High Marx for the goalies as Stevenson ties Warren

Emma Marx is glad to be back on the field, and so are her Stevenson girls soccer teammates.

The senior keeper had an injury in the opening game of the season, and it kept her out of the lineup for the past month.

In a collision with a Maine South player, Marx broke her nose and needed to have surgery. The good news is that she's been able to return, and her start Tuesday was the second since rejoining the team.

Marx was wearing a protective mask like you might see on the basketball court. She made 9 stops, including a couple point-blank saves, and stopped a couple of breakaways, all of which helped Stevenson secure a 1-1 draw with Warren in a North Suburban Lake matchup in Lincolnshire.

"It just feels good to come back," Marx said. "This was my best game. It was a bit difficult with the mask on, and it's not the most comfortable thing.

"You've got to get used to it, and not think about it."

The Patriots (3-4-1, 0-1-1) now have the luxury of a couple of keepers as starter-caliber. Sophomore Hannah Petrich filled in and did a great job for Marx, leaving coach Kevin Heffernan with some winning choices.

"Emma was our starter at the beginning of the year," Heffernan said. "Actually, before the game we talked to them both. We hadn't decided who was going to play. We wanted to see the warm-ups.

"It's like the hockey goalie (situation with the Blackhawks) - whoever is playing well at that time is going in. Both of them understand that. Emma had the reach on the ball with the wind and the curving, so we decided to go that way. They both have accepted to split games, and they're both good goalies."

Stevenson took a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute when Savannah Kruse found the back of the net off a long service from Kylie Kirsch.

Warren (2-5-2, 1-0-2) tied it at 1-1 in the second half when Alliyah Parker collected a deflected ball and hit a half-volley in the 64th minute.

Blue Devils keeper Liz Carrano made 5 stops under very windy conditions.

"I'm definitely happy, it wasn't a fluke, it was a good goal," Warren coach Ryan McCabe said. "It was well-deserved and a pretty even match as he score indicates. The opportunities were there, but we just have to finish them.

"We're definitely ready for this conference stuff, because its pretty stacked this year. It will be a good test. There's a lot of good competition and some good, hard battles. You never know what's going to happen day by day and game to game."

Warren next hosts Lake Forest on Thursday, when Stevenson travels to Lake Zurich (8-3-1, 2-1).