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Koehl, Gages lift North Stars past rival Saints
| Andrew A. Nelles~For Sun-Times Media |
Updated: April 27, 2011 12:01PM
Coming off a frustrating 2-1 loss at Geneva, St. Charles North coach Ruth Vostal told Sam Gage that she needed to become an impact player every play.
The North Stars senior obviously got the message, setting up a first-half goal and then headed home a second-half insurance strike to help produce a 2-0 victory in Tuesday’s crosstown clash at St. Charles East. The victory boosted North to 7-3-0 overall and 4-1-0 in the Upstate Eight Conference River Division while the Saints leveled off at 4-4-3 and 1-1-1.
North had a few more opportunities in the opening half but there was 8:10 left before halftime when Sam Gage’s through ball found Lauren Koehl in stride for an 8-yarder from left of center.
“We knew it was crucial for us to get on them in the first half and Sammy gave me a perfect ball,” Koehl said of her second goal for the season. “This was a really good win for us being a conference match and against a rival.”
“All week we worked on our combinations,” Gage said. “So that work ethic paid off and even though we’ve got a lot of friends at East, it’s always nice to beat them.”
The North Stars almost caught East off guard after the second-half re-start as they blasted a trio of shots on the Saints’ net only to comer up empty. But with 17:50 remaining, Alex Gage’s corner kick found sister Sam in the middle for a five-yard header.
“Alex and I worked all summer on improving our timing and we were really excited for this game and chance to get back to winning,” Sam Gage noted.
“Consistency on corners is always my goal, but when it pays off with a goal, it feels great,” Alex Gage added. “It’s like I accomplished my goal and did my end and when someone finishes at the end, the pieces come together.”
North Stars goalie Kendall Karr registered her fourth solo shutout in addition to having one shared clean sheet. Although North had a 14-10 advantage for overall attempts and an 8-4 edge in on-target tries, the Saints fought to the end and put three of their seven attempts on frame during the second half.
“We threw everything we had at them and they soaked it up, sometimes things just don’t go your way,” East coach Paul Jennison said. “We played a full 80 minutes and I’m proud of them in a two-nil loss than some of our wins. I’m very confident this group will have a good postseason.”
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