Hampshire nets tie against St. Edward

Hampshire girls soccer coach Patrick O’Brien was just fine with leaving the Elgin Sports Complex on Monday with a 1-1 tie against St. Edward.

The Whip-Purs were playing their first game of the season, while the Green Wave was playing its fourth.

“We’ve only practiced outside a couple of times. We were able to see some people in different areas,” O’Brien said. “That’s really what these first three games are always about, seeing what you have after retooling your lineup after you graduate people.”

One of those new players gave Hampshire the lead early in the second half. Freshman Alex Zeller ran onto a through ball and beat Green Wave goalkeeper Paige Gannon for a 1-0 advantage.

St. Edward (3-0-1) tied the game with about 15 minutes left. The Whip-Purs were whistled for a hand ball in their penalty area, giving the Green Wave a penalty kick. Senior Mallory Malone scored past goalkeeper Alex Dumoulin, who shared time in goal with Haylee Moscato for Hampshire.

“You had some early season goofs and gaffes,” St. Edward coach Tim Brieger said. “I thought it was a pretty even game both ways. They would have two or three chances, then we would have two or three chances.”

Hampshire had a couple of good opportunities in the final five minutes as Kelsey Anderson hit the crossbar. A minute later, Gannon stopped Helena Van Eck from in close to keep the game tied.

“That will come. That’s one of the things we’ll need to work on, our finishing,” O’Brien said. “When the ball is right there at about the 6 (yard box) as often as it was, more often than not we’re going to be able to put that in.”