Spartans looking sharp with the postseason looming

By Darryl Mellema

As they had earlier in the week against Geneva, St. Francis took the field on Saturday and went straight about the business of scoring the first goal in their nonconference match at Glenbard South.

They did this when Meagan Gitchell passed to Sydney Fox, who put the visitors ahead after six minutes of play.

The key to St. Francis' 3-1 victory was what happened in those ensuing 74 minutes – or perhaps what didn't happen. The Spartans wobbled significantly at times when the Raiders counter-attacked. But a combination of defensive stubbornness and outstanding goalkeeping kept the hosts at bay.

“They came out ready to play and they moved the ball really well, which has been a focus of ours,” St. Francis assistant coach Chris Payton said. “We've been wanting to distribute the ball better. In the first half, we just didn't capitalize on some of them.”

Fox, Kaity Bucaro and Molly Coyle all had solid chances to score in the mid-portion of the half. Fox forced a one-on-one save, Bucaro was stopped on a breakaway, and Coyle hit the post.

“We made a lot of good things happen,” Payton said. “We just didn't finish.”

The Spartans finally got their second goal with 12 minutes left in the half when Andi Matichak passed to Fox, who returned the ball to Matichak, who scored.

“We practice really hard at connecting and moving as a unit,” Matichak said. “Possession is a big thing for us. All of our girls can be dangerous if we get the ball at our feet. We can take people on and make passes and play pretty soccer instead of just booting and running after it. That is really coming together for us.”

While St. Francis (10-7-1) controlled much of the tempo, Glenbard South created chances of its own and that forced Spartans goalie Kim Gianos frequently into action.

“I just go back to what I learned in goalie training,” Gianos said. “That's my job. I'm there to save shots.”

St. Francis moved its lead to 3-0 with 14 minutes to play when Taylor Bucaro fed Matichak with a defense-splitting pass. Matichak moved in and scored.

“Taylor Bucaro, that ball she played me was amazing,” Matichak said. “Our girls are really coming together as a unit. Our defense was stepping with our midfield, which was stepping with our forwards. Going into playoffs with this momentum, I think we're going to do well.”

Bucaro was influential in the center of midfield on Saturday, finding open players throughout the match and limiting her mistakes.

“Even though she's a freshman, she plays well beyond that,” Payton said. “She does a nice job distributing the ball. She creates things for us, which is a nice feature to have in the middle. She does a good job getting the ball wherever we need it and she fills a role for us defensively too.”

Gitchell showed her versatility in Saturday's game. An inside midfielder much of the season, the senior has moved to the outside of midfield recently. Against Glenbard South, she was forced to defend and she filled gaps a number of times to shut down Raiders attacks.

“We moved her to the outside because she does such a nice job moving the ball around,” Payton said. “She covers in defense for us too and had overall done an excellent job for us.”

Glenbard South made the final 10 minutes perhaps more interesting than the Spartans had planned when Natalie Squillo scored. Squillo was by far the Raiders most dangerous player in the game and she kept Gianos on her toes much of the contest.

“I was a little more involved than I should have been,” Gianos said. “But we did a good job only letting in one goal and we'll work it out before playoffs.”

Glenbard South began shooting from distance in an effort to get back in the game in the second half. Gianos dealt with those long-range shots comfortably.

“It was a break that the wind was with me in the second half,” Gianos said. “So I had some time to get my feet under me.”

St. Francis coach Meghan Boler missed the game to attend her brother Al's graduation from Indiana University. She will be back on the bench when the Spartans play a key Suburban Christian Conference match with Rosary. A busy week also includes a tilt with tough Wheaton Academy and a Saturday contest with Guerin.

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