Good timing lifts St. Francis

With a high school soccer game being 80 minutes, it stands to reason that a team's level of play might be better at certain times during the contest.

That was the case late in the first half of Tuesday's Class 2A St. Francis sectional semifinal between the third-seeded hosts and second-seeded Nazareth Academy. St. Francis (10-3-1) scored what turned out to be the winning goal with just 10:06 remaining until halftime and tallied 2 more scores in the second half to prevail 3-0. The Spartans meet Wheaton Academy in the sectional final at 6 p.m. Friday. The top-seeded Warriors beat St. Francis 2-0 in late April.

"There were 12 minutes when we really got into a rhythm and did some nice things and got that first goal," said Spartans coach Jim Winslow.

Freshman Kendra Pasquale connected on a 15-yard shot to the opposite side of the net and out of reach of Roadrunners goalkeeper Peggy Masterson for that first goal.

Junior Kate LaMantia had a couple of strong scoring opportunities early in the first half, getting close to Masterson. She finally hit net with 23:11 left in the game for a much-appreciated insurance score.

"That second goal told who was in control. Before, the game was just back and forth," LaMantia said. The Spartans' defense put forth a solid effort led by winning goalkeeper Tammy Syron, who finished with 7 saves.

Winslow said that Nazareth did a little more offensively in the second half than the first, but the Spartans defense held.

"In the second half I thought they connected better than us. But they key was they couldn't get behind us," he said.

Syron's best save of the night occurred with just less than four minutes left in the game. Nazareth's Claire Ramsey 30-yard direct free kick went through a crowd, and Syron caught sight of the shot and stopped it just in time.

St. Francis finished the scoring with just five seconds left with Pasquale's second goal.

"We were all communicating well and making the runs and being in the right place at the right time," Pasquale said.

Now the Spartans have a second shot at Wheaton Academy.

"Wheaton Academy has some good midfielders. I think our midfielders are equal. We just need to step up and play our game," LaMantia said.