Barrington stays hot, tops Fremd
No. 1 Fillies maintain top spot, undefeated record in MSL
By Mike Garofola
BARRINGTON -- Anna Brodjian's strike five minutes after intermission gave Barrington a 1-0 win and pushed the Fillies closer to a sixth-consecutive appearance in the MSL Soccer Bowl next Wednesday at Buffalo Grove's Grant Blaney Stadium.
"This was a big win against one of the best around, but our job isn't finished yet," said Barrington manager Ryan Stengren. "You have to give Steve (Keller, Fremd manager) and his girls a lot of credit.
"They had three bad injuries, which cost them two players for the season, then another when their no. 12 (Marta Cholewa) was hurt during their game with Naperville North last Friday."
"That's a lot to overcome for any team, but Steve has done a great job keeping things together. And they were tough tonight, just as we expected."
Should the Fillies win their final two league games this week, they will face MSL East division champion Buffalo Grove, who clinched the title with a 1-0 victory over Elk Grove on Wednesday.
Barrington faces those same Grenadiers on Friday. Saturday the Fillies (18-1-0, 9-0-0) face Palatine (9-6-2, 8-1-0), which currently sits three points back (27-24) after defeating Conant in overtime on Wednesday.
The host's third-consecutive 1-0 victory over Fremd (12-3-1, 8-2-0), spanning two seasons, was not only about the Brodjian game-winner, but marvelous defending by both clubs mixed in with some superb work by Vikings keeper Kelsie Stone. It also featured plenty of tactical wizardry by both managers, who took full advantage of the depth and versatility these two first class clubs possess.
"We had to go with a handful of different looks at times tonight (to) not only give some of our players a little rest, but also to try and matchup with what Barrington was showing and attempting to do," admitted Keller.
"They are very good at playing fast, and quick, while building out of the back. Plus they have several players who can put the ball into the back of the net."
"(Knowing) that, it was important that we stayed organized from the middle (on back) and not chasing. We did that pretty well tonight, but, once again, we had to lean on Kelsie to help us out when we needed it the most."
Both managers hailed the effort of the senior who will play at Drake University next fall. Stengren watched the all-state keeper keep his club off the scoreboard for the first 44 minutes.
"Kelsie was big for them when they needed it, and that's what a big-time keeper is supposed to do," said Stengren, whose own player between the sticks, Samantha Schmitz, never was put in harm's way en route to her 14th clean sheet of the campaign.
"We knew what to expect tonight from Fremd, but it all starts in the back, and we did a very good job of defending. Our effort on the other end was very good as well - good enough to beat a big rival of ours," said Sophia Spinell, who recorded her 16th assist of the season on Brodjian's 11th goal.
The home side saw several of its trips into the Vikings area end without a sniff on goal when Fremd's high line watched the offside flag raised, or when wonderful balls out of the back by Jackie Batliner and Madi Rosen failed to get over Julia Szylke, who was a high percentage air-ball winner all night long.
"With us losing two players to injuries, then Marta, who's been an amazing defender, we're playing for those players, and not for ourselves. And it's really helped inspire our play all the way around," said Szylke, who will play next fall for Dwayne Cruz at Harper Community College.
When the Fillies were able to solve the Vikings stingy defense, up stepped Stone who turned around at least a half dozen quality chances on frame. Two of her best came against Ashley Prell and Ellie Stodala.
Prell's delayed run allowed the sophomore to have a go after a superb helper from Brodjian. The low shot nearly beat Stone, who needed all of her incredible reach to stop it.
The 14th minute save was nearly equaled by her point-blank stop of Stodala whose attempt off a flick following a corner could have been the first goal of the game.
Things began to go well for the visitors as intermission drew closer. In the final minutes, Fremd created a pair of free kick attempts and a few nervous moments for Barrington.
The Fillies' took control after the break. Spinell turned her marker inside out along the left side and delivered a brilliant serve into the box where Brodjian finished with a tidy touch under the onrushing Stone.
"I know what Sophia can do with her crosses, so when she turned, and had the ball on her foot, I just went to the spot and got myself into the mix," said Brodjian, who leads the club in goals, despite starting her season late due to an injury.
"Anna could be out of action for a year, and still come back and score big goals for us," Spinell said with a wry smile.
The goal provided the offensive spark Stengren hoped for. Minutes after the score, Sydney Bowling had her well-driven attempt saved, as did Brodjian, when she carried freely into the box.
"There was a 10-15 minute period when I thought we had control of the play, doing everything but scoring. There was also a time when Fremd began to lull us to sleep, and that's when bad things can happen to you," said Stengren.
Fremd worried it had lost another defender when its fine freshman, Lauren Burk, collided with Prell on a 50-50 ball in the 51st minute.
After being helped off and attended to by the medical staff, Burk returned to a nice round of applause.
