Girls soccer: St. Viator blanks Marian Catholic
After having its hopes dashed of another East Suburban Catholic Conference girls soccer title this past week, St. Viator went out and thrashed last place Marian Catholic Saturday afternoon at Robert Morris Stadium in Arlington Heights.
The Lions (10-6-1, 3-2-1) went goal crazy against the visiting Spartans (1-16-2, 0-7-0), scoring four in the first half en route to an 8-0 conference victory.
"As defending champs in the ESCC, it's kind of disappointing that we won't be repeating, but fortunately we have something to play for (Sunday) before getting ready for the postseason," said Lions four-year veteran Payton McDonnell, who will play next fall at Loras College in Dubuque, IA.
That 'something' else McConnell spoke of is the PepsiCo Showdown final against Crystal Lake Central (12-2-2), in one of 11 finals to be played at the Lyons Soccer Complex in LaGrange.
"Yes, it was a tough week for all of us. Those two losses ended our chances for a conference title but today we used this game to get ourselves ready for the Pepsi (final) and right now, that's our only focus," added Sam DeJulio, who is set to play at SIU-Carbondale next season.
DeJulio, along with McDonnell, were named to the Daily Herald All-Area team last spring.
The Lions lost to Joliet Catholic Academy (2-0) on Monday, then Benet Academy (3-2) two days later, before a 2-0 win over undefeated Nazareth pulled Benet even with league leading JCA.
"Joliet Catholic had 4-5 very good players, and they played simple but smart soccer, so when we gifted them a goal in the first half, we found ourselves chasing the game," said Lions assistant coach Bryan Dahlquist, who took over for head coach Mike Taylor, who is out of town on business.
"It was the same thing with Benet - gifting goals to one of our biggest rivals so) it was good to have a game like this today to get ourselves sorted out, and to rest a few players who are a little dinged up right now."
McDonnell scored the first of her 2 first-half goals when she curled her free kick off the gloves of keeper Ryann Young and off the post in the third minute, but it took nearly 20 minutes for the home side to double its advantage.
That's when Claire Bottcher finished with a neat one-timer in close after a smart save by Young yielded a sitter for the Lions' senior.
When the visitors were unable to clear their own end of trouble, Sydney Grant made them pay in the 25th minute, with McDonnell making it 4-0 in the 37th minute.
Gabby Brown, Bottcher, and Meghan Martin would all have a hand in the buildup leading to McDonnell's double but not before Young came to the rescue with another terrific save.
The Spartans' keeper deserved a better fate on this day, with the senior making several impressive stops in this contest.
St. Viator continued to pressure its guests with constant pressure from near 85% possession after the break and soon the Spartans, who were clearly running out of gas, conceded 4 goals in a span of 14 minutes.
Bridget DeZellar, Grant, Mary Ann Castelli and DeJulio all got themselves into the score line, while on the other end of the park sophomore keeper Lilly Collins enjoyed a rather easy time of it to claim the shutout.
"We've been dealing with some injuries for a few weeks now, and finally got Bridget (DeZellar) back, which has helped us a lot and we feel at near full strength, our game with Crystal Lake Central at the Pepsi should be a good one for us," said Dahlquist.
St. Viator will close out its 2019 league schedule Wednesday on Senior Night at Robert Morris Stadium when it welcomes Nazareth Academy.