New shape helps Loyola top St. Francis
Ramblers win 3-0 to take GCAC Red Division title
By Patrick Z. McGavin
WILMETTE -- On April 15th, the Loyola soccer program confronted a critical juncture. The Ramblers lost to rival New Trier 3-0 in the third place game of the North Shore Invitational. Coach Craig Snower knew he had to shake up the dynamic.
“At the start of the season we thought we were going to be very successful going out of a 4-3-3,” he said. “We had the right make up for it. With the personnel we had, we were not generating enough offense, and we were giving up too many goals.”
In the middle of that week, starting with a Naperville Invitational pool play game against Palatine, Snower altered the formation to a 5-3-2. Megan Kurtz, a skilled forward, shifted to the back. Snower wanted to free up space for the team’s best two offensive players, junior forward Stephanie Ramsay and sophomore forward Maggie Brett.
“We had done the formation a couple of years ago when Devin Burns went down before the season started,” he said. “We decided we were going to be more defensive, and we were going to make teams work for it. We put it in against Palatine, had a good game there. We had a great game against St. Charles East where we were up 1-0 with 16 minutes left. That was really without training it and without us having film doing it.
“Now we have grown into it.”
In a showdown of conference unbeatens, Loyola played its best game of the year as Brett scored three goals and an aggressive and suffocating defense locked down the Spartans’ high-scoring attack for the 3-0 home victory that clinched the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Red Divison title Thursday at the school’s stadium field.
Loyola (12-6-0, 5-0-0) is playing its best soccer of the year and is 8-2-0 in its last 10 games. The Ramblers have a makeup conference game with Providence and hold the tiebreaker over the Spartans (8-4-3, 4-1-0), who have a makeup date with St. Ignatius. The victory marks the 12th time in his 14 years directing the program that Snower has won a conference title.
The Ramblers needed time and experience for the new formation to catch on.
“In high school you have so many games and do not get a lot of training opportunities,” Snower said. “[The formation] has actually helped us more offensively. With just the two up-top, it has freed up Steph and Maggie to be more creative, to make more diagonal runs and use more of the field space. It is also starting to take hold defensively.”
Brett recorded her 15th, 16th and 17th goals of the year in achieving the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match prize.
Her early goal in the 10th minute created a decisive tone and determined the shape and rhythm of the game. The goal demonstrated her natural scoring abilities as she drove the ball down right edge and got free in space. The Spartans’ senior keeper, standout Tammy Syron, aggressively bolted from the box to cut off her line of attack.
Brett continued her run and maneuvered around the keeper. Her final touch had just enough English and momentum to sneak inside the far post for the crucial first significant action of the game. Even Brett was a bit caught off guard by the result of the sequence.
“I really don’t know how that happened,” she said. “I think it was just luck and a weird spin of the ball that it just rolled around. I think [the early goal] definitely boosted our confidence because coming in, we were all nervous and had the jitters. Getting one early just told us that we could do this. We had to keep this mentality going.”
Despite allowing the early goal, St. Francis had the superior possession time for long stretches. Loyola came into the match concerned with how they were going to slow down the Spartans’ star junior forward Kendra Pasquale.
The Spartans had won five out of six coming into the game. Junior midfielder Claire Hensley was particularly impressive working the middle and trying to generate build-up with Pasquale and forwards Erin Peck and Hannah Rittenhouse. If anything, coach Jim Winslow thought, the team played almost with too much energy, trying to get back into the match.
“In the first 20 minutes when they are playing five in back, you have to be patient to break them down a little bit,” Winslow said. “We weren’t patient enough. We did some very nice things at times. We probably only had two or three quality opportunities. Our set pieces were better, and we got something out of them.”
Junior Loyola keeper Maggie Avery played exceptionally large for the Ramblers. She finished with seven saves. The consequence of the early Brett goal solidified her own play.
“The early goal definitely set the tone for our team,” Avery said. “It settled us down and gives us time to rethink our whole game. For me personally I love having an early goal because it releases my nerves a little bit. It takes the pressure off a lot. The other team, a lot of times when they give up the early goal they come out fighting very hard. Having to adjust to that is difficult.”
The balance of the first half took shape as the Ramblers flooded the back with the extra defender to shut down space and force St. Francis into trying to connect through exceedingly tight windows. Avery was always the final barrier to any true scoring opportunities.
“I feel like there was a bit of a gap between our forwards, midfielders and then our defense,” Hensley said. “They were really good at sucking us all forward and then they could play into their fast girl, no. 18 [Brett], and she could just break down our defense.”
Brett’s second and third goals developed out of counters. In the 58th minute, forward Anna Perona slotted her the ball from the left edge as she broke down the flank, utilizing a highly effective jitter step in quickly moving left to right and blasting a laser from about 19 yards out inside the near post for some vital breathing space for the Ramblers.
