Spartans top Chicago Christian in SCC tilt
By Darrly Mellema

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In a year where drought has been a major concern, it was a strange sight to see St. Francis’ bench players huddled under a super-large umbrella during Thursday’s match with Chicago Christian.

But there they were, the substitute Spartans, staying dry during the match-long rain that provided the first poor weather of the 2012 season.

While the rain was never heavy, rain is always a concern at St. Francis, where the athletic fields sit on a flood plain. The field soaked up the rain, though the surface became very slick. And in portions near the center that were already devoid of grass, the pitch became muddy.

Still, St. Francis dealt with the conditions well and claimed a 4-1 Suburban Christian Conference victory.

“We made a couple of defensive mistakes,” St, Francis coach Kristin Keigley said. “But overall, they made sure that they kept it on the ground. If you play it in the air, in these conditions, it’ll skip like crazy. They worked well to adjust to how heavy a pass they were giving. All in all, they were making sure of what they did.”

After a drought-filled summer and a mostly-dry season, the Spartans (4-3, 3-0) took some time to settle into the match.

“They knew that the center was a little cut up, so they kept it more on the sides when they had to carry it through that midfield area,” Keigley said. “I felt they adjusted well.”

St. Francis’ field was freshly lined prior to Thursday’s match and made much wider. Where the usual sideline markings would have given the Spartans a 53-yard wide field, they had around 65 yards to work with against Chicago Christian.

“We don’t practice here and we are used to practicing on fields even wider than this,” Keigley said. “It is better than playing, literally, on a football field.”

St. Francis needed 30 minutes before it was able to score. The key came when the passing game began to click and the hosts started moving the goal as a group.

“That’s one of the things that we do well, when we do it – maintain possession,” Keigley said. “We’re working on getting them to switch it through the defense and to switch it through the midfield and to not just continually try to push it up one side of the field.”

As the half progressed, the Spartans got closer to scoring. With 17 minutes left before halftime, Jake Miller fed Matt Bonner, who shot just wide. Moments later, Remi Mifsud put St. Francis ahead.

Goals now flowed a bit like the rain, steadily and easily. Mifsud’s goal came with 14:56 to play. Within six minutes, Bonner took a Jason Bhatia pass, turned on the ball and dribbled before scoring the match’s second goal.

And in the final minute play, Bhatia found Mifsud, who made the halftime score 3-0.
St. Francis’ quick goal flurry was interrupted when Chicago Christian scored five minutes into the second half. But eight minutes into the half, Sam Kim flicked a close-range shot over the Chicago Christian defense and goalie and into the net.

On a night when defensive footing was always a concern, Keigley praised the work of senior defender Matt Schultz, among others.

“He made sure he was getting a certain angle on defense without ever fouling,” Keigley said. “Nick Roehl has been great for us in the defense. Those two really did a stand-up job. Obviously a lot of them played well tonight.”

And with a wet ball, a slippery surface and many shots coming from long distance, St. Francis goalie Bobby Rozner did very well with the various challenges.

“There were a number of instances where he came up with a good dive or judged when it was appropriate to come off his line or out of his box,” Keigley said.

One certainty is that Thursday’s match will not be the last to be played in marginal weather this fall and Keigley said she was pleased with the temperament her team took into the match.

“It was a game that matters, it was a conference game,” Keigley said. “Them being focused in a game that does count, that’s important for them to do.”

Saturday, St. Francis plays IMSA at 10 a.m. Monday, the Spartans open play in the St. Charles East Invitational with a 5 p.m. match against Plainfield Central.