St. Pius X has five state trophies (top-four finishes) in girls soccer and Fox has none, but you wouldn’t have guessed that based on recent results – until April 12.
That’s when the Lancers edged the Warriors 2-1 for the championship of the 15th annual Hillsboro Tournament.
The win was payback for Fox, a Class 4 school, beating St. Pius (Class 2) 1-0 in the season-opener for both teams March 18. The Warriors (6-3) also beat the Lancers (9-2) more convincingly, 5-0, last season. The two nonconference opponents have met for four years running after a 15-year gap when they didn’t face each other. The Lancers hadn’t beaten their northern neighbor since 2003.
“Fox is a very good team and I don’t know how long it’s been since we beat (them), but it hasn’t been since I’ve coached (at Pius),” said St. Pius head coach Aaron Portell, in his seventh season. “This was a big win for the program.
“We were fortunate to have the wind in the first half. That gave us an advantage, and it’s nice to take it when it’s there because you never know what it’s going to do. We did some good things in that half. I’m pleased with their effort. We keep getting better each game.”
The wind helped the Lancers take a 2-0 lead in the first half. Sophomore midfielder Mabel Sanders scored the first goal at 12:19 when she beat Fox sophomore goalkeeper Avery McKinnon with a shot.
The Lancers feature a trio of Miller sisters, junior Maddi and sophomore twins Abby and Emma.
“Emma Miller threw in the ball, and I ran, and Maddi Miller shot and I got the rebound off of it,” Sanders said. “We have a really good offense and our chemistry is great.”
In the 24th minute, senior forward/midfielder Natalie Pate made it 2-0 with her team-leading eighth goal of the season on an assist from Emma Miller, who has six goals and six assists for 18 points this spring.
“I was open down the left side of the line,” Pate said. “I received (the ball) and I was looking around for my teammates and realized I had a window of opportunity to shoot to the top of the corner.
“In general our team and coach are defensive-minded, so offensively it’s exciting when we build up and we have pretty high-quality goals off of corner kicks.”
Unfortunately for the Warriors, the wind died down considerably in the second half, but they were nevertheless much more aggressive on the ball and had several chances in the offensive zone. Senior midfielder Kylee Bearden made it 2-1 when she beat Lancer junior goalie Mary Hrdlicka with a shot midway through the second half.
“They (coaches) told (senior midfielder) Natalie Miller to take the kick and they told me to start all the way back and run in because I’m more physical on the ball,” Bearden said.
“We definitely picked up the effort in the second half. We wanted it really bad, but obviously it doesn’t always go that way.”
Fox head coach Nate Niehaus said his team matched St. Pius in intensity in the second half.
“It wasn’t enough time for us and we didn’t get the job done,” Niehaus said. “One (Lancer goal) was poor clearance, and they were able to transition out of one of our bad passes to score a goal. There were some nice shots on both sides.”
In their three previous games in the tournament, the Lancers outscored Maplewood, De Soto and Lutheran South by a combined 21-0. Pate had two goals and Sanders two assists, and senior forward/midfielder Emily Vatterott contributed a goal and assist in an 8-0 win over the Blue Devils (4-3). Maddi Miller scored four goals in an 8-0 romp over the Dragons (0-7-1) and has 16 points this season on six goals and four assists. Pate and Emma Miller each scored twice in a 5-0 shutout of Lutheran South (5-4).
Fox began the tournament with a 7-1 win over St. Clair (6-5-1). Bearden and junior forward Lyla Stegmann each scored two goals, giving Bearden five on the season. McKinnon was in goal for the Warriors and had an assist.
Against the host Hawks in the semifinals, Fox led 1-0 at halftime, but erupted for five goals in the second half of a 6-1 victory. Stegmann scored twice again and leads the Warriors with six goals. Natalie Miller had a goal and two assists and freshman midfielder Amelya Purington had a goal and one assist.
“We played hard in the first two games and were able to play quality defense and not give up too many opportunities, and scored goals at the other end,” Niehaus said.
Hillsboro (6-3-1) was playing well entering the tournament, but stumbled in a 4-1 loss to St. Clair. Sophomore Grace Lauterwasser scored the only Hawk goal.
Hillsboro beat Maplewood 2-1 in the fifth-place game and Lutheran South edged St. Clair 2-1 for third place. Sophomore Mackenzie Stahl and junior Addison Zimmerly scored for Hillsboro. Junior Ava Sizemore has played all 775 minutes in goal for the Hawks.