Loyola squeezes past Palatine
to open Naperville Invitational
Brett goal in 2nd half gives Ramblers 1-0 pool play win
By Mike Garofola
BARRINGTON -- Loyola edged out Palatine 1-0 in each team's Naperville Invitational opener at community stadium Thursday night.
It looked like these two storied programs might be headed to overtime as each went box-to-box in search of victory, but at 55 minutes Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match Maggie Brett broke up a goal-less contest with the eventual game-winner that ended a four-game Palatine win streak.
"I think both teams played hard, but I also think both of us were a little tired, especially in the first half," said the sophomore. "(And) for us, playing a new formation, it took us a little time to get comfortable with it, and it showed in our play early on."
Brett and her mates had enjoyed a few well deserved days away from competition following an ultra-busy week of soccer leading up to this tourney opener, which included three games in five days as the inaugural North Shore Invitational came to a close.
"Our schedule will finally lighten up for us, which will be good for us, but it's been a challenge for many of the girls who are playing at the varsity level for the first time, and against real quality opponents nearly each time we go out," said Loyola (7-5-0) manager Craig Snower, who didn't know what to expect from Palatine prior to this late night contest.
"I knew Palatine had a big-time game with their rival Fremd to start their week, and anytime your involved with an emotional game like that (and you win) it can take a lot out of a team.
"They will eventually have five games this week, which is a ton of games. And even though you can always expect a hard-fought game with Palatine (one) in which they will challenge everything, and put a lot of dead-balls and corners on you, we still didn't know what we would end of up seeing."
It was clear from the opening quarter hour the Pirates' tank was half empty -- something that both manager Willie Filian and its fine backline leader Samantha Malak saw first hand.
"We put so much into that 1-0 win over Fremd to start our week. Even though we played hard, our energy level wasn't as high as it was on Monday against Fremd," said Malak.
"That game (with Fremd) meant a lot to the girls and our program. They put everything they had into getting the result, but you could see that the legs weren't there at times. And even though the girls fought hard, it wasn't anywhere near what they gave just a couple of days ago."
Snower changed things up for the match by going with his third formation of the season: this one a 3-5-2, and although the club wasn't fluid with its new look, it did provide a handful of visits in the Pirates end in the first 20 minutes or so.
On the counter led by Stephanie Ramsay, Vanessa Murray and Megan Kurtz, the Ramblers created a corner before Ramsay's enterprising run to the endline forced defender Carolyn Soukup to retreat and clear a dangerous serve into the Palatine box.
After Palatine junior Sarah Clancy dispossessed a Loyola player and shot wide her teammate, freshman Melanie Simon, stepped on to a loose ball and fired wide in a sequence that gave the Pirates attack a little spark.
"We moved Melanie into our starting lineup because she gives us some good size and speed, plus she is a terrific kid who is very coachable," said Filian.
While both sides found it difficult going to take advantage of the width at this big home park of the two-time defending Mid-Suburban League champions Barrington, each club used a more direct approach, hoping to find a way to solve airtight backlines which had no intention of handing away the keys to the back of the net.
Palatine senior Mackenzie Filian collected a ball from out of the box before driving her 25-yard attempt wide, and moments later, Malak and Kacie Filian combined to send a looping ball over the top that Loyola keeper Maggie Avery pulled from the air with confidence.
"At times we put some good play together, but for the most part, it felt like we defended a lot, and didn't go through Kacie, Sarah and Carolyn enough in the midfield," suggested Malak.
There was flurries from both attacks during the closing minutes of the first half beginning with Loyola when some promising work by Ally West and Anna Perona was ended by the combined defensive efforts of Anja Jacobsen and Simon.
A corner by the Ramblers proved a dangerous one for the Pirates when Emily Chrisman and Kurtz kept the ball alive in the box. It ended with Perona putting one on frame in which keeper Frrancesca Falato did well to save.
On the other end, Soukup got the Pirates attack up and running together with Alexis Ortega-Saa. The pair put Alexandra Lloyd near the edge, only to see Loyola's Elly Zern and Vanessa Murray end that potential chance.
In the 40th minute, a well-played counter by Soukup and Clancy looked promising, but Clancy's attempt to put Ortega-Saa in failed to connect.
Meanwhile Loyola was starting to ease into its new field arrangement.
"It just took us some time to get used to playing with two forwards, so toward the end of the first half, and for most of the second half, we began to finally adjust to our new formation," said Murray, a freshman whom Snower praised for her continued improvement with each game the Ramblers have played.
The Pirates returned from the interval and continued where they had left off just before the break.
Malak tossed long throws and nearly found Kendall Kane at the back post, before Clancy drove a shot wide of Avery.
