Continuous growth led Barrington to title
Unexpected repeat win a testament to Fillies players, program
By Mike Garofola
It was no surprise that Barrington's powerhouse program repeated as Class 3A state champs. Or was it? This year's model of the Fillies only slightly resembled their 2017 title team and had far more questions than answers.
Who knows what the odds were at the start of the season for the Fillies to repeat? Name recognition would have driven the numbers down, but a closer observation showed that there were many areas of concern. After losing three-fourths of an all-star backline, two superb all-state stars and a championship roster filled with quality players, many of whom were three- and four-year veterans, the Fillies were a team in transition.
While there was always hope; a repeat trip to the finals, much less another title seemed unlikely. This Barrington squad was a continuous work in progress.
But for 12 weeks the Fillies bold progress toward the state final unfurled like a slow-breaking wave.
That turned the fairy-tale aspects of the 2018 campaign into a Hollywood-style type of script.
Like any highly successful side, Barrington has an ambitious, first-rate staff, led by its manager Ryan Stengren, whose dedication and special care with preparation and the desire to make his club the best that it can, both in and away from the game, has left a lasting effect on hundreds of players who have come through the program since he took over over in 2008.
However, Stengren cautioned anyone who would listen that watching his club during the first two weeks of the 2018 season might be a cause for sore eyes.
"We lost just about everyone from our state championship team, and with so many first-year varsity players on our roster, and with our first three games against state powers Naperville North, Neuqua Valley and St. Charles North, there was no telling how bad we might look," Stengren said early in the season.
Michayla Herr, who along with teammates Samantha Schmitz and Paige Stevens thought differently than their manager.
"I'll admit I wasn't sure of just what we had when we came together during those early spring training sessions," said Herr at the end of the regular season.
"But after a few days together, I knew then we might have something with this new group because of their work rate, work ethic, their willingness to do whatever it takes to improve, and with how they would soak up whatever the coaching staff gave them to learn."
Herr, who will play at Wisconsin next fall, and whom Stengren calls one of the top center midfielders in the state, watched the band of newcomers find a way to take the place of a group that one year ago electrified Barrington fans during a record-setting season.
That crucial development was an unknown at the start of the season.
"I remember after picking our team and having our first meeting together -- the conversation (was) about falling short of what the 2017 team accomplished," recounted Stengren.
"There was some fear in the room of just that happening, so it was important for me to tell the girls this is a new team with a new and different look, that they will have adversity to face, and this might be a season in which they grow together as a group and team. And under no circumstances should they compare themselves to that team from a year ago.
"I knew it would be a process, and that the season would be divided up, with the start all about rebuilding an amazing backline which graduated, except for Madi (Rosen) who started on the outside last year as a freshman."
Stengren said all of the talk and positive reinforcement would have meant nothing if not for the four seniors back for one last go around.
"We had an incredible group of seniors on last year's team, led by Jackie (Batliner) and Sophia (Spinell), who were stars right from the start," he said. "And in their final year last season, they wanted that first state title for this program so much (that) it drove them each and every day, and helped inspire the rest of their teammates.
"Jackie and Soph were great leaders, but they had a lot of help because of the tremendous group of teammates (and) seniors on that roster, most of whom came together in 2015."
In the three-year span that culminated with the lasting memory of lifting the 2017 3A state trophy at North Central College, Batliner, Spinell and others including Schmitz and Herr, registered a sparkling 70-6-5 overall record.
During that time, Barrington went 35-0-1 in the MSL, and demonstrated its dominance in league play by conceding just one goal between the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
The wins brought three more MSL titles to the trophy case, making it seven straight before adding an unprecedented eighth in 2018.
Though small in number, Barrington returnees were a key piece of the team's make-up.
"We were so fortunate to have Sam and Michayla to take charge since both have been with the varsity since they were freshmen, but to also have Lauren Caffe returning to play alongside Michayla would ease my concerns in the midfield," said Stengren.
