Barrington shuts down Naperville C., advances to Naperville Inv. semis
No. 2 Fillies to meet no. 3 New Trier on Friday after 3-0 win
By Matt LeCren
NAPERVILLE – Much has been said over the years about how Naperville Central prides itself on having one of the toughest defenses around.
On Thursday, Barrington showed it had a better one.
The Fillies completely shut down Naperville Central in a 3-0 victory in the Naperville Invitational quarterfinals at Memorial Stadium.
Barrington (12-1-0), which is ranked second in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 poll, will take on no. 3 New Trier in a terrific semifinal matchup Friday night at Memorial Stadium.
“As a team we’ve been playing together for a really long time, so I think that helps a lot with how we play together,” Barrington senior fullback Kayla Keck said.
“It’s not just the defense; it’s the whole team.
“Everybody is moving, everybody is trying to get the ball, and we’re just trying to improve on that.”
It would be hard to improve on the defensive effort the Fillies have turned in so far this season. They have only been scored upon in two games -- a 2-1 loss to top-rated Naperville North in the North Shore Invitational title game April 15, and a 2-1 win against then no. 9 Glenbrook South in the tourney's pool play April 13.
Against the no. 25 Redhawks, Barrington conceded a mere three shots.
Keck, who earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors, played a big role in that. She teamed with Jackie Batliner, Madi Rosen and Haley Tausend to head out or boot away any attempt by the Redhawks to penetrate the box, regardless of how the game was going in the rest of the field.
But this type of effort is nothing new for the Fillies.
“We haven’t really changed over the last four years,” Keck said. “It’s nice playing with Jackie, Haley and Madi. I can rely on all of them, and we all play very well together.”
They’ve done it despite getting every opponent’s best effort.
“What we’ve learned is that everyone is coming out 100 miles per hour against us,” Barrington coach Ryan Stengren said. “We need to absorb at times, but we need to try to contain more at the beginning of the game. Then once the game settles in we've got to play our style. I thought we did a good job today.”
The Fillies also did a good job of capitalizing on the few chances they had. The normally stout Redhawks gave up only eight shots but made a huge uncharacteristic blunder in the 16th minute that led to Barrington’s first goal, and then were diced up on another goal just before halftime.
The first goal came at the 24:36 mark when sophomore Ashley Prell took advantage of a miscommunication between Naperville Central goalie Kinzly Dressler and one of her defenders.
Prell was chasing a loose ball as Dressler came out past the penalty spot to pick up the ball but thought the defender was calling her off. In the confusion, Dressler ended up on the ground and Prell got to the ball and put it in the open net for her seventh goal of the season.
“Honestly, I was just there. And they missed it, and I was like, ‘Oh, I guess I have to go for it,’” Prell said. “It was kind of on them, but I just happened to be in the right spot. It was lucky.”
Scoring a fluke goal was huge in a clash of defensive titans.
“It’s always good to get the first goal, although we've still got to stay on our feet because 1-0 doesn’t mean anything,” Prell said. “Just one mistake can change the game, but it did help for sure.”
There was nothing fluky about Barrington’s second and third goals, though Naperville Central coach Ed Watson said the defense was to blame for both of those, too.
Stodola bagged her first goal of the season to make it 2-0 with 2:33 left in the half, blasting in her own rebound after a defender had cleared her first attempt off the line.
Prell instigated that play, too, working a give-and-go with Sophia Spinell down the right wing. Prell’s cutback pass led Spinell into the corner, where she got a step on a defender and fired the cross in tight to Stodola.
“That second goal was one of the better goals that we’ve scored this year,” Stengren said. “Ashley Prell played the ball into Sophia. Sophia crosses it and then Ellie just wins the battle in the box.”
The Fillies won another battle in the box early in the second half. From the right side, Spinell sent a corner kick high into the middle of the box where Keck headed it home from 14 yards to cap the scoring with 35:41 remaining.
The corner kick was one of six attempted in the second half by the Fillies, who took eight overall.
“We knew what they were going to do on corners, and the girls didn’t communicate well enough and get in the right spots,” Naperville Central's Watson said. “We spent all of practice yesterday making sure that that wouldn’t be an issue, and it was.
