St. Edward claims Class 1A regional title
GENOA — After a sluggish start against Elgin Academy, St. Edward knew it was critical to start quickly against Genoa-Kingston. So the Green Wave wasted no time, scoring 3 times in the first 11 minutes and cruising past the Cogs, 4-0, to win the Class 1A Genoa-Kingston girls soccer regional Friday afternoon.
The Wave will play today’s Byron-Stillman Valley winner at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Harvard sectional.
Allison Kruk and Chelsea Gnan combined on 3 goals for the Wave (17-7-2), who are seeking to improve on last year’s fourth-place state finish.
Paige Gannon posted her 16th shutout of the season in goal, breaking the school single-season record.
“We talked about moving that ball quickly and not doing what we did on Tuesday,” said Wave coach Tim Brieger. “We played a lot better than we did Tuesday. My stress level was a lot lower, I’ll tell you that.”
That came despite the Wave missing 2 starters. Center midfielder Monica Ramirez was at her sister’s college graduation in Colorado and Rena Ranallo was attending prom.
Megan Kearney stepped in for Ranallo, marking the Cogs’ ultra-quick Shannon Schumacher. Kimmy Smith moved into the middle for Ramirez.
St. Edward also got some big contributions from its bench, particularly from Kailey Durkin, Paige Dykstra and MaryKate Nastali.
Kathleen Duffy put the Wave on top 2 minutes into the game, converting a free kick following a handball call on Genoa.
Gnan made it 2-0 minutes later, connecting on a high floater following a pass from Kruk.
Gnan returned the favor, firing a great centering pass to Kruk in front of a wide open net. The latter drilled it home for a 3-0 lead.
“(A fast start) was definitely a priority today,” said Kruk. “We didn’t want them to get one up, because then it would be twice as hard.”
The Cogs regrouped and kept the Wave off the scoreboard the rest of the half, but Kruk and Gnan connected again in the second half.
Both got behind the Genoa goalkeeper, with Kruk ultimately aiming the ball into the open net.
Gannon didn’t have to work too hard for the record-breaking shutout; she didn’t record a save.