Schaumburg scores two late goals to defeat Gators

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By Dan Santaromita

All soccer players have been told over and over again that if they put the ball near the goal good things can happen.

Crystal Lake South’s 2-0 loss at Schaumburg was a perfect example of this.

The Gators and Saxons played a fairly even match Saturday afternoon, but the Saxons scored two late goals that were anything but pretty.

South (2-2) got off to a sluggish start but their defense held strong only allowing one shot in the first 20 minutes.

The rest of the half the Gators picked up their intensity and were able to create a few scoring chances.

The Gators’ best chance of the half was when senior forward Ashley Ross made a run down the left and tried to make a cross into an open teammate, but the cross was deflected for a corner kick.

Ross also had a first touch shot go just wide towards the end of the half.

"Schaumburg came out and played very intense," South coach Brian Allen said. "They played the style that we thought they were gonna play. It took us about 20 to 25 minutes to match their intensity.

"I think once we settled things down in the back and started to organize we were able to create a little bit more chances at the end of the first half."

Senior defenders Kelsey Taldone and Katie Burton were a big reason why the Gators were able to keep the Saxons off the scoreboard in the first half.

Taldone said the Gators weren't communicating well early on and once that picked up they played better.

In the second half, the match started to have the look of a stalemate until the Saxons caught a break.

In the 66th minute Schaumburg sent a seemingly harmless cross into the box.

South senior goalie Elizabeth Quinn (6 saves) made a play on the ball, but it fell through her hands and into the net.

"It's hard to recover from a goal like the one that we gave up, you know, right through the keeper's hands," Allen said.

"I think you saw a lot of the girls' heads go down and that just shows me that we got to continue to work on our mental side of the game as well as the technical and tactical."

Just three minutes later, Schaumburg played a corner kick into the box and a scrum for the ball ensued. A Saxon was the first to get a good kick on the ball and just like that it was 2-0.

"We hoped to come out strong in the second half," Taldone said, "but I guess defensively we didn't execute."

A minute later the Gators had one last gasp at goal when Burton had an open header in the box off a corner kick but the ball sailed barely high.

After that, the Gators appeared deflated and Schaumburg controlled the run of play for the rest of the match.

Schaumburg (4-0) hasn't given up a goal yet this season and the Gators were impressed with what they saw.

"Credit Schaumburg," Allen said. "They played hard they took us out of our element in terms of what we were trying to do. We weren't able to connect our feet.

"Part of that was just our lack of execution and part of it was how hard Schaumburg works so you've got to give them credit as well."

"They were a tough team," Taldone said. "I think hustle-wise we hung with them, but they worked hard, too, and I guess in the end they came out stronger than us."

The Gators' next game will be Thursday when they host Bartlett at 4:30 pm.