Father McGivney’s Allison Beltramea battles for possession against Civic Memorial’s Landree Wallace Wednesday in Glen Carbon.
Matt Kamp/Hearst Illinois
Father McGivney, the state’s top-ranked Class 1A team, scored two first-half goals on the way to a 3-0 non-conference victory Wednesday in Glen Carbon.
“Class 1A is not easy,” CM coach Eric Zyung said. “They say you dropped from Class 2A to 1A, but you’ve got Father McGivney, Marquette, Althoff and Columbia. They are all state contenders.”
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The Griffins improved to 10-1 with their eighth consecutive win, while the Eagles dropped to 4-6-1.
CM was coming off a 3-0 loss to Triad on April 9 and a scoreless tie against Marquette Monday in Bethalto. The tough stretch continues with a home game against Althoff Friday.
“We love these types of games, though,” Zyung said. “They challenge you and show what we need to do to get better.”
McGivney won the coin toss and took advantage of a stiff wind in the first half.
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Harper Dettmers opened the scoring in the 10th minute when she pounced on a loose ball in front and tapped in a shot for the 1-0 lead. It was her first goal of the season.
“Harper just keeps working; her motor never turns off, and that was perfect timing,” McGivney coach Jason Turkington said.
Father McGivney continued pressuring for a second goal, and it came 20 minutes later when Hayden Etcheson drilled a left-footed shot that hit off both posts before bouncing in for the 2-0 lead. It was her second goal of the season.
Despite leading 2-0 at the half, Turkington felt the Griffins could have built a bigger lead if they had connected a couple more passes in the final third and finished their chances.
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“Any time you have it, you want to take advantage. I don’t think we took enough advantage,” Turkington said. “Credit to them – they compete hard, they’re well-coached and very organized. They made things difficult today.”
CM played more composed in the second half and had possession much more than it did over the first 40 minutes.
“We made an adjustment, changed the formation and tried to get a little more offensive because we knew we had the wind. That helps,” Zyung said. “When these girls stay composed, they’re as good as anybody. We’re trying to get them to communicate and be patient, and I thought they connected passes pretty well.”
Despite having more possession in the second half, the Eagles couldn’t cut into the lead.
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The Griffins added to their lead in the 70th minute when Emerson Isringhausen scored to make it 3-0 after getting free behind the defense. It was her fourth goal of the season.
McGivney’s Peyton Ellis and Addison Ronk shared the shutout.
The Griffins and Eagles could see each other again in the postseason, though the teams are in different sectionals.
Father McGivney will play in the Columbia Sectional along with Althoff and Columbia, while Civic Memorial and Marquette are in the Litchfield Sectional. The two sectional winners match up in the Civic Memorial Super-Sectional.
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Althoff 1, Marquette 0 – Belleville Althoff sophomore Megan Massie scored the game’s only goal in the first half. She was assisted by Elyse Myatt.
With the victory, Althoff is 9-1 overall and 2-1 in the Gateway Metro Conference. Marquette, which came into the game on the heels of a 0-0 tie at CM Monday, is 4-4-2 overall and 0-4 in the conference.
Althoff goalies Vera Neville and Zoey Masengale shared the shutout.
Marquette will play host to Roxana on Friday.
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