No kidding, Metea Valley ties Collinsville
Nullified Mustangs goal, late Collinsville tally leads to 3-3 draw
By Keith Schildroth
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO. - The flag wasn't raised for jest or the benefit of Metea Valley and coach Chris Whaley on Saturday at the Parkway College Showcase in suburban St. Louis.
The Mustangs, ranked no. 10 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, appeared to have scored an insurance goal against Collinsville after Mustangs forward Abby Severson slid the ball across the top of the box to forward Jade Eriksen-Russo, who pushed a shot past Kahoks goalie Morgan Lerch to give Metea Valley a short-lived 4-2 lead with about one minute left in the game.
However, linesman Elvis Mahmutovic whistled the play offside and nullified the goal. The Kahoks quickly regrouped and got the ball to midfielder Alynnah O'Leary. She broke down the left side and beat two defenders and Mustangs keeper Amy Ahern to the far post to tie the game at 3-3.
Seconds later at midfield, referee Patrick McWay blew his whistle to end the game. This was no April Fool's joke.
Whaley then had a quick, civil conversation with McWay after the game.
It seemed almost a fitting way to end a game that was back and forth from the start. The Mustangs sputtered early in the first half while the Kahoks had numerous good scoring chances and the majority of the play.
"We played really well. As you could see it took the girls about 10 minutes to get into the game just from having tired legs from last night," said Whaley referring to the noon start time Saturday . "Playing at seven o'clock (Friday) is pretty late so I knew they were going to be a little sluggish, but they got a lead and played well. The other team was good. They put a lot of pressure on us. I think we were fighting and doing the best we could. It just took us a little while to get our legs."
Collinsville, ranked fourth in Chicagoland Soccer's Illinois 10 poll, came out flying and didn't waste any time setting the pace of the game. Forward Jalyn Richardson picked up a loose ball down the right side and broke in alone on Ahern. The Mustangs goalie came off her line and almost out of the box and took the ball off Richardson's foot.
Kahoks forward Emily Holten worked a pretty give-and-go with forward Tayler Devine from the right side and that play just failed to click when Devine's shot went just left of the goal.
Devine was busy again minutes later hitting a shot from the top of the box that just sailed over the crossbar. Richardson had another good scoring chance when she broke in alone on Ahern down the right side, but the Mustangs goalie came out again off her line to make a nice save.
The Metea Valley offense finally came to life when Sophia Majher hit forward Jade Eriksen-Russo but her shot sailed just wide. Eriksen-Russo was at it again minutes later hitting a nice crossing pass to Taylor Rohm but the shot went over the crossbar.
Eriksen-Russo finally found her mark from just outside the box beating Lerch to the left corner for a 1-0 lead.
"I think playing two games in such a quick turnaround obviously makes your legs a little slower, but we had a lot of moments where we picked it up," said Eriksen-Russo, who scored twice. "And we worked well together and did what we do best, passing, quick possession and a lot of good finishes."
Seconds later, Rohm almost scored again from the top of the box but her shot just missed wide to the left.
The Collinsville offense started to stir again when Devine took a nifty pass from Richardson and had Ahern alone just inside the box. But Devine fired a hard shot right at Ahern.
Ahern kept the Mustangs perfect when she robbed Richardson on a nice cross from midfielder Bianca Cortez. O'Leary tried from the right side but Ahern made another key stop.
The Kahoks offense finally solved Ahern late in the half when Holten tied the game at 1-1 off a free kick to the upper right corner from the ride side of the arc.
Collinsville forward Courtney Marten almost put her club ahead minutes later when her pretty pass from the left wing just missed midfielder Andrea Frerker.
"That was a fun first half, again once we settled down and connected a couple dots at midfield and moved the ball forward we were all over them," said Collinsville coach Clay Smith. "We pressured them. That was our game plan, high pressure them and try and get behind them a little bit, and it worked to our advantage. Their goalkeeper made some huge saves in the first half. We could have come out that half at least two or three goals ahead. She played really well."
Said Holten: "We weren't getting the shots off that we wanted to, and we needed to start communicating more and finding feet. They were a very quick-paced team, and we had to get used to it at first. They were fun to play against, and they challenged us at first. It's really easy to get frustrated, but you have to forget about it and keep going forward and keep getting more shots off."
Eriksen-Russo almost put the Mustangs back in front in the closing minutes of the half when she hit a shot from close range inside the box that Lerch saved at the right post. Then the tables turned when Ahern stopped Holten on the rebound as the whistle sounded the end the half.
Metea Valley started strong again in the second half. Eriksen-Russo kept up her consistent play and put the Mustangs up 2-1 when Lerch came off her line. This time, however, the Mustangs forward flicked the ball away from the keeper into the lower left corner.
Collinsville came right back to tie the game at 2-2 when Holten scored from the right side on what looked like a mixup in the Mustangs backfield. Holten pulled up short just outside the box and hit a perfect shot past Ahern into the upper right corner.
