Girls soccer: Team effort lifts St. Charles East over Elgin
Everyone got involved for St. Charles East's girls soccer team Tuesday.
Four different players scored as the Saints broke open a close game in the second half and defeated Elgin, 4-0, in Upstate Eight River action at Memorial Field in Elgin.
Helena Niforatos scored 5 seconds before halftime to put the Saints on top. Chantel Carranza, Hannah Kolb, and Madison Cady found the back of the net after intermission for St. Charles East (3-0-1, 1-0-0).
The teams appeared headed for a scoreless first half when Niforatos took a throw-in from Ashley DiOrio deep in the Elgin zone. She dribbled in on the goal and fired a shot into the far side of the net to give the Saints some much-needed momentum going into the locker room.
"I just got the ball and shot it," said Niforatos, a freshman who scored her first varsity goal. "It felt great to give us that momentum going into halftime."
Elgin had some good chances in the first half but couldn't convert. Brittany Dazzo got off the first shot of the game. Gabriela Sanchez had a great chance late in the half, but Saints goalkeeper Grace Griffin made a diving save, knocking it away at the last second.
The second half belonged to St. Charles East, which outshot the Maroons 13-0. The Saints padded their lead when Carranza fired a shot from 30 yards out that sailed over the shoulder of Elgin keeper Hannah Erickson, clanged off the crossbar, and settled into the net.
Two minutes later, Kolb raced in on a breakaway. Erickson came out, but Kolb rolled the ball past her and it barely made the net ahead of onrushing defenders.
Cady added a late goal for St. Charles East, heading in the rebound of a shot by Morgan Kull.
"I have to give Elgin a lot of credit," said Saints coach Paul Jennison. "They were defensively very sound. They had one or two opportunities. I thought their coach did a great job of putting them in position, and this is by far the best Elgin team we've seen in our tenure.
"We were just very fortunate in the second half, the game opened up a little bit and we were able to put a couple of opportunities away. It's spring break, so there was a lot of energy and the girls just got out here and played today."