Saints halt losing streak with decisive win over Sandburg

 

 

By Darryl Mellema

Add the distance of Carly Pottle’s goals – and there were three of them – from Thursday’s match with Sandburg and they probably wouldn’t reach to 10 yards.

But in a way, that’s the point. Scoring goals is sometimes all about putting away the chances that are presented to you – and Pottle was clinical in that regard in her team’s 4-1 victory in a match hosted by Wheaton Warrenville South in the consolation bracket of the Naperville Invitational.

St. Charles East already led 1-0 through a Sam Lombardo goal when Pottle scored her first – with 14 minutes to play in the first half. Morgan Settle sent a ball into the penalty area and Pottle “one-timed” the ball into the net.

Pottle's second goal came with 14 minutes left in the game and with the Saint lead reduced to 2-1 after a Sandburg strike late in the first half. Hannah Rawson went on a driving run up the left wing and took a vicious shot that was half-saved and a rebound opportunity was presented. Pottle took that rebound and scored.

She achieved her hat trick with eight minutes left in the match when Settle sent a cross from the left that Julianna Harmon headed from the center of the penalty area to her right. The ball went directly to Pottle’s head – and the junior redirected the ball into the net.

“It’s a good feeling,” Pottle said. “I’ve been in kind of a drought lately, but hopefully that’s turning around. I feel like I’m almost letting my team down when I don’t score. That’s why it’s so disappointing when you can’t. But as long as we win the game, it doesn’t matter who scores the goals.”

The victory moves the Saints (10-4-1) into a 10 a.m. consolation bracket match against Wheaton Warrenville South on Saturday at Naperville North and ends St. Charles East’s three-match losing streak.

“We know we’ll be looking forward to getting going Saturday morning against Wheaton South,” St. Charles East coach Paul Jennison said. “We know they’re a good team. We’ll be looking forward to getting another game under our belt and getting ready for the postseason.”

Pottle acknowledged the work done by her teammates in the run-up to each of the goals.

“Amanda (Hilton) and Anna (Corirosi) did a great job in the middle. They fought so hard. Even though they didn’t score the goals, they set up all the goals. They were all great balls. Morgan Settle sent me a fantastic ball in the middle and I just got my toe on it.

“(Harmon) – on my headed goal, she headed it first and if she wouldn’t have gotten a touch on it, I wouldn’t have gotten a goal out of it. And then Hannah Rawson, she outran that girl all the way down, and I just got her rebound. She gets all the credit on that goal.”

Thursday’s victory was a nearly end-to-end domination by the Saints. On only rare occasions did Sandburg threaten, and the Eagle goal came on their only shot of the match.

“We made a big point the last couple of days about work rate,” Jennison said. “We looked good from back to front today. I was really impressed with how we attacked out of the back. It’s something we’ve been preaching as a coaching staff, and it was great to see that result. It was a great response and exactly what we were looking for.”

Lombardo’s goal came at the end of an extended passing move, something the Saints began working toward from the opening kickoff. Through the match, St. Charles East strung passes together from all areas of the pitch.

“We said before the game, and reinforced it at halftime, that if you press teams, you get to dictate the play,” Jennison said. “And when we get to play we want to, we’re a very good team. That should be something they can take away from this game, that when we put the pressure on them, we can play the way we want to. I hope they see the end product and see what we can do.”

While Pottle’s hat trick failed to include a 25-yard net-busting shot – the three shots that turned into goals were exactly the kind of goals that made Jennison happy to talk about after the match.

“I’m sure (Pottle’s) never going to have a hat trick like that, where she’s going to have three shots like that. I won’t call them tap-ins, but they were the old ‘poacher’ goal. That’s what it’s all about, and credit to her for being in the right place.”

Hilton and Corirosi are both juniors. Their central midfield partnership blossomed last season and has done nothing but improved since. Against Sandburg, they were at their collective best.

“Those two in the middle are quality and we know that,” Jennison said. “But we’ve got a group at the back that are rock solid. The girls out wide are fantastic and when the girls up top score, it looks very good. Certainly those two in the center of midfield were exceptional and I’m so happy they’re juniors. But we’ve got to play as a team to be successful.”

In addition to the two passes that resulted in Saints goals, Settle sent a series of passes into the penalty area, frequently disrupting Sandburg’s defense.

“We knew we needed to keep possession and to play our game on the big field,” Settle said. “We knew we could take advantage of that. The last couple of games, we’ve had a lot of possession. We just needed to score, and we got a lot of practice at that in this game.”

A pair of Saints sophomores played some extended minutes on Thursday. Harmon spent time in the central striking position while Kayla Polivka played in central midfield.

“It’s often the case,” Jennison said, “when you’re filling in for the bigger players on the team – in this case the two girls in the middle or (Pottle) up top that you might feel that you’re under a bit of pressure. But that’s not the case at all. We know what they could do and I’ve been impressed with the way that they settle in there.

“(Polivka) is a ball of energy. She is fiery and she chases everything down. (Harmon), up top, her first touch is excellent. There’s not many players who can play with their back to goal. In time, she’s going to learn the reward of finishing the ball and getting the reward for hard work. But it’s great for both of them to get out there.”

The IHSA Sectional seedings were announced on Thursday and St. Charles East took comfort from receiving the No. 2 seed in the Hoffman Estates Sectional behind top seed St. Charles North. The Saints took further comfort in beating Sandburg, the top seed in the Andrew Sectional.

“It’s always nice to get recognition,” Jennison said. “It’s been a good place to play this year and these girls have brought the quality back up. We’re under no illusions that the only way to get out of the sectional is to beat (St. Charles North.) But I’m not thinking about the sectional final.

“I’m thinking about our first round match first and we’ll see what happens. But if it comes to it and we get another shot at (St. Charles North), if we get another crack at them, I’d be over the moon with that.”

As the Saints move away from Saturday’s match with Wheaton Warrenville South, there are very few matches remaining in the season.

“It’s definitely a focus now at the end of the season, to be strong and to keep getting these wins because we want to be at our best going into the postseason. Tonight’s match definitely brings our confidence up. It helps us get back on track and playing our game again.”