Corsairs get off to fast start in ESCC win at Providence

By Curt Herron

When you have a big advantage with a strong wind at your back, then you'd better be able to capitalize.

And that's exactly what Carmel intended to do at the start of Thursday's match with Providence Catholic in New Lenox.

With winds of nearly 30 miles per hour assisting their cause, things began to click offensively for the Corsairs.

Everything came together during a 3:40-span early in the match during which time Carmel collected three goals.

That was a pretty good feat, considering that the Corsairs had scored just nine goals in their last eight matches.

Carmel added one more goal late in the first half and another early in the final half and the Celtics couldn't recover.

When the wind-swept afternoon was finally completed, the Corsairs captured a 5-1 victory in the East Suburban Catholic Conference match.

The win keeps the Corsairs (8-4-3, 5-1) very much in the mix in the four-team battle that's being waged for top honors in the ESCC.

Joliet Catholic Academy tied Carmel for the championship a year ago and the two squads meet up on Monday in Joliet.

The Corsairs have beaten Nazareth Academy (6-1) and host Benet Academy (5-1) on Wednesday and play at Saint Viator (6-1) a week later.

Carmel has won at least a share of the ESCC title for the past four seasons, with its lone outright championship coming in 2008.

A concern for coach John Halloran and his squad was that the Celtics were coming off of an 8-2 loss to Saint Viator a day earlier.

But the quick burst of scoring in the opening half seemed to demoralize the hosts, who only managed one goal with the wind behind them.

Click to hear coach John Halloran interview

Leading the way for the Corsairs was junior Kelly Trillhaase, who had two of the early goals and a total of three in the opening half.

Trillhaase got injured less than three minutes into the new half and stayed on the bench throughout the remainder of the match.

Freshman Meegan Johnston added the other first half score while senior Lauren Lehman chipped in with a second-half goal.

Lauren Bowles and Kassidy Brown added assists for Carmel, which has responded to a four-match losing streak with three straight wins.

The Corsairs set the tone from the outset when Johnston fired in a liner that required a diving stop during the first 20 seconds.

She continued to apply the pressure with a series of corner kicks which although threatening, didn't lead to any scoring.

Carmel finally broke through with 8:45 gone when Trillhaase sent a ball toward the net that wasn't cleanly handled, resulting in a score.

With 28:54 left in the opening half, Bowles sent a flip throw in front of the Celtic goal and Johnston connected from close range.

Shortly after Shannon Jung was stopped on a liner just over a minute later, the Corsairs collected their third goal of the match.

Trillhaase completed the early scoring flurry with 27:35 left before halftime when she sent in a grounder that found the net.

Click to hear Kelly Trillhaase interview

Jessica Gilstrap and Trillhaase were stopped on good attempts a few minutes later and then Carmel went some time before threatening.

On the Corsairs' next good chance, Trillhaase put in a short rebound of a long shot attempt from Brown with 7:57 left in the half.

Lehman and Brown were denied a short time later and Sarah McHugh sent a threatening grounder in just before the halftime break.

Although Providence had the wind at its back in the second half, Carmel continued to apply a good deal of pressure on the Celtic goal.

McHugh had another good attempt but the Corsairs' momentum seemed to be slowed when Trillhaase left the match due to an injury.

Lehman increased her team's lead to 5-0 when she scored with 27:40 left, following a wild scramble in front of Providence's net.

Leah Einarsen and Ashley Orth had close-range shots halted before Lehman knocked in a short attempt to complete Carmel's scoring.

Click to hear Lauren Lehman interview

The Celtics threatened with just under 16 minutes left when Emma Lagone lined a corner that required a save by keeper Maddie Allen.

Providence finally got on the scoreboard with 13:18 remaining when Chris Reed got free and was able to connect on a short attempt.

Neither squad threatened much after that as Carmel made a better effort to not allow any more late scoring chances by the Celtics.

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