“We also don’t recognize the opportunities we have and capitalize on them. We don’t create shots.
“Until we put legitimate shots on frame, it doesn’t matter how well we play. But 3-0 is not indicative of what that game was.”
The Redhawks (8-6-2) only put two shots on frame, both resulting in easy saves for Barrington goalie Samantha Schmitz. The first was a 38-yard potshot from Caitlin Reice in the 34th minute and the second a short, soft header by Madison Redeker off a corner kick in the 46th minute.
“I’m not disappointed in our performance,” Watson said. “I’m disappointed that we made mistakes that cost us goals, and we’re not a good enough team to do that.
“The second goal was tough to deal with because it was so close to the half. But we played very well today.”
But not well enough to defeat a Barrington team on a mission.
“It’s really exciting because obviously the next match will be a big deal, too,” Prell said. “We want to make it to the final.”
The Fillies have what it takes to do just that.
“This is a really tough tournament,” Keck said. “Some of the best teams are in it so it’s an honor to work our way up the ladder.”
A win against New Treier, which would be Barrington's seventh-straight victory, would earn Barrington its title shot.
“I was really pleased with all parts of our game – dead balls, run of play, defending,” Stengren said. “We competed very, very well today.
“I just love this group. These seniors are really committed this year, and they’re doing really well. They’ve worked really hard.
“You never know what can happen in this sport so we’ll just see what happens in the next couple days.”
Starting lineups
Barrington
GK Samantha Schmitz
D Kayla Keck
D Jackie Batliner
D Madi Rosen
D Haley Tausend
D Lauren Caffe
M Anna Brodjian
M Sophia Spinell
M Sydney Bowling
F Michayla Herr
F Ashley Prell
Naperville Central
GK Kinzly Dressler
D Grace Anderson
D Sarah Avery
D Caitlin Reice
D Abby Hillman
M Katie Anderson
M Maddie Redeker
M Maggie Hillman
F Meredith McGuire
F Caroline Reedy
F Meridith Hannan
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Kayla Keck, sr., D, Barrington
No. 2 Fillies to meet no. 3 New Trier on Friday after 3-0 win
By Matt LeCren
NAPERVILLE – Much has been said over the years about how Naperville Central prides itself on having one of the toughest defenses around.
On Thursday, Barrington showed it had a better one.
The Fillies completely shut down Naperville Central in a 3-0 victory in the Naperville Invitational quarterfinals at Memorial Stadium.
Barrington (12-1-0), which is ranked second in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 poll, will take on no. 3 New Trier in a terrific semifinal matchup Friday night at Memorial Stadium.
“As a team we’ve been playing together for a really long time, so I think that helps a lot with how we play together,” Barrington senior fullback Kayla Keck said.
“It’s not just the defense; it’s the whole team.
“Everybody is moving, everybody is trying to get the ball, and we’re just trying to improve on that.”
It would be hard to improve on the defensive effort the Fillies have turned in so far this season. They have only been scored upon in two games -- a 2-1 loss to top-rated Naperville North in the North Shore Invitational title game April 15, and a 2-1 win against then no. 9 Glenbrook South in the tourney's pool play April 13.
Against the no. 25 Redhawks, Barrington conceded a mere three shots.
Keck, who earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors, played a big role in that. She teamed with Jackie Batliner, Madi Rosen and Haley Tausend to head out or boot away any attempt by the Redhawks to penetrate the box, regardless of how the game was going in the rest of the field.
But this type of effort is nothing new for the Fillies.
“We haven’t really changed over the last four years,” Keck said. “It’s nice playing with Jackie, Haley and Madi. I can rely on all of them, and we all play very well together.”
They’ve done it despite getting every opponent’s best effort.
“What we’ve learned is that everyone is coming out 100 miles per hour against us,” Barrington coach Ryan Stengren said. “We need to absorb at times, but we need to try to contain more at the beginning of the game. Then once the game settles in we've got to play our style. I thought we did a good job today.”
