Struggles continue,
Glenbard W. falls to DGN
Hilltoppers look to regain stride; Nehls' brace leads Trojans to win
By Paul LaTour
DOWNERS GROVE -- A season-long weakness spelled defeat for Glenbard West as the Hilltoppers surrendered two goals in the first three minutes of the second half and fell 3-0 to Downers Grove North on Tuesday at Carstens Field.
“We had a rough start to the second half -- that’s been a problem of ours all year, honestly,” Hilltoppers coach Morgan Kasperek said. “We’re a good soccer team, we just struggle the first five minutes of each half.”
The Hilltoppers (9-7-3 overall, 3-3-0) trailed 1-0 at halftime, but quickly saw that deficit turn insurmountable. Trojans forward Carli Nehls scored her second goal of the match only 30 seconds into the second half, and Carissa Mysliwiec capped the scoring three minutes later.
“It was pretty frustrating (giving up those two quick goals) because we’d worked so hard to defend in the first half,” Hilltoppers defender Kat Kostolansky said. “And we’re a pretty strong defensive team, so to get beat like that twice in a row was discouraging.”
The surge turned a close game into a convincing West Suburban Conference Silver Division win for Downers Grove North (14-2-2, 5-1-0), which is ranked no. 15 in the latest Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
But it was Glenbard West that had the early scoring chances. Their first came about seven minutes into the game following a strong defensive play in their own end.
Trojans forward Delaney Forst used her speed down the left side to get into a dangerous area. But she couldn’t shake Kostolansky, who forced Forst into the middle where Teagan Ryan cleared the ball out of danger to start a counter rush for the Hilltoppers.
The transition ended with a shot on goal that goalkeeper Emily Redpath stopped before corralling the rebound. But the Hilltoppers continued to force the play in the Trojans end for the following 10 minutes.
Their best scoring chance during that span came on a free kick by Kostolansky from 25 yards out with 27 minutes to play in the half. Kostolansky’s high, twisting shot nearly eluded Redpath, but the goalie punched it away to thwart the Hilltoppers.
The Hilltoppers didn’t seriously threaten again until the final 20 minutes when they were chasing three goals.
“We had more opportunities (than the Trojans) in the first half, but if you can’t capitalize on your opportunities it doesn’t matter,” Kasperek said. “It’s a little frustrating with not being able to capitalize on our good work and put the ball in the net. We’re doing a better job of putting shots on frame overall, but we still have to learn to finish.
“The girls play hard, and they are unselfish. And they do everything right, so they’re a great team to coach. And I feel like we can compete defensively with anyone. But we’ve got to learn to capitalize on our opportunities.”
The Hilltoppers close out the regular season Saturday in a nonconference game at Wheaton Warrenville South. They open play in the Geneva Regional on May 16 against Wheaton North, which beat them 1-0 on March 21.
The Hilltoppers are confident they can shake off Tuesday’s loss and get ready for the playoffs.
“I definitely think we can beat Wheaton North if we play how we can play and not like how we did (Tuesday),” said Ryan, a junior defender. “We need to control ourselves and be positive. It’ll be OK. Our next game is Saturday so we’ll have three practices before then to get back together and regroup.”
Meanwhile, Downers Grove North continues to roll toward the playoffs. They improved to 9-1-1 in their past 11 games -- the lone loss came against league champion Lyons 3-2 on May 2. Downers Grove North completes its regular season Thursday night at Hinsdale South in a nonconference match before opening play in the Downers Grove South Regional on May 16.
“We’ve had a great year so far, but now it’s time to start thinking about tournament time,” Trojans coach Brian Papa said. “Making the kids believe they can win has been my biggest challenge, because they don’t really believe in themselves. I don’t know why. They are good players. So we’ll see what happens.”
Tuesday was the Trojans Senior Night, so Papa opted to start his 11 seniors as a way of showing his appreciation for their hard work and dedication.