“Anna played me a beautiful ball, and I was lucky enough to do the run,” Brett said. “Switching to this new formation since the start of this [8-2-0] run, now that we are used to it, it is flowing much better and is a very fun to be part of. We are able to reach each other much better.”
As Snower said, the change plays to her strengths.
“In our earlier formation, I was a forward, but I was also defensive-minded,” Brett said. “Now my position is exclusively offensive, and I think it is easier to focus on one thing. Recently, a lot of our goals have been off counters. We are getting better in our transition. I think it is a lot more fun because we are not afraid to take risks in our offense, and that is why we are being more successful.”
Brett put the game out of reach in the 63rd minute. The ball switched quickly from the Spartans’ offensive third to the middle as Ramsay played a through-ball that Brett ran inard to and sprinted past the Spartan defense to smash a left-footed ball inside the far post for her hat trick -- Brett’s second in the last week.
Despite the appearance of a one-sided loss, St. Francis had a great deal to be encouraged by.
“This was a good learning experience,” Hensley said. “It’s good to have more of these games. If we are able to build out of the back and into the midfield and work up top, combination plays, if we continue to do that we will have a lot more success. Even when we were down two or three goals, we kept moving, we kept being positive. That is something we have been working on.”
Rittenhouse smashed two balls that Avery snared. The powerful sophomore drilled another ball from about 19 yards out that pinched just left off frame. She also had a header in the 78th minute that constituted the team’s best scoring opportunity. Avery got to the ball.
Winslow wanted to use the game as a gauge into the wider possibilities.
“They took advantage of the counters,” Winslow said. “Their keeper did a very nice job, and they did a good job of keeping us in front of them. I saw some positives out there. The best part is we are finally getting healthy.”
Starting lineups
St. Francis
GK: Tammy Syron
D: Lauren Douglass
D: McKenzie Douglass
D: Alex Preusser
D: Anna Vailak
MF: Claire Hensley
MF: Jill DiTusa
MF: Kaitlyn Joniak
F: Kendra Pasquale
F: Erin Peck
F: Hannah Rittenhouse
Loyola
GK: Maggie Avery
D: Emily Chrisman
D: Lauren Daffada
D: Megan Kurtz
D: Faith Craddock
D: Bella Broccola
MF: Ally West
MF: Vanessa Murray
MF: Cate Shellenback
F: Stephanie Ramsay
F: Maggie Brett
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Maggie Brett, so., F, Loyola
Ramblers win 3-0 to take GCAC Red Division title
By Patrick Z. McGavin
WILMETTE -- On April 15th, the Loyola soccer program confronted a critical juncture. The Ramblers lost to rival New Trier 3-0 in the third place game of the North Shore Invitational. Coach Craig Snower knew he had to shake up the dynamic.
“At the start of the season we thought we were going to be very successful going out of a 4-3-3,” he said. “We had the right make up for it. With the personnel we had, we were not generating enough offense, and we were giving up too many goals.”
In the middle of that week, starting with a Naperville Invitational pool play game against Palatine, Snower altered the formation to a 5-3-2. Megan Kurtz, a skilled forward, shifted to the back. Snower wanted to free up space for the team’s best two offensive players, junior forward Stephanie Ramsay and sophomore forward Maggie Brett.
“We had done the formation a couple of years ago when Devin Burns went down before the season started,” he said. “We decided we were going to be more defensive, and we were going to make teams work for it. We put it in against Palatine, had a good game there. We had a great game against St. Charles East where we were up 1-0 with 16 minutes left. That was really without training it and without us having film doing it.
“Now we have grown into it.”
In a showdown of conference unbeatens, Loyola played its best game of the year as Brett scored three goals and an aggressive and suffocating defense locked down the Spartans’ high-scoring attack for the 3-0 home victory that clinched the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Red Divison title Thursday at the school’s stadium field.
Loyola (12-6-0, 5-0-0) is playing its best soccer of the year and is 8-2-0 in its last 10 games. The Ramblers have a makeup conference game with Providence and hold the tiebreaker over the Spartans (8-4-3, 4-1-0), who have a makeup date with St. Ignatius. The victory marks the 12th time in his 14 years directing the program that Snower has won a conference title.
The Ramblers needed time and experience for the new formation to catch on.
“In high school you have so many games and do not get a lot of training opportunities,” Snower said. “[The formation] has actually helped us more offensively. With just the two up-top, it has freed up Steph and Maggie to be more creative, to make more diagonal runs and use more of the field space. It is also starting to take hold defensively.”
Brett recorded her 15th, 16th and 17th goals of the year in achieving the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match prize.
Her early goal in the 10th minute created a decisive tone and determined the shape and rhythm of the game. The goal demonstrated her natural scoring abilities as she drove the ball down right edge and got free in space. The Spartans’ senior keeper, standout Tammy Syron, aggressively bolted from the box to cut off her line of attack.
