Girls soccer: Metea Valley speeds past St. Francis
No one seems to be able to get in Metea Valley's way and slow the Mustangs down these days.
And if anyone does, they've been getting run over.
You can add St. Francis to that list.
Despite already hosting its Senior Night last Saturday, Metea Valley sort of had another one on Thursday as its nine seniors were treated to the opportunity to play one final time at home once and for all. The Mustangs made the most of it as they continued their dominant play, heading into the postseason with a 3-0 nonconference win over St. Francis in Aurora.
Metea Valley (13-3-4), which has lost only once since April 8, jumped on the Spartans early.
"It was like the opposite of last year when we went up 3-0 in about 12 minutes," St. Francis coach Jim Winslow said. "Kendra (Pasquale) hit 3 quick ones and for all intents and purposes the game was over early, so it was kind of ironic with what happened tonight."
St. Francis (8-5-2) found itself on its heels from the very beginning as Sophia Majher, Jade Eriksen-Russo and Maeve Riordan all scored early in the first half to allow the Mustangs to cruise to victory.
"We expect to play our best soccer in May and I think so far we're doing that," Eriksen-Russo said. "You get going on a run like this when you are practicing everyday with the same girls and you learn how to play well together. That chemistry keeps growing and that's helped us to get where we're now at."
The Mustangs have shut out six of their last seven opponents, outscoring them 30-1.
"We're having a lot of fun playing as a team and we're winning," Riordan said. "Our goal was to try to keep getting better like we have."
Riordan showed a comfort level in playing with Eriksen-Russo and Mahjer when she took a cross that bounded off some players before she found the net to make it 3-0 midway through the first half.
"The ball got past me so I had to move on it," Riordan said. "I was able to just turn my hips and put it in. That was pretty awesome."
The Mustangs will turn their attention to the Class 3A Waubonsie Valley regional semifinals where they will face Plainfield Central on Tuesday.
The Spartans will do the same in the Class 2A St. Ignatius regional semifinals against Chicago Kennedy. Facing tough 3A opponents, such as Metea Valley should have them ready.
"We adjusted in the second half and learned from our mistakes pretty quickly," St. Francis junior midfielder Claire Hensley said. "We remained positive even when we got down and we didn't get on each other. That was big. In the second half we built off of that and the second half was a 0-0 game. That should help when we play on Tuesday."