Naperville N. pattern works vs. Barrington
Early goal holds up for inaugrual North Shore Inv. crown
By Patrick Z. McGavin
NORTHFIELD -- Barrington and Naperville North achieved the seemingly impossible. They transcended the hyperbole to play at a level hard to classify, almost outside their own level of expectations.
“That was the best high school game I have been involved with in a long time,” Barrington coach Ryan Stengren said.
When the top two teams play, anything is possible. Here was everything the purist demands of the sport: two keepers making superhuman saves; riveting set pieces; two teams elevating the game into an art form.
Naperville North junior forward Megan Benmore finished a layered and beautifully designed scoring sequence in the ninth minute as the top-ranked Huskies edged no. 2 Barrington 1-0 in the championship game of the North Shore Invitational on Saturday afternoon at New Trier.
Benmore earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match distinction for her play.
In style, form and result, the game echoed the Huskies’ victory over no. 3 New Trier the week before. The playing conditions were again influenced and dictated by the gusting northern winds.
Naperville North again seized that early momentum and rode it.
“We knew since we had the wind in the first half we had to come out really strong and take advantage of our opportunities,” Benmore said. “Our strength is defending, so we knew by creating the early pressure and getting a lead we’d be very dangerous and hard to come back against.”
The mirroring action was uncanny, as if captured and then replayed to achieve an identical movement. Against New Trier, Naperville North scored twice in the first eight minutes. Chloe Kotrba, a formidable and physical forward, shaped the play by controlling passes out wide to explosive junior forward Shaina Dudas.
Dudas had a goal and assist against New Trier.
Against the Fillies, Kotrba again shaped the narrative. In the ninth minute, she controlled a ball out front and played it to the streaking Dudas.
“Shaina pulled all the defenders to her and that left the keeper with having to make a choice between staying in goal or trying to deny the two-on-one and she came out and that left me in front of the net,” Benmore said.
Benmore finished with authority. Against a air-tight defense like Barrington, the score itself was almost secondary. The build-up was the key. Leading up to the goal, Benmore was party to the aggressively early action that yielded the score.
Barrington star junior keeper Sam Schmitz made two extraordinary saves. The first -- in the sixth minute on a howitzer direct kick by Huskies’ midfielder Morgan Krause from 20 yards -- was absolutely electrifying.
Schmitz also made a spectacular diving stop on a laser shot by Kotrba in the 11th minute. Naperville North commanded play at the start. Schmitz ensured Barrington stayed tight and close with the Huskies.
“For her to make that save on Morgan’s kick and to hold it and not give up a rebound was an incredible play on her part,” Naperville North coach Steve Goletz said. “Then Chloe made that turn and shot and (Schmitz) made that great diving stop. I was a little nervous going into half only up 1-0, because I was not sure if that lead would hold up.”
Naperville North (8-0-1) is a team made up of so many different parts. Benmore is new to the high school team after playing club her first two years. Kotrba’s emergence is as a specialist, a physical and powerful player whose strength makes her especially dangerous as a facilitator.
“Chloe has done a great job of playing to her strengths,” Goletz said. “She’s a very strong kid, and she focuses so much on her first touch and holding it for us. She has played herself into the lineup and played herself into big minutes. We ask her to possess it and get it to kids who are a little bit faster and creative then her. She serves that purposes very well.”
Schmitz was extraordinary for the Fillies. Barrington knew they had to match the skill and intensity of the Huskies.
“Obviously they are rated very high, and we knew we had to come out very strong,” Schmitz said. “We had a lot of energy at the start, and I felt we were pretty successful at neutralizing them. After their goal, our defenders did not allow very many shots and you have to credit them for playing really well.
“After they scored I thought we played our game after that point, and I thought we played a very good game.”
Barrington (8-1-0) had the wind in the secod half and wasted little time in trying to create the equalizer. Sophia Spinell, the team’s brilliant midfielder, served several balls that against a normal team were bound for success.
Against Naperville North, teams have to pull off a perfect sequence. Barrington seemingly achieved those ends in the 43rd minute on a beautiful ball by Spinell that Kayla Keck was the first to reach. Her header seemed destined for the goal.
Naperville North’s keeper Elizabeth Cablk is elite in her own terms. She made a defensive reaction that was the equal of Schmitz, a glancing touch that denied the Fillies’ best scoring chance.
“We played very, very well,” Stengren said. “Sam was great. Sophia was great. I was just frustrated that we could not make a play to score. How many times did we have a ball sail through the box and we did not get on the end of it?
“That is an incredible high school team. What do they have, 11 Division I players? There were two great teams out there. They made a play, and we did not. I thought we had the better of the run of play. They deserved to win because they finished.”
Barrington broke down the Huskies in the second half. In addition to Spinell, sophomore forward Ashley Prell was fantastic at finding seams and negotiating available space.
