Julia Valaitis ripped a shot off the crossbar.
Malaina Kurth followed her shot and finished the play.
With Cary-Grove already ahead in Tuesday’s Fox Valley Conference girls soccer match against Crystal Lake South, Valaitis fired a shot in the 47th minute that redirected toward the feet of Kurth.
Kurth, who found a soft spot inside the South box, dribbled to her right and blasted a shot into the net to earn her second goal of the evening. The senior forward was one of three Trojans to score twice in a 6-0 shutout victory over the Gators. Bella Frangiamore and Grace Puhar, both freshmen, each posted a pair of goals in the victory.
“It’s definitely going to help us be motivated the rest of the week,” said Kurth, who added one assist on Tuesday. “I think we recognized their patterns and how they played defense. We saw where the slots were open, we played balls down the line and then crossed them in.”
It was the second-highest scoring output of the season and the best in conference play for C-G (5-4-2, 4-2-1 FVC), which entered the match averaging under two goals per game. The Trojans, who’ve won three of their last four FVC contests, needed only five minutes to get ahead Tuesday. A close-range shot by Kurth made the score 1-0.
C-G’s standout freshmen, Puhar and Frangiamore, connected on a play in the 28th minute to extend the lead. Puhar, who finished a well-placed cross from Kurth for a goal in the 31st minute, rolled a pass inside the box that Frangiamore cashed in with her right foot.
“I think we anticipated where the ball was going to go,” Frangiamore said. “It was easier for us to press up. We do a lot of diagonal runs, and we work on that a lot in practice. That helps us during games.”
Tuesday’s game was largely controlled by the Trojans, who earned four corner kicks and had four players record at least two shots on goal. Ella St. Onge, who led C-G with two assists, posted a team-best four shots on goal and hit a pair of perfect crosses in the second half.
The first of those came in the 62nd minute.
With the Trojans leading 4-0, St. Onge carried the ball down the near sideline and sent a right-footed cross into the box, where Frangiamore converted her second goal of the evening. Just three minutes later, St. Onge made a nearly identical cross that Puhar put home to earn her second goal.
“I just look around to see where my teammates are,” said Puhar, one of six Trojans with a shot on goal. “We were able to play balls out wide. With the goals and everyone cheering us on, it’s a big confidence builder. We made good passes, and when we did lose it, we got it back.”
South goalkeeper Madelyn Smith finished with 15 saves for the Gators (5-7, 2-5 FVC), who earned three corner kicks but finished with just three shots on goal. While South didn’t possess the ball much, Ellie Starnes fired a shot just over the crossbar in the 25th minute, and Delaney Ranum narrowly missed on her attempt in the 36th minute.
“Learning is never linear,” South coach Caitlyn Dayton said. “I think we’re still trying to learn through some of our inexperience and youth. We’ve had some highs this season. We’re hitting a little bit of a low right now, but I think we’re really working through those experiences that some of our younger players just haven’t had yet.”
C-G goalkeeper Ainsley Kemp notched three saves in a shutout effort.
Tuesday’s game was the first of four this week for the Trojans, fourth in the FVC standings with two conference games left. C-G will face Hampshire on the road Wednesday, while South, which stayed in seventh in the FVC, will travel and battle Jacobs on Thursday night.