St. Charles East, St. Charles North finish in tie

In the battle of Saint Charles, a late goal from North’s Sophia Pohl ensured a 1-1 tie against East.

The visiting Saints (7-1-3, 2-0-1 Upstate Eight River) gained a 1-0 advantage with 8:36 left in the first half when Julia Peterson’s cross became a four-yard tap-in for Darcy Cunningham

“Shannon (Rasmussen) played a great ball down the line and Julia put a perfect ball to the near post for me to finish,” Cunningham said of her seventh goal of the season. “We thought we were controlling the match and had a lot of momentum, so it was good to get a goal for the lead.”

The North Stars (8-2, 3-0-1 Upstate Eight River) struggled offensively before Pohl’s goal, a 25-yarder that sailed just under the crossbar but over goalie Kentra Sheehan. The strike upped Pohl’s team-best totals for goals (six) and points (20).

“I saw there was enough space to get in a touch and then slot the ball toward the net,” Pohl noted. “East was playing really well, and it’s always a competitive contest, but we knew we needed to get one (to avoid a loss).”

“A draw obviously isn’t what we wanted, but hats off to both teams for a typical darby,” Saints coach Paul Jennison said. “I thought the first half we were fantastic and even better in the second half, but we didn’t kill them off and that’s the thing with North, they never give up.

“We had our chances but didn’t capitalize enough and that final scoreline becomes a hard lesson to learn. The league is now wide open and it’ll be a big game for us and Geneva, and for Geneva and North,” Jennison added.

North finishes the month hosting the Vikings while East will visit Geneva on May 9.

“We didn’t connect well offensively as a team, but we fought hard,” North coach Ruth Vostal added. “It definitely wasn’t our best at creating opportunities, so I guess we’re okay with the outcome.”