Gitchell scores late to lift Spartans over Libertyville

By Darryl Mellema

From start to finish on Saturday, St. Francis gave Libertyville everything it could handle in the teams' Pepsi Showdown contest at Schaumburg's Olympic Park.

And when the match ended, the Spartans had also handed the Tigers a 4-3 defeat in one of St. Francis' most complete performances of the year.

"They're a great team," St. Francis' Andi Matichak said. "But we've been working hard in practice.

"We've been working on corner kicks and working on defending corner kicks – because that's one of our weaknesses. We really showed today that all of our hard work paid off."

The Spartans (2-3-1) also showed how important it is to put shots on goal. Time and again, St. Francis shots unsettled Libertyville.

Although the momentum swung wildly in the contest, Libertyville never managed to take the lead over the Spartans.

And the match ended dramatically when Meagan Gitchell floated a ball over Libertyville's goalkeeper and under the crossbar with two minutes to play. The late winner earned the Spartans their first win in the tournament.

"That was a good turn of events that we got that goal," Gitchell said. "I really wanted to get the ball in. It was pretty open and I just wanted to take that shot."

Gitchell said the idea of getting the ball over the goalkeeper and into the net was planned.

"I noticed she was up a little bit," Gitchell said. "The wind definitely helped."

Matichak scored two of St. Francis' goals, including the team's opening goal after 12 minutes of play. Gitchell provided the pass from which Matichak scored.

Kaity Bucaro doubled the Spartans' lead two minutes later when she took a Gitchell pass and scored.

Libertyville roared back and had the match tied at 2-2 with 17 minutes to go in the half.

"Those two first goals were very exciting," Gitchell said. "And then they came back and then we came back again. It was very fast paced. I felt we played really well today, keeping the ball moving."

St. Francis remained unbowed and regained the lead 13 minutes before halftime when Matichak stepped in and stole the ball from Libertyville's goalkeeper and scored.

"We got after it," Matichak said. "We had some chances that we didn't finish. But in the end, we did all we could and it showed. I'm proud of every single girl on our team because they all worked hard."

Libertyville tied the contest with nine minutes to go, setting the stage for Gitchell's late heroics.

"My midfielders and forwards up top showed up today," St. Francis coach Meaghan Boler said.

"It's what I've been looking for these last four or five games. Our passing has gotten so much better. I think they're finally understanding where each other is on the field."

The four-goal outburst marked St. Francis' best offensive output of the season.

"This (Libertyville) team is very good and the teams we have been playing are all very good," Boler said.

"If this is at all a sign for what my girls are going to show the rest of the season, I am more than excited."

Much of what St. Francis did, especially in the first half, flowed through Matichak, a sophomore midfielder.

"It is nice, but it's the players who surround me who help out the most," Matichak said.

"I couldn't do anything if I didn't have girls backing me up or making runs. It's really a whole team thing."

The Pepsi Showdown is the Spartans' biggest in-season tournament and they are enjoying the experience.

"We have been playing teams that are very good and we have been holding our own," Matichak said.

"We've had some close games and we could have had won some games, but we came through in the end today."