Saxony Lutheran girls soccer swings past district foe St. Vincent, 4-1

Saxony Lutheran girls soccer is eying a repeat state title, but there are other steps that come first.

Saxony Lutheran's Whitney Unterreiner chases down a ball as St. Vincent's Kelsie Graham attempts to clear during a game Monday, April 25, 2016, in Jackson. Unterreiner, a freshman, had a goal to help the Crusaders past their district counterpart Indians 4-1.Josh Mlot

On Monday, the Crusaders made it clear they're still the team to beat in their district.

Saxony bounced back after conceding an early goal, moved some personnel around and controlled much of the final 60 minutes for a 4-1 defeat of St. Vincent -- the team it beat in last year's Class 1 District 1 title game.

"They're in the same district as us. As far as Class 1 soccer, it's coming down to our districts," St. Vincent coach Caitlin Pistorio said. "We've got to bring everything we've got when we play them, and tonight we didn't have it all."

The Crusaders (15-1) got goals from freshmen Whitney Unterreiner and Etti Soto as well as long-time contributors Maddie Brune and Tess Daniel, while Brianna Mueller had a pair of assists. Brune also had a helper.

The Indians (9-6) struck first on a blustery day, taking advantage of shooting with the wind to take a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute. Midfielder Faith Kapp was left with room outside the box and smacked a shot that rode the breeze into the top of the net.

The visitors, however, failed to build on that momentum, as the game seemed to pull away from them moments later.

In many ways, the contest hinged on a simple personnel switch, as Logan Meyr, who has been working back from a concussion, was inserted into defensive midfield, shifting Saxony from, essentially, a 4-4-2 diamond into a 3-5-2 with Brune moving from a starting left-back spot to right midfield. That change coincided with the Crusaders taking control of a game that had previously bounced back and forth.

With Brune engineering the attack on one side and Daniel providing a speedy threat on the other wing, the hosts maintained possession and pinned St. Vincent deep, stretching the defense horizontally until Saxony found space in the central channels to dish out some punishment.

"A big part of that is just getting Logan Meyr back from a concussion," Saxony coach Garrett Fritsche said. "We wanted to get her spot minutes today, so that brought Maddie back [to defense], and with Cass [Wunderlich, center back] out with a concussion too, probably for the rest of the year, Maddie's the fill-in back there.

"But you could definitely tell. That was when we got Logan in there and could really push up the field. [Maddie's] a great player no matter where you put her, so that was a game changer."

The field seemed to tilt about 20 minutes in, and the reward for Saxony came at the 30:05 mark, when Mueller swung a cross in from the right that St. Vincent goalkeeper Courtney Brewer couldn't quite corral, and Unterreiner punched the loose ball in from about 4 yards out.

Saxony Lutheran defender Ashley Fritsche tackles the ball away from St. Vincent's Sara Kapp during a game Monday, April 25, 2016, at Saxony Lutheran High School. The host Crusaders won 4-1.Josh Mlot

One minute later, Daniel brought the ball down the left to the end line and swung it in. Eventually the ball found Mueller, who pushed it centrally to Brune. The senior captain turned and rifled the ball into the top of goal for a 2-1 advantage.

The lead held and so, too, did Saxony's grip on the game.

"Really, we just settled in," Fritsche said. "We knew they were going to pressure hard. That's their style -- they play hard and they always put pressure on you. So we just had to settle in and put passes together. We were rushing and getting excited when they got on us, but we just needed to settle down. It took about 20 minutes and, unfortunately, they got a goal. It's a good thing we turned it around for the last 60 and really put it on them."

With Saxony leading 2-1, St. Vincent was able to rattle a few nerves in the second half as it began to find room for a counter attack. That turned into a corner kick in the 50th minute, which was dropped into the 6-yard box, causing chaos as it rolled across the goal line. But no Indian foot was able to make contact.

A moment later, the visitors pushed down the field again, as Corin Carroll was sprung loose behind the defense before she fired a shot under pressure right at Saxony goalie Raegan Wieser.

Saxony Lutheran's Maddie Brune slaloms through a group of St. Vincent defenders in a 4-1 victory on Monday, April 25, 2016, in Jackson. Brune had a goal and an assist.Josh Mlot

The uptick in Indian possessions opened up just enough room for Saxony to take advantage, though, and in the 53rd minute, Mueller sent a long ball from the midfield stripe into the attacking third. Ultimately Soto ended up with the ball on her foot, and she put it into the upper third of the goal for a 3-1 lead and a little breathing room.

"I think part of it was we just started to get tired. It's been a long week and a half for us," Pistorio said. "There were opportunities we needed to capitalize on early, and as soon as they had a couple of shots, the energy and momentum changed up; they got a little more energized and started taking more and more shots. We've got to capitalize earlier, get momentum on our side and keep it there.

"I mean, we had opportunities, we just couldn't capitalize -- the story of our season so far. It was a good test for us and the first time we've gotten to see them this year. Hopefully we'll be able to build on it."

The Crusaders put the game away with a 70th-minute strike from Daniel. Brune dribbled through the defense and into the 18-yard box before squaring a pass to Daniel in the middle, whose first shot was blocked before she put the rebound over the goal line to go up 4-1.

"Those two, Tess has been up top and Maddie's been on the right, but today we put them both on the outside and were able to shut their mids down and really get our attack out of it. We were able to get wide and apply pressure," Fritsche said.

Saxony out-shot St. Vincent 12-4 and edged the Indians in corner kicks 5-4.

The two teams could meet again in the district tournament in just a few weeks.

"They're constant pressure and constant attack, and if you have any breakdown they'll capitalize on it. They saw we didn't step, and they got a great shot off," Fritsche said. "That's what it's going to come down to in districts -- those few opportunities they're going to get, it depends on who capitalizes."