Thomas lifts Hurricanes to first state-tourney

Updated: May 31, 2011 9:28PM

Marian Central’s Susan Thomas had something to prove and she made her point emphatically.

Thomas had three goals and Laura LeFevour added two assists to send Marian Central to its first state-tournament appearance in program history with a 4-0 victory Tuesday over Lakes in a Class 2A supersectional at Barrington.

“The last time we played Lakes, I played really bad and my coach [Kristian Rockall] let me know it,” Thomas said. “So I came out this game determined to show him what I could do.”

The Hurricanes will play the winner of the Lemont-Peoria Notre Dame supersectional in a state semifinal at 11 a.m. Friday at Naperville Central.

“We’ve been confident the whole time and played great today and I felt like we really deserved it,” LeFevour said. ”Making it to state for the first time is amazing. We’ve done something no other Marian team has ever done.”

Thomas started the scoring 18:06 into the first half with a flick in at the near post off a corner kick from LeFevour before scoring twice in less than three minutes in the second half to complete her hat trick for Marian Central (19-9).

“[Thomas] was mad at me at halftime, because I was on her about a foul she had made in the first half [and scoring a hat trick] was her way of taking it out [on me], I think,” Rockall said. “Maybe I need to get mad at her more often?”

LeFevour also assisted Samantha Koffler’s goal with 22:15 remaining in the second that made it 2-0 for Hurricanes, who have won 17 of 19 since a 2-7 start to the season, mostly against Class 3A schools.

“Early in the season we were trying to figure out who we were as a team,” LeFevour said. “We finally were able to click and now we know our skills and know we have the great players to keep going.”

The Hurricanes’ backline of Tess Bottorff, Megan Hart, Susan Piggot and Megan Graf limited Lakes to two shots on goal -- both saved by Kaitlyn Logan. Marian Central, which beat the Eagles 1-0 in the final game of the regular season, has outscored its opponents 21-1 in the post season.

Sarah Fitzpatrick made six saves for Lakes (11-14). The Eagles won 10 of 15 games after eight consecutive losses to reach the supersectionals for the second time in three seasons.

“Considering people doubted we would even make it out of our regional it was awesome to win the sectional,” Lakes midfielder Ashley Neubeck said. “This is a strong program and it means a lot to keep showing we can continue to build.”

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