CALUMET CITY | According to Thornton Fractional girls soccer coach Alejandro Lagunas, many of his players don't eat before matches as they should.
Apparently, feasting on the opposition does not count.
Thornton Fractional players Jamie Kats and Andrea Munoz gorged themselves on goals Saturday afternoon. Kats, a junior from T.F. South, and Munoz, a sophomore from T.F. North, each scored three times to lead Thornton Fractional to a 7-1 first-round Class 3A Marist Regional victory against Thornton Township at T.F. North High School.
Thornton Fractional (12-9), the 13th seed, will now face fourth-seeded Stagg in a regional semifinal match Tuesday at Marist.
"I think we are going to have to knock the ball around real well against (Stagg)," Lagunas said. "We are going to have to be focused, mentally, and we are going to have to connect on a lot of passes. The girls upfront will have to take advantage of the opportunities they have."
Thornton Fractional dominated the match early, with run after run keeping Thornton Township keeper Porche McCoy busy. Kats scored all of her goals in the first half, which brought her season-scoring total to 36 goals.
Kats put Thornton Fractional on the scoreboard for the first time at the 18-minute mark on a breakaway up the middle. The midfielder would later add two more scores less than two minutes apart, the latter a 35-meter blast to put the hosts up, 3-0.
"The defense was pushing way forward, trying to trap us for offsides," Kats said. "That basically helps to create open space for anybody to take it through."
Munoz added the prettiest score of the day before half, as she split a pair of Thornton Township defenders then raced past another for a breakaway goal to give Thornton Fractional a 4-0 lead shortly before intermission.
Munoz added a long score to open the second half, then finished the game's scoring with a goal with less than 10 minutes to play. Thornton Fractional forward Jocelynn Gil utilized her speed to score the team's other goal midway through the second half.
T.F keepers split duties Saturday, with Giovanna Gil net minding the first half, and Angelique Guerrero the second half. Together, they turned back seven shots.
Thornton Township sophomore Lupe Ambrosio had a busy day. Her game began as a sweeper against the relentless Thornton Fractional attack, and was highlighted when she later moved to forward and chipped a direct kick over the Thornton Fractional wall early in the second half for a goal. Thornton Township finished its season with a record of 0-12-1.
"She's explosive, she is the energy of the team," Thornton Township coach Maria Gonzalez said of Ambrosio. "And she's young. A lot of the girls are very young, and we are only getting better."
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