Carmel and Nazareth slip-slide to draw
Corsairs maintain ESCC lead after 2-2 OT finish
By Patrick McGavin
MUNDELEIN -- Every action, movement, or for that matter physical sensation, featured an unknown, the harsh and unforgiving weather that turned the normal physics of soccer into a strange and wild adventure as the normal lines -- passes, crosses, corners, shots -- took wicked or wacky angles and change of direction.
“Coming into the game, with this weather and everything, our goal was to start off right, and we tried to get a goal in the first five minutes,” Carmel senior midfielder Shanon Murphy said. “I think we did well with that. We wanted to start with the attack, and that way we could begin off with the lead.”
In a showdown of East Suburban Catholic powers, Carmel maintained its impressive recent play with a blistering start by Angela Salvi only to watch Nazareth, ranked 13th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, rally with a superb counter by Sophia Cullotta that resulted in a 2-2 double-overtime draw Saturday afternoon.
Carmel (7-4-3, 3-0-1) ran its unbeaten streak to seven games. The Corsairs are 5-0-2 since losing all three of their games in the PepsiCo Showdown. Since the start of East Suburban Catholic Conference play, a 5-0 victory over Joliet Catholic on April 17, the Corsairs have been a different team: focused, together and very unselfish.
Salvi, a four-year starter and Vermont recruit, missed two of those tournament games. A senior midfielder, Salvi is the dominant piece of significantly improved Corsairs’ attack. Her presence, cool and ability to facilitate has opened up the offensive possibilities.
“After the PepsiCo Showdown, that was the low point of the season for us,” Salvi said. “We refocused, and everybody said if we wanted to make something out of the season, now was the time to start. Conference was our next goal. We got the first conference win, and we have just kept that confidence up. It has followed throughout the rest of the season.”
Carmel came out with high energy and passion at the start against the Roadrunners (15-2-1, 3-1-1).
Playing with the wind to start the game, the Corsairs attacked the wings and looked to free Salvi in space. The early pressure pushed all the action into the Roadrunners’ final third. In the fourth minute, Carmel struck. From the right edge, senior defender Haley Miller unwinded a powerful throw-in that deflected off several players before Salvi finally controlled the ball.
“It kind of just bounced off a group of people in that area and then it came at my feet, and I just flicked it in,” Salvi said. “I think after we got that goal it was just confidence that moved us through the rest of the first half.”
Indeed the early goal further energized the Corsairs. Playing quickly and connecting well, Carmel maintained the pressure and Murphy nearly extended the advantage with a rocket ball from the left edge that forced Nazareth senior keeper Mary Clare Harrington to make a spectacular diving stop.
“I think we did a good job of switching it, and we won the ball in the middle,” Murphy said. “I also think we did a good ob of attacking the end line and getting it back. The ball was slipping around. I think the combination of the elements was the toughest to play in. I like to play through-balls in the air, and that was tough to do with the wind. We had to keep the ball on the ground, so we could get it to Angie [Salvi], so she could distribute it.”
The rain rarely subsided, pounding the field and putting increased pressure on Nazareth’s defenders and Harrington to cope with a wet and slippery ball now shaped by the wholly unexpected. Salvi recognized quickly the sodden, heavy ball was hard to handle.
“I knew it was slippery, so I was looking to take shots,” Salvi said. “There is always that chance it could slip through the hands of the goalie.”
In the 16th minute, Salvi got a through-ball from junior forward Riley Harmon on the right wing. She quickly got the edge on her defender and unleashed another laser shot—a sidewinder—from about 19 yards that had a harsh spin. Harrington got a partial touch on it before it slid inside the near post for the 2-0 Carmel advantage.
Nazareth entered the game riding an 11-game winning streak, unbeaten since a 2-1 loss against no. 7 Batavia a month ago. The Roadrunners have played well despite the absence of coach John Nikchevich, who is recovering from surgery.
Nikchevich has watched over the results and charted the team’s progress.
“I have been coaching for 12 years and the premise has always that is is a player’s game,” he said. “There is no mystery. We know how we want to play. The coaches are not going to win games. It is going to be [the players]. You have to make changes on the field. It’s a player’s game, and that is how we train.”
