High winds, cold, and rain are things to avoid during spring break, not the beautiful game.
Burlington Central and St. Charles East battled through the inclement weather in a non-conference game Tuesday morning at Norris Stadium, with neither team winning in the end, but the game ended in a 0-0 tie. By the time we finished, the rain had finally stopped.
St. Charles East (4-1-2) has scored just three points in its past four games as the Saints lost for the first time this spring.
“That was kind of our identity,” Saints coach Vince DiNuzzo said. “We defended at a high level. We limited their chances. I think they probably had two chances to score, but they still didn't look like much of a threat on goal. But that says a lot about our defensive organization.
“But we can't score. We can't finish it right now. We have a lot of chances: four or five breakaways, other quality set-pieces, dead balls. I felt like we played most of the game in the opponent's half and didn't have anything to show.”
With less than 30 minutes left, Saints senior Mackenzie Loomis got past Rockets sophomore goaltender Kenzie Lorkowski, but sophomore defender Allison Kowall swooped down to stop the attack and cut her score short. The attempt was thwarted.
About five minutes earlier, Saints freshman defender Avery Foulkes took a long shot that curved slightly, but it hit the far post and bounced harmlessly away.
It was just such a day for the Saints. The Saints applied a lot of pressure at times, but were repeatedly denied.
“I think there's part of the mentality that we created six chances in the first half so we're going to have more chances, so we'll be fine,” DiNuzzo said. “But we're running out of time and suddenly we're defending a free kick with two seconds left. That's one thing we have to learn from our mistakes.”
Last Tuesday, the Saints lost 3-1 to Crystal Lake Central in the Rose Augsburg Drach Invitational.
“After the Crystal Lake Central game, we talked about creating more scoring opportunities and how to finish them off,” DiNuzzo said. “We're getting better, but we're not where we need to be. It's fast. We have a lot of new faces to form. We want them to be free to be creative in the final part of the field.” We're trying to do that, so we just have to get some ideas, do some iterations and finish some of these opportunities.”
Many of those newcomers are among the 14 underclassmen on the roster.
“We don't want to make excuses, so we banned the word 'young,'” DiNuzzo said. “We have a lot of kids who are talented and good soccer players, regardless of their age. As a coaching staff, we have to find the right combination of players to have success at the top.” It won’t.”
Burlington Central (1-5-2) may not have been as dangerous as the Saints, but the Rockets were close to being a breakout team at times.
Just a few minutes into the second half, Rockets sophomore Kendall Grigg was able to get into the box, but her attack quickly dissipated.
“We were competitive, and it's always fun to play against competitive players like that,” Rockets coach Jess Arneson said. “We wanted to get a win like that. Gaining confidence is a big part as well and we'll get there.”
The Rockets just earned their first win of the season in a 6-1 game against Lockton Hononega on Saturday, with sophomore Mekenzie Rodgers scoring four goals and dishing out two assists.
“Rodgers has given us a lot of goals, so I'm not really surprised by that,” Arneson said. “She's a phenomenal player. But we're trying to learn that we can't just rely on one player and one system and we have to work together as a team. That's the key. And that’s why we struggle, but it’s also why we succeed, because when all the gears work, it’s beautiful.”
The tough schedule the Rockets have faced, including Naperville Central, St. Charles North and the Saints among other 3A schools, has prepared the team for the Fox Valley Conference in the past. That should happen again this spring.
“One of the players said something like this happens to us every year,” Arneson said. “They start out slow at first because they're trying to navigate a difficult system, but as soon as something clicks, it comes into focus. They know it and they expect it. It doesn't surprise us anything going into conference play because we know we're playing hard teams like this. They usually keep their heads up pretty high.”