Girls soccer: Conant bounces back, blanks Palatine
Conant's girls soccer team emphatically bounced back from its disappointing loss last Saturday to Prospect with an impressive 5-0 Mid-Suburban West home win Wednesday night over Palatine at Charlie O. Feutz Field in Hoffman Estates.
The Cougars (2-2-0, 1-1-0) got off to the start they were looking for on the first of two sensational strikes from Emma Simpson, who unloaded an unstoppable blast from 25 yards in the 10th minute, followed by her second from nearly the same spot on the pitch at 18 minutes.
"We didn't play that well against Prospect so we worked on possessing the ball, and working off the ball and just being more consistent with our play and that's what we did tonight to get the result," said Simpson, who handled the defensive midfield spot in coach Jason Franco's starting eleven, but was a key figure in the Cougars' attack all night long.
"Emma gave us those two great early goals to get us going, but it was a solid team effort all the way around and a great way to come back from our loss at Prospect last weekend," said Franco.
"The best thing about Emma's second goal was the build up of play that led into her shot. We moved the ball around with speed and quickness to give her the chance to score."
The home side would enjoy most of the play in the first quarter hour and was rewarded for the dominant play when Sarah Bradley added to the Cougars' advantage in the 26th minute when the Pirates (0-2-0, 0-2-0) had some trouble in their own end.
The sophomore Bradley would jump onto a loose ball in the Pirates end and would fire her low snap shot past keeper Kate Latek, who would have no chance on the close-range effort.
"When you're chasing two early goals, then another shortly thereafter, it's going to be a tough road back into the game and tonight, Conant was the better team," admitted Palatine coach, Willie Filian, whose club came to life after the intermission.
After Sidney Litney's enterprising run up the left side nearly led to the Cougars' fourth goal, Olivia Riley and Allie Henning each had a chance on frame for the visitors, Henning with a long free kick.
Filian liked what he saw from Tara O'Sullivan in the midfield, as well as the work along the back from Angelina Lopez, who each did their part to help their club compete at a higher level in the second half.
O'Sullivan would rattle the bar in the 73rd minute, in between a Litney goal at 65 minutes, and Bradleys' double five minutes from time.
"What you saw tonight is what we expect to see from this team all throughout the rest of this season," said Franco.
Conant will play Hoffman Estates on Friday, while Palatine takes on Prospect.