Girls soccer: St. Edward stymies Aurora Central Catholic
Aurora Central Catholic was clearly the aggressor in the second half of the girls soccer match Thursday afternoon.
But St. Edward never wavered in the schools' Metro Suburban Conference West encounter in Aurora.
The Green Wave scored a pair of goals in the first half and sidestepped every Aurora Central offensive challenge in the second half to earn a 2-0 victory.
St. Edward made the most of its scoring opportunities in the teams' league opener.
Ashley Lopez and Cecilia Kochanek collaborated on the first St. Edward score to give the squad all the offense it would need behind freshman goalkeeper Anissa Gomez.
"I came up off a throw-in," Lopez said. "I was standing out by the 18-(yard marker). We have a young team and we're trying to gain confidence. It was a really good game for us today. We are working on small things. We were connecting passes today."
Playing under cold and windy conditions, the teams had their struggles mounting quality scoring chances.
But St. Edward (1-3, 1-0) ended its three-match losing streak to start the season by capitalizing on its chances.
Madalynn Duffy is one of 12 ninth-graders on the 25-member Green Wave roster.
But the freshman had the defining moment of the match when she scored off a corner kick for the final goal of the match.
"I was like, 'I'll just try and put it in the net,'" Duffy said. "I saw it before anyone else. It ended up going in."
The Green Wave would need its 2-goal cushion against the Chargers throughout the second half.
ACC (3-1, 0-1) dominated possession time in the second half.
The Chargers more than quadrupled the shots on goal than the Green Wave could manufacture.
But it all went for naught for the Aurora Central Catholic girls.
"We were kind of experimenting a little bit today," ACC coach Kristy Kane said. "We have some girls who are coming back from injury."
Gina Cortino, Elise Conrad, Anna Dudziak and Alex Montalbano were the primary threats for Aurora Central.
The Chargers' best bet for scoring came in the second portion after the intermission when Cortino had her 20-yard blast find metal instead of the net.
"I thought I (scored)," Cortino said. "I was really excited when I hit the crossbar. It was a tough match; they're (the Green Wave) a tough team."
Kane took the Chargers' first league setback in stride.
"The first loss of the season is always tough," Kane said. "The western side of our conference is much tougher than the other side of the conference. We know our conference games are going to be some of our toughest games."