St. Vincent girls soccer slips by Kelly in messy conditions to earn district title rematch

In a steady wind, a constant rain and on a wet artificial surface at Cape Girardeau Central High School -- where the game was moved because of the weather -- the St. Vincent girls soccer team was discombobulated. For much of 80 minutes, it controlled the run of play but was unpolished and imprecise. But on a day when it was less than its best, St. Vincent had one moment of perfect Indian soccer.

Corin Carroll scored a 64th-minute goal on a play that was the epitome of what St. Vincent does best, breaking a scoreless deadlock and sending the Indians to a 1-0 win over Kelly in a semifinal of the MSHSAA Class 1 District 1 Tournament on Tuesday.

Less than 30 seconds after Kelly had a corner kick opportunity on the opposite end of the field, Faith Kapp got on the ball on the left wing and pushed a ball through the Hawks' back line and into the path of a running Carroll, who slipped past the outside of a defender and curled a shot around the outstretched arms of a diving Tori Duenne and just inside the far post to give St. Vincent (13-8) all it would need on the scoreboard.

Kelly's Marissa Jones flies after a play against St. Vincent goal keeper Courtney Brewer in the second half of the Hawks Class 1 District 1 semifinal against the Indians on Tuesday, May 17, 2016, at Cape Girardeau Central High School. St. Vincent won 1-0.Laura Simon

"Our best offensive opportunities come from corner kicks or through-ball plays that our forwards are able to capitalize on, and that goal, that was just beautiful," St. Vincent coach Caitlin Pistorio said. "Faith Kapp, and Corin Carroll, they've been feeding each other all season. Those two, they play amazing together."

The messy conditions played into the hands of Kelly (13-12) but was less than ideal for the Indians, who thrive on the ability to take advantage of off-the-ball movement with crisp passes and touches. That wasn't happening on a turf field -- which, even under normal conditions, plays faster than natural grass -- that was slick with rain. Instead, the ball was bouncing and sliding.

"It was way different than we're used to. We haven't had a game all year where it rained, much less on turf," Carroll said. "But we kept up the intensity, so that was good.

St. Vincent needed to get it right just once, and it did.

"I know Faith knows exactly where I want that ball," Carroll said, "so I knew exactly where to run and I was just hoping that the skid wouldn't take it too far.

"I just had a split second to look and I knew [the far post] was there, so I went for it."

The Hawks weren't without their opportunities Tuesday, most notably in the 47th minute, when St. Vincent was whistled for a hand ball inside its 18-yard box. Kelly's Meghan Foley stepped to the spot and struck the ball to the right side of the goal, but Indian keeper Courtney Brewer made a diving stop along the goal line.

It was a moment that could have turned a scoreless game that had been devoid of many big moments. Fortunately for St. Vincent, it did not.

Brewer finished the day with four saves, but none was better or bigger than the penalty kick.

"...She's just a rock back there. I can't say enough positive things about how she is as a goalkeeper," Pistorio said.

"The penalty kick save was amazing. I was -- I'm not going to lie -- pretty nervous on that one. It was awesome she came up with that save."

It was one of four shots, all on goal, for Kelly, which ended the first half without a shot.

St. Vincent's Hannah Lukefahr heads the ball in the second half of the Indians Class 1 District 1 semifinal against the Kelly Hawks on Tuesday, May 17, 2016, at Cape Girardeau Central High School. St. Vincent won 1-0.Laura Simon

The Hawks had another opportunity in the 63rd minute, this time in the run of play, when striker Marissa Jones turned on a bouncing ball about 15 yards out and hit it on goal, but Brewer was there to parry it away. That save sent the ball out of play for a corner kick, which resulted in a softly headed shot that Brewer saved.

A moment later, St. Vincent was in the lead.

"That's a tough way to lose," Kelly coach Lance Powers said. "We felt like we played extremely well. We're not quite sure about the PK -- we thought it might have crossed and she brought it back in -- but [the referee] didn't see that way. You've got to keep playing and try to get another one in.

"We wanted to get the ball on the ground more, but we just didn't get that done offensively. [St. Vincent] controlled the ball more than we did and when that happens, you're going to have a tough time. We tried to get MJ [Jones] on some runs. She's our playmaker and the more you do that the better chance we have. She had a couple of opportunities late, but with the slick surface it kind of ran on her and we just didn't quite have the opportunity you wanted.

"You've just got to have the will to find a way. The girls were close and they did well."

Jones created an outstanding chance for the Hawks with time winding down, running in clear on a long ball over the top in the 79th minute, but losing a foot race to Brewer, who dove and knocked the ball away at the top of the box a split second before the Kelly forward could get a foot on it.

Hawk midfielder Hailey Noon sent a long shot on goal inside the game's final 10 seconds, but even with the treacherous conditions Brewer held on.

The Indians defeated Kelly three times in the regular season by a combined score of 16-1.

St. Vincent's Megan Hennemann, left, maneuvers the ball around Kelly's Ana-Maria Flores in the second half of the Indians Class 1 District 1 semifinal against the Hawks on Tuesday, May 17, 2016, at Cape Girardeau Central High School. St. Vincent won 1-0.Laura Simon

St. Vincent out-shot Kelly 7-4 and won the corner-kick battle 2-1, but had just two shots in a first half that featured few legitimate opportunities.

The conditions combined with a well-organized Hawk defense to lead to a clogged central channel and mostly disconnection for the Indian attack.

But over 80 minutes, St. Vincent found the one moment it needed.

The result brings Kelly soccer's second season of varsity existence to an end.

"Overall, to me the season is still a success," Powers said. "If you look at the beginning of the season to where we're at now. I've just got girls that want to work hard to be better soccer players. Tonight, we wanted it. We thought this was ideal for us; we thought the rain was ideal for us. And the turf here is similar to what we have as far as playing surface down there. My girls wanted to compete, and they did that for 80 minutes.

"Man, I'm just heartbroken for my seniors that are leaving -- Savannah Whitten, Bethany Knight and Whitney Gaines -- those three girls were there at the beginning when we started this program. My heart goes out to them because they work hard and just wanted to be part of the first Kelly team to win a district game, and we were close."

The Indians will face Saxony Lutheran today at 4 p.m. at Saxony Lutheran High School for the district championship. The Crusaders won the same matchup in each of the last two district title games, earning a 1-0 result last year before going on to win the Class 1 state championship. The two schools met this year on April 25, with Saxony picking up a 4-1 victory in what was a one-goal contest at halftime.

The winner will move on to face Principia in a quarterfinal.

"There's not too much you have to say to motivate these girls for districts, especially against Saxony," Pistorio said. "I think the rivalry is pretty deep in all the sports. We're ready to go."