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By TR HARLAN Every coach hopes their team will peak at the end of the season, which means Chesterton girls soccer coach Kim Poppo must be awfully happy. The Trojans started slow against Michigan City on Saturday, but cruised to a 5-2 Sectional championship victory at Portage High School. Chesterton will face Valparaiso in the Portage Regional on Wednesday beginning at 7 p.m. “It was tough to get focused after you beat a top 20 team,” Poppo said of Thursday night’s victory over No. 13 Portage. “Give Michigan City credit, they kept us working hard for a good while.” The Trojans finally dented the scoreboard 28:17 into the first half when Lauren Seawright made two moves, found some space and fired a rocket into the upper 90 inside the right post for a 1-0 lead. “They packed their defense into the box, so we knew there would be open shots from the outside,” Poppo said. “Lauren got a chance at one and hit a great ball.” The Trojans pushed the lead to 2-0 with 5:45 to play in the first half when Annie Thieling’s corner kick bounced in off a Michigan City defender while Abby Beierwalter created havoc in the box. “Annie’s corner kicks are very good,” Poppo said. “It’s something we work on a lot at practice.” The game stayed that way through halftime and Chesterton wasted little time after the break. Catherine Pannekoek scored her first goal of the game with her left foot just 6:05 into the second half for a 3-0 lead. After City’s Ashleigh Ellenwood score, Pannekoek scored again when the ball got loose in front of the goal off another Thieling corner kick. “Catherine’s really improved throughout the season and just continues to gain confidence in herself,” Poppo said. “It’s hard when it’s your first year on varsity and you’re called on to play in some big games.” The lead grew to 5-1 when Kate McCusker’s shot rebounded right to Shauna Foor who put the ball in the back of the net. “A lot of teams double-team Kate or man-mark her,” Poppo said. “We’ve talked about how good a player Kate is, but that someone else was going to have to step up and score. “I think last year we looked so much to Kate, where this year, we’ve had kids step in and prove themselves. Kate doesn’t have to score for us to win.” Michigan City added a goal off a restart with 14:30 left to set the final score. In the Regional on Wednesday, the Trojans will look to duplicate a 2-1 regular season victory over Valparaiso. “They are always sweet,” Poppo said of the Trojans second straight Sectional title. “We just want to come out a winner on Wednesday. I’ve yet to win a Regional as a head coach. “Maybe this will be the year.”
Chesterton 5, Michigan City 2 AT PORTAGE Chesterton – Catherine Pannekoek 2 goals; Lauren Seawright 1 goal; Annie Thileing 1 goal; Shauna Foor 1 goal; Megan Behrendt 3 saves. Michigan City – Ashleigh Ellenwood 2 goals. Records – Chesterton 12-6, Michigan City 10-7.
Posted 10/20/2008
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