The Roadrunners feature an elite talent in rangy and physical senior midfielder Claire Ramsey. Two freshmen, Julia Olander and Grace Heery, are quick and dynamic talents. Junior forward Angelica Ariola is another dangerous weapon.
Cullotta, a skilled and versatile sophomore, is the Roadrunners’ emerging star. At the beginning of the year, she played at defensive midfielder. Nikchevich saw her untapped offensive and sought to give her a more featured role.
“For a sophomore, she is the type of player you need to get involved,” he said. “We have to get her from the defensive [midfielder] side up into the attack.”
She was ready for the move. “Today I played forward for most of the game, and I had many more opportunities on goal,” she said.
Nazareth never lost its poise or panicked despite falling behind. Even after the second Salvi goal, they knew there were at least 65 minutes of soccer remaining.
“I knew it was going to be difficult, especially with the weather conditions,” Cullotta said. “I believe that a 2-0 lead is the best one to come back from. We have had many games this season where we have been behind and come back. I knew it would not be any different in this game.”
Cullotta is big and fast, and she broke free in the 28th minute off a beautiful through-ball from Ramsey. She broke down the right edge and hammered in a shot from about 17 yards that pulled the Roadrunners within 2-1.
It was the only goal scored against the wind.
“Since I was going into the wind and the ground was very slippery, I tried kicking the ball harder. On the ground it is more difficult for the goalie to handle,” she said.
Salvi appeared to get it back and record the hat trick in the 38th minute when she made a beautiful pirouette to separate herself in space and blasted a shot, but Harrington made a strong denial.
“I probably should have gone on the ground more,” she said. “From there on, it just felt like we were in our defensive third for the rest of the game until overtime.”
The Carmel backline featuring Miller, Lily Sykes, Ciara Thomas and Ali Cepon played well to neutralize Nazareth’s attack in the second half. Junior Sophia Sarkis made six saves. She made a great athletic move in denying a dangerous move from Olander.
There was also some luck involved, particularly in the 74th minute. A shot from distance was obscured in her line-of-sight and nearly went through her legs, only to bounce off the post. She also stopped Ramsey to prevent the equalizer.
Then Cullotta saw her chance. Just like Salvi -- with whom she shared the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match distinction -- she saw the advantage of the wet and slippery ball and the attendant difficulties of a keeper trying to handle shots.
In the 77th minute her shot from the left edge followed her plan to perfection. She hit a low scuttling shot that swerved and danced on the wet turf and slipped through Sarkis’ grasp for the equalizer. “I thought the goalie would have trouble,” Cullotta said.
“I took a far-out kick, and I tried to make sure I put lot of power into the kick. I wanted to make sure it was not too high in the air so the ball could skid.”
Carmel caught a break in the 79th minute on an illegal touch in the box gave the Corsairs a penalty kick attempt, but then chaos ensued. As the assistant referee walked over to have the clock reset, Salvi took the shot. It smashed off the right post. She is not sure if the center official ever formally signaled the kick.
“There was a lot of confusion. But at the end of the day, every penalty kick you get, you should put in the back of the net,” Salvi said. “That was disappointing.”
Aftet two overtime periods, Carmel’s unbeaten streak remains and the team controls its own destiny in the ESCC.
Click here for link to ESCC standings
Carmel hosts Marian on Monday and Saint Viator on Wednesday. The Corsairs can win the league title outright by winning both games.
“One of our goals was winning the conference, so we have to focus really hard on coming out strong on Monday and see how that goes,” sophomore midfielder Jen Cutro said.
Starting lineups
Nazareth
GK: Mary Clare Harrington
D: Brianna Tovar
D: Maddie Mazur
D: Allison Salata
D: Aurela Ariola
MF: Grace Heery
MF: Julie Saladino
MF: Claire Ramsey
F: Sophia Cullotta
F: Angelica Ariola
F: Julia Olander
Carmel
GK: Sophia Sarkis
D: Ali Cepon
D: Lily Sykes
D: Ciara Thomas
D: Haley Miller
MF: Grace Nolan
MF: Shanon Murphy
MF: Jen Cutro
MF: Angela Salvi
F: Emma Heinrich
F: Riley Harmon
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match: Angela Salvi, sr., MF, Carmel
Sophia Cullotta, so., F, Nazareth
Corsairs maintain ESCC lead after 2-2 OT finish
By Patrick McGavin
MUNDELEIN -- Every action, movement, or for that matter physical sensation, featured an unknown, the harsh and unforgiving weather that turned the normal physics of soccer into a strange and wild adventure as the normal lines -- passes, crosses, corners, shots -- took wicked or wacky angles and change of direction.
