Christy, Schaumburg surge past Palatine

With five teams separated by just 2 points at the start of play Wednesday night, the Mid-Suburban West girls soccer race was as about as wild as it could get.

One of the five, Schaumburg, which had positioned itself to make a serious run for a spot in next month's annual MSL Cup, had the life scared out of it at Palatine, falling behind the upstart Pirates (4-5-2, 4-2-2, 10 points) before some late drama from leading scorer Sarah Christy gave the Saxons a 2-1 victory.

Sophomore Kelsey Steenstrup got the visitors equal in the 56th minute, and Christy struck the game-winner 13 minutes later to keep the Saxons on pace with Fremd, Conant and Barrington in what is now a four-team divisonal race.

"There was a lot at stake tonight for us," said Christy, "but Palatine makes you do things (out) there that you really don't want to, and we just didn't play with any energy at all in that first half. And I know, for me, I was really nervous about how things were going to turn out for us."

The Pirates began brightly in their biggest match in the MSL thus far but couldn't quite sustain their performance against a second-half, wind-aided Saxons attack featuring Christy, Steenstrup, Rachel Kahan and Ariel and Jackie Larocco.

"In soccer, the wind can be a great advantage to a team, and this year's Schaumburg team is fast and skilled, and one of the best that Greg (Chavrat) has had in recent memory," said Palatine coach Willie Filian.

Filian was proud of the way his team played in the first half, as the hosts stunned the once-beaten Saxons (10-1-2, 6-1-0, 12 points) three minutes into the match when Kristen Strauss' inward swinging corner found the far inside netting.

With the wind at their back and their confidence bubbling over, the Pirates stayed the aggressor as their trio of strikers - Sydney Wiedemann, Rachel Houp and Strauss - ran hard and produced chances while junior Amanda Fillian disrupted nearly everything in the middle of the field to frustrate the Saxons' ability to attack and create.

"It was an ugly, terrible first half in which we didn't possess, while playing without life and urgency," said Charvat.

Despite the Saxons' first-half blues, they trailed by only 1. And almost immediately after intermission, it was clear the visitors would not stand by and simply accept a loss.

The Saxons began to play through the middle, with Teagan Eberle, Steenstrup and Kahan getting plenty of touches. After a first half which saw the Pirates take away nearly everything, Schaumburg slowly got more room in which to operate.

Steenstrup, who left in the 49th minute after turning her ankle, was brought back on moments before scoring the equalizer on an Andrea Schmalz corner.

Stephanie Pouse and Kahan created another corner later on, and Pouse, who took the dead ball in place of the injured Schmalz, watched Christy send a header into the back of the net.

"I normally set myself up at the top of the box (on corners) for any rebounds or loose balls that come out, but instead, I just came through, and was surprised that I was unmarked in close," said Christy, after scoring her ninth goal of the season.

"It was a very physical game tonight, but credit Palatine for taking us out of the way we play," said Charvat. "But in the end, I guess we stay alive for another night."

"When the speed of play picked up, we weren't able to stay with (Schaumburg). And in the end, we began to wear down, and we also didn't do well defending in our box or in the air, which is how both of their goals were scored," Filian said.

Barrington 2, Hoffman Estates 1: Emmelie Hirdes had a first-half goal with an assist from Alexa Rowe, and Amy Johnson scored the game-winner in the second half with an assist from Sarah Fox as the visiting Fillies picked up an MSL West win.

Elk Grove 1, Wheeling 0: Jillian Zelek scored in the second half with an assist from Michelle Calmeyn to lift the host Grens to an MSL East victory. Nicole Ricci earned the shutout with 6 saves and Chloe Majkowski made 8 saves for Wheeling.

Prospect 5, Rolling Meadows 1: Andrea Wehrle had a pair of goals as the Knights rolled past visiting Rolling Meadows in MSL East play.

Hersey 3, Buffalo Grove 0: Maeva Waterman, Nicole Pietro and Eileen Zydek provided the scoring for host Hersey in an MSL East matchup.