Girls soccer: Runner-up state finish for St. Viator
Hannah Rittenhouse and Kendra Pasquale delivered an attacking master class, and the rest of their teammates lent a hand as St. Francis' girls soccer team was crowned Class 2A state champions with a 4-0 victory over St. Viator on Saturday afternoon in Napervillle.
Rittenhouse was magnificent, scoring 3 goals at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium on the campus of North Central College, and Kendra Pasquale was on target for 1 goal to help coach Jim Winslow's team wrap up a memorable season against an opponent which had allowed but 6 goals over its last 18 games.
"The better team won today," said St. Viator coach Mike Taylor, who will see off 11 seniors, including his extraordinary keeper, Anna Johnston, who finishes with 40 shutouts in her career. "St. Francis had too much for us up top. All three of their forwards were too much for us to handle today, and it showed in the way they created and finished on the other end.
"We had a chance or two in that first half - (Brinley) McVeigh hit the post in the 40th minute, and Payton (McDonnell) had another great chance. And maybe it matters then, or maybe not. Jim has a terrific team, and they deserved to be the state champs."
A frenetic beginning to this encounter brought an early chance for Erin Post, who hit the post two minutes in. And Rittenhouse drove her free kick around the wall to force Johnston to save.
The Spartans (18-6-4) continued their bright start when Rittenhouse scored the opener from between two defenders in the seventh minute. And from there, it looked as though the eventual state champs would run away with it.
"You knew there wasn't any quit in Mike's team, and they showed that with a lot of effort and heart as they made us work a lot harder at times than we wanted to," said Winslow.
The Spartans' dominance in possession slowly came to an end before the half-hour, with the Lions enjoying more of the play wth better tackling and a higher percentage of 50-50 wins.
But with 36 minutes on the clock, Paquale unloaded an unstoppable 22-yard left-footer just inside the near post to keep the Lions (18-6-2) quiet.
"No. 9 (Paquale) and No. 24 (Rittenhouse) were two of the best, if not the best, forwards we've run into this season," said Johnston. "And we just were not able to keep them under control, or their midfield. The result this afternoon was very fair."
The New Hampshire recruit nearly watched Brinley pull one back on a tremendous individual effort up the left side. The chance ended when the Lions' leading scorer rattled the back post, and that was the closest the East Suburban Catholic Conference champions came to solving the Spartans.
Pasquale made it easy for Rittenhouse to bag her second goal in the 50th minute by providing a sublime assist.
Some 19 minutes later, Rittenhouse scored her 24th on the season with the help of another wonderful assist, this one from Hensley.
Both coaches began to bring their starters off as the clock ran down, giving plenty of players a taste of the state championship game.
"The last five minutes is all about the parents, friends and relatives of the players, so it was important to get every single player on our roster at least a few minutes," said Taylor. "We had a great run this season, and one with a terrific group of girls who did all we asked and more, and got about as far as you can go.
"Every player should be proud of what was accomplished this season, and each of these players are a credit to what hard work and dedication to each other and the program can turn into."