by RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

St. Charles needed a victory on Sunday over rival Riverside if it would have any chance to defend its district crown for the third straight year. The Comets delivered.

Ryan Reed scored two goals to lead St. Charles over the hosting Rebels, 6-2.

“We were able to control the ball on their half of the field most of the time,” said St. Charles Coach Rick Woodroof. “We had a bunch of good shots on the goal.”

St. Charles led Riverside 5-0 at halftime.

Karl Gommel, John Abbate, Zack Matus and Ryan Forsythe each added goals for St. Charles (12-10, 4-1) who now must defeat district leader E.D. White on Friday to force a championship playoff game between the two teams.

Jesse LeBlanc scored both goals for Riverside.

The Cardinals defeated St. Charles 4-1 at E.D. White last Tuesday.

In that game, St. Charles was without four key starters. This time, the Comets should be much closer to 100% healthy.

“We should be able to play in our standard formation this time,” said Woodroof, who shifted his lineup to account for the team’s injuries last week. “We’re been working on our defense in practice and will continue to do that up until the game.

“We have to establish the tempo in our favor early on.”