Elk Grove shuts down Wheeling
Grenadiers snap 4-game skid with road win
By Ken Keenan
WHEELING -- Time and space don't always sync up on the soccer field, but Elk Grove found a way to link the two together Friday night during a 2-0 victory over host Wheeling in a Mid-Suburban League match.
The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Grenadiers, who improved to 2-5-0 overall and 1-2-0 in the conference. The Wildcats fell to 1-3-0, 0-3-0.
In maintaining possession for most of the match -- especially in the first half -- Elk Grove was patient with the ball and took advantage of open space to create rather than look for quick strikes while on the attack.
Grenadiers senior midfielder Alexis Olague wisely exploited huge gaps in the midfield, keeping her head up and surveying the geography before making strong runs as the Wildcats retreated to defend.
Ironically, Olague, Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match, scored the game's first goal from a relatively stationary position.
With 11:59 left in the first half, Olague smacked a free kick into the top corner of the net from a wide angle on the left side, giving Elk Grove a 1-0 halftime lead.
The Grenadiers salted the game away with 7:54 remaining, when freshman forward Leila Aguilar tipped in a ball from close range following a nice feed from classmate and midfielder Emma Simmons.
Simmons and Aguilar -- along with senior midfielder Abby Smola, junior midfielder Liz McDaniel and freshman defensive mid Kelly Walter -- joined Olague in slowing down the pace during marches into the Wheeling zone.
In the 18th minute, Simmons fashioned a nice run down the right side, sending a well-placed cross to McDaniel, who fired over the crossbar.
Two minutes later, Aguilar found Walter, who controlled the ball nicely before getting off a 20-yard shot that was stopped by Wheeling goalkeeper Sonia Valencia.
With 12:45 to go before halftime, McDaniel snuck in for a solid 20-yard shot on goal that was stopped.
The Grenadiers had another strong opportunity late in the first half. A throw-in found Simmons, which led to a nice passing sequence between McDaniel and Walter before the latter missed wide-right on a 30-yard rocket.
"We're not used to being in that position with the ball as we were tonight," said Elk Grove head coach Dan Klaus. "I'd still like us to be a little more composed in the final third. But it does feel good (to snap the skid). MSL wins are hard to come by."
Olague said she enjoyed having open space to work in, but was more pleased that her efforts helped the Grenadiers end their losing streak.
"It feels so good to prove myself, but we all worked hard," she said. "We're such a young team, and as one of the (three) seniors, I'm happy to see us experience a win again. We were a lot stronger, and we connected to build up to the attack on offense.
"I like to play simple -- take the space and not just bombard the ball. Playing center mid, it was fun. There's more ball action."
Wheeling head coach Dwayne Cruz would have enjoyed seeing the Wildcats practice some of the patience exhibited by the Grenadiers.
"I think we have to play a more composed game," he said. "We tend to panic a bit when scored upon, and we were playing balls long and wide -- and not to our forwards. Plus, we weren't slotting the ball to the middle.
"We had some chances, but Elk Grove played a tough game -- their central mids were outstanding."
Wheeling midfielder Emily Peterson did her best to counter the Grendadiers strong play in the middle, but found little room to operate from the midfield into the front third.
"She was everywhere," Klaus said. "For the most part, we handled it."
Indeed, the Grenadiers' defenders (namely freshmen Jackie Benitez and Emma Slattery, as well as junior Ally Czyzewski and Walter) were quick to clear balls and consistently head Olague and Co. into wide-open spaces.
"Sometimes we don't cover where we should be," said Wheeling's Peterson. "We're
hanging back and the defense gets out of place, and then (the Grenadiers) were able to get the ball past us.
"Sometimes bad touches lead to quick turnovers. You can't just hope to punt the ball and get a shot -- you have to work for it. Sometimes we like to play pinball instead of taking a little bit of time and anticipating movements and planning out what we want to do.
"We need to get on the ball more and pressure. But (Elk Grove) had more people in the middle."
Whenever Wheeling did mount an attack, Benitez was a rock in front of goalkeeper Cassie Slattery, who posted Elk Grove's first shutout of the season. The junior did her part by straying far from the net on more than one occasion to cut off long passes and boot loose balls out of danger.
Whenever Benitez wasn't holding down the fort in back, she was aggressive in jumping up to pitch in when space was available.
"When I see a ball coming in, my first idea is getting the ball out of there," Benitez said. "I don't want the ball to go to the center."
That didn't happen much, though. Elk Grove made sure the Wildcats simply didn't have the time -- or space.
Starting lineups
Elk Grove
GK: Cassie Slattery
D: Emma Slattery
D: Jackie Benitez
D: Ally Czyzewski
M: Liz McDaniel
M: Emma Simmons
M: Alexis Olague
M: Abby Smola
M: Kelly Walter
F: Leila Aguilar
F: Bailey Smola
Wheeling
GK: Sonia Valencia
D: Yessenia Acosta
D: Maggie Hernandez
D: Daisy Guerrero
M: Haide Torres
M: Emily Peterson
M: Alyssa Peterson
M: Kelly Pietrowski
F: Nataly Morales
F: Kourtney Schuetz
F: Emma Fister
MVP of the Match: Alexis Olague, MF, Elk Grove
Officials: Katie Bates, Francisco Damian, Jay Weis
Grenadiers snap 4-game skid with road win
By Ken Keenan
WHEELING -- Time and space don't always sync up on the soccer field, but Elk Grove found a way to link the two together Friday night during a 2-0 victory over host Wheeling in a Mid-Suburban League match.
