Spartans power themselves to a sectional title game

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By Gary Larsen

Early this season they were inside their own heads too much, but the attacking players on St. Francis are now throwing caution to the wind and not hesitating to let those shots fly off their feet.

Five of then flew into the net against Glenbard South on Wednesday.

“We got the job done,” St. Francis sophomore Taylor Bucaro said. “We took advantage of the few shots we got and we finished on them.”

The Spartans’ 5-0 win over the Raiders sends them to a 2A sectional title game against Nazareth on Friday. Taylor Bucaro and Andi Matichak each scored twice while Kaity Bucaro struck once in a sectional semifinal at Riverside-Brookfield.

Spartans coach Jim Winslow sees good things on the horizon if his girls keep finishing the way they’re capable of finishing.

“When you look across the board, our scoring is spread out amongst a number of players this year,” Winslow said.

“Andi can do it, Kaity can do it, Syd (Fox) can do it, Taylor Bucaro – and Andrea (Ravlin) is a very good poacher, which is a lost art in this country. People talk about forwards being able to do this or do that, but (Ravlin) just gets to the right spot and scores goals. She’s just like a 20-point scorer in the NBA who takes good shots and knocks them down.”

Yet another cold spring day unfolded Wednesday, with the bonus of an ever-increasing wind sweeping the field as the game wore on. St. Francis (17-6-2) went into the game as the No. 2 seed in the sectional, against No.3-seeded Glenbard South (13-6-2).

Playing against the wind, the Spartans put two fortuitous goals in net in the first half.

From the left side, Fox sent a ball to the near post in the game’s 8th minute, where Matichak won it and poked it home for the early lead. Glenbard South goalkeeper Dana Jourdan slapped a Matichak offering away at 14 minutes, but Kaity Bucaro made it 2-0 at 20 minutes.

Bucaro stepped onto a pass squared inside the Raiders’ penalty area to open space by teammate Andrea Ravlin, whipping it inside the near post on the left side.

“I think we played really well. We took our opportunities and took advantage of them,” the Spartans’ Anna Vonderhaar said. “That first goal was important because it kept our heads up and let us get the momentum going.”

The 2-0 lead held to halftime, and Taylor Bucaro made it 3-0 at 51 minutes with a blast from 30 yards out.

“Anything 35 yards and in, she’s dangerous on them and now you’ve got a 30 mph wind at her back,” Winslow said of Bucaro. “I felt bad for (Jourdan) because it’s windy, it’s misty, and you can’t judge balls properly.”

Matichak buried a sweet left-footed shot from 18 yards out at 64 minutes before Taylor Bucaro struck again from 30 yards on another wicked shot. The Spartans’ early-season search for the perfect shot has given way to a team-wide willingness to put balls on frame.

“We were holding it too much in the box instead of taking the shots we had,” Vonderhaar said. “So we started striking the shots, every opportunity we had.”

“They just loosened up and stopped pressing about it,” Winslow said. “Most of these games are lost, they’re not won, and one of the unique things we have is that we can score goals. We can create our own opportunities and score goals.”

The Raiders’ Nicole Schutte nearly broke up the Spartans’ shutout late in the contest, but her free kick from 30 yards out hit the crossbar and was eventually cleared out.

The Spartans will take on top-seeded Nazareth (16-5-2) with a sectional title on the line on Friday at Riverside-Brookfield. The Roadrunners were a 6-0 winner over U-High in Wednesday’s first semifinal match.

The Spartans reached a sectional title game last year before a 4-0 loss to rival Wheaton Academy ended their season.

“I think our chances of winning are better this year. This is my second time (in a sectional final) as a sophomore and I’m excited to see us get as far as we can this year,” Taylor Bucaro said.

Nazareth figures to be the Spartans’ toughest postseason test yet.

“System-wise, they play a very similar system so it could be a game that at times might be ugly,” Winslow said. “Right now I’m happy because we have a very good goalkeeper, and if our kids up top play well we’ll have a good game.”

Hot goalkeeping can get you a long way in the postseason, and the Spartans have one capable of turning on the burners in Jenna Ditusa. The sophomore made a pair of quality saves early on among a handful needed to keep the Raiders out of net in the first half.

Ditusa, Meg Wagner, Dana Dubois, Taylor Ravlin and company have given up 18 goals in 25 games and Wednesday’s win gave the Spartans their 14th shutout of the year. “Our defense works well together and we’re always covering for each other,” Vonderhaar said.

Winslow pointed to another Spartan who has been relaxing -- and thus elevating -- her game.

“I’m really happy with Kaity Bucaro,” Winslow said. “She went through a bit of a funk this year in the middle of the season. It was one of those typical sophomore slumps, where she was over-thinking things a little bit. She was pressing.

“Now, she had a big goal against Montini on Saturday and the second goal, which was a huge goal, today. She’s starting to feel better and she’s giving herself more opportunities.”