Short-handed Stagg shuts down Shepard

Updated: March 23, 2011 3:50PM

With Stagg missing seven players who were attending a Youth in Government event Friday, freshman Katie Johnson got her first chance to play for the varsity team.

She certainly took advantage of the opportunity.

Johnson scored the lone goal of the match midway through the second half to lift the Chargers to a 1-0 win in Palos Heights.

The freshman's goal came on the first shot on goal for either team. She won a jump ball near midfield, beat a defender down the right side of the field and fired a high shot past goalkeeper Rachel Reule.

It was the first goal of the season for Stagg, which played Joliet West to a 0-0 draw Wednesday.

"When I first shot it, I didn't think it was going to go in," said Johnson, normally a member of the sophomore team. "I was so excited when it went in. Nothing like that's ever happened before. I think I'm going to remember that goal forever."

The Chargers (1-0-1) kept the pressure up the rest of the match, firing four more shots on goal and keeping play on Shepard's side of the field for most of the half. Forwards Tara Tarazoff and Julia Gawlak kept the pressure on the Astros.

Gawlak nearly scored on a header off a corner kick with 12 minutes to go, just missing wide.

Stagg coach Mike Kealy attributed the surge to a move from three forwards to two, helping the Chargers take control of the middle of the field.

"It was great to see some of the freshmen and sophomores come up and play well," he said. "We worked on playing through balls and it paid off in the second half."

Shepard (0-1) struggled to create offensive opportunities and did not have a shot on goal, but the Astros backline played solidly and Reule made four big saves, including one on a Gawlak breakaway.

"(Reule) is playing really well," Shepard coach Scott Wilkins said. "Overall, we played well. We gave up a transition goal so we have to work on that. We have a few girls injured, so hopefully when we get them back, we'll be able to do more offensively."

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