Prell finish nets Barrington
win over New Trier
Fillies earn rematch with Naperville North in Naperville Inv. final
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – The margin between victory and defeat is so thin among the top teams in the state that one big play often decides matches.
That was the case Friday night at the Naperville Invitational semifinals at Memorial Stadium.
Second-ranked Barrington lived up to its Chicagoland Soccer billing by getting the one big play of the match and edged no. 3 New Trier 1-0.
The Fillies (15-1-0) meet top-ranked Naperville North (13-0-2) in the title match at noon Saturday.
“It feels good, but honestly I think we have areas that we need to improve on,” Barrington coach Ryan Stengren said. “We left plays on the field today.
“(New Trier) is a very good team, and they’re very good on set pieces and very well-coached, and we played well but there’s room for improvement for us.
“I’m happy with the result but want them to keep getting better because I know they have that in them.”
The defensive struggle saw the two sides muster only 10 shots between them. Three-time defending champion New Trier (15-2-0) had six shots, while the Fillies had four.
Barrington had only one shot in the second half, but it was the one that counted.
Sophomore Ashley Prell and senior Anna Brodjian worked a perfect give-and-go counterattack, which resulted in Prell scoring on a breakaway with 33:22 left in the game.
It was the eighth goal of the season for Prell, who has tallied the game-winner in each of the last two games.
“It was just capitalizing on a mistake,” Prell said modestly. “The ball bounced up, and I just knew that I had to keep going forward.
“You only get so many opportunities in games like this, and it’s so important to capitalize. Anna was moving, I was moving. We were both working really hard.”
Prell had a clear lane to the net and could have picked either side of the net to shoot at. She went for the near post and beat New Trier goalie Katy Symanietz, who lunged to her left and got a finger on the ball, though not enough to stop the shot.
“I was just focused on staying composed,” Prell said. “I got to put it in the side netting, and that’s where I aimed it.
“She almost tipped it out, but it kept going in.
The goal was just the fifth allowed by New Trier this season.
“It was a counterattack,” New Trier senior defender Megan Murdoch said. “We didn’t have very many numbers back, and they took advantage of it.”
There wasn’t much for Barrington to take advantage of. After Symanietz stopped back-to-back shots inside the 6 in the third minute, the Fillies didn’t sniff an opportunity the rest of the first half.
“We came out at halftime, and we were feeling good about our play,” Murdoch said. “We felt like we were all over them, our opportunities were there and our time was coming.
“Second half we had our energy, and I think Barrington is a great team, and they took advantage of their opportunity.
“Towards the end I was proud of how we picked up our energy. The last 10 minutes every single person on the team was putting everything they had into it.
“I think we had some chances at the end, but the clock ran out.”
Barrington goalie Samantha Schmitz made two saves to record her team’s 14th shutout. New Trier’s only real scoring chance in the second half came on a 27-yard liner by Whitney Hoban that sailed over the crossbar with 17:00 left.
It was the first time this year the Trevians have been shut out. But it shouldn’t be a big shock considering the Fillies have given up just three goals and, like everyone else in the state, have been dreaming of beating New Trier.
“Every team (in the) top (ranks) are very close,” Murdoch said. “We know they are gunning to beat New Trier.
“We embrace the target on our back, and we know it’s there. We want that target, too. We want to be that team that everyone wants to beat.”
Now the Trevians, whose only other loss was to Naperville North, has a rare chance to learn from a defeat.
“I think that the lessons to be taken from this tournament and this game are to be learned later,” New Trier coach Jim Burnside said. “I don’t think you have it right away after the emotion or a win or a loss.
“It’s kind of how you look back at the big picture. So we’ll watch some film, and we’ll see what things we can tweak a little bit. I think that’s going to be where we’re going to learn most.”
The Fillies are still learning as well, with the big takeaway from Friday’s win being that they are just as good as any other team.
“It’s so overwhelming for us,” Brodjian said. “I think we played really well.
“I definitely think that we can give more effort. Every game I think we’re stepping up, so we’re just getting better every time we play.
“I think as a team we all work so well together. It just gives us that confidence whenever we go out to the field, and we all help each other.”
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
New Trier
GK Katy Symanietz
D Megan Murdoch
D Caroline Iserloth
D Sam Urban
D Hope Baisley
M Avery Schuldt
M Lily Conley
M Nicole Kaspi
F Hannah Arment
F Emma Weaver
F Whitney Hoban
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Ashley Prell, so., F, Barrington
win over New Trier
Fillies earn rematch with Naperville North in Naperville Inv. final
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – The margin between victory and defeat is so thin among the top teams in the state that one big play often decides matches.