Keller moved his star midfielder Julia Leonard into the back when Burk was out, the first of two occasions when he did so on the night. Stengren believed the work rate and effort from Michayla Herr on Leonard was a key to the Fillies hard-fought victory.
"Julia is such a great player. We didn't want to have her get into a situation where she could get time and space, to either get a shot on goal, or find others with her distribution, so when we put Michayla on her (we) felt we were able to get an important part of the game under control," said Stengren.
For her efforts Herr was named Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match.
Bowling put a nice ball onto the foot of Spinell, who on the turn forced Stone into action once again at 65 minutes.
Fremd followed with Leonard's snap-shot in the hopes of catching Schmitz off her line, but it failed as the Flllies keeper was well aware of the cleverness of the Vikings captain.
Barrington answered when Prell shed her defender before putting Stodola through and into a potential 1-v.-1 situation until Szylke came to the rescue with her sharp defensive move.
Chicagoland Soccer's no. 1-rated Fillies then weathered a small storm from the no. 5 Vikings, whose mettle showed in an all-out 80 minute effort. But it wasn't enough to get the result as the shrill of the final whistle ended this entertaining MSL contest.
"There was plenty of hype coming into this game. They've been the division champs for five-straight years, and we've been big-time rivals at the same time," began Szylke.
"Maybe we'll get another chance at them in the playoffs, who knows. But I think I speak for everyone on this team that we're all excited about the upcoming state playoffs, and we feel like we can have a long run in them."
The Vikings will close out league play against Wheeling this Friday, then finish up their regular season with their annual nonconference match with no. 3 and three-time defending state power New Trier on May 12.
Barrington will continue to work toward its conference title aspirations.
"We were able to get an important win tonight, and it gets us closer to the championship game, but we're not there yet, so the message afterwards was great effort to get the win, but we cannot look past Elk Grove on Friday," said Stengren.
Starting lineups
Fremd
GK- Kelsie Stone
D- Jennifer Josten
D- Julia Szylke
D- Lauren Burk
D- Ann Veenbaas
M- Mackenzie Stein
M- Julia Leonard
M- Layla Dib
M- Marissa Wade
F- Angie Zara
F- Missy Adrian
Barrington
GK- Samantha Schmitz
D- Madi Rosen
D- Haley Tausend
D- Kayla Keck
D- Jackie Batliner
M- Sophia Spinell
M- Michayla Herr
M- Lauren Caffe
M- Sydney Bowling
F- Anna Brodjian
F- Ashley Prell
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Michayla Herr, jr., MF, Barrington
Referee: Rafal Zielinski
No. 1 Fillies maintain top spot, undefeated record in MSL
By Mike Garofola
BARRINGTON -- Anna Brodjian's strike five minutes after intermission gave Barrington a 1-0 win and pushed the Fillies closer to a sixth-consecutive appearance in the MSL Soccer Bowl next Wednesday at Buffalo Grove's Grant Blaney Stadium.
"This was a big win against one of the best around, but our job isn't finished yet," said Barrington manager Ryan Stengren. "You have to give Steve (Keller, Fremd manager) and his girls a lot of credit.
"They had three bad injuries, which cost them two players for the season, then another when their no. 12 (Marta Cholewa) was hurt during their game with Naperville North last Friday."
"That's a lot to overcome for any team, but Steve has done a great job keeping things together. And they were tough tonight, just as we expected."
Should the Fillies win their final two league games this week, they will face MSL East division champion Buffalo Grove, who clinched the title with a 1-0 victory over Elk Grove on Wednesday.
Barrington faces those same Grenadiers on Friday. Saturday the Fillies (18-1-0, 9-0-0) face Palatine (9-6-2, 8-1-0), which currently sits three points back (27-24) after defeating Conant in overtime on Wednesday.
The host's third-consecutive 1-0 victory over Fremd (12-3-1, 8-2-0), spanning two seasons, was not only about the Brodjian game-winner, but marvelous defending by both clubs mixed in with some superb work by Vikings keeper Kelsie Stone. It also featured plenty of tactical wizardry by both managers, who took full advantage of the depth and versatility these two first class clubs possess.
"We had to go with a handful of different looks at times tonight (to) not only give some of our players a little rest, but also to try and matchup with what Barrington was showing and attempting to do," admitted Keller.
"They are very good at playing fast, and quick, while building out of the back. Plus they have several players who can put the ball into the back of the net."
"(Knowing) that, it was important that we stayed organized from the middle (on back) and not chasing. We did that pretty well tonight, but, once again, we had to lean on Kelsie to help us out when we needed it the most."
Both managers hailed the effort of the senior who will play at Drake University next fall. Stengren watched the all-state keeper keep his club off the scoreboard for the first 44 minutes.
"Kelsie was big for them when they needed it, and that's what a big-time keeper is supposed to do," said Stengren, whose own player between the sticks, Samantha Schmitz, never was put in harm's way en route to her 14th clean sheet of the campaign.