Caffe offered key ingredients for this super young club with an 80-minute motor from box-to-box, unselfish play, and the desire to work both sides of the ball, while doing all the dirty work in the middle of the park.
She figured to provide a key piece of the Fillies puzzle. However, disaster struck in the season-opener when Caffe was helped off the pitch and was found out to have a torn ACL that required season-ending surgery.
"I remember calling (Stengren) and just crying my eyes out when I told him I needed surgery and that I was done for the year and my (prep) career," said Caffe, who will play soccer next fall at Bowdoin College in Maine.
"But he lifted my spirit by telling me how important I was to the team and program, and (that) I still had an important role this season despite my injury. And at that time I realized my relationship with my teammates was so important, and I would do my best to be there for everyone."
"When we lost Lauren, we dedicated the season to her, so for the rest of the way, we were not only playing for each other, but Lauren even more," added Rosen, a recent Loyola commit whom Stengren feels will be one of the top left outside backs in the state next spring.
The situation helped provide the inspiration for the Fillies eventual success.
After a 1-0-2 start against the trio of top programs, the Fillies reeled off six-straight victories before falling to Class AA state power Burlington Central in a shootout in the second pool game of the Naperville Invitational.
Despite the defeat, Barrington advanced from group play to make it to the final eight. The Fillies fell 1-0 to Naperville North in the semifinals.
The squad won four more matches before a 2-1 loss to Conant in its league finale after already booking its place in the MSL Soccer Bowl.
"We played our regulars for the first 15-20 minutes, tried a few things with an eye on how we might line up a few formations in the postseason (before) bringing on all of our reserves to get them some playing time," Stengren said following that contest.
Barrington topped Elk Grove 2-0 to claim the top prize in the league once again. In the state tournament the Fillies went easily through McHenry, Hononegah and DeKalb to set up a sectional finale against a strong, young club from Cary-Grove. The Trojans are managed by Ray Krystal, who is on the staff of the FCX Soccer Club where many of the Barrington players cut their teeth along their soccer paths.
"Fluke goal early gave them the lead, Prell rolls her ankle badly, and for the rest of that game she picked her spots and moments when she could go out and give key minutes for us," remembered Stengren.
"It was a gutsy effort from Ash, which she did all the way through the final week of the season."
Tina Teik was big in the Fillies attack. Stengren hailed Schmitz as the one who again "bailed" her teammates out with brillinat work between the sticks.
"Without Sam last season, and this one, especially down the stretch, we're not lifting any championship trophies," he said.
"In my opinion, she was the best at her trade in the state this season."
Stengren and his staff had kept an eye on St. Charles North for weeks. They knew it would likely be the North Stars who his club would need to go through in order to play on the last weekend of the 2018 season.
"Brian (Hanks) had a great club, and both he and Eric Willson were doing a fantastic job with his girls, while having the best attacking group in the state," Stengren said.
The Barrington manager, as he had with his young players all season, brought sophomore Ellie McAuley along slowly, training her and her first-year mates in the fine art of defending and playing the Fillies style of soccer.
"Ellie being the type of kid who worked hard, she had hoped to have more playing time associated with all of that hard work," Stengren said. "But we knew the time was right if we met St. Charles North; it was then she would be asked to man-mark one of the best in the state, Hailey Rydberg.
"Ellie was great in that game, keeping Hailey's chances to a minimum while making her work for everything. She helped set the tone for that entire game."
Barrington suprised the top-rated Stars 2-0 to advance to Naperville.
"It was then that I felt we had just as good a chance as any of the last four teams heading to state," began Stengren.
"Obviously New Trier and Naperville North had unbelievable talent, and were led by great managers with Jim (Burnside) and Steve (Goletz) and you always have to fear an unknown team like Andrew that came through from the South Side.
"But I could sense it was all coming together for us, and as I said, we had Sam to lean on, Michayla holding down the middle, and a backline that was now playing with more confidence than ever.
"(That) and Ashley, despite her injury, was still so dangerous, along with Tina, plus our roster, which had been getting more time as the season went was playing with such a high work rate."