The sequence didn't escape Metea Valley's bench.
"Just getting the girls to kind of step up and challenge people a little bit, especially in the defensive third," said Whaley. "That's one area of improvement I think we have got to make sure we work on. We need to stay organized defensively."
Kaiya Hansen almost put the Mustangs back in front minutes later when she sent a strong shot from the right side that was headed inside the far left post but Lerch punched the ball out.
Midfielder Nicki Hernandez gave Metea Valley a 3-2 lead with about 10 minutes remaining in the game. She moved around two defenders and scored just from inside the box.
Collinsville applied presssure in the final minutes of the half. O'Leary was active again down the right side with a terrific cross that Ahern managed to catch at the near post. Holten almost scored from the right side off a free kick and Ahern was there again to make a key stop.
"Mentally in the last few minutes of the game that's when we need to stay strong," said Eriksen-Russo. "People make mistakes in communication, and that's something we can always work on. I think overall we communicate really well as a team. It's something we do well."
Smith said his club didn't get down after playing well in the first half and not having better results on the scoreboard.
"I don't think we were frustrated, that was a good goalie we were up against," said Smith. "You put the ball one or two yards to either side, and it's different. We have to do a better job finishing and putting the ball in the corner. We can score five, six, seven goals a game and today was a good example. We haven't had a good goal scoring game yet this year.
"We told them to keep pressing at halftime," Smith cotinued. "We needed to isolate some people one-on-one on their outside backs. They (Metea Valley) did a good job transitioning at halftime shutting that down a little bit. We just continued to press on and play it. They did a good job at controlling the ball. Give them credit. That's a good team."
Starting lineups
Collinsville
GK: Morgan Lerch
D: Paige Bauer
D: Danielle Knutson
D: Dayle McEwen
MF: Bianca Cortez
MF: Andrea Frerker
MF: Faith Liljegren
MF: Alynnah O'Leary
F: Jalyn Richardson
F: Tayler Devine
F: Emily Holten
Metea Valley
GK: Amy Ahern
D: Paige Buranosky
D: Katherine Wieland
D: Kelly Crowe
D: MaKenna Schoolman
MF: Nicki Hernandez
MF: Emily Lindblom
MF: Chesney Wargo
F: JaDe Eriksen-Russo
F: Maeve Riordan
F: Abby Severson
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Jade Eriksen-Russo, sr., F, Metea Valley
Officials: Patrick McWay (center); Rich Banahan; Elvis Mahmutovic
Nullified Mustangs goal, late Collinsville tally leads to 3-3 draw
By Keith Schildroth
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO. - The flag wasn't raised for jest or the benefit of Metea Valley and coach Chris Whaley on Saturday at the Parkway College Showcase in suburban St. Louis.
The Mustangs, ranked no. 10 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, appeared to have scored an insurance goal against Collinsville after Mustangs forward Abby Severson slid the ball across the top of the box to forward Jade Eriksen-Russo, who pushed a shot past Kahoks goalie Morgan Lerch to give Metea Valley a short-lived 4-2 lead with about one minute left in the game.
However, linesman Elvis Mahmutovic whistled the play offside and nullified the goal. The Kahoks quickly regrouped and got the ball to midfielder Alynnah O'Leary. She broke down the left side and beat two defenders and Mustangs keeper Amy Ahern to the far post to tie the game at 3-3.
Seconds later at midfield, referee Patrick McWay blew his whistle to end the game. This was no April Fool's joke.
Whaley then had a quick, civil conversation with McWay after the game.
It seemed almost a fitting way to end a game that was back and forth from the start. The Mustangs sputtered early in the first half while the Kahoks had numerous good scoring chances and the majority of the play.
"We played really well. As you could see it took the girls about 10 minutes to get into the game just from having tired legs from last night," said Whaley referring to the noon start time Saturday . "Playing at seven o'clock (Friday) is pretty late so I knew they were going to be a little sluggish, but they got a lead and played well. The other team was good. They put a lot of pressure on us. I think we were fighting and doing the best we could. It just took us a little while to get our legs."
Collinsville, ranked fourth in Chicagoland Soccer's Illinois 10 poll, came out flying and didn't waste any time setting the pace of the game. Forward Jalyn Richardson picked up a loose ball down the right side and broke in alone on Ahern. The Mustangs goalie came off her line and almost out of the box and took the ball off Richardson's foot.
Kahoks forward Emily Holten worked a pretty give-and-go with forward Tayler Devine from the right side and that play just failed to click when Devine's shot went just left of the goal.
Devine was busy again minutes later hitting a shot from the top of the box that just sailed over the crossbar. Richardson had another good scoring chance when she broke in alone on Ahern down the right side, but the Mustangs goalie came out again off her line to make a nice save.
The Metea Valley offense finally came to life when Sophia Majher hit forward Jade Eriksen-Russo but her shot sailed just wide. Eriksen-Russo was at it again minutes later hitting a nice crossing pass to Taylor Rohm but the shot went over the crossbar.
Eriksen-Russo finally found her mark from just outside the box beating Lerch to the left corner for a 1-0 lead.
"I think playing two games in such a quick turnaround obviously makes your legs a little slower, but we had a lot of moments where we picked it up," said Eriksen-Russo, who scored twice. "And we worked well together and did what we do best, passing, quick possession and a lot of good finishes."
Seconds later, Rohm almost scored again from the top of the box but her shot just missed wide to the left.
The Collinsville offense started to stir again when Devine took a nifty pass from Richardson and had Ahern alone just inside the box. But Devine fired a hard shot right at Ahern.
Ahern kept the Mustangs perfect when she robbed Richardson on a nice cross from midfielder Bianca Cortez. O'Leary tried from the right side but Ahern made another key stop.
The Kahoks offense finally solved Ahern late in the half when Holten tied the game at 1-1 off a free kick to the upper right corner from the ride side of the arc.
Collinsville forward Courtney Marten almost put her club ahead minutes later when her pretty pass from the left wing just missed midfielder Andrea Frerker.
"That was a fun first half, again once we settled down and connected a couple dots at midfield and moved the ball forward we were all over them," said Collinsville coach Clay Smith. "We pressured them. That was our game plan, high pressure them and try and get behind them a little bit, and it worked to our advantage. Their goalkeeper made some huge saves in the first half. We could have come out that half at least two or three goals ahead. She played really well."
Said Holten: "We weren't getting the shots off that we wanted to, and we needed to start communicating more and finding feet. They were a very quick-paced team, and we had to get used to it at first. They were fun to play against, and they challenged us at first. It's really easy to get frustrated, but you have to forget about it and keep going forward and keep getting more shots off."
Eriksen-Russo almost put the Mustangs back in front in the closing minutes of the half when she hit a shot from close range inside the box that Lerch saved at the right post. Then the tables turned when Ahern stopped Holten on the rebound as the whistle sounded the end the half.
Metea Valley started strong again in the second half. Eriksen-Russo kept up her consistent play and put the Mustangs up 2-1 when Lerch came off her line. This time, however, the Mustangs forward flicked the ball away from the keeper into the lower left corner.
Collinsville came right back to tie the game at 2-2 when Holten scored from the right side on what looked like a mixup in the Mustangs backfield. Holten pulled up short just outside the box and hit a perfect shot past Ahern into the upper right corner.
The sequence didn't escape Metea Valley's bench.
"Just getting the girls to kind of step up and challenge people a little bit, especially in the defensive third," said Whaley. "That's one area of improvement I think we have got to make sure we work on. We need to stay organized defensively."
Kaiya Hansen almost put the Mustangs back in front minutes later when she sent a strong shot from the right side that was headed inside the far left post but Lerch punched the ball out.
Midfielder Nicki Hernandez gave Metea Valley a 3-2 lead with about 10 minutes remaining in the game. She moved around two defenders and scored just from inside the box.
Collinsville applied presssure in the final minutes of the half. O'Leary was active again down the right side with a terrific cross that Ahern managed to catch at the near post. Holten almost scored from the right side off a free kick and Ahern was there again to make a key stop.
"Mentally in the last few minutes of the game that's when we need to stay strong," said Eriksen-Russo. "People make mistakes in communication, and that's something we can always work on. I think overall we communicate really well as a team. It's something we do well."
Smith said his club didn't get down after playing well in the first half and not having better results on the scoreboard.
"I don't think we were frustrated, that was a good goalie we were up against," said Smith. "You put the ball one or two yards to either side, and it's different. We have to do a better job finishing and putting the ball in the corner. We can score five, six, seven goals a game and today was a good example. We haven't had a good goal scoring game yet this year.
"We told them to keep pressing at halftime," Smith cotinued. "We needed to isolate some people one-on-one on their outside backs. They (Metea Valley) did a good job transitioning at halftime shutting that down a little bit. We just continued to press on and play it. They did a good job at controlling the ball. Give them credit. That's a good team."
Starting lineups
Collinsville
GK: Morgan Lerch
D: Paige Bauer
D: Danielle Knutson
D: Dayle McEwen
MF: Bianca Cortez
MF: Andrea Frerker
MF: Faith Liljegren
MF: Alynnah O'Leary
F: Jalyn Richardson
F: Tayler Devine
F: Emily Holten
Metea Valley
GK: Amy Ahern
D: Paige Buranosky
D: Katherine Wieland
D: Kelly Crowe
D: MaKenna Schoolman
MF: Nicki Hernandez
MF: Emily Lindblom
MF: Chesney Wargo
F: JaDe Eriksen-Russo
F: Maeve Riordan
F: Abby Severson
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Jade Eriksen-Russo, sr., F, Metea Valley
Officials: Patrick McWay (center); Rich Banahan; Elvis Mahmutovic