EDWARDSVILLE - Junior striker Jadyn Renth had a first half brace (two goals), while Campbell Slemmer also scored and Olivia Baca struck from the penalty spot late in the half as Edwardsville defeated Alton 4-0 in a Southwestern Conference match played Tuesday evening at Tiger Stadium.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
The Tigers controlled play for the first 15 minutes, scoring two quick goals to get things started, but Alton was able to bounce back and create some good opportunities. Edwardsville was able to score two more goals before the interval, then played good defense in the second half to hold on to the shutout. The Redbirds had only been able to practice for one day after quarantining for 10-day period after one of the players tested positive for COVID-19.
"Definitely, they came out, we were flat-footed," said Alton head coach Gwen Sabo. "We hadn't been able to practice or play for 10 days, because we had a COVID-positive case on the team, so we had to quarantine for 10 days, and we were allowed to practice yesterday as a team, but we still don't have everybody back."
The Redbirds are currently missing approximately six or seven players because of COVID, and it's taken a big toll on the team. It especially hurt the Redbirds during the junior varsity curtain raiser match, as they had no substitutes available on their bench..
"Even in the JV game, we had 10 field players," Sabo said. "We had no subs for them, so we're low on bodies tonight."
The Redbirds battled for the entire 80 minutes, creating some good chances, but couldn't solve Tigers' goalkeeper Kaitlyn Naney, especially in the second half.
"We definitely fixed some things at halftime," Sabo said. "I think giving up four goals was a wake-up call; we haven't done that in a long time. So, they fixed some things, and I was happy and proud of them that we at least held them to a shutout in the second half."
Despite all of the problems the Redbirds are facing, Sabo and her team are very pleased and happy to be back on the pitch after missing the 2020 season, which was cancelled because of the pandemic.
"Yeah, especially in a season like this," Sabo said. "We're just happy. We know what it's like to not get to play. I'm not happy we lost 4-0, but it beats last spring, sitting at home."
Sabo indeed does feel very happy and grateful to be back and playing, with all of the circumstances that happened last year.
"Oh for sure, everyone's so excited that we get to have a season this year," Sabo said. "And luckily, it's early enough in the season that there's still plenty of games left to be played."
Edwardsville had control of the play for the opening quarter-hour, and five minutes in, it paid off with their first goal as Slemmer found a loose ball in the box and shot it just inside the far post to the left of Redbird goalie Addison Miller to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Renth scored her first goal after 10 minutes when she took an excellent through ball, broke in on goal and slotted the ball into the back of the net to double the Edwardsville lead to 2-0.
Renth had another chance one minute later from distance, but her shot bounced past the far post to the right. In the 16th minute, Renth had another opportunity off a scramble in front of the Redbird goal and put the ball first-time into the net to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead. Alton's Emily Baker had two great opportunities after the Edwardsville goal, having a go from distance in the 20th minute,, then also had a chance in the 31st minute, both both times, Naney was there to turn back the shots.
In between, Payton Federmann had a great chance in the 29th minute for the Tigers, but Miller was there to deflect her shot away. The Tigers persisted though, and in the 38th minute, were given a penalty kick when a player was tripped up in the box. Baca cooly put the spot kick away in the corner to give the Tigers a 4-0 halftime lead.
The defenses took over in the second half, but both teams still had good opportunities, starting with a Federmann chance in the 43rd minute that went wide, then off a corner after a clearance attempt deflected off a Redbird player, a header went over the top. Alton created a chance in the 52nd minute, but Naney was there to clear away Katie Stark's shot.
In the final five minutes, Lainey Welgers came in to play goal, and she ended up sharing the clean sheet as the Tigers went on to their 4-0 win.
The Tigers are now 3-0-0 on the season, and next play at Collinsville on Thursday night in a 6:30 p.m. kickoff, while the Redbirds are 1-3-0 and are set to play host to Belleville East Thursday in a 6:45 p.m. kickoff at Public School Stadium. Sabo is looking to get everyone back healthy and is hopeful of a win on Thursday.
"Hopefully, we can get everyone back healthy," Sabo said, "and looking forward to the rest of our conference games. We have Belleville East on Thursday, and I'm looking forward to hopefully getting a win on Thursday."
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
More like this:
