Father McGivney Catholic Set For Success In Girls Soccer Playoffs, Defeat MELHS In Opener

GLEN CARBON – Father McGivney Catholic head girls soccer coach Matt McVicar is definitely hopeful of a big run for his team this postseason.

The Griffins soared to a 9-0 triumph over Metro East Lutheran on Friday, May 16, 2025. Grace Welser had a double brace (four goals), while Sofia Rossetto had a brace (two goals) in helping Father McGivney start the IHSA girls soccer postseason on a high note.

“I’m hoping for a good run in the postseason - that’s the plan," McVicar said. “We’ve set goals of what we want to accomplish, and so far, we’ve exceeded those goals, and now, we’re going to see how far we can go.”

McVicar does feel the players will be ready to go in the final at 6 p.m. on Tuesday night, May 20, 2025, against Maryville Christian, who defeated Roxana in the other semifinal 2-0.

The Griffins go to 22-1-0, and will host the final against Maryville Tuesday at 6 p.m. The winner advances to the Belleville Althoff Catholic sectional at George Martz Field against the winner of the Murphysboro regional next Friday at 5 p.m., with the final set for May 27 at 6:30 p.m.

The sectional champion plays the winner of the Greenville sectional in the Virden North Mac super-sectional match May 31 at 11 a.m., with the winner going on to the state finals June 5-7 at North Central College in Naperville.

McVicar said, “We’re going to be ready to play against Maryville Christian. To win a regional on our home turf, it’s going to be something we want to do. We haven’t lost at home yet this season. So, we take pride in that, but we’ll be ready to play whoever we have to play against.”

The Friday night game against MELHS was played in bright sunshine and coolish temperatures, a stark contrast to two hours earlier, when vicious storms and tornadoes invaded the Metro-East area. The Griffins scored three times in the first 10 minutes and cruised from there to win and advance, with the game terminated at halftime, due to the nine-goal lead rule.

“It’s always nice to get the first playoff win under your belt,” McVicar said, ”and we had a strong season. It started with the girls being anxious to see what we could do this season.”

It was a very successful regular season indeed for the Griffins, who went 21-1-0, their only loss coming to Columbia on the road 2-0, and included a huge 1-0 win over Edwardsville at home on April 30, a result that made many observers stand up and take notice.

The fact that different players can score is a good sign for McGivney's chances of making a big run in the playoffs.

“We had a lot of people that distributed those balls for assists, and assists are the most important stat to me, but Grace getting four goals is just a testament to the work she’s put in, and whenever her name’s called, she’s ready to work," McVicar said.

It didn’t take long for McGivney to get on the board, as Rosetto scored in the third minute, then Welser scored twice in the sixth and ninth to give the Griffins a quick 3-0 lead. The focus of play was concentrated in the Metro-East half of the pitch from then on, with the Knights occasionally going forward, and showing plenty of mettle, but would always be turned away by the McGivney defense.

Rosetto got her second goal in the 11th minute to put the Griffins up 4-0, and in the 19th minute, Layla Tobin broke in on goal, and put it past the Metro-East keeper to make it 5-0. Three minutes later, Rachel Kretzer scored off a good pass in front to give the Griffins a 6-0 lead.

After 26 minutes, Welser took a good through ball, broke in and scored to make it 7-0 to complete her hat trick, then finished her double brace on the half-hour off a rebound to give the Griffins an 8-0 lead. Hayden Etcheson scored in the 40th minute to complete the 9-0 win, the game terminated at halftime.

Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.

Dan Brannan also contributed to this story

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