It's Stodola time! 80th-minute goal gives Barrington title over Naperville North
Goal with 5 seconds left delivers 3-2 Naperville Invitational title
By Matt LeCren
NAPERVILLE -– The last time Barrington senior Ellie Stodola glanced up at the scoreboard, there was 1:23 remaining.
The next thing she knew, her 17-yard shot was sailing under the crossbar with 5 seconds remaining in regulation.
Stodola’s goal was as dramatic as it was historic. It lifted Barrington to a 3-2 victory over previously unbeaten and top-ranked Naperville North in the Naperville Invitational championship game at cold and soggy Memorial Stadium.
Both teams immediately ran off the field to get out of the pouring rain, but at least the second-ranked Fillies (16-1-0) had something to celebrate, as well as a nice piece of hardware.
“It feels great,” Stodola said as she cradled the championship trophy. “I’ve put in a lot of hard work, and I’m excited.”
In avenging their only loss of the season, the Fillies snapped Naperville North’s 33-game regular-season unbeaten streak, which dated to a 1-0 loss to Barrington in the 2016 season opener. The result will also flip the team's spots in Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. Naperville North held the top perch all season, as Barrington did with the no. 2 spot.
Though the Fillies never trailed, Stodola’s goal came against the run of play as the Huskies had all the momentum after rallying from a 2-0 deficit.
The midfielder, who had been scoreless this spring until breaking her drought in Thursday’s 3-0 quarterfinal win over Naperville Central, corralled a loose ball near the edge of the Huskies’ penalty area and ripped a 17-yard shot over the head of goalkeeper Elizabeth Cablk.
“We were just trying our best the entire game,” Stodola said. “We were working hard, and if there was an opportunity back there we would try to make the most of it.
“Not much was going through my mind. I saw the ball, and I shot, and that was it. I didn’t know it was only five seconds, but I knew we were cutting it close.”
Barrington coach Ryan Stengren was thrilled for Stodola.
“Ellie found a way last year to have some big moments for us, and I know she had been frustrated and wants to do more,” Stengren said. “Now she is being rewarded, so that’s great.
“I’m very proud of her because she’s been working really hard, and she’s been frustrated because it hasn’t been happening the way she wanted it to, but she’s kept with it. Good things happen to people that just keep working at it.”
Both teams had to keep working despite the miserable weather. Stengren thought the level of play was subpar, and Stodola commented on how much better the Fillies need to play, but the two teams put on a quality show, especially considering how tired the both were.
The Fillies were playing their fifth game in six days and the Huskies (13-1-2) their fourth during the same span, which included three-straight double-overtime games.
“I’m very, very happy for our team and our program,” Stengren said. “We’ve never won this tournament before, and it feels good.
“Too bad the weather conditions couldn’t be better so we could play better soccer. It was ugly, and we found a way to grind it out. Both teams I think are pretty worn out, but I’m very proud of our girls.”
The game, as most Barrington-Naperville North matches are, was expected to be decided by one goal, though everyone thought the score would be 1-0.
That prognostication went out the window in the first half, which saw three goals scored on just five shots.
Barrington stunningly took a 2-0 lead as Sophia Spinell and Jackie Batliner scored four minutes apart.
Stodola instigated the first goal by making a steal in the right side of the box and sliding a pass to her left to Spinell, who rolled an eight-yard shot past Cablk at the 15:34 mark.
The Fillies made it 2-0 at the 11:15 mark. Kayla Keck’s free kick from midfield went to the top of the Huskies box, where Haley Tausend flicked it forward to Batliner, whose nifty volley went inside the left post.
It marked the first time this season – and just the third instance in the past three years – that the Huskies have allowed as many as two goals in a game.
“When you’re playing good teams, little mistakes get magnified,” Naperville North coach Steve Goletz said. “We’ve made our share of those mistakes recently, and we’ve got to find a way to get better in the midfield and up-top.
Indeed, the defense has carried much of the burden for the Huskies, who are struggling to score. Before Saturday, Naperville North had not scored a goal in regulation in their past three games, yet had advanced to the final thanks to a pair of double-overtime victories over no. 12 St. Charles East and no. 9 Fremd.
But the Huskies responded, scoring on their only shot of the first half when sophomore Emma Crosswait booted home a pass from Ashley Santos with 5:26 left.