"We knew what to expect tonight from Fremd, but it all starts in the back, and we did a very good job of defending. Our effort on the other end was very good as well - good enough to beat a big rival of ours," said Sophia Spinell, who recorded her 16th assist of the season on Brodjian's 11th goal.
The home side saw several of its trips into the Vikings area end without a sniff on goal when Fremd's high line watched the offside flag raised, or when wonderful balls out of the back by Jackie Batliner and Madi Rosen failed to get over Julia Szylke, who was a high percentage air-ball winner all night long.
"With us losing two players to injuries, then Marta, who's been an amazing defender, we're playing for those players, and not for ourselves. And it's really helped inspire our play all the way around," said Szylke, who will play next fall for Dwayne Cruz at Harper Community College.
When the Fillies were able to solve the Vikings stingy defense, up stepped Stone who turned around at least a half dozen quality chances on frame. Two of her best came against Ashley Prell and Ellie Stodala.
Prell's delayed run allowed the sophomore to have a go after a superb helper from Brodjian. The low shot nearly beat Stone, who needed all of her incredible reach to stop it.
The 14th minute save was nearly equaled by her point-blank stop of Stodala whose attempt off a flick following a corner could have been the first goal of the game.
Things began to go well for the visitors as intermission drew closer. In the final minutes, Fremd created a pair of free kick attempts and a few nervous moments for Barrington.
The Fillies' took control after the break. Spinell turned her marker inside out along the left side and delivered a brilliant serve into the box where Brodjian finished with a tidy touch under the onrushing Stone.
"I know what Sophia can do with her crosses, so when she turned, and had the ball on her foot, I just went to the spot and got myself into the mix," said Brodjian, who leads the club in goals, despite starting her season late due to an injury.
"Anna could be out of action for a year, and still come back and score big goals for us," Spinell said with a wry smile.
The goal provided the offensive spark Stengren hoped for. Minutes after the score, Sydney Bowling had her well-driven attempt saved, as did Brodjian, when she carried freely into the box.
"There was a 10-15 minute period when I thought we had control of the play, doing everything but scoring. There was also a time when Fremd began to lull us to sleep, and that's when bad things can happen to you," said Stengren.
Fremd worried it had lost another defender when its fine freshman, Lauren Burk, collided with Prell on a 50-50 ball in the 51st minute.
After being helped off and attended to by the medical staff, Burk returned to a nice round of applause.
Keller moved his star midfielder Julia Leonard into the back when Burk was out, the first of two occasions when he did so on the night. Stengren believed the work rate and effort from Michayla Herr on Leonard was a key to the Fillies hard-fought victory.
"Julia is such a great player. We didn't want to have her get into a situation where she could get time and space, to either get a shot on goal, or find others with her distribution, so when we put Michayla on her (we) felt we were able to get an important part of the game under control," said Stengren.
For her efforts Herr was named Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match.
Bowling put a nice ball onto the foot of Spinell, who on the turn forced Stone into action once again at 65 minutes.
Fremd followed with Leonard's snap-shot in the hopes of catching Schmitz off her line, but it failed as the Flllies keeper was well aware of the cleverness of the Vikings captain.
Barrington answered when Prell shed her defender before putting Stodola through and into a potential 1-v.-1 situation until Szylke came to the rescue with her sharp defensive move.
Chicagoland Soccer's no. 1-rated Fillies then weathered a small storm from the no. 5 Vikings, whose mettle showed in an all-out 80 minute effort. But it wasn't enough to get the result as the shrill of the final whistle ended this entertaining MSL contest.
"There was plenty of hype coming into this game. They've been the division champs for five-straight years, and we've been big-time rivals at the same time," began Szylke.
"Maybe we'll get another chance at them in the playoffs, who knows. But I think I speak for everyone on this team that we're all excited about the upcoming state playoffs, and we feel like we can have a long run in them."
The Vikings will close out league play against Wheeling this Friday, then finish up their regular season with their annual nonconference match with no. 3 and three-time defending state power New Trier on May 12.
Barrington will continue to work toward its conference title aspirations.
"We were able to get an important win tonight, and it gets us closer to the championship game, but we're not there yet, so the message afterwards was great effort to get the win, but we cannot look past Elk Grove on Friday," said Stengren.
Starting lineups
Fremd
GK- Kelsie Stone
D- Jennifer Josten
D- Julia Szylke
D- Lauren Burk
D- Ann Veenbaas
M- Mackenzie Stein
M- Julia Leonard
M- Layla Dib
M- Marissa Wade
F- Angie Zara
F- Missy Adrian
Barrington
GK- Samantha Schmitz
D- Madi Rosen
D- Haley Tausend
D- Kayla Keck
D- Jackie Batliner
M- Sophia Spinell
M- Michayla Herr
M- Lauren Caffe
M- Sydney Bowling
F- Anna Brodjian
F- Ashley Prell
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Michayla Herr, jr., MF, Barrington
Referee: Rafal Zielinski