But it was Loyola who celebrated the only goal of the evening. At 55 minutes some lovely play moving the ball from right-to-left saw Ramsay connect with Brett, who then steered her shot into the back of the net at the post.
"It took us awhile to finally get one, but the effort from everyone helped get it for us," said Brett.
The goal was just what the Ramblers needed to inspire a nice 10-minute stretch of attacking soccer, with Brett and Ramsay at the heart of the revival along with Tessler and Murray who were all playing with more confidence on the ball. That resulted in some nice combination play from the quartet.
A sharp tackle by Jacobsen stopped Brett from getting into the box, while a Murray attempt sailed wide in the 72nd minute. Then Palatine (5-2-1) showed it had some fight left.
Twice, Kacie Filian tricked her way in close. The first foray required Avery to save, and the second created a corner in which the Loyola backline duo of Bella Broccolo and Chrisman parried away the threat collectively.
The Pirates went with three up-top with 8 minutes until time with the hope of getting back level, but another corner, and a chance by Jacobsen on frame fell short in its bid to force overtime.
"Loyola was skillful in our end, and it showed on their goal and a few other advances when they put together some nice combination work," began Willie Filian.
"They were a tough opponent, as we expected. But tonight we just didn't have that same intensity and fire that we had earlier in the week for Fremd."
Loyola was pleased with its effort.
"This was a good result for us tonight, and one that we can build from heading forward and deeper into this tournament, and a couple of conference games which lie ahead of us," began Snower.
"We've done a lot of different things with our formation(s) thus far - and we might chance things up again. But the girls have adjusted well to the changes, and the progress that I've seen with this group is very promising as we look ahead to the playoffs."
Starting lineups
Palatine
GK- Francesca Falato
D- Marissa Glaviano
D- Samantha Malak
D- Anja Jacobsen
D- Melanie Simon
M- Carolyn Soukup
M- Sarah Clancy
M- Kacie Filian
M- Sarah Jasonowicz
F- Mackenzie Filian
F- Kendall Kane
Loyola
GK- Maggie Avery
D- Emily Chrisman
D- Lauren Daffada
D- Bella Broccolo
D- Megan Kurtz
D- Ally West
M- Elly Zern
M- Cate Shellenback
M- Vanessa Murrray
F- Maggie Brett
F- Stephanie Ramsay
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Maggie Brett, so., F, Loyola
to open Naperville Invitational
Brett goal in 2nd half gives Ramblers 1-0 pool play win
By Mike Garofola
BARRINGTON -- Loyola edged out Palatine 1-0 in each team's Naperville Invitational opener at community stadium Thursday night.
It looked like these two storied programs might be headed to overtime as each went box-to-box in search of victory, but at 55 minutes Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match Maggie Brett broke up a goal-less contest with the eventual game-winner that ended a four-game Palatine win streak.
"I think both teams played hard, but I also think both of us were a little tired, especially in the first half," said the sophomore. "(And) for us, playing a new formation, it took us a little time to get comfortable with it, and it showed in our play early on."
Brett and her mates had enjoyed a few well deserved days away from competition following an ultra-busy week of soccer leading up to this tourney opener, which included three games in five days as the inaugural North Shore Invitational came to a close.
"Our schedule will finally lighten up for us, which will be good for us, but it's been a challenge for many of the girls who are playing at the varsity level for the first time, and against real quality opponents nearly each time we go out," said Loyola (7-5-0) manager Craig Snower, who didn't know what to expect from Palatine prior to this late night contest.
"I knew Palatine had a big-time game with their rival Fremd to start their week, and anytime your involved with an emotional game like that (and you win) it can take a lot out of a team.
"They will eventually have five games this week, which is a ton of games. And even though you can always expect a hard-fought game with Palatine (one) in which they will challenge everything, and put a lot of dead-balls and corners on you, we still didn't know what we would end of up seeing."
It was clear from the opening quarter hour the Pirates' tank was half empty -- something that both manager Willie Filian and its fine backline leader Samantha Malak saw first hand.
"We put so much into that 1-0 win over Fremd to start our week. Even though we played hard, our energy level wasn't as high as it was on Monday against Fremd," said Malak.
"That game (with Fremd) meant a lot to the girls and our program. They put everything they had into getting the result, but you could see that the legs weren't there at times. And even though the girls fought hard, it wasn't anywhere near what they gave just a couple of days ago."
Snower changed things up for the match by going with his third formation of the season: this one a 3-5-2, and although the club wasn't fluid with its new look, it did provide a handful of visits in the Pirates end in the first 20 minutes or so.
