By SCOTT NOVAK

Niles Daily Star

NILES – Niles goalkeeper Catherine Butler may have felt a bit lonely on Saturday.

Butler faced just 10 shots all day and made 8-0 saves in posting back-to-back shutouts to lead the Vikings to victory in the VanDenBerg Invitational.

Niles (2-0) blanked River Valley 2-0 in the opening round of the tournament and then knocked off Buchanan in the championship match 1-0 in a double shootout.

The Bucks (2-1) advanced to the finals with a 1-0 victory over Brandywine.

Buchanan…0
Niles…1
After a pair of 30 minute halves that produced several quality scoring chances, but no scoring, the championship match of the VanDenBerg Invitational headed to a shootout.
In the first round, both teams scored a pair of goals.

After each team missed on its first attempts, both teams scored on its next two shots.
Buchanan and Niles then missed on their following two attempts to send the match to sudden victory.

After a pair of misses in the second round of the shootout, Niles’ Kaytlyn Miller drove the ball off the hand of Buchanan goalkeeper Shelby Welbaum and into the net for the match winner.

The match was even throughout. Both teams had chances to score, but keepers Welbaum and Butler kept the ball out of the net.

The Vikings finished with 11 shots on goal, while Buchanan had seven shots on goal.
Butler made seven saves and Welbaum nine.

“We did a good job of communicating and passing the ball,” Niles coach Jo Schau said.
Buchanan coach Brian Pruett said that his team played well, especially on defense.

“I thought we were aggressive and played better than we did in the first game,” he said. “Niles created some great opportunities. They are a great team. Defensively, I thought we played really well.”

River Valley…0
Niles…2
Anne Tyler scored the first goal of the season for the Vikings in Niles’ 2-0 win over River Valley.

Tyler’s goal came in the ninth minute and staked the Vikings to a 1-0 lead at halftime.

In the second half, Miller scored in the 32nd minute as the Vikings took a two-goal lead and then kept the Mustangs at bay with their defense.

Niles finished with 10 shots on goal and Butler had a pair of saves.

River Valley finished with three shots on goal.

Buchanan…1
Brandywine…0
Morgan French scored the match’s lone goal in the 22nd minute as the Bucks remained undefeated on the season.

Buchanan finished with seven shots on goal and Welbaum had five saves.

The Bobcats (0-2) had 12 shots on goal. Carlie Newman made five saves.

Championship Match

Buchanan…0

Niles…1

Halftime score

Buchanan 0, Niles 0

Shootout

Buchanan 2 goals, Niles 2 goals

Sudden Victory

N – Kaytlyn Miller

Shots on Goal

Buchanan 11, Niles 7

Saves

N – 7 (Catherine Miller)

B – 9 (Shelby Welbaum)

Semifinals

Buchanan…1

Brandywine…0

Halftime score

Buchanan 1, Brandywine 0

First half

BU – Morgan French 22^nd minute

Shots on Goal

Buchanan 7, Brandywine 12

Saves

BU – 5 (Welbaum)

BW – 5 (Carlie Newman)

River Valley…0

Niles…2

Halftime score

Niles 1, River Valley 0

First half

N – Anne Tyler 9^th minute

Second half

N – Miller 32^nd minute

Shots on Goal

River Valley 3, Niles 10

Saves

RV – 7

N – 2 (Butler)

Varsity records

Niles 2-0, Buchanan 2-1, River Valley 0-2, Brandywine 0-2