St. Viator takes command, downs Deerfield
St. Viator took control of its match against visiting Deerfield early as Keegan Griebel’s first-half double helped fuel a 4-0 victory Thursday afternoon in the Lions’ opening game of the Pepsi Showdown tournament played in Arlington Heights.
The Lions (5-2-1) will likely face Loyola at 1:30 p.m. Saturday as championship bracket play continues at Olympic Park in Schaumburg.
“We’re starting to come together,” said St. Viator coach Mike Taylor after watching his club record its fourth consecutive shutout, and third by a 4-0 decision.
“This is a team which has better skill, and a little more depth than last year, but we still have to remember that we’ve got a rebuilt back line, including the goal, so there’s still that period of adjustment that we’re working through right now.”
The Warriors (3-3-0) got off to the worst possible start when they conceded a goal at five minutes as Griebel thumped in a Katelyn Hammarlund helper in close. Soon after, Deerfield allowed the Lions’ outside midfielder to run freely down the left side; she drilled a shot just inside the near post at 10 minutes to double the lead.
“We just didn’t come into this match ready to compete,” said Deerfield coach Rich Grady, who led his club to a school-record 13 victories last season.
The Warriors had to endure one way traffic from the Lions in their own end, thanks in part to strong midfield play by Hammarlund and Siobhan Klinkenburg. And that new back line, led by junior Katie Gavin, allowed just a few good looks at both keepers Taylor employed, Melissa Stawicki and Morgan Hess.
“We’re starting to play better as a unit in the back with each game that we’re together, but we can get a lot better also,” said Gavin, who is joined by senior Kathleen Kane and juniors Katherine Petrovich and Erin Malone.
Senior Taylor Skala, who led the 2A state runners-up last season with 37 goals, wasn’t able to get into the back of the net on this day, but the gifted striker had a hand in 3 of the 4 goals her mates scored, including Megan Goerth’s at 23 minutes to make it 3-0.
Skala sent Goerth a clever ball to the back post, allowing the junior to slot a one-timer past keeper Skyllar Hughes. Despite allowing 3 first-half goals, Hughes proved to be an athletic, shot-saving keeper before Grady brought on Dani Glass after intermission.
The Lions might have made it a 4-goal lead if not for an alert reaction from Glass, who stopped Lauren Rooney in close after Skala sent her through.
Rooney, a junior, finished the scoring in the 71st minute with an assist from Skala.
That started a steady stream of subsitutions for St. Viator.
“We were able to get 10-12 minutes for Molly (McMahon) today after she missed the last two ballgames to an injury,” said Taylor, “and with a busy schedule about to begin for us, it was important to get some of the players some rest, while getting others minutes to help keep them sharp as well.”