The story of the Fillies thrilling victories over Naperville North in the semifinal and then New Trier in yet another classic shootout championship game are now part of state finals lore.
Due to an injured ankle, Prell sat out PK work in practice, and subsequently didn't shoot with the first five shooters in the championship game. She stepped up when the Fillies needed her.
"It was a little nerve-wracking knowing I could take the last PK, but I also knew that Sam would come through for us, so when Batty (Christine Batliner) and Jules (Juliana Moreno) made their spotkicks to make it 2-2, it DID come down to me," said Prell.
"Paige (Stevens) kept telling me my attempt was just like a pass.
"I usually go to one side, but then the New Trier keeper moved to her left and changed things up and went the other way."
Prell adapted and the Fillies won.
"That win proved 2017 wasn't a fluke, and that we belonged here this year, and we deserved that title and this one also," said Schmitz.
The players said the bus ride home on that championship night was one nobody will ever forget, particularly after arriving back in Barrington when they were chaperoned through town by the fire department.
"You could tell there was a source of pride throughout the community during that ride, which really began well before when you might be in the grocery store and someone would say 'Good luck,'" said Stengren. "Or how from our superintendent Brian Harris, Steve McWilliams our principal, to (athletic director) Mike Obsuszt, all were there to support us.
"It meant a lot to all of the players, and only lends itself to how great it is to be a part of such a wonderful enviroment we are in."
Schmitz will play at Harvard next fall. Paige Stevens will attend Missouri. Along with Herr and Caffe, the four graduated seniors are the only pieces Stengren needs to replace.
Nine of the Fillies first eleven are back next spring.
The most striking aspect of the season's end game was the beautifully controlled way Barrington closed things out, a fact not wasted on Stengren.
"The 2018 team started almost from nothing, but enjoyed the most growth that I've ever seen in a single season," he said.
'We'll be a year older, wiser and hopefully stronger, but there's a lot of room for growth next year, which all of the players already know."
Unexpected repeat win a testament to Fillies players, program
By Mike Garofola
It was no surprise that Barrington's powerhouse program repeated as Class 3A state champs. Or was it? This year's model of the Fillies only slightly resembled their 2017 title team and had far more questions than answers.
Who knows what the odds were at the start of the season for the Fillies to repeat? Name recognition would have driven the numbers down, but a closer observation showed that there were many areas of concern. After losing three-fourths of an all-star backline, two superb all-state stars and a championship roster filled with quality players, many of whom were three- and four-year veterans, the Fillies were a team in transition.
While there was always hope; a repeat trip to the finals, much less another title seemed unlikely. This Barrington squad was a continuous work in progress.
But for 12 weeks the Fillies bold progress toward the state final unfurled like a slow-breaking wave.
That turned the fairy-tale aspects of the 2018 campaign into a Hollywood-style type of script.
Like any highly successful side, Barrington has an ambitious, first-rate staff, led by its manager Ryan Stengren, whose dedication and special care with preparation and the desire to make his club the best that it can, both in and away from the game, has left a lasting effect on hundreds of players who have come through the program since he took over over in 2008.
However, Stengren cautioned anyone who would listen that watching his club during the first two weeks of the 2018 season might be a cause for sore eyes.
"We lost just about everyone from our state championship team, and with so many first-year varsity players on our roster, and with our first three games against state powers Naperville North, Neuqua Valley and St. Charles North, there was no telling how bad we might look," Stengren said early in the season.
Michayla Herr, who along with teammates Samantha Schmitz and Paige Stevens thought differently than their manager.
"I'll admit I wasn't sure of just what we had when we came together during those early spring training sessions," said Herr at the end of the regular season.
"But after a few days together, I knew then we might have something with this new group because of their work rate, work ethic, their willingness to do whatever it takes to improve, and with how they would soak up whatever the coaching staff gave them to learn."
