Munster’s Olivia Foley has considerable range on her shot.
Sometimes too much, actually.
But the senior center midfielder was on target Tuesday night.
Foley scored two goals from distance in the Mustangs’ 7-0 Northwest Crossroads Conference win against visiting Kankakee Valley.
“I always hit the ball over, so I try to hit it from far back away from the goal,” Foley said. “I’ve always been told I dribble too much and I pass a little too late, so I just tried to shoot it more this game to see what I could do.”
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The Mustangs (9-3-2, 5-0), ranked No. 12 in the Class 3A state coaches poll, wrapped up their fourth straight outright conference title. The Kougars (2-9-4, 0-5) won it in 2013.
Munster coach Valerie Pflum enjoyed her team’s performance.
“We played with fewer touches, which is what we’ve been working on,” she said. “We had times when we played very quickly, which is what we want, and then we slowed down, so we had to be reminded at halftime.
“We had phenomenal one-touch, give-and-go passes. The girls played very well. They did everything I asked.”
Stephanie Cipowski-Smith also scored two goals. Adeline Andello and freshman Kayla Ziel each had a goal and an assist, with each setting up the other.
With a game Thursday at Crown Point and the start of sectionals looming next week, the Mustangs avoided any sort of letdown.
Freshman defender Carson Kekelik pushed into the attack to give them a 1-0 lead less than a minute into the game. They led 2-0 with less than five minutes elapsed on Foley’s first goal and 3-0 inside 15 minutes on Andello’s goal from Ziel.
“Our big thing, especially as the postseason is coming up, we know if we lose we’re out, so we’re making every game count,” Foley said. “We need to get ready for sectionals, make people know we’re here to win and we’re going to be a tough opponent to beat.
“We stepped it up because we’ve been in a little rut lately, not record-wise but how we felt we were playing. We finally started to move the ball like we should and switch the field, and it really opened up the game for us.”
Kankakee Valley, typically a strong team, has not had a vintage season. But coach Audrey Johnson liked the way Kougars, who had sophomore goalkeeper Jenna James make 23 saves, competed.
“We have some sickness going around, some injuries and people playing in some odd spots, and Munster’s a very good team,” Johnson said. “We weren’t on it, but we’re playing hard.
“We have a lot of new players stepping in and it’s not there yet, the confidence isn’t there. But we’re playing hard and we’re getting there.”
Each coach praised her team for handling the heat and humidity.
“I’m surprised they played that well in these conditions, but they did, they played really well,” Pflum said. “Hopefully this means we’re starting to peak, which is what we want for the postseason.”
Twitter @MichaelOsipoff