“Coming into the game, with this weather and everything, our goal was to start off right, and we tried to get a goal in the first five minutes,” Carmel senior midfielder Shanon Murphy said. “I think we did well with that. We wanted to start with the attack, and that way we could begin off with the lead.”
In a showdown of East Suburban Catholic powers, Carmel maintained its impressive recent play with a blistering start by Angela Salvi only to watch Nazareth, ranked 13th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, rally with a superb counter by Sophia Cullotta that resulted in a 2-2 double-overtime draw Saturday afternoon.
Carmel (7-4-3, 3-0-1) ran its unbeaten streak to seven games. The Corsairs are 5-0-2 since losing all three of their games in the PepsiCo Showdown. Since the start of East Suburban Catholic Conference play, a 5-0 victory over Joliet Catholic on April 17, the Corsairs have been a different team: focused, together and very unselfish.
Salvi, a four-year starter and Vermont recruit, missed two of those tournament games. A senior midfielder, Salvi is the dominant piece of significantly improved Corsairs’ attack. Her presence, cool and ability to facilitate has opened up the offensive possibilities.
“After the PepsiCo Showdown, that was the low point of the season for us,” Salvi said. “We refocused, and everybody said if we wanted to make something out of the season, now was the time to start. Conference was our next goal. We got the first conference win, and we have just kept that confidence up. It has followed throughout the rest of the season.”
Carmel came out with high energy and passion at the start against the Roadrunners (15-2-1, 3-1-1).
Playing with the wind to start the game, the Corsairs attacked the wings and looked to free Salvi in space. The early pressure pushed all the action into the Roadrunners’ final third. In the fourth minute, Carmel struck. From the right edge, senior defender Haley Miller unwinded a powerful throw-in that deflected off several players before Salvi finally controlled the ball.
“It kind of just bounced off a group of people in that area and then it came at my feet, and I just flicked it in,” Salvi said. “I think after we got that goal it was just confidence that moved us through the rest of the first half.”
Indeed the early goal further energized the Corsairs. Playing quickly and connecting well, Carmel maintained the pressure and Murphy nearly extended the advantage with a rocket ball from the left edge that forced Nazareth senior keeper Mary Clare Harrington to make a spectacular diving stop.
“I think we did a good job of switching it, and we won the ball in the middle,” Murphy said. “I also think we did a good ob of attacking the end line and getting it back. The ball was slipping around. I think the combination of the elements was the toughest to play in. I like to play through-balls in the air, and that was tough to do with the wind. We had to keep the ball on the ground, so we could get it to Angie [Salvi], so she could distribute it.”
The rain rarely subsided, pounding the field and putting increased pressure on Nazareth’s defenders and Harrington to cope with a wet and slippery ball now shaped by the wholly unexpected. Salvi recognized quickly the sodden, heavy ball was hard to handle.
“I knew it was slippery, so I was looking to take shots,” Salvi said. “There is always that chance it could slip through the hands of the goalie.”
In the 16th minute, Salvi got a through-ball from junior forward Riley Harmon on the right wing. She quickly got the edge on her defender and unleashed another laser shot—a sidewinder—from about 19 yards that had a harsh spin. Harrington got a partial touch on it before it slid inside the near post for the 2-0 Carmel advantage.
Nazareth entered the game riding an 11-game winning streak, unbeaten since a 2-1 loss against no. 7 Batavia a month ago. The Roadrunners have played well despite the absence of coach John Nikchevich, who is recovering from surgery.
Nikchevich has watched over the results and charted the team’s progress.
“I have been coaching for 12 years and the premise has always that is is a player’s game,” he said. “There is no mystery. We know how we want to play. The coaches are not going to win games. It is going to be [the players]. You have to make changes on the field. It’s a player’s game, and that is how we train.”