Herr, who will play at Wisconsin next fall, and whom Stengren calls one of the top center midfielders in the state, watched the band of newcomers find a way to take the place of a group that one year ago electrified Barrington fans during a record-setting season.
That crucial development was an unknown at the start of the season.
"I remember after picking our team and having our first meeting together -- the conversation (was) about falling short of what the 2017 team accomplished," recounted Stengren.
"There was some fear in the room of just that happening, so it was important for me to tell the girls this is a new team with a new and different look, that they will have adversity to face, and this might be a season in which they grow together as a group and team. And under no circumstances should they compare themselves to that team from a year ago.
"I knew it would be a process, and that the season would be divided up, with the start all about rebuilding an amazing backline which graduated, except for Madi (Rosen) who started on the outside last year as a freshman."
Stengren said all of the talk and positive reinforcement would have meant nothing if not for the four seniors back for one last go around.
"We had an incredible group of seniors on last year's team, led by Jackie (Batliner) and Sophia (Spinell), who were stars right from the start," he said. "And in their final year last season, they wanted that first state title for this program so much (that) it drove them each and every day, and helped inspire the rest of their teammates.
"Jackie and Soph were great leaders, but they had a lot of help because of the tremendous group of teammates (and) seniors on that roster, most of whom came together in 2015."
In the three-year span that culminated with the lasting memory of lifting the 2017 3A state trophy at North Central College, Batliner, Spinell and others including Schmitz and Herr, registered a sparkling 70-6-5 overall record.
During that time, Barrington went 35-0-1 in the MSL, and demonstrated its dominance in league play by conceding just one goal between the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
The wins brought three more MSL titles to the trophy case, making it seven straight before adding an unprecedented eighth in 2018.
Though small in number, Barrington returnees were a key piece of the team's make-up.
"We were so fortunate to have Sam and Michayla to take charge since both have been with the varsity since they were freshmen, but to also have Lauren Caffe returning to play alongside Michayla would ease my concerns in the midfield," said Stengren.
Caffe offered key ingredients for this super young club with an 80-minute motor from box-to-box, unselfish play, and the desire to work both sides of the ball, while doing all the dirty work in the middle of the park.
She figured to provide a key piece of the Fillies puzzle. However, disaster struck in the season-opener when Caffe was helped off the pitch and was found out to have a torn ACL that required season-ending surgery.
"I remember calling (Stengren) and just crying my eyes out when I told him I needed surgery and that I was done for the year and my (prep) career," said Caffe, who will play soccer next fall at Bowdoin College in Maine.
"But he lifted my spirit by telling me how important I was to the team and program, and (that) I still had an important role this season despite my injury. And at that time I realized my relationship with my teammates was so important, and I would do my best to be there for everyone."
"When we lost Lauren, we dedicated the season to her, so for the rest of the way, we were not only playing for each other, but Lauren even more," added Rosen, a recent Loyola commit whom Stengren feels will be one of the top left outside backs in the state next spring.
The situation helped provide the inspiration for the Fillies eventual success.
After a 1-0-2 start against the trio of top programs, the Fillies reeled off six-straight victories before falling to Class AA state power Burlington Central in a shootout in the second pool game of the Naperville Invitational.
Despite the defeat, Barrington advanced from group play to make it to the final eight. The Fillies fell 1-0 to Naperville North in the semifinals.
The squad won four more matches before a 2-1 loss to Conant in its league finale after already booking its place in the MSL Soccer Bowl.
"We played our regulars for the first 15-20 minutes, tried a few things with an eye on how we might line up a few formations in the postseason (before) bringing on all of our reserves to get them some playing time," Stengren said following that contest.
Barrington topped Elk Grove 2-0 to claim the top prize in the league once again. In the state tournament the Fillies went easily through McHenry, Hononegah and DeKalb to set up a sectional finale against a strong, young club from Cary-Grove. The Trojans are managed by Ray Krystal, who is on the staff of the FCX Soccer Club where many of the Barrington players cut their teeth along their soccer paths.
