Girls soccer: St. Charles North battles back, beats Saints

When both teams have tenacious defenses, the best chance for scoring goals is on dead ball plays.

And that is exactly what happened Tuesday night when St. Charles East and St. Charles North, which have a combined 14 shutouts, clashed in a DuKane Conference match.

The host North Stars prevailed 2-1, scoring on a corner kick and a free kick. The Saints' tally also came on a free kick.

The victory extended St. Charles North's winning streak to 11 games.

"Those two dead ball goals really killed us. I'm not sure we've really conceded a dead ball goal until today," said St. Charles East coach Vince DiNuzzo. "It's tough to do, it stinks, but we will learn from it and get better."

St. Charles East (12-4, 1-1) struck first with 13:15 left in the first half. An Alondra Carranza free kick from just outside the North Stars' side of the center circle bounced in front of North's goal. Hannah Miller got control of the ball and booted it in the left side of the net.

St. Charles North (11-0-1, 3-0) had several scoring opportunities in the first half but was unable to complete the plays. One potential goal on a breakaway ended when the referees whistled the North Stars for being offsides. With 10 minutes left in the half, Kellie Callaghan was lining up a shot from just outside the goal box when a North Star foul stopped play.

"I thought our team did a really nice job of staying positive, staying motivated, staying focused. I was really impressed with the girls' ability to stay calm," St. Charles North coach Brian Harks said. "We knew that East is an absolutely amazing defensive team. We told them to keep plugging and it's going to come to them."

St. Charles North tied the game halfway through the second half when Sami Rydberg hooked a corner kick into the net.

"I actually do that a lot. We purposely, whenever there is wind, have me take it in on that side," Rydberg said. "I just heard the parents saying 'bend it in' so I just did it."

The junior also started the play in the 67th minute that ended with the North Stars' second goal. Rydberg took a free kick from midfield that landed just to the left of goal. Bridget Wolf corralled the ball and crossed it to Sarah Andrey, who found the back of the net.

"They played better than us in the second half specifically in the midfield. Our forwards were struggling to hold the ball which I thought they did a good job in the first half," DiNuzzo said.