The Roadrunners feature an elite talent in rangy and physical senior midfielder Claire Ramsey. Two freshmen, Julia Olander and Grace Heery, are quick and dynamic talents. Junior forward Angelica Ariola is another dangerous weapon.
Cullotta, a skilled and versatile sophomore, is the Roadrunners’ emerging star. At the beginning of the year, she played at defensive midfielder. Nikchevich saw her untapped offensive and sought to give her a more featured role.
“For a sophomore, she is the type of player you need to get involved,” he said. “We have to get her from the defensive [midfielder] side up into the attack.”
She was ready for the move. “Today I played forward for most of the game, and I had many more opportunities on goal,” she said.
Nazareth never lost its poise or panicked despite falling behind. Even after the second Salvi goal, they knew there were at least 65 minutes of soccer remaining.
“I knew it was going to be difficult, especially with the weather conditions,” Cullotta said. “I believe that a 2-0 lead is the best one to come back from. We have had many games this season where we have been behind and come back. I knew it would not be any different in this game.”
Cullotta is big and fast, and she broke free in the 28th minute off a beautiful through-ball from Ramsey. She broke down the right edge and hammered in a shot from about 17 yards that pulled the Roadrunners within 2-1.
It was the only goal scored against the wind.
“Since I was going into the wind and the ground was very slippery, I tried kicking the ball harder. On the ground it is more difficult for the goalie to handle,” she said.
Salvi appeared to get it back and record the hat trick in the 38th minute when she made a beautiful pirouette to separate herself in space and blasted a shot, but Harrington made a strong denial.
“I probably should have gone on the ground more,” she said. “From there on, it just felt like we were in our defensive third for the rest of the game until overtime.”
The Carmel backline featuring Miller, Lily Sykes, Ciara Thomas and Ali Cepon played well to neutralize Nazareth’s attack in the second half. Junior Sophia Sarkis made six saves. She made a great athletic move in denying a dangerous move from Olander.
There was also some luck involved, particularly in the 74th minute. A shot from distance was obscured in her line-of-sight and nearly went through her legs, only to bounce off the post. She also stopped Ramsey to prevent the equalizer.
Then Cullotta saw her chance. Just like Salvi -- with whom she shared the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match distinction -- she saw the advantage of the wet and slippery ball and the attendant difficulties of a keeper trying to handle shots.
In the 77th minute her shot from the left edge followed her plan to perfection. She hit a low scuttling shot that swerved and danced on the wet turf and slipped through Sarkis’ grasp for the equalizer. “I thought the goalie would have trouble,” Cullotta said.
“I took a far-out kick, and I tried to make sure I put lot of power into the kick. I wanted to make sure it was not too high in the air so the ball could skid.”
Carmel caught a break in the 79th minute on an illegal touch in the box gave the Corsairs a penalty kick attempt, but then chaos ensued. As the assistant referee walked over to have the clock reset, Salvi took the shot. It smashed off the right post. She is not sure if the center official ever formally signaled the kick.
“There was a lot of confusion. But at the end of the day, every penalty kick you get, you should put in the back of the net,” Salvi said. “That was disappointing.”
Aftet two overtime periods, Carmel’s unbeaten streak remains and the team controls its own destiny in the ESCC.
Click here for link to ESCC standings
Carmel hosts Marian on Monday and Saint Viator on Wednesday. The Corsairs can win the league title outright by winning both games.
“One of our goals was winning the conference, so we have to focus really hard on coming out strong on Monday and see how that goes,” sophomore midfielder Jen Cutro said.
Starting lineups
Nazareth
GK: Mary Clare Harrington
D: Brianna Tovar
D: Maddie Mazur
D: Allison Salata
D: Aurela Ariola
MF: Grace Heery
MF: Julie Saladino
MF: Claire Ramsey
F: Sophia Cullotta
F: Angelica Ariola
F: Julia Olander
Carmel
GK: Sophia Sarkis
D: Ali Cepon
D: Lily Sykes
D: Ciara Thomas
D: Haley Miller
MF: Grace Nolan
MF: Shanon Murphy
MF: Jen Cutro
MF: Angela Salvi
F: Emma Heinrich
F: Riley Harmon
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match: Angela Salvi, sr., MF, Carmel
Sophia Cullotta, so., F, Nazareth