Girls soccer: St. Viator, Carmel play to a 1-1 draw
Emily Rascher grabbed the late equalizer for St. Viator, which who came oh so close to winning in the closing moments during a 1-1 draw with visiting Carmel Catholic Wednesday night at Robert Morris Field in Arlington Heights.
The East Suburban Catholic Conference girls soccer thriller was the league opener for both clubs, who earlier in the day learned each were placed in the 15-team Wauconda Class 2A sectional which begins in early June.
"This was an important game for both teams, and although we didn't get the result we wanted, I thought we played very well, especially in the second half," said Lions coach Mike Taylor, whose club is now 3-2-3 on the season.
"It was an exciting game and one that caused us to get a little nervous right there at the end of that second overtime," admitted Corsairs coach Stephanie Kile.
The Corsairs' faithful held their collective breathe when a late Lions corner stayed in the visitor's end far too long for Kile and her staff, who watched a scrum in the area find Gabby Brown on the ball.
With Corsairs keeper Lisete Astudillo surrounded by players from both sides, the ball was cleared off the line when the final whistle blew the contest over.
"That ball just stayed on the line until Carmel cleared it out of danger," said Taylor.
"Lisete has been a great find for us," said Kile. "She came in and became our keeper without any previous experience at the position, and has accepted the role 100%, and with full support of her teammates who are all very proud of her."
The Corsairs (4-2-2) were rewarded for their first quarter-hour of play when Mia Salvi struck the opener in the 17th minute thanks in part to a great run and cross from freshman Anna Hartman, who went end line, turned, and provided a brilliant helper to Salvi.
Sarah Galli had a glorious chance to double the Corsairs' lead just after the intermission after Franny Wiacek and Salvi set her free. However Lily Collins did well to save at the near post.
After that sequence, the home side began to get itself back in the game with Emilie Doersching, Caroline Sexton and Brown key figures in the Lions enjoying most of the play for long periods.
Doersching's pace and work rate was the reason play would stay alive in the Corsairs' end, giving Rascher her opportunity to level the game at the back post.
"Both teams had their chances in this game. I thought St. Viator had a real good game plan with some nice adjustments made during the half," said Kile.
"We've come leaps and bounds in the past few weeks, and earned some good experience tonight in two overtime periods against a good Carmel ballclub," added Taylor.