Marmion finally plays first home game, beats St. Francis
Relaxation was key for the Marmion soccer team Tuesday.
Relaxation, however, didn't arrive for the Cadets until about 12 minutes into the second half in the first Suburban Catholic Conference game of the season against rival St. Francis.
The Cadets scored both their goals in the second half and beat the Spartans 2-1 in their first home contest of the season in Aurora after playing the first 8 games on the road.
"Getting that first (goal) really helped us relax," Marmion coach Kevin O'Connor said. "I think that was key. We didn't go defensive after we went up 1-0, and that's why we got the second one. We kept attacking the goal, and that's the kind of play we want to have.
"St. Francis, as always, never quits. They did the same thing to us last year. They found a way to find the net. A lot of credit to them… this is a huge, huge win because we only play each other once."
"These two teams love to play one another, but they also like to compete really hard," St. Francis coach Tim Dailey said. "It was a great, competitive match."
Junior forward Alex Rindone's goal at the 28:49 mark in the second half opened up the scoring for the Cadets (4-4-1, 1-0). The goal was assisted by Taylor Weis.
"(My goal) was definitely a relief because we were tied up the whole game," Rindone said. "Technically, I'd like to credit the goal to Taylor Weis, but I was there to finish it. It was good to get that off our backs because we needed to get one."
With 6:50 remaining in the game, junior Sam Van Dyck tallied the Cadets' second goal on a penalty kick after Beto Del Toro was fouled near the goal.
St. Francis (2-4-2, 0-1) had several opportunities to score late in the second half, but was only able to connect on one goal from senior forward Sean Hamman with 2:20 left in the game.
"I thought we put some nice pressure on at the end, but it was too late," Dailey said. "We've been making a lot of mistakes lately, and we need to correct the mistakes. I thought our effort was outstanding. I thought they worked hard, they really showed a lot of energy and we put a lot of pressure on the goal in the last 10, 15 minutes or so, but we were already 2 (goals) down."
The Spartans' goalkeepers, Jake Kehl and Justin Rosenbeck, combined for 7 saves.