By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur
LAPLACE — The new year brought on a new twist for the St. Charles-Riverside boys soccer rivalry, as Tuesday and Wednesday saw the teams face one another on back-to-back days.
It turned out to be quite the productive — and consistent — two days for the Comets, who defeated Riverside 4-0 at home Wednesday just 24 hours after besting the Rebels 4-0 at Riverside.
Albert Hane scored three goals to lead SCC Wednesday and Mason Roussel scored the other, helping lead the Comets to their fourth victory overall (4-7, 2-1).
“It felt kind of neat to play them twice in a row like that,” said Hane. “To go back-to-back … I’m glad we were able to get the win both times and represent our school well.”
The Comets asserted themselves early in each half, scoring a pair of goals within the first 15 minutes of each.
After playing a number of accomplished squads in a tough predistrict schedule — perennial contenders St. Thomas Aquinas, Country Day and Northlake Christian among those on the early slate — the Comets showed the ability to be competitive with all, but scoring proved a difficult task.
Now?
“I feel like we’re hitting our stride. We’re scoring now,” said Hane with a broad smile on his face. “We did a good job of closing Riverside out tonight. Now we’re hoping to keep it going, win a district title and then make a run in the playoffs.”
First year St. Charles coach Sean LeBlanc said the team’s early scoring struggles and subsequent improvement isn’t that uncommon for teams under his tutelage.
“The way I’ve always coached my teams is solidify the back (defensive) line early and move out from there,” said LeBlanc. “So offense tends to come along a little more slowly.
“But now, we’re putting the ball into dangerous areas, getting it into the box and making the right passes to open players.”
LeBlanc said he can see his team operating more instinctually these days.
“The boys are to the point now that, instead of thinking through every pass, now they’re just playing the game,” he said. “They’re making it easier on themselves.”
Hane scored the first goal of the day with 31:55 left in the first half, making it 1-0.
The lead grew to 2-0 when Roussel scored from short range with 25:20 left in the first half.
RA goalkeeper Evan Kirkwood made a strong save moments later to save the Rebels from falling behind 3-0. Riverside held firm defensively for the rest of the first half but were unable to shift field position in their favor. The Comets controlled the ball and kept Riverside defending shots constantly.
The Rebels perhaps began to finally wear down early in the second half. Hane scored his second goal of the night at almost the same time of the second half as he did the first, with 31:42 remaining in the game.
A few minutes later, he got an open look and pushed one into the goal from close range for his third score of the night, all but finishing the Rebels off.
“We really possessed the ball well tonight,” said Hane. “It’s been two clean games in a row for us.”
The game pitted the Comets against their former coach, Paul Shenton, who moved from SCC to Riverside over the summer after guiding the Comets to a first round upset over Loyola in 2012.
“We’re a very inexperienced team,” said Shenton. “Against a team like St. Charles that keeps possession of the ball well, it made it tough. Especially tonight, playing again for a second straight night, I think they exhausted us.”
Kirkwood was a bright spot in the goal for Riverside, blocking a number of potential goals and playing a consistent game despite being under pressure most of the night, the ball on his end of the field.
“It’s Evan’s first year playing,” said Shenton. “He was playing as a defender and we needed him to play in he goal because of an injury. He earned the job from there.”
Kirkwood is a senior, but much of the Rebel nucleus is young, which Shenton said is by design.
“We’ve got three 8th graders and four freshmen,” he said. “We put this team together with an eye to the future … right now, (the young players) are experiencing something of a baptism of fire.”
The Rebels (1-8-1, 0-2)) also have played a difficult predistrict schedule, like St. Charles.
“We’ve played three teams that have been in the top eight of Division I and II,” said Shenton.
“I think the competition will make us better.”