The Fillies also did a good job of capitalizing on the few chances they had. The normally stout Redhawks gave up only eight shots but made a huge uncharacteristic blunder in the 16th minute that led to Barrington’s first goal, and then were diced up on another goal just before halftime.
The first goal came at the 24:36 mark when sophomore Ashley Prell took advantage of a miscommunication between Naperville Central goalie Kinzly Dressler and one of her defenders.
Prell was chasing a loose ball as Dressler came out past the penalty spot to pick up the ball but thought the defender was calling her off. In the confusion, Dressler ended up on the ground and Prell got to the ball and put it in the open net for her seventh goal of the season.
“Honestly, I was just there. And they missed it, and I was like, ‘Oh, I guess I have to go for it,’” Prell said. “It was kind of on them, but I just happened to be in the right spot. It was lucky.”
Scoring a fluke goal was huge in a clash of defensive titans.
“It’s always good to get the first goal, although we've still got to stay on our feet because 1-0 doesn’t mean anything,” Prell said. “Just one mistake can change the game, but it did help for sure.”
There was nothing fluky about Barrington’s second and third goals, though Naperville Central coach Ed Watson said the defense was to blame for both of those, too.
Stodola bagged her first goal of the season to make it 2-0 with 2:33 left in the half, blasting in her own rebound after a defender had cleared her first attempt off the line.
Prell instigated that play, too, working a give-and-go with Sophia Spinell down the right wing. Prell’s cutback pass led Spinell into the corner, where she got a step on a defender and fired the cross in tight to Stodola.
“That second goal was one of the better goals that we’ve scored this year,” Stengren said. “Ashley Prell played the ball into Sophia. Sophia crosses it and then Ellie just wins the battle in the box.”
The Fillies won another battle in the box early in the second half. From the right side, Spinell sent a corner kick high into the middle of the box where Keck headed it home from 14 yards to cap the scoring with 35:41 remaining.
The corner kick was one of six attempted in the second half by the Fillies, who took eight overall.
“We knew what they were going to do on corners, and the girls didn’t communicate well enough and get in the right spots,” Naperville Central's Watson said. “We spent all of practice yesterday making sure that that wouldn’t be an issue, and it was.
“We also don’t recognize the opportunities we have and capitalize on them. We don’t create shots.
“Until we put legitimate shots on frame, it doesn’t matter how well we play. But 3-0 is not indicative of what that game was.”
The Redhawks (8-6-2) only put two shots on frame, both resulting in easy saves for Barrington goalie Samantha Schmitz. The first was a 38-yard potshot from Caitlin Reice in the 34th minute and the second a short, soft header by Madison Redeker off a corner kick in the 46th minute.
“I’m not disappointed in our performance,” Watson said. “I’m disappointed that we made mistakes that cost us goals, and we’re not a good enough team to do that.
“The second goal was tough to deal with because it was so close to the half. But we played very well today.”
But not well enough to defeat a Barrington team on a mission.
“It’s really exciting because obviously the next match will be a big deal, too,” Prell said. “We want to make it to the final.”
The Fillies have what it takes to do just that.
“This is a really tough tournament,” Keck said. “Some of the best teams are in it so it’s an honor to work our way up the ladder.”
A win against New Treier, which would be Barrington's seventh-straight victory, would earn Barrington its title shot.
“I was really pleased with all parts of our game – dead balls, run of play, defending,” Stengren said. “We competed very, very well today.
“I just love this group. These seniors are really committed this year, and they’re doing really well. They’ve worked really hard.
“You never know what can happen in this sport so we’ll just see what happens in the next couple days.”
Starting lineups
Barrington
GK Samantha Schmitz
D Kayla Keck
D Jackie Batliner
D Madi Rosen
D Haley Tausend
D Lauren Caffe
M Anna Brodjian
M Sophia Spinell
M Sydney Bowling
F Michayla Herr
F Ashley Prell
Naperville Central
GK Kinzly Dressler
D Grace Anderson
D Sarah Avery
D Caitlin Reice
D Abby Hillman
M Katie Anderson
M Maddie Redeker
M Maggie Hillman
F Meredith McGuire
F Caroline Reedy
F Meridith Hannan
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Kayla Keck, sr., D, Barrington