Carmel times it right against Mundelein

Thursday's evening fast-approaching storms actually seemed to help Carmel Catholic's girls soccer team put a little wind in its sails.

The Corsairs got a game-winning goal from Angela Salvi late in the first half, which helped them net their third straight victory as Carmel shut out host Mundelein 1-0 in a nonconference match.

The game was called at halftime because of sustained lightning in the area. After waiting for 30-plus minutes, the schools decided to call it; based on IHSA rules it counts as a completed match.

"It was vital to get a goal, and we talked about it before the game," said Carmel Catholic coach John Halloran, whose team is now 6-1-1. "We knew that this was a possibility. We knew that we had to be leading by the half. If we have to go into the second half, then we can't fall behind. We got the goal and the weather held off just long enough for the half."

The game was scoreless until the 38th minute, when Kayla Handel was outside the box to the right side and sent a ball in front of the goal. Salvi settled it and put the ball into the back of the net.

Handel is no stranger in picking up assists.

"Well, I saw the clock was running down and knew with the upcoming weather we needed to score," Handel said. "I just found Angie (Salvi) in the center and we finished the half strong.

"We can pass, we can connect and we're very technical and it's exciting. Actually, I have moved to the outside of the field and that way I can cross the ball, and it's one of my strengths of a player. We also have enough strong players that can finish in the midfield."

Corsairs keeper Christina O'Block made one stop to earn a shutout.

Mundelein had some early looks at a chance for a goal in the match, but the Mustangs suffered their second loss of the season while falling to 3-2-2.

"Obviously, it's disappointing, but there's safety issues here," Mundelein coach Ernie Billittier said. "We knew (the lightning) wasn't going away anytime soon.

"Regardless, you can't give up a goal in the last five minutes of a half."

The Mustangs had some problems late in the half that lead to Corsairs' goal.

"We didn't do good enough job with our spacing," Billittier said. "(Carmel) did a nice job of attacking. For the most part, we had some good defensive shape."