CHICAGO HEIGHTS | Marian Catholic's Nora Santschi likes to think that the rain and poor elements just show how good your team really is.
Battling the rain all game, the Spartans proved to be the better team in a 4-1 nonconference win over Crete-Monee on Tuesday. Santschi scored two goals for the Spartans.
Marian Catholic used three second-half goals to break the game open before Crete-Monee's Amanda Baron was able to get a goal late for the Warriors (6-6-2).
"It's fun playing in the rain," Santschi said. "You see how good your team is playing in the rain. We played great I think. It was a great game. Despite the rain I think we pulled through and played great."
At half, Marian Catholic coach Nasser Shahtaji said his team's needed to get more quality shots on the Warriors goal. Marian Catholic (5-11-1) was able to dominate play from the start, but was unable to get quality shots at the front of the Crete-Monee net. In the second half, the Spartans were able to convert those opportunities into goals.
"We emphasized shots on target," Shahtaji said. "In the first half, the shots were wide. They were good shots but the goalkeeper did not have to come up with saves. In the second half, it was good to see them make that adjustment and make that improvement."
The Spartans made it 2-0 just under 13 minutes into the second half before adding two more goals midway through the half. Sarah Sieracki finished the game with three saves in goal for the Spartans. Baron's late goal was all the offense the Warriors could muster against a stingy Marian Catholic defense.
"We're struggling with our offense," Warriors coach Julian Lagunas said. "We're very content with watching other teams play and dictate the pace of the game. I don't think we're doing a good enough effort of winning balls in the air."
Please Wait…