Girls soccer: Deerfield pulls away against Grant

In search of its first win, Grant's girls soccer team has made it tough for some opponents. The Bulldogs tied Mundelein and had a scoreless draw against Richmond-Burton.

On Saturday afternoon, Grant hosted Class 2A state runner-up Deerfield. The Bulldogs were in a close game for the first 40 minutes until the Warriors came alive with four second-half goals.

Grant ended up on the losing side of a 5-0 decision in a nonconference match in Fox Lake.

"Our girls put forth effort and they started to go for the ball," said Grant coach Michael Kennedy, whose team is now 0-4-2. "It's something we've talked about all year. Just go to the ball. It doesn't take much effort. We did have some mistakes in the back that cost us in the second half, but the effort was there. Deerfield was a good team. I told the girls not to make anything easy for them. I think we pestered them a little bit."

Grant keeper Lexi Werve made 8 of her 12 saves in the fist half.

"She's been good in goal for us all year," Kennedy said. "You can make so many saves like she did in the Mundelein game. Defensively, we're young and still learning."

Deerfield (4-5-3) got on the board in the fifth minute, as Erin Rosenzweig scored on a rebound near the goal. The Warriors didn't strike again, however, until Malori Killoren sent a shot from up top under the crossbar after taking a pass from Rosenzweig in the 52nd minute.

Haley Emory netted a goal from a Lauren Goodsnyder pass two minutes later. Kat Stanaszek and Marissa Hyland completed the scoring.

"I thought (Werve) had a nice game today," Deerfield coach Rich Grady said. "She had a number of good saves. We had to be aware of our opportunities and not waste the chances. We wanted to put the ball on the frame and let (Werve) make the challenging save."