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St. Edward runs win streak to 8

Fresh off winning the title at the Green Wave Invitational over the weekend, St. Edward's girls soccer team jumped right back into the fray of the Suburban Christian Conference schedule with a head of steam on Monday.

The Green Wave (15-2) extended their win streak to 8 with a 3-0 victory at Greg True Field over visiting Marian Central to remain undefeated at 5-0 in the SCC.

Alex Zeller had a pair of goals and Emily Witt also scored for the Green Wave.

"We knew it was going to a tough game because we are tired and stiff from the weekend," St. Edward coach Tim Brieger said. "But we also knew it was a big one for us in the conference. The first half was a little frustrating because we weren't finishing on our scoring opportunities, but we just kept pushing forward."

Witt got the Green Wave on the board with 12:20 left in the first half as she launched a 25-yard shot just off the outstretched hands of the Hurricanes' goalkeeper Kersten Green. It was just Witt's second goal of the season.

"Sarah (Madden) fed me a nice pass and I was able to get it just over the goalkeeper's head," Witt said. "We were coming off a really long weekend, so it was tough to concentrate. But we still knew even though we were tired we had to keep playing hard."

Witt also had a big defensive play early in the second half when she stopped a ball from going into the net with a header on a backside shot after goalkeeper Paige Dykstra had gone to cover the near post.

"That definitely earned her player of the game," Brieger said. "You don't see a player get a goal and a save in the same game very often."

The defensive unit, which includes starters Witt, Dykstra, Casey Gredzieleski, Kathleen Duffy, and Megan Kearney, recorded their seventh straight shutout. Dykstra had 4 saves.

"It's a veteran unit that has been together for 3 years," Brieger said. "They always seem to be in the right place to cover for each other and they take a lot of pride."

Zeller added two late insurance goals, both assisted by Corey Lepoudre, to give her 12 for the season.

"Having two other strong forwards like Allison (Kruk) and Chelsea (Gnan) is so beneficial," Zeller said. "We are always able to keep the defense off guard. As a team we are pushing hard every game because we are determined to make it to state this year."

Marian Central fell to 2-7, 2-4.

"We clearly got beat by the better team today," Marian Central coach Karl Smith said. "We have been a difficult team to score against, but they put a lot of pressure on you."

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