The Huskies mustered only three more shots the rest of the way, but got the equalizer with 15:37 left in the second half. Allison Hegner passed into the middle to Morgan Krause, whose 17-yard shot was headed toward the lower right corner of the goal until it deflected off a defender and went inside the left post.
After that the Huskies had the better of the play and appeared poised to take the lead.
“That first goal they got, I could feel it, and we talked about at halftime regaining the momentum,” Stengren said. “They had a good little combination, and then the shot (for Krause’s goal) was unlucky because it deflected off someone and then they really had all the momentum, but we found a way.”
The Huskies had three corner kicks in the five minutes following Krause’s equalizer. One resulted in a two-shot sequence that nearly resulted in the go-ahead goal.
But the first shot was blocked and a follow by Santos was deflected over the crossbar.
“We tried not to let the level drop at all and just focused on playing our game,” Stodola said. “We just tried to play how we do best.”
The Fillies did not get a shot in the second half until Stodola’s goal in the waning moments spared each team’s fans at least another 30 minutes of misery.
“It’s always tough when you lose it in the last 5 seconds,” Goletz said. “I think the girls did a great job of battling back in tough conditions.
“Sometimes the ball bounces your way and sometimes it doesn’t. Their girl did a nice job.
“I thought Barrington played very well. They were a little better than we were in those key moments around the net.”
Despite the huge victory, Stodola wasn’t as excited as one might think.
“It was definitely a confidence-booster, but there’s still a long road ahead,” Stodola said. “So there’s a lot to work on.”
Goletz concurred.
“We’ve got to do a better job of holding the ball up-front so we can take some of the pressure off our backline,” Goletz said. “We can’t have them constantly under pressure.
“We can use this as a positive if we can find a way to work on that.”
Starting lineups
Naperville North
GK Elizabeth Cablk
D Emily Wilhelm
D Alyssa Siebers
D Jessica Siebers
D Morgan Lockridge
M Ashley Santos
M Katelynn Buescher
M Morgan Krause
M Jeanine Valera
F Megan Benmore
F Chloe Kotrba
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
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Ellie Stodola, M, Barrington.
Goal with 5 seconds left delivers 3-2 Naperville Invitational title
By Matt LeCren
NAPERVILLE -– The last time Barrington senior Ellie Stodola glanced up at the scoreboard, there was 1:23 remaining.
The next thing she knew, her 17-yard shot was sailing under the crossbar with 5 seconds remaining in regulation.
Stodola’s goal was as dramatic as it was historic. It lifted Barrington to a 3-2 victory over previously unbeaten and top-ranked Naperville North in the Naperville Invitational championship game at cold and soggy Memorial Stadium.
Both teams immediately ran off the field to get out of the pouring rain, but at least the second-ranked Fillies (16-1-0) had something to celebrate, as well as a nice piece of hardware.
“It feels great,” Stodola said as she cradled the championship trophy. “I’ve put in a lot of hard work, and I’m excited.”
In avenging their only loss of the season, the Fillies snapped Naperville North’s 33-game regular-season unbeaten streak, which dated to a 1-0 loss to Barrington in the 2016 season opener. The result will also flip the team's spots in Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. Naperville North held the top perch all season, as Barrington did with the no. 2 spot.
Though the Fillies never trailed, Stodola’s goal came against the run of play as the Huskies had all the momentum after rallying from a 2-0 deficit.
The midfielder, who had been scoreless this spring until breaking her drought in Thursday’s 3-0 quarterfinal win over Naperville Central, corralled a loose ball near the edge of the Huskies’ penalty area and ripped a 17-yard shot over the head of goalkeeper Elizabeth Cablk.
“We were just trying our best the entire game,” Stodola said. “We were working hard, and if there was an opportunity back there we would try to make the most of it.
“Not much was going through my mind. I saw the ball, and I shot, and that was it. I didn’t know it was only five seconds, but I knew we were cutting it close.”
Barrington coach Ryan Stengren was thrilled for Stodola.
“Ellie found a way last year to have some big moments for us, and I know she had been frustrated and wants to do more,” Stengren said. “Now she is being rewarded, so that’s great.
