On Tuesday, September 23rd, the third ranked Jesuit Women’s soccer team faced off against 28th ranked Glencoe Crimson Tide on Cronin Field. Coming off of a dominant 5-0 win over Lake Oswego, the Crusaders look to carry their momentum forward, and they did just that in an explosive offensive performance.
Jesuit struck early and kept pressure on Glencoe‘s defense for most of the first half. With 36 minutes left in the first half, junior Natalie Webber fired a shot on target, and when it bounced back, sophomore Estelle Lee was ready to tap it in for the opening goal. Minutes later, Webber found the back of the net herself, scoring with 23:46 remaining in the half to put Jesuit up 2-0.
“We’ve been working a lot on connecting as a front line and making smart runs,” senior Jo Frischknecht said. “I think tonight we really showed how great we can be when we play together.”
The Crusaders weren’t done. Webber added another goal at the 10:41 mark, beating the right center back in a foot race and sneaking the ball under the diving keeper. Shortly after, Lee tallied her second goal, slotting in a bouncing shot off the left post. With just under 10 minutes to play in the half, sophomore Eva Hairston dribbled through two defenders and scored, giving Jesuit a commanding 5-0 lead at the break.
The second half was more of the same. Webber completed her hat trick off a corner from Abby Madson, while Lee also knitted her third goal from the top of the box to secure a hat trick of her own. Sophomore Aaliyah Johnson added her name to the score sheet with a goal at the 18 minute mark with Glencoe unable to slow down Jesuit’s relentless attack, the Crusaders closed out the game under the mercy rule with a resounding 8–0 victory.
”Our mindset going into the game was to not let up and keep the pressure high,” senior Ana Kubiaczyk said. “Even when we were ahead, we kept pushing ourselves to finish plays and stay sharp.”
The Crusaders, commanding performance proved why they are one of the top teams in the state, and they look to build on this momentum as league play heats up.
