Carmel Catholic graduates to supersectional berth
Top-seeded Carmel Catholic (18-3-1) displayed its talent Friday afternoon, eliminating St. Viator 2-0 to capture the Class 2A sectional championship hosted by the Lions.
The victory puts the Corsairs on the brink of their first girls soccer state tournament appearance since 2008.
John Halloran's team next plays in Tuesday's Concordia University supersectional. The Corsairs' foe will be decided Saturday when Chicago Payton plays Chicago Noble/Pritzer in the Fenton sectional final in Bensenville.
"This game today was one of those games that make you nervous from start to end," said Halloran.
After watching his team hoist the sectional hardware, the coach took a deep breath while flat on his back on the turf at Morris Stadium in Arlington Heights.
"There were so many factors in this one," Halloran said. "We have graduation tonight, we beat St. Viator (6-1) in our previous meeting, we went through a Thor-Guard delay which only raised the level of stress for the girls, knowing they likely would be late for their graduation - and finally, when we lost the coin flip, we had to play into a 25-mph wind."
Despite all that, the Corsairs conceded nothing to the Lions.
"We felt all along if we could find a way to put one in first, we would have everything in our power to keep them out of the back of the net and advance into the supers," said St. Viator coach Mike Taylor. "I can honestly say we would have a good chance of going through to the state tournament, just as I feel John's ballclub will next week."
If the big crowd, on this hot and humid day was expecting free-flowing soccer, it was sadly disappointed.
"It was an ugly game," said Carmel sophomore Haley Miller, who proved to be a key figure in the Corsairs' big win along with her back-line mates Mary Murphy and Emma Kobitter. They were able to shut down the Lions' attack, which came from the outside most of the time.
"We knew this game wouldn't be anything like the first one - coach Halloran reminded us of that by saying we're coming in here today and its zero-zero, and a new day and new game, and that's how we treated it," said Carmel goalie Christina O'Block, who met many challenges, particularly in the second period when St. Viator went with three up top and began to push more numbers forward in its search for a tying goal.
A defense-splitting ball played through from MacKenzie Runyan set Kayla Handel free, and after taking one more touch she finished in close on a 17th-minute strike.
"Kayla was a starter as a sophomore last time we won a regional title (in 2013), and she has the ability to come up big-time when we really needed her to," said Halloran.
An already physical match became more so after intermission, and following a 20-minute delay due to lightning, the Lions continued to press forward. But none of the handful of quality chances went the St. Viator's way.
Molly Murphy raced up the left side before sending a wonderful ball into the box, where Delia Douglas nearly drove in her shot in the 50th minute. Later Kayne Stanley thumped her header over the bar after going up to meet a corner from Lauren Kohn.
"We had difficulties scoring all season long, and our inability to finish caught up to us today," said Taylor. "But credit John - he has a very good team, and they should go far from here on out."
Senior Jennifer Doyle put the icing on the Corsairs' cake at 78 minutes, finishing what Angela Salvi started.
"Each possession was challenged hard by both teams, and there was never any room or space to do a thing with the ball," said Halloran. "But our resolve today says a lot about this team, and now we're one game closer to getting to the state finals."