“I’m very proud of her because she’s been working really hard, and she’s been frustrated because it hasn’t been happening the way she wanted it to, but she’s kept with it. Good things happen to people that just keep working at it.”
Both teams had to keep working despite the miserable weather. Stengren thought the level of play was subpar, and Stodola commented on how much better the Fillies need to play, but the two teams put on a quality show, especially considering how tired the both were.
The Fillies were playing their fifth game in six days and the Huskies (13-1-2) their fourth during the same span, which included three-straight double-overtime games.
“I’m very, very happy for our team and our program,” Stengren said. “We’ve never won this tournament before, and it feels good.
“Too bad the weather conditions couldn’t be better so we could play better soccer. It was ugly, and we found a way to grind it out. Both teams I think are pretty worn out, but I’m very proud of our girls.”
The game, as most Barrington-Naperville North matches are, was expected to be decided by one goal, though everyone thought the score would be 1-0.
That prognostication went out the window in the first half, which saw three goals scored on just five shots.
Barrington stunningly took a 2-0 lead as Sophia Spinell and Jackie Batliner scored four minutes apart.
Stodola instigated the first goal by making a steal in the right side of the box and sliding a pass to her left to Spinell, who rolled an eight-yard shot past Cablk at the 15:34 mark.
The Fillies made it 2-0 at the 11:15 mark. Kayla Keck’s free kick from midfield went to the top of the Huskies box, where Haley Tausend flicked it forward to Batliner, whose nifty volley went inside the left post.
It marked the first time this season – and just the third instance in the past three years – that the Huskies have allowed as many as two goals in a game.
“When you’re playing good teams, little mistakes get magnified,” Naperville North coach Steve Goletz said. “We’ve made our share of those mistakes recently, and we’ve got to find a way to get better in the midfield and up-top.
Indeed, the defense has carried much of the burden for the Huskies, who are struggling to score. Before Saturday, Naperville North had not scored a goal in regulation in their past three games, yet had advanced to the final thanks to a pair of double-overtime victories over no. 12 St. Charles East and no. 9 Fremd.
But the Huskies responded, scoring on their only shot of the first half when sophomore Emma Crosswait booted home a pass from Ashley Santos with 5:26 left.
The Huskies mustered only three more shots the rest of the way, but got the equalizer with 15:37 left in the second half. Allison Hegner passed into the middle to Morgan Krause, whose 17-yard shot was headed toward the lower right corner of the goal until it deflected off a defender and went inside the left post.
After that the Huskies had the better of the play and appeared poised to take the lead.
“That first goal they got, I could feel it, and we talked about at halftime regaining the momentum,” Stengren said. “They had a good little combination, and then the shot (for Krause’s goal) was unlucky because it deflected off someone and then they really had all the momentum, but we found a way.”
The Huskies had three corner kicks in the five minutes following Krause’s equalizer. One resulted in a two-shot sequence that nearly resulted in the go-ahead goal.
But the first shot was blocked and a follow by Santos was deflected over the crossbar.
“We tried not to let the level drop at all and just focused on playing our game,” Stodola said. “We just tried to play how we do best.”
The Fillies did not get a shot in the second half until Stodola’s goal in the waning moments spared each team’s fans at least another 30 minutes of misery.
“It’s always tough when you lose it in the last 5 seconds,” Goletz said. “I think the girls did a great job of battling back in tough conditions.
“Sometimes the ball bounces your way and sometimes it doesn’t. Their girl did a nice job.
“I thought Barrington played very well. They were a little better than we were in those key moments around the net.”
Despite the huge victory, Stodola wasn’t as excited as one might think.
“It was definitely a confidence-booster, but there’s still a long road ahead,” Stodola said. “So there’s a lot to work on.”
Goletz concurred.
“We’ve got to do a better job of holding the ball up-front so we can take some of the pressure off our backline,” Goletz said. “We can’t have them constantly under pressure.
“We can use this as a positive if we can find a way to work on that.”
Starting lineups
Naperville North
GK Elizabeth Cablk
D Emily Wilhelm
D Alyssa Siebers
D Jessica Siebers
D Morgan Lockridge
M Ashley Santos
M Katelynn Buescher
M Morgan Krause
M Jeanine Valera
F Megan Benmore
F Chloe Kotrba
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
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Ellie Stodola, M, Barrington.