But it was the junior, Carli Nehls, who earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors for her two-goal performance.
Nehls broke a 0-0 tie with 10:30 left in the first half on a designed play off a free kick from 30 yards out. Nehls lined up with Olivia Bull before running past the ball and down the side. Bull slid the ball to Nehls, who stopped on a dime, reversed field to shake Kostolansky, and fired a high shot with her right foot that beat Hilltoppers goalkeeper Sarah Shellady.
“My coach always tells us when they don’t have one or two on the wall, run over the ball, and if they don’t run with us, play off of that. And we finally did that. I took it to my stronger foot and just shot it,” Nehls said.
As nice of an individual effort it was, her second goal illustrated an even better team dynamic. A series of short passes in the midfield ended up on Mysliwiec’s foot. Mysliwiec then found Nehls with a long through pass. Nehls got the pass in stride as she split the defenders. She drilled a shot to Shellady’s right for a 2-0 lead only 30 seconds into the half.
“It was a great passing sequence. That was a great team goal,” Nehls said.
The Trojans didn’t stop there. Less than three minutes later it was Mysliwiec’s turn for a goal as she scored on a breakaway to make it 3-0.
“We had the momentum coming into the second half, but (the two goals) definitely made it easier for us,” Nehls said.
Starting lineups
Glenbard West
GK: Sarah Shellady
D: Kat Kostolansky
D: Teagan Ryan
D: Annie Gelfer
D: Gabi Wind
MF: Sammy Harris
MF: Madison Jurgovan
MF: Paige Dickson
MF: Bailey Wallace
F: Emma Burke
F: Emma Wallace
Downers Grove North
GK: Emily Redpath
D: Emma Rotz
D: Elizabeth Hodonicky
D: Hannah Krusenoski
D: Kelly Doro
MF: Emma Kinn
MF: Maggie Nevrly
MF: Simone Gardner
F: Delaney Forst
F: Audrey Roth
F: Haley Reynolds
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Carli Nehls, jr., F, Downers Grove North
Glenbard W. falls to DGN
Hilltoppers look to regain stride; Nehls' brace leads Trojans to win
By Paul LaTour
DOWNERS GROVE -- A season-long weakness spelled defeat for Glenbard West as the Hilltoppers surrendered two goals in the first three minutes of the second half and fell 3-0 to Downers Grove North on Tuesday at Carstens Field.
“We had a rough start to the second half -- that’s been a problem of ours all year, honestly,” Hilltoppers coach Morgan Kasperek said. “We’re a good soccer team, we just struggle the first five minutes of each half.”
The Hilltoppers (9-7-3 overall, 3-3-0) trailed 1-0 at halftime, but quickly saw that deficit turn insurmountable. Trojans forward Carli Nehls scored her second goal of the match only 30 seconds into the second half, and Carissa Mysliwiec capped the scoring three minutes later.
“It was pretty frustrating (giving up those two quick goals) because we’d worked so hard to defend in the first half,” Hilltoppers defender Kat Kostolansky said. “And we’re a pretty strong defensive team, so to get beat like that twice in a row was discouraging.”
The surge turned a close game into a convincing West Suburban Conference Silver Division win for Downers Grove North (14-2-2, 5-1-0), which is ranked no. 15 in the latest Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
But it was Glenbard West that had the early scoring chances. Their first came about seven minutes into the game following a strong defensive play in their own end.
Trojans forward Delaney Forst used her speed down the left side to get into a dangerous area. But she couldn’t shake Kostolansky, who forced Forst into the middle where Teagan Ryan cleared the ball out of danger to start a counter rush for the Hilltoppers.
The transition ended with a shot on goal that goalkeeper Emily Redpath stopped before corralling the rebound. But the Hilltoppers continued to force the play in the Trojans end for the following 10 minutes.
Their best scoring chance during that span came on a free kick by Kostolansky from 25 yards out with 27 minutes to play in the half. Kostolansky’s high, twisting shot nearly eluded Redpath, but the goalie punched it away to thwart the Hilltoppers.
