Joliet West, Stagg play to draw

Updated: March 23, 2011 3:50PM

All things considered, Wednesday night was a bit frustrating for both Stagg and Joliet West's girls soccer teams.

The season opener for both squads started 45 minutes late after Joliet West's bus driver got lost on the way to Palos Hills. Then both teams missed some good early scoring chances in the SouthWest Suburban crossover, playing to a 0-0 draw.

Still, both coaches saw plenty of positives in a well-played game from both young squads.

"I was really happy with our effort, and that was a concern a few days ago," Stagg coach Mike Kealy said. "Attacking and finishing is the last part of the game that comes. We have only three seniors and a lot of young players, so it will take some time."

Joliet West goalkeeper Courtney Robinson made four saves for the shutout while the Chargers' Danielle Koncius came up with two.

Stagg got the better of play in the early going. Maggie Yandel tested Robinson with a strong shot 12 minutes in that Robinson made a diving save on, bobbling the ball before gathering it to prevent a rebound opportunity.

Yandel also set up Tara Tarazoff with a nice cross, Tarazoff firing just wide. Minutes later, Stagg had another good chance, but Anna Gal's shot trickled wide.

Yandel was the biggest generator of offense for either side, using her speed to create several opportunities for the Chargers.

"Maggie's very fast," Kealy said. "She's added some good ball-handling moves to her game, too. We're expecting big things from her. We don't have any superstars, so we'll need a lot of girls to step up."

Joliet West, playing its first game since Joliet Township – a supersectional qualifier last year – split back into two programs, picked its play up at the end of the first half.

The best chance of the match for either squad came in the closing seconds of the first half, when the Tigers' Morgan Graves broke free down the left side of the field on a breakaway, but fired high.

"We had some moments, we just didn't put it in the back of the net," Joliet West coach Jeff Lundeen said. "This was a good game for both teams that could have gone either way."

In a second half dominated by defense, Stagg managed the only shot on goal.

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