Ellis-Adrian connection
puts Celtic Select in U17 final
Stone stops PK to preserve Celtic Cup final berth
By Patrick Z. McGavin
PALATINE — A collision between two great teams means everything is faster. The pace is quicker, decisions are split-second and anybody who wants to reflect is caught chasing or looking from behind.
The successful team is always one step ahead.
With scoring at a premium, Melissa Adrian was not going to take her chance for granted. Her moment was brief though very possible. It produced a highlight reel score and one of the standout games at the Celtic Cup on Sunday at Palatine High School.
In a glittering matchup of two elite programs, Adrian punched home a beautiful header in the fifth minute and star keeper Kelsie Stone preserved the margin by blocking a second half penalty kick as Celtic Select edged FC United Select 2 1-0 to capture a pool play match in the U17 championship bracket.
The victory catapults Celtic Select to the championship against the Mundelein Magic on Monday morning.
On the game-winner, midfielder Adrian collaborated with midfielder Lauren Ellis on a bang-bang play. Both players are juniors: Adrian at Fremd High School, and Ellis at Palatine High School.
"She saw me, and she knows exactly where to put it for me," Adrian said. "Lauren placed it perfectly for me, right at my head, and it was awesome."
Confidence is everything, especially at the start as players are fighting off nerves and jitters. The goal was soothing but also electrifying. It provided the right kind of jolt.
"It gave us the motivation to realize we could win this," Adrian said
A stunned FC United Select 2 side was caught flat-footed.
"It was a great ball that they played in," FC United coach Sean Palacios said. "At the end of the day if one team jumps and another doesn't the girl who jumps is going to win.
"Corner kicks at the highest levels are goals if you don't challenge them. Great execution on their part and bad execution on our part for not winning the head ball."
A lead is an invaluable tool given the presence of the athletic and highly skilled Stone.
Both alert and tenacious, she combines excellent timing with an almost preternatural sense of how to react to the ball. FC United applied tremendous pressure throughout the game, but Stone continually found a way to thwart its best opportunities.
Forward Aleeya Sawyer used her superb speed to create space and attack the interior of Celtic's backline. She hit the crossbar with one shot in the first half and Stone made a diving stab of another ball. The early goal had tremendous implications, not just for the offense, but just as crucially for the defense.
"Getting that early goal just sets the tone for the whole game and you tell your defenders you have to hold this lead," said Stone, who is drawing recruiting interest from Northwestern, Baylor and UIC. "The offense did their work and now we have to do ours and preserve this lead."
Soccer is a game of pieces, smaller movements that connect to more significant actions. Sometimes it is just one great player against another for one shot. That happened after FC United was awarded a penalty kick.
Stone was up to the challenge. She quickly darted left and blocked a hard-and-low liner that maintained the team's lead.
"I've basically been told a lot of things," she said. "Basically I just go and react to it. There's not a lot of things that you can do. It's basically just a free shot from the forward. You try to get yourself big and get yourself ready for the read and just go flying."
Stone said she had no idea of the inclination of the shooter.
"I can tell sometimes when they line up," she said. "But with players as talented as the team we were played today, you can't really trust the way they line up and the way they're looking. They can go any way they want.
"So you just have to go there and react."
FC United mounted some other offensive threats in the final minutes, a strong backline and the tenacious Stone kept them at bay.
"The keeper made a heck of a save on the penalty kick," Palacios said. "I thought we struck it really well. It's a good learning experience for youth soccer players that you might have the better of the play, but it's the little incidents that are going to decide it."
Now Celtic looks to close it out Monday morning.
"It's amazing," Stone said. "Two years ago we were in the finals, and we lost on penalty kicks. So to save a penalty kick in order to get [the championship] again is the best feeling in the world."
Starting lineups
FC United Select 2
GK: Francesca Faraci
D: Taylor Isirov
D: Hannah Bell
D: Hannah Schuer
D: McKenzie Leider
M: Lainey Flanagan
M: Kristin Straley
M: Sophia Siebert
F: Karis Catrina
F: Anna Perona
F: Aleeya Sawyer
Celtic Select
GK: Kelsie Stone
D: Katie Bondi
D: Jennifer Josten
D: Jane Kapinos
M: Melissa Adrian
M: Lauren Ellis
M: Katherine Gillette
M: Kendall Kane
M: Samantha Malak
F: Tara Bergles
F: Camille Jensen
MVP of the Match: Lauren Ellis, MF, Celtic Select
puts Celtic Select in U17 final
Stone stops PK to preserve Celtic Cup final berth
By Patrick Z. McGavin
PALATINE — A collision between two great teams means everything is faster. The pace is quicker, decisions are split-second and anybody who wants to reflect is caught chasing or looking from behind.
