Torrito, DuPage edge Harper with late goal

Through nearly 84 minutes, of soccer at Harper College on Tuesday, the Hawks and an 11-woman squad from College of DuPage played to a goal-less draw.

"That game could have gone either way," said DuPage coach William Fajkus.

It ended up favoring the Chaparrals, thanks to a late goal.

After being held in check for most of the contest, sophomore striker Angela Torrito (IC Catholic Prep) worked her magic, scoring her 15th goal of the season with 6:33 left.

The Chaparrals' coaching staff knows what kind of a player they have on their hands.

"(Torrito) is one of the top ten scorers in the country," said Fajkus, "and she just took her chance."

Despite the 1-0 loss, Harper coach Dwayne Cruz was please with his team's effort.

"I'm happy with what I see," Cruz said. "I see what we need to fix."

Playing a zone defense, Harper was able to push Torrito into less dangerous areas, and always with a defender.

"They were agressive (defensively)," Torrito said of the Hawks' first-half defense, led by goalie Nicole Soderholm (13 saves).

After spending most of first half defending, the Hawks were the aggressors for the better part of the second half.

"We had a conversation at half time," Cruz said. "We really stepped up (in the second half) - we attacked a ton."

Cruz said he's team's second-half play, "was the best soccer I've seen from them the whole season."