Fowler's goal powers Saints past BC

Who knew Ben Fowler's goal just four minutes into the second half would be the game-winner? Fowler certainly didn't know.

The junior forward for St. Charles East scored the winning goal off his head, leading the Saints to a 2-1 win over Burlington Central in the first day of the St. Charles East boys soccer tournament Monday.

"We had a bunch more chances after (my goal), I thought," Fowler said. "But overall, it was a good game. At some times we panicked a little, but overall, it was good."

Fowler's goal at the 36:02 mark was the only score netted in the second half. Playing with a lead was certainly nice for the Saints (4-4-2).

"It relieved some of the pressure, knowing that you have one goal to give up," St. Charles East coach Jorge Ortiz said. "But Burlington didn't make it easy on us. They made it really tough the whole entire game."

The Saints' first goal was scored with 25:59 left in the first half. Senior Cam Caruso's first attempt was blocked by the Rockets, but he got the ball back and shot it past the goalie.

"He followed through," Ortiz said of Caruso's goal. "We teach the kids to follow their shots, and that's what he did. It was perfect execution on his part."

The Rockets' (3-4-2) lone goal of the game arrived when Jordan Werrbach goal tied the game at 1 with 4:01 remaining in the first half.

"I thought St. Charles East played an awesome game," Burlington Central coach Michael Gecan said. "I thought my boys didn't play as well as they should have in the first 20 minutes of the game, but then all of the sudden, it started getting better … by the second half, I thought we were playing very well, but the wind played their favor a little bit. We had opportunities we needed to finish."

Marmion 2, Glenbard N. 1: Scrappy defense and a hard-to-find final link to the goal on offense can make for a day of scarce scoring chances, and Marmion and Glenbard North had just such a day on Monday.

In a soccer game in which each team managed only 4 shots on net apiece, ultimately it was a bit of stick-to-itiveness from Pablo Del Toro that gave the Cadets (7-4-1) a 2-1 win over the Panthers (6-5-1).

"He got knocked down, got right back up, and took the shot," Marmion coach Kevin O'Connor said of Del Toro's goal from 10 yards out.

"They finished on the chance they had, so give them credit," said Panthers defender Matt Keating. "We didn't finish on our chances."

The game largely pitted Marmion's possession game against the Panthers' counterattacking efforts in Carol Stream. Glenbard North grabbed a 1-0 lead in the game's 10th minute when Bryan Noval settled a ball in the box and then tucked it inside the near post.

Noval sent a handful of shots wide on restarts in the contest, and broke in alone on Cadets goalkeeper Michael Meszaros in the 51st minute, with Meszaros charging out to thwart Noval's offering.

The Cadets tied the game in the 27th minute when Sam Duffield elevated in front of the Panthers' goal and headed in a throw-in by Doug Conroy. The Cadets played well to feet throughout the first half, but struggled to find another good scoring chance.

"I was happy with our possession through the midfield, but we didn't keep our runs going up top so we were playing 18-to-18 (yard markers)," O'Connor said.

"But as long as we keep progressing and working to get consistent -- and we're getting closer -- I'll take it."

Led by Conroy and Luke Friedman, the Cadets' back line also stood tall in the face of a more pressing Panthers attack in the second half.

"Organization, and communication between all four of us in knowing where the (front)runners were at," Friedman said. "We did that well today."

"In the second half I was happy with our play. We created some opportunities, and just weren't able to finish them," said Panthers coach Greg Chrisman, who applauded the play of center mids Branden Maw and Mike Eskridge.

Keating slid from outside defender to sweeper early in the contest after Jake Tenut left with a lower-leg injury, and the senior thwarted plays and dispossessed well in the Panthers' defensive third.

In the game's 68th minute, Del Toro rose from the turf on the left side in the box, took a touch and effectively finalized the deal for Marmion.

"Defensively, I thought we were solid the whole game, and I thought from start to finish, our effort was pretty good," O'Connor said.

-- Gary Larsen