St. Vincent tops Tigers for third in Optimist tournament

~ The Indians beat Central 1-0 for the second time this year, but Marion (Ill.) takes the tourney title.

The St. Vincent girls soccer team failed to score a goal against Central in three meetings last season.

The two teams met for the second time this week Saturday at the Noon Optimist Spring Classic at Central, and for the second time, St. Vincent came out on top 1-0 to capture third place.

"They beat us three times last year 1-0, 1-0 and 3-0, so I was tickled pink to score on them," St. Vincent coach Dustin Wengert said. "So, to not only do it once, but twice in one week is outstanding.

"All eight teams were quality, and the top six could have gone any way. It's great to finish No. 3 out of eight."

Marion (Ill.) won the event by beating Sikeston 1-0 in the title game. The fifth-place game also was a 1-0 affair, with Notre Dame edging Perryville.

The tournament wear and tear -- three games in three days -- was evident in the third-place game.

Central (2-3) was playing its fifth game of the season's opening week, while the Indians (3-1) were playing their fourth.

St. Vincent generated the most dangerous offensive threat in the first half on a free kick midway through the half, but neither team had a legitimate shot on goal.

The second half was a different story. Central had several dangerous opportunities in the opening 2 minutes. St. Vincent caught the Tigers pushing forward, though, and was able to score less than 3 minutes into the half on a counter-attack.

St. Vincent freshman Liz Brueckner carried the ball down the sideline and was able to sneak a low shot into the right corner underneath a diving Jackie Twidwell. Brueckner was dangerous throughout the second half, using her speed to keep the ball down in Central's end.

While Brueckner's goal marked the end of the scoring, it was only the beginning of St. Vincent's offensive charge in the second half. The Indians had the majority of the scoring chances after halftime, testing Twidwell on several occasions.

The shutout kept up Central's trend of streaky scoring. The Tigers have scored 12 goals in their two wins but have been outscored 3-0 in their three losses.

"Like I said before the season started, we don't have a proven goal-scorer, and you can't win if you don't score," Central coach Tom Doyle said. "I was proud with the way the girls played. We played hard. We had chances, but we just didn't finish."

In the fifth-place game, Notre Dame scored in overtime for its 1-0 win over Perryville.

The Bulldogs (2-1) defeated Central in the tournament championship game last year.

Courtney Luehmann scored the game-winner on an assist from Paige Schumer. Claudia Brauss picked up the shutout.

"I was pleased with our defensive coverage and our shape," Notre Dame coach Jeff Worley said. "I was pleased that we've gotten exponentially better over the three games."

The loss dropped Perryville to 2-2. Perryville's two losses in the tournament both came in the extra periods.

Marion's win marked the first time a team other than Jackson, Notre Dame or Central had won the annual tournament, Doyle said.

"That's good. That's they way you like it," Doyle said.