielder Clare Kapsch.
Fenwick, the No. 4 seed in the Downers Grove South Sectional, took a 1-0 lead when freshman Lily Gaddipati scored her team-high 17th goal off a right-wing cross from freshman Keira Magee 21:17 before halftime.
However, only 1:15 later, the No. 5 Lions (10-9-1) tied the game and took the lead 13:09 before halftime. Their third goal came with 32:26 left.
“I think we kind of put our heads down after they got some of the momentum and then they were able to build off of that,” Mullarkey said.
“[The momentum swing] was unfortunate. It was always going to be a tough game against a good Lyons opponent,” Fenwick coach Craig Blazer said. “Being down 2-1 was tough but I liked how we fought all the way until the end. I thought we could potentially score right before half on that corner kick but the girls did as well as they could. They played the way we trained. I’m very proud of the girls.”
The Friars allowed just 18 regular-season goals. They had perhaps their most satisfying victory 1-0 over Benet May 12.
“I hope the players come back next year wanting to keep going and fighting for each other,” Mullarkey said.
Trinity
The Blazers (6-9-1) ended their season with a 7-0 defeat at Lemont in the Class 2A Lemont Regional semifinals. Junior Grace Ramel led Trinity with 31 goals.
