Girls soccer: Young BG equal to the challenge from St. Viator
Undefeated St. Viator was frustrated by a young Buffalo Grove girls soccer team on Friday in Arlington Heights as 80 minutes of soccer was unable to decide this nonconference contest at Morris Field.
Coach Pat Dudle's well-drilled Bison side took the lead with Macy Floro's first shot on target. But BG conceded the equalizer just before intermission in what turned out as a 1-1 draw.
"At times tonight, we had five freshmen plus a couple of sophomores out there against an always well-coached and high-profile team in St. Viator," said Dudle, who in the last two seasons has led Buffalo Grove (0-1-1) to Mid-Suburban East Division titles. "So for us to come in here and play as well as we did is something we can all build on.
"We were OK in our opener the other night in our 3-0 loss to Stevenson, but it was good to see us come out and score first and respond after going through a couple of lapses here and there, and having a lot of our younger players step up in just their second varsity game."
Floro ended up finishing a nice one-two combination from her sister Alyssa. Macy broke free long enough up the right side to unload her angled shot, and the low strike found the far inside post at five minutes.
Eventually, the hosts responded with greater pressure. Maeve Schumacher was dangerous when she roared into the area, as was the duo of Payton McDonnell and Mary Ann Castelli, who forced Kendra Lee to clear from the box a well-placed ball from Castelli.
Lee, a sophomore who started last year, is part of a young Bison back line which features freshmen Bridge Reynolds and Savannah Larsen. They were able to count on some strong tackling from junior Zoe Robertson, who was stationed just in front of the back four for most of the night.
Castelli whipped in two dangerous balls from the right side within a matter of 60 seconds. After that, it was mostly one-way traffic in favor of the Lions (1-0-1) leading up to Meghan Martin drawing her club back even in the 38th minute.
"Pat has a nice club, and they play hard," said St. Viator coach Mike Taylor. "We some trouble in the first part of the half until we finally starting playing the way the girls know they can play. We did a very good job of getting back even, but we didn't do well at all with our finishing. Plus we lacked the leadership out there that we're going to need when it really counts later on, so we'll address that next time we get together."
The Lions got close on a handful of chances, with Brinley McVeigh and Meagan Vicens, among others, watching their opportunities to give their club the lead missed.
Two minutes from time, Pamela Bolis collected an early ball behind the Lions' defense, forcing keeper Anna Johnston far off her line in hopes of stopping an obvious one-on-one opportunity.
The New Hampshire-bound Johnston brought down Bolis and was shown a red card for the foul.
Katherin Schade stepped in for her team, which played a man down until the final whistle. Lee's free kick was driven over the bar.
"With the speed and physical play at times, it felt like a game in the MSL, which is exactly what our team needs in order to get ready for league play when it starts," said Dudle.
The Bison host both Prairie Ridge and Crystal Lake South from the Fox Valley Conference next week, while St. Viator hosts Conant on Tuesday.