"Fluke goal early gave them the lead, Prell rolls her ankle badly, and for the rest of that game she picked her spots and moments when she could go out and give key minutes for us," remembered Stengren.
"It was a gutsy effort from Ash, which she did all the way through the final week of the season."
Tina Teik was big in the Fillies attack. Stengren hailed Schmitz as the one who again "bailed" her teammates out with brillinat work between the sticks.
"Without Sam last season, and this one, especially down the stretch, we're not lifting any championship trophies," he said.
"In my opinion, she was the best at her trade in the state this season."
Stengren and his staff had kept an eye on St. Charles North for weeks. They knew it would likely be the North Stars who his club would need to go through in order to play on the last weekend of the 2018 season.
"Brian (Hanks) had a great club, and both he and Eric Willson were doing a fantastic job with his girls, while having the best attacking group in the state," Stengren said.
The Barrington manager, as he had with his young players all season, brought sophomore Ellie McAuley along slowly, training her and her first-year mates in the fine art of defending and playing the Fillies style of soccer.
"Ellie being the type of kid who worked hard, she had hoped to have more playing time associated with all of that hard work," Stengren said. "But we knew the time was right if we met St. Charles North; it was then she would be asked to man-mark one of the best in the state, Hailey Rydberg.
"Ellie was great in that game, keeping Hailey's chances to a minimum while making her work for everything. She helped set the tone for that entire game."
Barrington suprised the top-rated Stars 2-0 to advance to Naperville.
"It was then that I felt we had just as good a chance as any of the last four teams heading to state," began Stengren.
"Obviously New Trier and Naperville North had unbelievable talent, and were led by great managers with Jim (Burnside) and Steve (Goletz) and you always have to fear an unknown team like Andrew that came through from the South Side.
"But I could sense it was all coming together for us, and as I said, we had Sam to lean on, Michayla holding down the middle, and a backline that was now playing with more confidence than ever.
"(That) and Ashley, despite her injury, was still so dangerous, along with Tina, plus our roster, which had been getting more time as the season went was playing with such a high work rate."
The story of the Fillies thrilling victories over Naperville North in the semifinal and then New Trier in yet another classic shootout championship game are now part of state finals lore.
Due to an injured ankle, Prell sat out PK work in practice, and subsequently didn't shoot with the first five shooters in the championship game. She stepped up when the Fillies needed her.
"It was a little nerve-wracking knowing I could take the last PK, but I also knew that Sam would come through for us, so when Batty (Christine Batliner) and Jules (Juliana Moreno) made their spotkicks to make it 2-2, it DID come down to me," said Prell.
"Paige (Stevens) kept telling me my attempt was just like a pass.
"I usually go to one side, but then the New Trier keeper moved to her left and changed things up and went the other way."
Prell adapted and the Fillies won.
"That win proved 2017 wasn't a fluke, and that we belonged here this year, and we deserved that title and this one also," said Schmitz.
The players said the bus ride home on that championship night was one nobody will ever forget, particularly after arriving back in Barrington when they were chaperoned through town by the fire department.
"You could tell there was a source of pride throughout the community during that ride, which really began well before when you might be in the grocery store and someone would say 'Good luck,'" said Stengren. "Or how from our superintendent Brian Harris, Steve McWilliams our principal, to (athletic director) Mike Obsuszt, all were there to support us.
"It meant a lot to all of the players, and only lends itself to how great it is to be a part of such a wonderful enviroment we are in."
Schmitz will play at Harvard next fall. Paige Stevens will attend Missouri. Along with Herr and Caffe, the four graduated seniors are the only pieces Stengren needs to replace.
Nine of the Fillies first eleven are back next spring.
The most striking aspect of the season's end game was the beautifully controlled way Barrington closed things out, a fact not wasted on Stengren.
"The 2018 team started almost from nothing, but enjoyed the most growth that I've ever seen in a single season," he said.
'We'll be a year older, wiser and hopefully stronger, but there's a lot of room for growth next year, which all of the players already know."