By AARON MUELLER
Niles Daily Star

In soccer, sometimes it takes a team a half to get settled in and playing at its best.

That was the case for the Niles girls soccer team on Tuesday in its first round district game with St. Joseph at Niles High School.

But unfortunately for the Vikings, a first half two-goal deficit was too much to overcome despite a late offensive charge in a 3-1 loss.

The hard-fought defeat was an improvement on a 6-0 loss at the hands of the Bears in April.

After a lackluster first half that led to a 2-0 deficit, Niles came out with more energy in the second half, getting a couple of early scoring opportunities.

A few minutes after the Vikings had a good try at a corner kick, Niles’ Alexis McIntee booted a 35-yard free kick that forced goalkeeper Katherine Knopp to make a leaping, juggling save.

The Vikings finally cashed in midway through the half when Anne Tyler took a pass from McIntee and dribbled past the charging netminder and pushed the ball into the back of the net.

Coach Jo Schau was impressed with McIntee’s energy in the game and all season for the Vikings.
“She’s probably been one of the most flexible players I’ve ever dealt with,” Schau said. “I had her play defense, midfielder when we needed her there and she just gets up and goes.”

Niles would get a couple opportunities to tie the match, but a St. Joe goal with under 10 minutes remaining took the wind out of the Vikings’ sails.

Niles could not muster any offensive pressure in the first half, not registering a single shot on goal.

The defense was solid until St. Joe broke through for two goals within a three minute span.

“It hurts when you have to sub,” Schau said. “They were getting worn out and we had to make some changes and St. Joe jumped on it right away. That’s just part of the game.”

Skylar Cooper got the scoring started for the Bears when she played a good ball to Sarah Dahn who deflected a shot off goalkeeper Sarah Smith. Cooper was then there to recover the rebound and put the ball into the net.

Just over two minutes later Reed Smith took a corner kick from Melanie Schweir and deflected it into the net to give St. Joe a 2-0 lead it would take into halftime.

St. Joe outshot Niles 10 to five on the night. Smith made seven saves for the Vikings.

The loss gave the Vikings a final recored of 9-11 on the year. Overall, Schau was pleased with the team’s steady improvement over the season and its ability to deal with injuries to key players.

“We’ve definitely grown,” she said. “We were a team early on where we were getting scored on left and right but we improved in that area. Having injuries helped build the confidence of some of our younger players.”

St. Joseph…3
Niles…1
Halftime score
St. Joseph 2, Niles 0

First half
SJ – Skylar Cooper 29:32
SJ – Reed Smith 32:55 (Melanie Schweir assist)

Second half
N – Anne Tyler 60:00 (Alex McIntee assist)
SJ – Cooper 62:00 (Rachel Block assist)

Shots on goal
St. Joseph 10
Niles 5

Saves
St. Joseph 4 (Katherine Knapp)
Niles 7 (Sarah Smith)
Varsity record: Niles 9-11