On the counter led by Stephanie Ramsay, Vanessa Murray and Megan Kurtz, the Ramblers created a corner before Ramsay's enterprising run to the endline forced defender Carolyn Soukup to retreat and clear a dangerous serve into the Palatine box.
After Palatine junior Sarah Clancy dispossessed a Loyola player and shot wide her teammate, freshman Melanie Simon, stepped on to a loose ball and fired wide in a sequence that gave the Pirates attack a little spark.
"We moved Melanie into our starting lineup because she gives us some good size and speed, plus she is a terrific kid who is very coachable," said Filian.
While both sides found it difficult going to take advantage of the width at this big home park of the two-time defending Mid-Suburban League champions Barrington, each club used a more direct approach, hoping to find a way to solve airtight backlines which had no intention of handing away the keys to the back of the net.
Palatine senior Mackenzie Filian collected a ball from out of the box before driving her 25-yard attempt wide, and moments later, Malak and Kacie Filian combined to send a looping ball over the top that Loyola keeper Maggie Avery pulled from the air with confidence.
"At times we put some good play together, but for the most part, it felt like we defended a lot, and didn't go through Kacie, Sarah and Carolyn enough in the midfield," suggested Malak.
There was flurries from both attacks during the closing minutes of the first half beginning with Loyola when some promising work by Ally West and Anna Perona was ended by the combined defensive efforts of Anja Jacobsen and Simon.
A corner by the Ramblers proved a dangerous one for the Pirates when Emily Chrisman and Kurtz kept the ball alive in the box. It ended with Perona putting one on frame in which keeper Frrancesca Falato did well to save.
On the other end, Soukup got the Pirates attack up and running together with Alexis Ortega-Saa. The pair put Alexandra Lloyd near the edge, only to see Loyola's Elly Zern and Vanessa Murray end that potential chance.
In the 40th minute, a well-played counter by Soukup and Clancy looked promising, but Clancy's attempt to put Ortega-Saa in failed to connect.
Meanwhile Loyola was starting to ease into its new field arrangement.
"It just took us some time to get used to playing with two forwards, so toward the end of the first half, and for most of the second half, we began to finally adjust to our new formation," said Murray, a freshman whom Snower praised for her continued improvement with each game the Ramblers have played.
The Pirates returned from the interval and continued where they had left off just before the break.
Malak tossed long throws and nearly found Kendall Kane at the back post, before Clancy drove a shot wide of Avery.
But it was Loyola who celebrated the only goal of the evening. At 55 minutes some lovely play moving the ball from right-to-left saw Ramsay connect with Brett, who then steered her shot into the back of the net at the post.
"It took us awhile to finally get one, but the effort from everyone helped get it for us," said Brett.
The goal was just what the Ramblers needed to inspire a nice 10-minute stretch of attacking soccer, with Brett and Ramsay at the heart of the revival along with Tessler and Murray who were all playing with more confidence on the ball. That resulted in some nice combination play from the quartet.
A sharp tackle by Jacobsen stopped Brett from getting into the box, while a Murray attempt sailed wide in the 72nd minute. Then Palatine (5-2-1) showed it had some fight left.
Twice, Kacie Filian tricked her way in close. The first foray required Avery to save, and the second created a corner in which the Loyola backline duo of Bella Broccolo and Chrisman parried away the threat collectively.
The Pirates went with three up-top with 8 minutes until time with the hope of getting back level, but another corner, and a chance by Jacobsen on frame fell short in its bid to force overtime.
"Loyola was skillful in our end, and it showed on their goal and a few other advances when they put together some nice combination work," began Willie Filian.
"They were a tough opponent, as we expected. But tonight we just didn't have that same intensity and fire that we had earlier in the week for Fremd."
Loyola was pleased with its effort.
"This was a good result for us tonight, and one that we can build from heading forward and deeper into this tournament, and a couple of conference games which lie ahead of us," began Snower.
"We've done a lot of different things with our formation(s) thus far - and we might chance things up again. But the girls have adjusted well to the changes, and the progress that I've seen with this group is very promising as we look ahead to the playoffs."
Starting lineups
Palatine
GK- Francesca Falato
D- Marissa Glaviano
D- Samantha Malak
D- Anja Jacobsen
D- Melanie Simon
M- Carolyn Soukup
M- Sarah Clancy
M- Kacie Filian
M- Sarah Jasonowicz
F- Mackenzie Filian
F- Kendall Kane
Loyola
GK- Maggie Avery
D- Emily Chrisman
D- Lauren Daffada
D- Bella Broccolo
D- Megan Kurtz
D- Ally West
M- Elly Zern
M- Cate Shellenback
M- Vanessa Murrray
F- Maggie Brett
F- Stephanie Ramsay
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Maggie Brett, so., F, Loyola