Corsairs score twice in second half to claim ESCC win at Providence

 

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By Curt Herron

It's easy for a team to be a little distracted when it has to travel a long way for a midweek conference match.

That was the situation facing Carmel on Wednesday when it ventured to New Lenox to meet up with Providence Catholic.

Although the Corsairs outplayed the Celtics during the opening half, they had to settle for a 1-1 draw at the break.

But a quick score at the start of the second half put Carmel back in front and it controlled the play after that.

The Corsairs added another score in the final 10 minutes to wrap up a 3-1 East Suburban Catholic Conference victory.

After starting off the season at 3-4-1, coach John Halloran's squad has gone 6-1-1 to improve their mark to 9-5-2.

Its lone recent loss was a 3-0 defeat to Glenbrook South on Monday, when Carmel didn't play its starters for long.

Brianne Carlson scored a goal and added an assist while Ashley Orth and Meegan Johnston also connected for Carmel.

Lauren Bowles and Kelly Trillhaase also chipped in with assists while Katie Larson recorded the victory in the net.

"I told the girls at halftime that they weren't doing anything wrong, we just didn't finish our chances," Halloran said. "We did a better job during the second half but I still think that we can do even better.

"We're lucky since we have a very mature team. All of these girls played some part for us last year and a lot of them were starters. So they have a very good understanding of each other and what we want them to do.

"We don't have a superstar, but in some cases that's a good thing because if the goals are coming from five or six different places, it helps. Since we've got everybody back and healthy, we've been pretty tough."

Carmel dominated in chances in the first half but had little to show for it as the teams took a tie into the break.

Carlson was denied on a short attempt by Celtics keeper Megan Hettinger during the opening two minutes of the match.

A short time later, Shannon Jung hit a shot off the post and then Trillhaase had an attempt cleared by a defender.

The Corsairs struck during the 23rd minute when Bowles sent a flip throw to Carlson, who scored from close range.

After Larson had to dive to stop a try by the Celtics' Chris Reed, Hettinger denied attempts from Carlson and Orth.

Carmel continued to apply the pressure as Sadie Jung had a threat stopped, as did Sarah McHugh on a long free kick.

Providence evened things in the 37th minute when Kyleigh Maday delivered a corner to Reed, who put in a short shot.

But Carmel regained the lead in the 43rd minute when Carlson found Orth, whose try hit the crossbar and rolled in.

"Even though everyone had dead legs after sitting on the bus for an hour or so while we were getting here, we all came out full speed and played a really good game," Carlson said.

"At halftime, coach told us that we just had to try to put them out of the game, and we kind of did that after stepping up in the second half. I think we really showed what we can do.

"We passed the ball well and it was really nice how we played today. This season is starting to look up for us now and we're getting excited about things as we get ready for playoffs."

Over the next few minutes, Bowles was denied on a pair of attempts while Carlson also saw one of her shots halted.

A bit later, Johnston fired in a pair of liners that were stopped, a fate later suffered by Bowles and Shannon Jung.

Meanwhile, the Celtics (9-8-2, 3-3-1) struggled to get anything going since the Corsairs controlled the possession.

Carmel finally broke through again in the 73rd minute when Trillhaase sent a ball to Johnston, who hit a short shot.

The visitors had another pair of chances in the late going but Hettinger stopped attempts rom Trillhaase and Bowles.

Despite the loss, coach Dan Potempa's Celtics also have nine victories, which is four more than they had a year ago.

"They're a good, quality opponent and they played real strong and physical," Potempa said. "I think they took it to us pretty good in the first half. I was happy that it was only 1-1 at halftime.

"My girls definitely played a lot better in the second half and were able to move the ball and create some opportunities. We made a couple of mistakes and good teams make other teams pay for that.

"We've really started to come together as a team. At the beginning of the season we were playing kick ball but we're doing a better job of possessing the ball. We've really progressed a long way."

The Corsairs close out ESCC competition on Saturday when they travel to Chicago Heights to take on Marian Catholic.