Skala’s goal lifts St. Viator over Carmel
With last weekend’s 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Loyola still fresh in mind, St. Viator looked to erase that defeat as quickly as possible. The Lions speedily got their chance against conference rival Carmel in Arlington Heights on Wednesday afternoon.
The Corsairs, who have struggled due to several injuries in the season’s early stages, arrived at the Lions’ home pitch knowing a victory would immediately get it back into the East Suburban Catholic Conference race, which both Benet and Fenwick currently lead.
In a fiercely contested match, the host Lions (6-3-0, 2-1-0) took the lead at 61 minutes on a strike from Taylor Skala, then held on with a strong defensive stand to capture a 1-0 victory and keep pace with the league leaders.
“I thought we played a little better than we did against Loyola, but we also had two or three chances in that first half (that) if we had put any of them away, could have made things a little easier on ourselves,” said St. Viator coach Mike Taylor.
“Are we better than we are playing right now? Yes, we are,” said Skala, who was tightly marked by junior Sarah McHugh and her backline mates, who were wary of Skala’s proven finishing skills. “I know for a fact that Loyola isn’t 4 goals better than us, but we sure weren’t very good on Saturday when we played them. We also knew how important this game today was, and we did whatever had to be done to get a win.”
The Lions enjoyed the run of play in the first quarter hour, much of it because of some terrific work by Chloe Luthringshausen, who was relentless pressuring the Corsairs (3-3-1, 1-2-0) on the attack.
“There just wasn’t a lot of time or space for much possession or any buildup because both sides were tackling hard, and challenging each and every ball,” said Carmel coach John Halloran. “So in the end, it just wasn’t a very pretty soccer match to watch. We played hard, and I really thought our backline did a very good job, and especially Sarah (McHugh) who was easily our best player for 80 minutes today.”
Both Skala and Katelyn Hammarlund forced Corsairs keeper Katie Larson to step up and make saves in the first half, as the Lions continued to press for the first 40 minutes. But ill-advised runs and passes made it relatively easy for McHugh, Helen Wagner and Caitlin Jung to respond and clear away any potential trouble.
After the break, Carmel managed to create a few dangerous chances of its own, the first coming when Kelly Trillhaase ran onto a McHugh free kick from the midline and nearly one-timed a shot just under the bar. Later, Lauren Bowles tricked her way in, close to Lions keeper Melissa Stawicki, but a a nifty tackle by Erin Malone ended the possession.
Katie Gavin initiated the game-winner when she won a ball at mifield and quickly found Hammarlund, who carried to the end line before sending her cross off Larson and directly to Skala, who followed the play with a well-timed run to slot the lone goal at 61 minutes.
Halloran push three attackers up top, with Bowles slightly withdrawn from front-runners Trillhaase and Elizabeth Bream at 68 minutes, and it nearly produced what the Carmel bench was hoping for when Trillhaase was tackled by Gavin inside the box.
But the center official viewed Gavin’s tackle a clean one, and not the PK that would have given the Corsairs one last chance to draw even.
“We’re struggling in our attack because we’re still missing two of our strikers, Ashley Orth and Brianne Carlson, and on a day like today, maybe they might have been the difference,” said Halloran. “But if we can get fit and healthy, we know this club will be ready for the stretch run.”