Rosary tips Wheaton Academy in closing seconds
There weren’t many scoring chances in Tuesday’s Rosary-Wheaton Academy girls soccer contest — but those chances turned into dramatic goals which added exclamation points at pivotal moments of the match.
Rosary won 2-1 when the last of those critical opportunities — an opportunistic shot from the top of the penalty area by Royals freshman Anna Sheen soared into the upper left corner of the Warriors goal. The goal was the first of Sheen’s four-match varsity career.
“It was really cool and really awesome,” Sheen said. “I saw the ball. I knew there was a minute left and I just took it for a chance.”
To be precise, there were 22 seconds remaining in the Suburban Christian Conference match and Sheen’s goal left Wheaton Academy (1-2-1, 0-1) with literally no time to mount a rally.
“It was awesome,” Sheen said. “I almost started crying.”
Rosary coach Kristy Kane said Sheen’s been moved around a bit this year as the team tries to find a spot for her in the team’s formation.
“She’s played in three positions in the first four games,” Kane said. “For her to get that shot in that fashion and at the end of the game. She and Taylor (Gibson) in the middle and Haley (Kilbride) in the middle — all three of them have worked really hard in the last two games as a team to make a difference.”
Rosary (2-1-1, 1-0) took the lead 15 minutes into the match when Quincy Kellett moved left to right across the top of the penalty area before hitting a low left-footed drive into the lower left corner of the goal.
That lead lasted 29 seconds. Wheaton Academy came right into the Royals’ end and Kate Lindsay fed Jamie Netzley, who hit a curling shot from the left side of the penalty area into the upper right corner of Rosary’s goal.
“That was great, I was real happy about that,” Wheaton Academy coach Dave Underwood said. “We’ve been working on the idea where if we can get the ball deep and get on the end of that, then good things can happen.”
Other than the drama surrounding the goals, there were few clear scoring opportunities. Wheaton Academy’s best nonscoring effort came with a quarter-hour left in the first half when Molly Thorson got onto the end of an Abby Olson corner kick and forced a goal line save from Stephanie Ebert.
“We’re young this year,” Undersood said. “We’re going to struggle on the offensive end. We’re struggling to create and to get goal scoring opportunities. When that happens, we have to have to defend flawlessly, and we didn’t.”
Kellett had Rosary’s best chances as well, including a shot three minutes after Thorson’s effort. Kellett reached a Sheen free kick and shot to force a save by Wheaton Academy keeper Julia McKee.