Spartans keep the pedal to the floor vs. Immaculate Conception

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By Gary Larsen

When you’re an outside defender and your squad holds a four-goal lead and is controlling play, there’s something you want pretty badly.

You want to get in on the action. St. Francis has a pair of quality outside players in Diana Matusiak and Yasmeen Mahmud, and both were itching to get involved offensively, as a four-goal lead culminated in a 6-0 victory over Immaculate Conception.

“It can be (risky), but we want to play aggressive,”Matusiak said. “And playing aggressive means taking those opportunities and making those runs.”

The Spartans got 2 goals and 2 assists from Andi Matichak and a pair of goals from Taylor Ravlin, but it was Sydney Fox that kicked the door open against the Knights.

After pressuring but not finishing through the game’s first 14 minutes, Matichak took a ball up the right side and served a ball that Fox stepped onto and buried to break the ice.

"Syd and Andi work well together," Spartans' coach Meg Boler said. "They're good friends and I like the way they play together."

Matichak followed quickly with a goal on a Meagan Gitchell assist, and the Spartans were off to the races in the Suburban Christian Conference game in Wheaton.

“The first ten minutes was a little rough but then they stepped up. They started putting passes together,” Boler said.

St. Francis improved to 5-1 in the SCC, with Guerin, Rosary, and defending state champion Wheaton Academy remaining on the conference schedule.

The Spartans host Wheaton Academy next Thursday, in a game between the No.’s 1 and 2 seeds of this year’s Class 2A Elmwood Park sectional. And St. Francis can hardly wait.

“We’re ready to play them,” Matusiak said. “Last year we lost to Wheaton Academy and people might have thought that was the end, but it was just the beginning.We’re ready for the playoffs and I think we’ll do really well.”

Two days after Boler was slightly less than thrilled with her squad’s play in a 2-1 loss to Class 3A Geneva, St. Francis showed passion and smarts throughout Thursday’s win.

While Boler was happy to see her girls compete at a high level during parts of the loss to Geneva, her unhappiness centered on one factor.

“Eighty minutes,” Boler said. “Granted, (Immaculate Conception) isn’t Geneva but today, we played hard, connected passes, and our goals came in combination play. That’s the team I want to see every game.”

While Matichak, Fox, Gitchell, and Katie Bucaro have helped lead the offensive charge this season, a back line featuring seniors Matusiak and Mahmud on the outside has played well.

“I’ll miss Yasmeen a lot, because of her mentality for the game,” Boler said. “When she’s on the field she knows those places to be, she knows how to make those runs. She’s very active, even more active than I’ve seen her in the past.”

“She comes up the sideline and she’s not afraid to shoot. She takes free kicks, and her accuracy is unbelievable.”

Matusiak is a converted midfielder who slid to the back line mid-way through last season.

“I’ve always been a midfielder but coach Boler said she thought I’d make a good defender,” Matusiak said. “I love it, especially playing with Jenna (Ditusa) and Yasmeen (Mahmud). They’re great. You just have to (defend) with kind of a chip on your shoulder, and be ready to play.”

Boler appreciates what Matusiak is bringing to the table in her senior year.

“Di (Matusiak) was good last year but she’s even better this year. She’s smarter on the field this year,” Boler said. “She’s the last line and she’s very aggressive in the air, and that’s big for us. And whenever I can, I like to mover her up.”

Boler applauded the play of Fox and Lauren Kaminky against the Knights. She also hopes that the Spartans’ schedule has them ready for the postseason.

Playing big-school teams like Libertyville, Maine South, Wheaton Warrenville South, and Geneva has been aimed at opening the Spartans’ eyes.

“I told them that if they’re talking about going to state, they’re going to be playing teams like that,” Boler said. “If you plan on going to state, you better get mentally ready.”

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