That was the case Friday night at the Naperville Invitational semifinals at Memorial Stadium.
Second-ranked Barrington lived up to its Chicagoland Soccer billing by getting the one big play of the match and edged no. 3 New Trier 1-0.
The Fillies (15-1-0) meet top-ranked Naperville North (13-0-2) in the title match at noon Saturday.
“It feels good, but honestly I think we have areas that we need to improve on,” Barrington coach Ryan Stengren said. “We left plays on the field today.
“(New Trier) is a very good team, and they’re very good on set pieces and very well-coached, and we played well but there’s room for improvement for us.
“I’m happy with the result but want them to keep getting better because I know they have that in them.”
The defensive struggle saw the two sides muster only 10 shots between them. Three-time defending champion New Trier (15-2-0) had six shots, while the Fillies had four.
Barrington had only one shot in the second half, but it was the one that counted.
Sophomore Ashley Prell and senior Anna Brodjian worked a perfect give-and-go counterattack, which resulted in Prell scoring on a breakaway with 33:22 left in the game.
It was the eighth goal of the season for Prell, who has tallied the game-winner in each of the last two games.
“It was just capitalizing on a mistake,” Prell said modestly. “The ball bounced up, and I just knew that I had to keep going forward.
“You only get so many opportunities in games like this, and it’s so important to capitalize. Anna was moving, I was moving. We were both working really hard.”
Prell had a clear lane to the net and could have picked either side of the net to shoot at. She went for the near post and beat New Trier goalie Katy Symanietz, who lunged to her left and got a finger on the ball, though not enough to stop the shot.
“I was just focused on staying composed,” Prell said. “I got to put it in the side netting, and that’s where I aimed it.
“She almost tipped it out, but it kept going in.
The goal was just the fifth allowed by New Trier this season.
“It was a counterattack,” New Trier senior defender Megan Murdoch said. “We didn’t have very many numbers back, and they took advantage of it.”
There wasn’t much for Barrington to take advantage of. After Symanietz stopped back-to-back shots inside the 6 in the third minute, the Fillies didn’t sniff an opportunity the rest of the first half.
“We came out at halftime, and we were feeling good about our play,” Murdoch said. “We felt like we were all over them, our opportunities were there and our time was coming.
“Second half we had our energy, and I think Barrington is a great team, and they took advantage of their opportunity.
“Towards the end I was proud of how we picked up our energy. The last 10 minutes every single person on the team was putting everything they had into it.
“I think we had some chances at the end, but the clock ran out.”
Barrington goalie Samantha Schmitz made two saves to record her team’s 14th shutout. New Trier’s only real scoring chance in the second half came on a 27-yard liner by Whitney Hoban that sailed over the crossbar with 17:00 left.
It was the first time this year the Trevians have been shut out. But it shouldn’t be a big shock considering the Fillies have given up just three goals and, like everyone else in the state, have been dreaming of beating New Trier.
“Every team (in the) top (ranks) are very close,” Murdoch said. “We know they are gunning to beat New Trier.
“We embrace the target on our back, and we know it’s there. We want that target, too. We want to be that team that everyone wants to beat.”
Now the Trevians, whose only other loss was to Naperville North, has a rare chance to learn from a defeat.
“I think that the lessons to be taken from this tournament and this game are to be learned later,” New Trier coach Jim Burnside said. “I don’t think you have it right away after the emotion or a win or a loss.
“It’s kind of how you look back at the big picture. So we’ll watch some film, and we’ll see what things we can tweak a little bit. I think that’s going to be where we’re going to learn most.”
The Fillies are still learning as well, with the big takeaway from Friday’s win being that they are just as good as any other team.
“It’s so overwhelming for us,” Brodjian said. “I think we played really well.
“I definitely think that we can give more effort. Every game I think we’re stepping up, so we’re just getting better every time we play.
“I think as a team we all work so well together. It just gives us that confidence whenever we go out to the field, and we all help each other.”
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
New Trier
GK Katy Symanietz
D Megan Murdoch
D Caroline Iserloth
D Sam Urban
D Hope Baisley
M Avery Schuldt
M Lily Conley
M Nicole Kaspi
F Hannah Arment
F Emma Weaver
F Whitney Hoban
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Ashley Prell, so., F, Barrington