Brett continued her run and maneuvered around the keeper. Her final touch had just enough English and momentum to sneak inside the far post for the crucial first significant action of the game. Even Brett was a bit caught off guard by the result of the sequence.
“I really don’t know how that happened,” she said. “I think it was just luck and a weird spin of the ball that it just rolled around. I think [the early goal] definitely boosted our confidence because coming in, we were all nervous and had the jitters. Getting one early just told us that we could do this. We had to keep this mentality going.”
Despite allowing the early goal, St. Francis had the superior possession time for long stretches. Loyola came into the match concerned with how they were going to slow down the Spartans’ star junior forward Kendra Pasquale.
The Spartans had won five out of six coming into the game. Junior midfielder Claire Hensley was particularly impressive working the middle and trying to generate build-up with Pasquale and forwards Erin Peck and Hannah Rittenhouse. If anything, coach Jim Winslow thought, the team played almost with too much energy, trying to get back into the match.
“In the first 20 minutes when they are playing five in back, you have to be patient to break them down a little bit,” Winslow said. “We weren’t patient enough. We did some very nice things at times. We probably only had two or three quality opportunities. Our set pieces were better, and we got something out of them.”
Junior Loyola keeper Maggie Avery played exceptionally large for the Ramblers. She finished with seven saves. The consequence of the early Brett goal solidified her own play.
“The early goal definitely set the tone for our team,” Avery said. “It settled us down and gives us time to rethink our whole game. For me personally I love having an early goal because it releases my nerves a little bit. It takes the pressure off a lot. The other team, a lot of times when they give up the early goal they come out fighting very hard. Having to adjust to that is difficult.”
The balance of the first half took shape as the Ramblers flooded the back with the extra defender to shut down space and force St. Francis into trying to connect through exceedingly tight windows. Avery was always the final barrier to any true scoring opportunities.
“I feel like there was a bit of a gap between our forwards, midfielders and then our defense,” Hensley said. “They were really good at sucking us all forward and then they could play into their fast girl, no. 18 [Brett], and she could just break down our defense.”
Brett’s second and third goals developed out of counters. In the 58th minute, forward Anna Perona slotted her the ball from the left edge as she broke down the flank, utilizing a highly effective jitter step in quickly moving left to right and blasting a laser from about 19 yards out inside the near post for some vital breathing space for the Ramblers.
“Anna played me a beautiful ball, and I was lucky enough to do the run,” Brett said. “Switching to this new formation since the start of this [8-2-0] run, now that we are used to it, it is flowing much better and is a very fun to be part of. We are able to reach each other much better.”
As Snower said, the change plays to her strengths.
“In our earlier formation, I was a forward, but I was also defensive-minded,” Brett said. “Now my position is exclusively offensive, and I think it is easier to focus on one thing. Recently, a lot of our goals have been off counters. We are getting better in our transition. I think it is a lot more fun because we are not afraid to take risks in our offense, and that is why we are being more successful.”
Brett put the game out of reach in the 63rd minute. The ball switched quickly from the Spartans’ offensive third to the middle as Ramsay played a through-ball that Brett ran inard to and sprinted past the Spartan defense to smash a left-footed ball inside the far post for her hat trick -- Brett’s second in the last week.
Despite the appearance of a one-sided loss, St. Francis had a great deal to be encouraged by.
“This was a good learning experience,” Hensley said. “It’s good to have more of these games. If we are able to build out of the back and into the midfield and work up top, combination plays, if we continue to do that we will have a lot more success. Even when we were down two or three goals, we kept moving, we kept being positive. That is something we have been working on.”
Rittenhouse smashed two balls that Avery snared. The powerful sophomore drilled another ball from about 19 yards out that pinched just left off frame. She also had a header in the 78th minute that constituted the team’s best scoring opportunity. Avery got to the ball.
Winslow wanted to use the game as a gauge into the wider possibilities.
“They took advantage of the counters,” Winslow said. “Their keeper did a very nice job, and they did a good job of keeping us in front of them. I saw some positives out there. The best part is we are finally getting healthy.”
Starting lineups
St. Francis
GK: Tammy Syron
D: Lauren Douglass
D: McKenzie Douglass
D: Alex Preusser
D: Anna Vailak
MF: Claire Hensley
MF: Jill DiTusa
MF: Kaitlyn Joniak
F: Kendra Pasquale
F: Erin Peck
F: Hannah Rittenhouse
Loyola
GK: Maggie Avery
D: Emily Chrisman
D: Lauren Daffada
D: Megan Kurtz
D: Faith Craddock
D: Bella Broccola
MF: Ally West
MF: Vanessa Murray
MF: Cate Shellenback
F: Stephanie Ramsay
F: Maggie Brett
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Maggie Brett, so., F, Loyola