The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Grenadiers, who improved to 2-5-0 overall and 1-2-0 in the conference. The Wildcats fell to 1-3-0, 0-3-0.
In maintaining possession for most of the match -- especially in the first half -- Elk Grove was patient with the ball and took advantage of open space to create rather than look for quick strikes while on the attack.
Grenadiers senior midfielder Alexis Olague wisely exploited huge gaps in the midfield, keeping her head up and surveying the geography before making strong runs as the Wildcats retreated to defend.
Ironically, Olague, Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match, scored the game's first goal from a relatively stationary position.
With 11:59 left in the first half, Olague smacked a free kick into the top corner of the net from a wide angle on the left side, giving Elk Grove a 1-0 halftime lead.
The Grenadiers salted the game away with 7:54 remaining, when freshman forward Leila Aguilar tipped in a ball from close range following a nice feed from classmate and midfielder Emma Simmons.
Simmons and Aguilar -- along with senior midfielder Abby Smola, junior midfielder Liz McDaniel and freshman defensive mid Kelly Walter -- joined Olague in slowing down the pace during marches into the Wheeling zone.
In the 18th minute, Simmons fashioned a nice run down the right side, sending a well-placed cross to McDaniel, who fired over the crossbar.
Two minutes later, Aguilar found Walter, who controlled the ball nicely before getting off a 20-yard shot that was stopped by Wheeling goalkeeper Sonia Valencia.
With 12:45 to go before halftime, McDaniel snuck in for a solid 20-yard shot on goal that was stopped.
The Grenadiers had another strong opportunity late in the first half. A throw-in found Simmons, which led to a nice passing sequence between McDaniel and Walter before the latter missed wide-right on a 30-yard rocket.
"We're not used to being in that position with the ball as we were tonight," said Elk Grove head coach Dan Klaus. "I'd still like us to be a little more composed in the final third. But it does feel good (to snap the skid). MSL wins are hard to come by."
Olague said she enjoyed having open space to work in, but was more pleased that her efforts helped the Grenadiers end their losing streak.
"It feels so good to prove myself, but we all worked hard," she said. "We're such a young team, and as one of the (three) seniors, I'm happy to see us experience a win again. We were a lot stronger, and we connected to build up to the attack on offense.
"I like to play simple -- take the space and not just bombard the ball. Playing center mid, it was fun. There's more ball action."
Wheeling head coach Dwayne Cruz would have enjoyed seeing the Wildcats practice some of the patience exhibited by the Grenadiers.
"I think we have to play a more composed game," he said. "We tend to panic a bit when scored upon, and we were playing balls long and wide -- and not to our forwards. Plus, we weren't slotting the ball to the middle.
"We had some chances, but Elk Grove played a tough game -- their central mids were outstanding."
Wheeling midfielder Emily Peterson did her best to counter the Grendadiers strong play in the middle, but found little room to operate from the midfield into the front third.
"She was everywhere," Klaus said. "For the most part, we handled it."
Indeed, the Grenadiers' defenders (namely freshmen Jackie Benitez and Emma Slattery, as well as junior Ally Czyzewski and Walter) were quick to clear balls and consistently head Olague and Co. into wide-open spaces.
"Sometimes we don't cover where we should be," said Wheeling's Peterson. "We're
hanging back and the defense gets out of place, and then (the Grenadiers) were able to get the ball past us.
"Sometimes bad touches lead to quick turnovers. You can't just hope to punt the ball and get a shot -- you have to work for it. Sometimes we like to play pinball instead of taking a little bit of time and anticipating movements and planning out what we want to do.
"We need to get on the ball more and pressure. But (Elk Grove) had more people in the middle."
Whenever Wheeling did mount an attack, Benitez was a rock in front of goalkeeper Cassie Slattery, who posted Elk Grove's first shutout of the season. The junior did her part by straying far from the net on more than one occasion to cut off long passes and boot loose balls out of danger.
Whenever Benitez wasn't holding down the fort in back, she was aggressive in jumping up to pitch in when space was available.
"When I see a ball coming in, my first idea is getting the ball out of there," Benitez said. "I don't want the ball to go to the center."
That didn't happen much, though. Elk Grove made sure the Wildcats simply didn't have the time -- or space.
Starting lineups
Elk Grove
GK: Cassie Slattery
D: Emma Slattery
D: Jackie Benitez
D: Ally Czyzewski
M: Liz McDaniel
M: Emma Simmons
M: Alexis Olague
M: Abby Smola
M: Kelly Walter
F: Leila Aguilar
F: Bailey Smola
Wheeling
GK: Sonia Valencia
D: Yessenia Acosta
D: Maggie Hernandez
D: Daisy Guerrero
M: Haide Torres
M: Emily Peterson
M: Alyssa Peterson
M: Kelly Pietrowski
F: Nataly Morales
F: Kourtney Schuetz
F: Emma Fister
MVP of the Match: Alexis Olague, MF, Elk Grove
Officials: Katie Bates, Francisco Damian, Jay Weis