WEDNESDAY SOCCER: Marquette blanks Granite; McGivney tops Althoff in OT

May 7-A goal in each half and a stingy defense was a lethal combination for Marquette Catholic Wednesday in a 2-0 victory over Granite City at Glazebrook Park in Godfrey

Marquette's Riley Tieman scored in first half and Maddie Waters added a second half penalty kick for the Explorers, who won their eighth consecutive game and ran their overall record on the season to 12-4-2 with the non-conference victory. Granite City is 6-10-1.

"I thought we played one of our better halves of the season in the first half," Marquette coach Brian Hoener said. "We've done a good job recently playing with the lead and I thought it was important for us to get off to a good start which we did."

Marquette is No. 6 in the latest MaxPreps Illinois Class 1A state rankings. Father McGivney is No. 1, Belleville Althoff No. 2, Murphysboro No. 3 and Litchfield No. 4.

Senior goalie Jessica Eales logged the shutout for the Explorers, her fourth straight clean sheet and 11th of the season. During the current win streak, Marquette had outscored its opponents by a combined 41-2.

"Defensively right now, we're playing really well," Hoener said, "and we're just not giving up a lot of opportunities."

Tieman gave the Explorers a 1-0 halftime lead in the 29th minute when she scored off an assist from teammate Alex Stephan.

"Riley made a huge impact coming into the game off the bench," Hoener said. "She was great defensively and hit an outstanding shot to give us the early lead."

Waters made it 2-0 in the 61st minute when she converted a penalty kick after teammate Alex Stephan was fouled in the penalty area. Stephan had a breakaway that was stopped, but she was fouled on the ensuing play.

"I'm really happy with the way we're playing right now," Hoener said. "Hopefully, we're finding our rhythm a little bit as we headed into the postseason."

Marquette will play at Hillsboro at 5 p.m. Friday, then conclude its regular season Monday at Waterloo Gibault.

The Explorers were originally scheduled to open the playoffs against East Alton-Wood River in the semifinals of their own Class 1A regional tournament, but EA-WR has elected to forfeit that game. As a result, Marquette will open the playoffs in the regional title game at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 22 against either Gillespie or Roxana at Public School Stadium.

McGivney 1, Althoff 0 (OT) - Natalie Beck scored in the second overtime to lifts top-ranked Father McGivney to its Gateway Metro Conference victory over No. 2 Althoff in Belleville.

With the win, the Griffins ran their record to 17-1-2 overall and 8-0 in the GMC. Althoff is 14-4 overall and 4-2 in the conference.

Beck, who was assisted by Sofia Rossetto, has scored 27 goals this season.

McGivney will play Monday at Collinsville before concluding its regular season against Missouri power St. Joseph's Academy next Wednesday. The Griffins will open the playoffs on Monday, May 18 in the Breese Central Class 1A Regional in a semifinal against the winner of a play-in game between Metro-East Lutheran and Salem.

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.