By holding the lead, Naperville North had greater means to dictate the flow and action. Krause, a converted defender, has the instincts and knowledge of playing in the back. Twice, she edged back and helped break up Barrington scoring threats.
Senior captain Ashley Santos in concert with athletic juniors Jessica Siebers and Alyssa Siebers and heady senior Emily Wilhelm are a balanced and powerful group that is virtually impossible to solve.
“Cablk made a great save on the free kick and that changed the game,” Goletz said. “I could not be more proud of the backline. Outside of their corner kicks I thought we did a good job of limiting their dangerous chances.
“We have not always been pretty in linking passes, but we are very hard to bring down. I think we showed that this week playing some of the best teams in the state and the country.
“This was a great event for us to be part of, to leave Naperville and go up to the North Shore, where soccer is always strong and be the first champion. I could not be prouder of the kids.”
Stengren worried before the game that the Fillies’ schedule would catch up to them.
“The kids have really dedicated themselves to training, and we were very fast and strong today,” he said. “My girls are very very excited at the (possible) opportunity to play them again.
“Today was a learning experience for us. When we played North in the past, we were good on set pieces. This was the best we ever played against them in the field of play.”
Barrington came up short. The Fillies confirmed with dominant performances in their half of the bracket against Loyola, Hinsdale Central and Glenbrook South they are an elite team.
“I honestly think if we play like this today we are going to be very good this year,” Stengren said.
Both teams next prepare for the Naperville Invitational, the deepest and strongest in-season tournament in the state.
“You don’t get to see competition like that all the time,” Schmitz said. “We know what we need to work on now. I thought we put up a good fight.
“I am sure at some point we are going to see them again.”
Starting lineups
Barrington
GK: Sam Schmitz
D: Jackie Batliner
D: Kayla Keck
D: Haley Tausend
D: Madi Rosen
D: Lauren Caffe
MF: Ashley Prell
MF: Ellie Stodola
MF: Sophia Spinell
MF: Sydney Bowling
F: Maesyn Poidomani
Naperville North--
GK: Elizabth Cablk
D: Jessica Siebers
D: Emily Wilhelm
D: Alyssa Siebers
D: Morgan Lockridge
MF: Ashley Santos
MF: Katelynn Buescher
MF: Jeanine Valera
MF: Morgan Krause
F: Shaina Dudas
F: Claire Kotrba
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Megan Benmore, jr., F, Naperville North
Early goal holds up for inaugrual North Shore Inv. crown
By Patrick Z. McGavin
NORTHFIELD -- Barrington and Naperville North achieved the seemingly impossible. They transcended the hyperbole to play at a level hard to classify, almost outside their own level of expectations.
“That was the best high school game I have been involved with in a long time,” Barrington coach Ryan Stengren said.
When the top two teams play, anything is possible. Here was everything the purist demands of the sport: two keepers making superhuman saves; riveting set pieces; two teams elevating the game into an art form.
Naperville North junior forward Megan Benmore finished a layered and beautifully designed scoring sequence in the ninth minute as the top-ranked Huskies edged no. 2 Barrington 1-0 in the championship game of the North Shore Invitational on Saturday afternoon at New Trier.
Benmore earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match distinction for her play.
In style, form and result, the game echoed the Huskies’ victory over no. 3 New Trier the week before. The playing conditions were again influenced and dictated by the gusting northern winds.
Naperville North again seized that early momentum and rode it.
“We knew since we had the wind in the first half we had to come out really strong and take advantage of our opportunities,” Benmore said. “Our strength is defending, so we knew by creating the early pressure and getting a lead we’d be very dangerous and hard to come back against.”
The mirroring action was uncanny, as if captured and then replayed to achieve an identical movement. Against New Trier, Naperville North scored twice in the first eight minutes. Chloe Kotrba, a formidable and physical forward, shaped the play by controlling passes out wide to explosive junior forward Shaina Dudas.
Dudas had a goal and assist against New Trier.
Against the Fillies, Kotrba again shaped the narrative. In the ninth minute, she controlled a ball out front and played it to the streaking Dudas.
“Shaina pulled all the defenders to her and that left the keeper with having to make a choice between staying in goal or trying to deny the two-on-one and she came out and that left me in front of the net,” Benmore said.
Benmore finished with authority. Against a air-tight defense like Barrington, the score itself was almost secondary. The build-up was the key. Leading up to the goal, Benmore was party to the aggressively early action that yielded the score.
Barrington star junior keeper Sam Schmitz made two extraordinary saves. The first -- in the sixth minute on a howitzer direct kick by Huskies’ midfielder Morgan Krause from 20 yards -- was absolutely electrifying.
Schmitz also made a spectacular diving stop on a laser shot by Kotrba in the 11th minute. Naperville North commanded play at the start. Schmitz ensured Barrington stayed tight and close with the Huskies.
