Knights well-tested against St. Francis attack

 

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By Gary Larsen

While a game like Thursday’s 5-0 loss to Class 2A St. Francis was tough to play in for Class 1A Chicago Christian, the Knights simply saw it as another chance to get battle-tested for the postseason.

The Spartans (9-4-2, 3-0) kept the attacking pressure on the Knights (9-5, 4-3) for most of the Suburban Christian Conference contest, and scored mainly from long-range against a defense bent on not allowing them to get behind.

“They play a beautiful style and they’re a structured team,” Chicago Christian coach Trevor Schans said. “We know coming in that they’re a great team so we want to work on things that good teams exploit.

“Whatever the score ends up against a team like (St. Francis) we want to make sure we stayed in good position defensively, didn’t over-commit, and make sure that offensively we’re trying to connect passes. And I thought we did that.”

Wednesday’s game took place at the College of DuPage on yet another brisk and damp spring day. St. Francis quickly established its presence on the Knights’ defensive end and grabbed a 3-0 halftime lead on goals from Taylor Ravlin, Taylor Bucaro, and Sydney Fox.

Jenna Ditusa and Katie Ramsey netted goals in the second half, as shots from distance paid off for the Spartans.

“We’ve been working on getting to the end line but when we see our opportunities we have to take them,” Bucaro said, after scoring her first goal of the season from 20 yards out. “We had a lot of opportunities to take shots from the outside today. Their defense was packed in the box so we had to take what they were giving us.”

The Spartans established a high ceiling for scoring last season and continue to meet that standard. “We’ve been working on shooting and we’re getting more comfortable with our shots and on finishing them,” Bucaro said.

Spartans coach Jim Winslow saw mostly what he wanted to see from his side in Glen Ellyn. “The big thing I wanted to see was that we played efficient,” he said. “I was really pleased with the way we played in the first half.”

“We play Wheaton Academy in two weeks so I’ll start hammering away at team defending and staying focused. Because once you’re playing in those sectionals or super sectionals you’re not going to score a ton of goals. But if you’re not giving up goals, you’re keeping yourself in every game.”

“(Defensively), Anna Vonderhaar has been absolutely fantastic. She’s getting better and better every game. She’s picking and choosing her spots on when to come forward, and she just took over the middle of the field in our last game against Rosary (a 6-1 victory).”

For the Knights, keeper Becca Hook has been fearless and aggressive throughout the 2011 season and the junior made several quality stops in the second half in the face of the Spartans’ persistent pressure.

“She made a lot of good saves and she’s done that all year,” Schans said. “We’ve had a couple games in which we’re constantly defending and she has done a great job. We’ve been playing well at midfield and in back, and sometimes the shots from distance are the hardest ones to handle, especially in the elements we had today.”

In addition to Hook’s strong second half, Schans also applauded the typically solid  efforts put forth by Kayli Deckinga and Lauren Kuipers, and the steady attacking play this season of Carolyn Richards, Anica Pausma, and forward Amber Voss.

“Amber works side-to-side, she works defensively, and she’s not just up there waiting for the ball,” Schans said. “She’s working and she’s giving us another dimension. As a team we want to play that complete soccer, where our midfielders, defenders, and forwards attack as well as defend. We’re definitely making those improvements and taking those steps, and if it continues we’ll be dangerous once the postseason begins.”

“We have to go into games against teams like Wheaton Academy, Marian, and St. Francis with appropriate goals. Our motto is ‘play eighty minutes’, regardless of what the other team brings. We want to focus on us and I thought we did a pretty good job of that today.”