St. Francis to play for third

Goals on either side of halftime by Andrea Ravlin and Taylor Ravlin and some wonderful work by goalkeeper Jenna Ditusa helped put St. Francis clear of Fenwick on Tuesday morning at the Spartans’ Springfest tournament at Olympic Park in Schaumburg by a final of 2-0.

The victory put the Spartans ahead in pool play, until a 1-0 loss later in the day to Cary-Grove ended their hopes of playing for the championship today against Benet, which went 3-1-0 to win the other division. St. Francis will meet Metea Valley for third place at 11 a.m. today.

“We were very opportunistic today against Fenwick, which I think is a very good soccer team,” said Spartans coach Jim Winslow, who watched his side defeat Glenbard West (1-0) and Maine West by the same result on Monday on the first day of soccer.

“This was a real team effort out there today, with everyone contributing to the win,” said Kaity Bucaro, whose gritty performance in the center of the park was key in stopping Fenwick (4-1-1).

Bucaro provided the helper on the final Spartans goal just moments before the final whistle to help put a dagger in the hopes of Fenwick’s chances to equalize when she, along with teammate Sarah Rahman, created an opportunity for Taylor Ravlin to finish past keeper Sydney Galvez-Daley, who wandered far off her line.

After the Spartans weathered a strong start from Fenwick, they would take the lead at 20 minutes with Andrea Ravlin striking the eventual game-winner with a one-timer from the spot under Galvez-Daley, and Rahman, once again, providing the assist. From the midway point of the second half until the end of the match, Ditusa was near flawless in and around the area, stopping a handful of well-aimed shots on frame, including a 50-50 ball in which she beat Maureen Dunbar to the ball inside the box.