EDWARDSVILLE – Marquette Catholic's girls soccer team took a pretty tough loss in their Metro Girls Cup tournament opener Tuesday night, falling to Triad 2-1 in extra time.
They may have been feeling the effect of that loss in their Wednesday night match against Springfield, the Senators scoring a 4-1 win over the Explorers in an Adidas Bracket consolation-bracket semifinal match at Edwardsville's Tiger Stadium.
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“They took it to us for sure,” said Explorer coach Steve Mitchell. “We came out flat and we didn't pick it up until probably about 10 minutes to go. We popped a goal in, but we got beat up so bad yesterday and we lose 2-1 yesterday; we just weren't ready.
“We'll fix it; we've got a lot of work to do. It's early. We play big schools like this, you gotta expect they're coming at you. Their benches are deep and it is what it is. The kids are trying, and we've got a few things to fix. This is what we do this (the early-season tournament) for. We play this tournament right off the bat to see where we are and see what we need to fix. We've got a lot of notes down and we're going to fix it.”
The Senators didn't waste much time getting atop the Explorers; they got their first goal in the third minute when Marissa Barria took possession of a through ball and scored to put the Sens up 1-0. Sixteen minutes after Barria's goal, Katie Collins got through and put the ball into the back of the net in the 19th minute to extend the Senator lead to 2-0, which is where it stood at the break.
Collins scored again in the 47th minute, taking a feed from Sarah Cross and scoring to put Springfield up 3-0. The Explorers pulled a goal back in the 50th minute when Adrianna Schindler tucked the ball into the goal to cut the Senator lead to 3-1, but Barria, off a pass from Collins, scored in the 51st minute to give Springfield their three-goal lead back at 4-1, which is where it stayed the remainder of the match.
But being in a tournament like the Metro Girls Cup – which kicks off the season – is something Mitchell welcomes. “I prefer to play the better teams,” Mitchell said. “That's what makes you better. The kids had a good effort (Tuesday) and I think we fell just short tonight because we weren't ready, but it's still early; long way to go.”
The Explorers will face O'Fallon, who dropped a 1-0 decision to Belleville East in Wednesday's opening match, in the Adidas Bracket seventh-place match at 5:30 p.m. Friday; the Senators and Lancers play for fifth place at 7:30 p.m. The third-place and championship matches are set for 4 and 6 p.m. Saturday in Edwardsville.
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