“For her to make that save on Morgan’s kick and to hold it and not give up a rebound was an incredible play on her part,” Naperville North coach Steve Goletz said. “Then Chloe made that turn and shot and (Schmitz) made that great diving stop. I was a little nervous going into half only up 1-0, because I was not sure if that lead would hold up.”
Naperville North (8-0-1) is a team made up of so many different parts. Benmore is new to the high school team after playing club her first two years. Kotrba’s emergence is as a specialist, a physical and powerful player whose strength makes her especially dangerous as a facilitator.
“Chloe has done a great job of playing to her strengths,” Goletz said. “She’s a very strong kid, and she focuses so much on her first touch and holding it for us. She has played herself into the lineup and played herself into big minutes. We ask her to possess it and get it to kids who are a little bit faster and creative then her. She serves that purposes very well.”
Schmitz was extraordinary for the Fillies. Barrington knew they had to match the skill and intensity of the Huskies.
“Obviously they are rated very high, and we knew we had to come out very strong,” Schmitz said. “We had a lot of energy at the start, and I felt we were pretty successful at neutralizing them. After their goal, our defenders did not allow very many shots and you have to credit them for playing really well.
“After they scored I thought we played our game after that point, and I thought we played a very good game.”
Barrington (8-1-0) had the wind in the secod half and wasted little time in trying to create the equalizer. Sophia Spinell, the team’s brilliant midfielder, served several balls that against a normal team were bound for success.
Against Naperville North, teams have to pull off a perfect sequence. Barrington seemingly achieved those ends in the 43rd minute on a beautiful ball by Spinell that Kayla Keck was the first to reach. Her header seemed destined for the goal.
Naperville North’s keeper Elizabeth Cablk is elite in her own terms. She made a defensive reaction that was the equal of Schmitz, a glancing touch that denied the Fillies’ best scoring chance.
“We played very, very well,” Stengren said. “Sam was great. Sophia was great. I was just frustrated that we could not make a play to score. How many times did we have a ball sail through the box and we did not get on the end of it?
“That is an incredible high school team. What do they have, 11 Division I players? There were two great teams out there. They made a play, and we did not. I thought we had the better of the run of play. They deserved to win because they finished.”
Barrington broke down the Huskies in the second half. In addition to Spinell, sophomore forward Ashley Prell was fantastic at finding seams and negotiating available space.
By holding the lead, Naperville North had greater means to dictate the flow and action. Krause, a converted defender, has the instincts and knowledge of playing in the back. Twice, she edged back and helped break up Barrington scoring threats.
Senior captain Ashley Santos in concert with athletic juniors Jessica Siebers and Alyssa Siebers and heady senior Emily Wilhelm are a balanced and powerful group that is virtually impossible to solve.
“Cablk made a great save on the free kick and that changed the game,” Goletz said. “I could not be more proud of the backline. Outside of their corner kicks I thought we did a good job of limiting their dangerous chances.
“We have not always been pretty in linking passes, but we are very hard to bring down. I think we showed that this week playing some of the best teams in the state and the country.
“This was a great event for us to be part of, to leave Naperville and go up to the North Shore, where soccer is always strong and be the first champion. I could not be prouder of the kids.”
Stengren worried before the game that the Fillies’ schedule would catch up to them.
“The kids have really dedicated themselves to training, and we were very fast and strong today,” he said. “My girls are very very excited at the (possible) opportunity to play them again.
“Today was a learning experience for us. When we played North in the past, we were good on set pieces. This was the best we ever played against them in the field of play.”
Barrington came up short. The Fillies confirmed with dominant performances in their half of the bracket against Loyola, Hinsdale Central and Glenbrook South they are an elite team.
“I honestly think if we play like this today we are going to be very good this year,” Stengren said.
Both teams next prepare for the Naperville Invitational, the deepest and strongest in-season tournament in the state.
“You don’t get to see competition like that all the time,” Schmitz said. “We know what we need to work on now. I thought we put up a good fight.
“I am sure at some point we are going to see them again.”
Starting lineups
Barrington
GK: Sam Schmitz
D: Jackie Batliner
D: Kayla Keck
D: Haley Tausend
D: Madi Rosen
D: Lauren Caffe
MF: Ashley Prell
MF: Ellie Stodola
MF: Sophia Spinell
MF: Sydney Bowling
F: Maesyn Poidomani
Naperville North--
GK: Elizabth Cablk
D: Jessica Siebers
D: Emily Wilhelm
D: Alyssa Siebers
D: Morgan Lockridge
MF: Ashley Santos
MF: Katelynn Buescher
MF: Jeanine Valera
MF: Morgan Krause
F: Shaina Dudas
F: Claire Kotrba
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Megan Benmore, jr., F, Naperville North