Girls soccer: Miller scores hat trick for St. Charles East

Led by Hannah Miller's first varsity hat trick, St. Charles East handed Batavia its first DuKane Conference loss of the season, 4-1 Monday night.

The Saints' victory in the second game of the fifth annual Tri-Cities Soccer night at Norris Stadium also keeps St. Charles East in a tight conference race with the Bulldogs and St. Charles North.

St. Charles East took a 1-0 lead at the 21:01 mark of the first half on Hannah Miller's first goal. Batavia goalkeeper Aubrey Hahn knocked down Miller's shot from the right side of the net but could not hold onto it and the ball rolled across the goal line.

With 46 seconds left until halftime, Batavia's Anna Holcombe tied the match. The senior dribble up the left sideline, got past the Saints' defense and booted it in from 20 yards out.

"That was a nice transition out. We found the open person and Anna created a nice opportunity for herself, which is nice to see," Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco said.

The tie lasted less than three minutes. Miller's second score of the night put St. Charles East back on top 2-1, 2:10 into the second half. The play started with an Ashley DiOrio throw-in on the sideline. Elle McCaslin corralled the ball and crossed it to Miller, who completed the attack with a 20-yard boot into the back of the net.

St. Charles East coach Vince DiNuzzo felt Batavia's goal in the closing seconds of the first half motivated his team in the second.

"They hit us with that counter with 46 seconds left and it kind of shocked us," DiNuzzo said." I thought we responded in the second half and the girls showed that they wanted to be here and wanted to compete."

Miller agreed.

"Second half, we knew we had to come out strong because we knew they thought they had a chance. We really wanted to win this - it's a big game for us," Miller said. "I knew I had to do whatever I could to get the ball into the net."

McCaslin extended the Saints' lead to 3-1 in the 62nd minute with her 23rd goal of the season. Hailey Flannagan, who took over in the nets in the second half, deflected a Miller shot right to McCaslin, who finished.

Miller scored her third goal with 6:49 left to play. The sophomore has scored 17 goals this season.

Both St. Charles North and Batavia have 5-1 conference marks with one game left to play. The win improves St. Charles East's DuKane record to 3-1 with three league matches left.

"We're gaining some momentum here. It's a good conference win," DiNuzzo said.

Gianfrancesco downplayed the conference race.

"I've said it for 20 years, I don't care about conference," the Batavia coach said. "Did I want to win this game - sure. But we have some other things that we want to take care of … the big picture."

The Saints are now 17-5 overall. The Bulldogs are 14-4-2.