Corsairs top Marian Catholic 8-0
By Gary Larsen

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For any player out there aiming to get some varsity minutes to her name, look no further than the example of Carmel ‘s Claire Ogrinc.

The Corsairs’ junior took a shot that led to the game’s first goal in Monday’s 8-0 win over visiting Marian Catholic, and then added a goal and an assist to her stat sheet.

Ogrinc has seen more and more time on the field for coach John Halloran, and she has earned it.

"We train our second group a little extra once the games start, because your first group you're trying to recover with, and her work rate just kept standing out, time after time,” Halloran said. “We started giving her a few minutes here and there and she does exactly on the field what she's been doing in training. The biggest thing is her work rate. She does not stop moving. She's got good pace.

"She had a great day today. She was out there from the get-go and she has just had a great second half to her season. She just keeps getting better and more confident.”

Monday’s win moved Carmel’s overall record to 12-3-1, and finalized its conference record at 7-1-1. Shannon Jung scored twice in the win over  Marian and the Corsairs also got goals from Sadie Jung, Bri Carlson, Meegan Johnston, Kayla Handel, and Katie Larson.

Katie Larson?

Yes, the Corsairs starting goalkeeper donned her field jersey, played most of the game, and scored Carmel’s 7th goal just before halftime, on a feed from Annie Di Venere.

"I played for a couple minutes last game but not too much," Larson said. “But I train in the field with my club team and as a goalie you’re running and doing ladders, so I felt pretty good out there.”

In her place, junior Jenna Bauer was in net for Carmel’s 7th shutout of the season.

Since losing to Nazareth in a pivotal East Suburban Catholic Conference game on April 28, Carmel has posted wins over Providence and Marian. Should Nazareth and Saint Viator lose one of their remaining ESCC games, the Corsairs would share a piece of this year’s conference crown.

"Coming back and winning our last two games has definitely been a morale boost," Larson said. "Coach told us we had to put it behind us and look forward to the playoffs, and we could still be conference champs so we're still holding on to that little bit of hope."

Sadie Jung opened Monday’s scoring when she crashed the far post and buried a ball that came over on an initial shot from Ogrinc, just three minutes into the game. Carlson scored on a head shot at 14 minutes on an Ogrinc feed, and Johnston blistered a left-footed shot from distance to make it 3-0 at 18 minutes.

"We had Meegan back, which was nice, and she had a goal. She's been out with an ankle thing for a couple of weeks," Halloran said. "And Bri Carlson and Claire teamed up on two goals today, and Caitlin Murphy played well today has been a workhorse all year for us."

Carlson fed Ogrinc for a head shot goal at 20 minutes before Shannon Jung converted a penalty kick to make it 5-0 at 27 minutes. Jung scored again three minutes later before Di Venere and Larson teamed up at 37 minutes to make it 7-0.

The 7-goal lead cut the second half from 40 to 20 minutes, and Handel scored the game’s only goal after intermission. Marian only had one truly dangerous run in the game, but Carmel's Maggie Avampato raced back and made a nice tackle on a Marian player at the top of the Corsairs' penalty area.

Carmel plays away at Marian Central on Wednesday and then home against Glenbrook North on Friday to end regular-season play. The Corsairs open Class 3A regional play vs. Mundelein in a semifinal of the Glenbrook South regional.

Carmel won 3-0 over Mundelein on April 16.

 "We'll probably give Friday’s game against Glenbrook North a full go as preparation for the (postseason)," Halloran said. "Mundelein is a local rival and if we get through that we'll play the winner of Warren and Glenbrook South. We beat Warren 1-0 (on March 20) but that was a long time ago, and GBS is just dynamite every year."

Carmel played Monday’s game without the services of defenders Caitlin Jung and Maggie Karich, both of whom should return to the fold before the postseason.

"(Jung) will be back. That was tough at Nazareth losing her but she'll be back, and I know she'll come back stronger," Larson said. "Maggie got something stuck in her foot at a water park, but she'll be back, too, and she's fine."