Edwardsville soccer ekes out victory over Althoff

Edwardsville scored late in each half Tuesday night, and the goals proved to be the difference in its 2-1 victory over Althoff in a nonconference girls soccer game.

Senior Abigail Crabtree, a Purdue recruit, scored the tying goal with 6.4 seconds to play in the first half, and senior Allysiah Belt broke the deadlock with a header in front of the right post with 4:52 remaining as the Tigers improve to 7-3-2.

Belt’s goal came off a corner kick from the left side by senior Taylor Hansen.

“Taylor played a great ball in, a back-post ball,” Belt said. “I got there. I’ve been trying to the whole season. I finally got one in. There were three (defenders) around me, but I somehow got my head on it, and it went in.

“It’s good since we’re going into spring break, and we came off a loss to Normal. But now we’ve won two games in a row, and that’s a big boost to our confidence for us.”

The goal was Belt’s first of the season. Hansen’s assist was her team-leading sixth.

“The girls fought to the end,” Edwardsville coach Abby Comerford said. “The second half was definitely a little bit rougher than what the first half was, but the girls fought. They fought until the very, very end, and to be able to get that goal ... (Belt) has been doing a spectacular job coming up from the backfield to get those (chances).”

Althoff fell to 7-3-1 heading into a big game Thursday at Belleville West.

“We’re not very lucky as of late,” Crusaders coach Juergen Huettner said. “We gave up a game against Alton when we were winning it (Wednesday). We were winning 1-0, and with 19 seconds (left), we gave up the tying goal. Today we gave up the tie right before halftime, with seven seconds on the clock. Then with however many minutes left, we lose the game.

“I thought from effort, the way we played, we deserved at least a tie. Edwardsville had more (opportunities) from the game than we did. They had more possession. But I actually thought we outworked them, but it is what it is. I believe things are going to even up in the course of the season.”

Key moments

Althoff took a 1-0 lead on senior Amanda Kaltwasser’s 11th goal of the season at 26:22.

Kaltwasser won the ball on the left side, gained possession again near the endline, beat a defender and scored from close range past Edwardsville sophomore goalie Regan Windau.

“She didn’t give up on the play,” Huettner said. “There were a couple of bad touches involved, but she stuck with the play, and it bounced back to here. She got it, and she put it in. It was a good job. That’s what we’ve got to do. You’ve got to be opportunistic against good teams like Edwardsville.”

Crabtree’s goal from junior Danielle Greathouse was a 30-yard blast from the right side. Crabtree went left with the shot and knocked it in off the hands of diving Crusaders junior goalie Rachel Monken.

“It was frustrating,” Huettner said. “You could tell when the kids came off they were upset. I was a little worried about how we were going to (play) coming out to the second half, but I thought we came out in the second half and didn’t let it affect us.”

Key performers

Monken was under fire for much of the first half, as Edwardsville logged 10 of the game’s first 11 shots. She made a stellar save midway through the second half when she stonewalled Tigers sophomore Emma Sitton.

Kaltwasser played well on the wing throughout the game for Althoff, while Crabtree was a consistent force in the middle of the field and nearly recorded a second goal in the final two minutes when she collided with Monken before getting to a bouncing ball.

Comerford settled for Crabtree’s first-half goal, her seventh of the year.

“It was huge,” Comerford said. “She made that turn and went to the goal and got it. It takes you into halftime with that spirit, ‘We’ve got this.’ It was good.”

This story was originally published April 12, 2017 at 12:47 AM with the headline "Edwardsville soccer ekes out victory over Althoff."