Meadows shuts down South Elgin
Cooking up a way to stop South Elgin’s high-scoring offense is no easy task.
Rolling Meadows had the recipe perfected as it held the Storm scoreless in the final game of match play at South Elgin’s Spring Break girls soccer tournament Friday at Millennium Field.
The 3-0 victory propels Rolling Meadows (4-1) into today’s 4 p.m. championship match against Bartlett. South Elgin (4-2) will square off against West Chicago at 2 p.m. for third place.
“We came out and wanted it more,” said the Mustangs’ Alex Partipilo, who scored the game’s opening goal. “As soon as we knocked one in, we had our momentum going. We made sure (South Elgin forward Savanah Uveges) didn’t get the ball. We stayed tight to make sure she didn’t split us.”
Rolling Meadows knew it needed to use its speed to limit the amount of time freshman superstar Uveges touched the ball. Uveges already has 10 goals on the season, but was held without a shot during Friday’s contest.
The Mustangs used their blend of experience along with mistake-free defense to limit South Elgin to just 2 shots on goal, both of which came after the Mustangs had obtained a 3-0 lead.
“I have 3 of the 4 girls back from last year,” Mustangs coach Jeff Adkins said. “Alex and Maddie (Conlin) have been starters for 4 years. (And) Vanessa Sanchez is a freshman who doesn’t play like a freshman.”
The group has not allowed a goal through the first three games of the tournament, while South Elgin had won its first two games by a combined 13-1 score.
Sanchez has continued to provide a nice addition to the otherwise senior-dominated defense.
“She got natural instincts,” Adkins said. “She doesn’t make major mistakes. She’s quiet back there, but she does her job.”
After trailing for the first time in the tournament, the Storm quickly found its deficit doubled as freshman Mary Collins scored an unassisted goal.
The Storm trailed 2-0 at halftime.
“We’ve played the last three games in a row not at a very high level,” Storm coach Tiffany Disher said. “It was hard for the girls to pick up the pace. They never adjusted.”
Rolling Meadows continued to adjust in the second half as Ann Marie Lynch scored the final goal off a pass from Jackie Kemph with 15 minutes, 31 seconds left.
Mustangs’ forward Maggie Moran left the game when she collided with a South Elgin defender in the first half. Moran did not return in the second half.
South Elgin goalkeeper Emily Young finished with 10 saves, while Mustangs’ goalie Sarah Bohac notched 2.