Girls soccer: Naperville Central catches up to St. Francis
Just when the Naperville Central girls soccer team was running out of time Thursday, junior Maddie Redeker delivered a perfectly timed run.
Snedeker broke through and converted senior defender Caitlin Reice's free kick from beyond midfield with only 4:47 left to give the Redhawks a 2-2 tie at St. Francis after trailing 2-0 at halftime.
"I kind of know by this point of the season where her balls tend to land. I was like, 'If it bounces here, then I'm just going to keep running,' " Redeker said. "I imagined in my head how I would play it. I put my foot up and that's just how I imagined it going in."
Naperville Central (2-2-1) led 15-9 in shots while both teams had 7 on goal and 2 corner kicks. The Spartans (1-0-1) put 6 on goal in the first half with goals by junior Erin Peck and sophomore Jill DiTusa.
Naperville Central first scored with 23:51 left when senior midfielder Maggie Hillman put a through ball to senior Meridith Hannan, who just beat charging goalkeeper Tammy Syron to the ball.
"We are still a work in progress, but I'm pleased that we found a way to come back," Naperville Central coach Ed Watson said. "We don't want to put ourselves down 2-0, but a lot of teams when they go down 2-0, they're done."
St. Francis struck 3:52 into play as the speedy Peck got free down right wing. Only 2:31 before halftime, DiTusa put a ball high into the air from the far right sideline 30 yards out. The stiff crosswind aided its flight into the upper-left portion of the net.
"I don't think our offense was all that great (in the first half), and they're a good defensive team," St. Francis coach Jim Winslow said. "I thought we played better in the second half. I don't think we did enough after their first goal to just kind of calm down, keep the ball. After their second goal we looked better."
The Redhawks faced challenges throughout the second half. They had six offside calls against the Spartans' flat defensive line. Just before Reice's free kick following a yellow card that stopped the clock, the referee changed the scoreboard clock from 5:35 to 4:55 to match the official time kept by her and a sidelines official.
"At one point we're like, 'OK. We have to watch (offside),' and I think the last 10 minutes we didn't get called again," Redeker said. "I think we learned a lot about who plays well in what positions and when we're down we can always build back up."
The game was added only about two weeks ago and now may become an annual event. Friends from both sides enjoyed playing each other, but between injuries, college visits and spring break beginning next week, both sides were missing regulars.
"When you play good teams early in the season, it kind of exposes some things that you need to do better," Winslow said.
Watson said Hillman played "probably one of the best games she's played for us," and praised his outside defenders for the second half, allowing his first-half starters to supplement the midfield.
St. Francis standout junior forward Kendra Pasquale made her season debut in a limited reserve role. Pasquale, who led last year's fourth-place Class 2A team with 26 goals, initially wasn't expected to play until after spring break but received medical clearance Monday from her concussion.
Pasquale and Hillman will eventually be college teammates at Illinois.
"First half was a little rough (for me), but it was really good to get back into it. I'm just easing my way back in," Pasquale said.
"They're a very good team. We knew that this game was going to be hard because they're (Class) 3A and Naperville Central. I think the big thing for us was to dig in deep and keep going. I think we had some good moments and some bad moments. As long as we stayed positive, we were good."