From staff reports

The Niles soccer team was blanked by visiting St. Joseph Monday night 3-0 in a Big 16 Conference West Division match.

The Bears grabbed a 1-0 first half advantage when they scored on cross in the middle and the ball was headed past the Niles keeper with 21:22 showing on the clock.

In the second half, St. Joseph used a shot from 25-yards out to make it 2-0 with 25:14 remaining and then scored on a breakaway in the final two minutes to complete the scoring.

Niles was outshot by St. Joseph 17-9.

Ryan Casey was credited with six saves for the Vikings and Derek Arguello four.

“We played a solid 25 minutes and controlled possession for most of that time,” Niles coach Jerry Holtgren said. “After St. Joe’s first goal, we seemed to lose our intensity. We were in the contest up until the final minutes and created a couple of good opportunities. I am not disappointed in our effort and I think the team realizes that it was a closer game than the scoreboard suggested.

“What I like about this team is that we will use this as a learning experience, and come tournament time, I think we will see a different outcome. We are real close to being where we need to be. If we can finish a couple of shots early, it could be a very different outcome.  Pierce Knoll, Jacob Stanage, and Joey Austin played some great minutes defensively and really limited St. Joe early. It has been a tough week for us as a team outside of soccer and our minds have been in a different place. I am proud of the players,” he added.

St. Joseph…3

Niles…0

Halftime score

St. Joe 1, Niles 0

First half

SJ – 21:22

Second half

SJ – 25:14

SJ – 1:58

Shots on goal

St. Joe 17

Niles 9

Saves

St. Joe 5

Niles 10 (Ryan Casey 6, Derek Arguello 4)