The Hilltoppers didn’t seriously threaten again until the final 20 minutes when they were chasing three goals.
“We had more opportunities (than the Trojans) in the first half, but if you can’t capitalize on your opportunities it doesn’t matter,” Kasperek said. “It’s a little frustrating with not being able to capitalize on our good work and put the ball in the net. We’re doing a better job of putting shots on frame overall, but we still have to learn to finish.
“The girls play hard, and they are unselfish. And they do everything right, so they’re a great team to coach. And I feel like we can compete defensively with anyone. But we’ve got to learn to capitalize on our opportunities.”
The Hilltoppers close out the regular season Saturday in a nonconference game at Wheaton Warrenville South. They open play in the Geneva Regional on May 16 against Wheaton North, which beat them 1-0 on March 21.
The Hilltoppers are confident they can shake off Tuesday’s loss and get ready for the playoffs.
“I definitely think we can beat Wheaton North if we play how we can play and not like how we did (Tuesday),” said Ryan, a junior defender. “We need to control ourselves and be positive. It’ll be OK. Our next game is Saturday so we’ll have three practices before then to get back together and regroup.”
Meanwhile, Downers Grove North continues to roll toward the playoffs. They improved to 9-1-1 in their past 11 games -- the lone loss came against league champion Lyons 3-2 on May 2. Downers Grove North completes its regular season Thursday night at Hinsdale South in a nonconference match before opening play in the Downers Grove South Regional on May 16.
“We’ve had a great year so far, but now it’s time to start thinking about tournament time,” Trojans coach Brian Papa said. “Making the kids believe they can win has been my biggest challenge, because they don’t really believe in themselves. I don’t know why. They are good players. So we’ll see what happens.”
Tuesday was the Trojans Senior Night, so Papa opted to start his 11 seniors as a way of showing his appreciation for their hard work and dedication.
But it was the junior, Carli Nehls, who earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors for her two-goal performance.
Nehls broke a 0-0 tie with 10:30 left in the first half on a designed play off a free kick from 30 yards out. Nehls lined up with Olivia Bull before running past the ball and down the side. Bull slid the ball to Nehls, who stopped on a dime, reversed field to shake Kostolansky, and fired a high shot with her right foot that beat Hilltoppers goalkeeper Sarah Shellady.
“My coach always tells us when they don’t have one or two on the wall, run over the ball, and if they don’t run with us, play off of that. And we finally did that. I took it to my stronger foot and just shot it,” Nehls said.
As nice of an individual effort it was, her second goal illustrated an even better team dynamic. A series of short passes in the midfield ended up on Mysliwiec’s foot. Mysliwiec then found Nehls with a long through pass. Nehls got the pass in stride as she split the defenders. She drilled a shot to Shellady’s right for a 2-0 lead only 30 seconds into the half.
“It was a great passing sequence. That was a great team goal,” Nehls said.
The Trojans didn’t stop there. Less than three minutes later it was Mysliwiec’s turn for a goal as she scored on a breakaway to make it 3-0.
“We had the momentum coming into the second half, but (the two goals) definitely made it easier for us,” Nehls said.
Starting lineups
Glenbard West
GK: Sarah Shellady
D: Kat Kostolansky
D: Teagan Ryan
D: Annie Gelfer
D: Gabi Wind
MF: Sammy Harris
MF: Madison Jurgovan
MF: Paige Dickson
MF: Bailey Wallace
F: Emma Burke
F: Emma Wallace
Downers Grove North
GK: Emily Redpath
D: Emma Rotz
D: Elizabeth Hodonicky
D: Hannah Krusenoski
D: Kelly Doro
MF: Emma Kinn
MF: Maggie Nevrly
MF: Simone Gardner
F: Delaney Forst
F: Audrey Roth
F: Haley Reynolds
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Carli Nehls, jr., F, Downers Grove North