WASHINGTON — Notre Dame couldn't generate a goal against Lisle Benet in a showdown between Illinois girls soccer powers Tuesday.

And now the Irish's dream of an Illinois High School Association state finals appearance will pass on to the team's next generation.

No. 5 Notre Dame's vaunted defense almost got it where it wanted to go, but it wasn't quite enough against No. 1 Benet, which eliminated the Irish, 1-0, in double-overtime in the Class 2A Washington Supersectional at Babcook Field.

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"It was such a great four years, this was truly the best team I ever played on," said Notre Dame senior midfielder Claire Girard, who will attend Marquette next fall and is considering trying to play club soccer there. "This could have gone either way. But these girls, they are my family and I'm truly going to miss them."

Senior goalkeeper Addie Jennetten sat on the bench, sobbing, as the team gathered in front of her for final remarks from coach Ben Ralph. They know how close they came to becoming the first Notre Dame girls soccer team since 2015 to reach the state finals and pursue the program's first-ever state title.

"It hurts," said all-state goalkeeper Jennetten, who posted 30 shutouts in her final two seasons and will be at Iowa State in the fall. "I might try to play club soccer (at Iowa State), but if not, then this was my last soccer game. It's pretty emotional.

"This team is family. These girls, we've been playing soccer together for 12 years, grew up together. Now it's over, and that's really hard."

Jennetten, Girard, Lauren DellaValle, Meredith Oliver, Lucy Byrkit, Sophia Stickelmaier and Jane Geers.

Seniors all. Teammates no more.

How it played out

The match was a defensive battle, as expected, with Notre Dame bringing 18 shutouts to the table and Benet with 15.

Notre Dame freshman Abigail Chaddock left-footed a deflected ball from about 25 yards on the right side with 6:10 left in the first half. It deflected a second time on the way through traffic and was grabbed by Benet goalkeeper Shannon Clark.

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Benet Academy star Anna Casmere — who had 13 goals and 12 assists in 23 games — nearly broke the scoreless deadlock with 4:10 left in the half when her drive from 15 yards away on the right side smacked off the crossbar.

The game turned during the first 10 minutes of the second half when Benet sustained its attack and was able to maintain pressure and move the game inside Notre Dame's 45-yard perimeter.

It forced the Irish to spend a lot of energy defensively.

With 13:48 left in regulation and the game still scoreless, Casmere raced down the right side, outside the hashmarks, and sent a hooking shot that crossed the width of the goal and deflected off the left post and away.

Notre Dame caught its second wind in the final seven minutes or so, and nearly won it when Girard flashed open in the middle but produced a strike from 20 yards out that zipped just over the crossbar.

"Twenty minutes, and you guys got the rest of the night off," Notre Dame's Ralph said, joking with his players during a brief break before the two 10-minute overtime sessions commenced.

"We got this," said junior forward Mya Wardle. "One goal."

An overtime ending

Overtime in high school girls soccer is not sudden-death, so no golden goals. Tie games after regulation are followed by two 10-minute overtime sessions. You score all you can. By the time those OT sessions started, there were two exhausted teams on the pitch.

Girard sent a nice drive from about 25 yards with 6:40 left in the first overtime, but it was just a touch wide of the left post.

Benet freshman Annie Fitzgerald made the heroic game-winning kick with 6:05 left, her boot from about 15 yards out on the right side dropping downward and hooking across the goalmouth into the far corner.

"I didn't see it clearly," Jennetten said. "It's hard sometimes to tell how much dip the ball has. It was just a really good shot.

"We had been chasing, chasing, chasing them and our defense had played so well, and I think we got fatigued. But we left it all on the field."

Living in the now, excited for the future

Notre Dame forward Mya Wardle is an NCAA Division-I basketball talent, a tremendous athlete who took on a multi-sport role this season by coming back to soccer.

She was among the elite players in the area, and she is squarely positioned to be one of those senior leaders next year positioned to help Notre Dame make that final step.

"This team has been a lifesaver for me," Wardle said. "I came back to this team and they embraced me. It saved my life, because after losing badly in basketball and being disappointed, I needed this lift. It was the right decision for me.

"To be welcomed and be part of this and contribute, it was really special."

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Notre Dame finished 18-4-2 and lived and died by the shutout. The Irish won all 18 of their games by shutout. All four of their losses were also by shutout. They did not win a game in which their opponent scored a goal.

Benet is 20-4 and heads on to the IHSA Class 2A state finals, where it will meet 18-3 Crystal Lake Central in a 1 p.m. semifinal Friday at Naperville.

"They had us pinned back there for a while and our goalkeeper and our defense battled and got us to overtime," Ralph said. "It could have gone either way. But I'll remember how it all started for this team in winter workouts, how devoted they were throughout the season and how much our seniors led this and wanted this.

"And I'll remember how fun it was."

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA girls soccer: Notre Dame loses to Lisle Benet in Class 2A supersectional