The successful team is always one step ahead.
With scoring at a premium, Melissa Adrian was not going to take her chance for granted. Her moment was brief though very possible. It produced a highlight reel score and one of the standout games at the Celtic Cup on Sunday at Palatine High School.
In a glittering matchup of two elite programs, Adrian punched home a beautiful header in the fifth minute and star keeper Kelsie Stone preserved the margin by blocking a second half penalty kick as Celtic Select edged FC United Select 2 1-0 to capture a pool play match in the U17 championship bracket.
The victory catapults Celtic Select to the championship against the Mundelein Magic on Monday morning.
On the game-winner, midfielder Adrian collaborated with midfielder Lauren Ellis on a bang-bang play. Both players are juniors: Adrian at Fremd High School, and Ellis at Palatine High School.
"She saw me, and she knows exactly where to put it for me," Adrian said. "Lauren placed it perfectly for me, right at my head, and it was awesome."
Confidence is everything, especially at the start as players are fighting off nerves and jitters. The goal was soothing but also electrifying. It provided the right kind of jolt.
"It gave us the motivation to realize we could win this," Adrian said
A stunned FC United Select 2 side was caught flat-footed.
"It was a great ball that they played in," FC United coach Sean Palacios said. "At the end of the day if one team jumps and another doesn't the girl who jumps is going to win.
"Corner kicks at the highest levels are goals if you don't challenge them. Great execution on their part and bad execution on our part for not winning the head ball."
A lead is an invaluable tool given the presence of the athletic and highly skilled Stone.
Both alert and tenacious, she combines excellent timing with an almost preternatural sense of how to react to the ball. FC United applied tremendous pressure throughout the game, but Stone continually found a way to thwart its best opportunities.
Forward Aleeya Sawyer used her superb speed to create space and attack the interior of Celtic's backline. She hit the crossbar with one shot in the first half and Stone made a diving stab of another ball. The early goal had tremendous implications, not just for the offense, but just as crucially for the defense.
"Getting that early goal just sets the tone for the whole game and you tell your defenders you have to hold this lead," said Stone, who is drawing recruiting interest from Northwestern, Baylor and UIC. "The offense did their work and now we have to do ours and preserve this lead."
Soccer is a game of pieces, smaller movements that connect to more significant actions. Sometimes it is just one great player against another for one shot. That happened after FC United was awarded a penalty kick.
Stone was up to the challenge. She quickly darted left and blocked a hard-and-low liner that maintained the team's lead.
"I've basically been told a lot of things," she said. "Basically I just go and react to it. There's not a lot of things that you can do. It's basically just a free shot from the forward. You try to get yourself big and get yourself ready for the read and just go flying."
Stone said she had no idea of the inclination of the shooter.
"I can tell sometimes when they line up," she said. "But with players as talented as the team we were played today, you can't really trust the way they line up and the way they're looking. They can go any way they want.
"So you just have to go there and react."
FC United mounted some other offensive threats in the final minutes, a strong backline and the tenacious Stone kept them at bay.
"The keeper made a heck of a save on the penalty kick," Palacios said. "I thought we struck it really well. It's a good learning experience for youth soccer players that you might have the better of the play, but it's the little incidents that are going to decide it."
Now Celtic looks to close it out Monday morning.
"It's amazing," Stone said. "Two years ago we were in the finals, and we lost on penalty kicks. So to save a penalty kick in order to get [the championship] again is the best feeling in the world."
Starting lineups
FC United Select 2
GK: Francesca Faraci
D: Taylor Isirov
D: Hannah Bell
D: Hannah Schuer
D: McKenzie Leider
M: Lainey Flanagan
M: Kristin Straley
M: Sophia Siebert
F: Karis Catrina
F: Anna Perona
F: Aleeya Sawyer
Celtic Select
GK: Kelsie Stone
D: Katie Bondi
D: Jennifer Josten
D: Jane Kapinos
M: Melissa Adrian
M: Lauren Ellis
M: Katherine Gillette
M: Kendall Kane
M: Samantha Malak
F: Tara Bergles
F: Camille Jensen
MVP of the Match: Lauren Ellis, MF, Celtic Select