New Trier wears down St. Francis
Trevians ward off early surge, earn 3-0 win, title match berth
By Mike Garofola
NORTHFIELD -- It's an old, but always true adage that defense wins games and championships.
Despite New Trier's second half attack, it was a sturdy and stifling backline which impressed New Trevians' manager Jim Burnside the most after his club recorded a 3-0 victory over St. Francis on the turf at New Trier Stadium.
"The absolute best effort of the year defensively, especially from our backline," said Burnside, whose club will now face longtime rival Loyola at 10 a.m. Saturday morning in the third place game of inaugural North Shore Invitational.
"We knew that St. Francis had some wonderfully talented attacking players, particularly no. 9 (Kendra Pasquale) who, along with her teammates showed just how dangerous they could be in that first thirty minutes.
"But we found a way to keep them under wraps, and with Caroline Iserloth having just a great game out there tonight, and a commitment from the girls to defend (first), we were able to get ourselves a very nice win with a terrific overall team effort."
For her outstanding effort, Iserloth earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors.
It was a tale of (almost) two halves as a rampant Spartans club began this contest at break neck speed and pace as it enjoyed a marvelous opening twenty minute-plus
effort led by Pasquale, Claire Hensley and Erin Peck, to name a few.
"We showed we could play with the best: first Naperville North (here) two days ago in a 0-0 draw, and tonight in the first thirty minutes when we did just about everything, but score," said Spartans manager Jim Winslow.
"We had a great 25 minutes of soccer, but after they scored that first goal, our level of play and confidence dropped off," said Peck, a junior. "Although we tried to pick each other up out on the field, we just couldn't get back to where we were playing before that goal."
There were plenty of close calls for both sides in the first quarter hour as each club tested the other in the final third with quick and clever balls sent over the top, or by penetrating passes that required some sharp and timely clearing attempts or tackles.
A free kick from New Trier spilled back into the area and an alert Iserloth quickly sent it back into the mix. That forced Spartans keeper Tammy Syron far off her line on a challenge which left an open net behind her.
If not for an offside flag correctly raised, the Trevians (9-1-0) may have struck early.
Elle Curtis parried another ball over the top by Iserloth at 13 minutes, all of which occurred between a trio of chances by the Spartans, who always seemed to find another gear with either Pasquale or Hensley in the engine room.
Pasquale would go close in the 11th minute, as did St. Francis' big target up-top -- Hannah Rittenhouse -- moments later. Perhaps the Spartans best first half chance came when Peck split a pair of defenders with a burst of speed, only to be taken down near the edge at 20 minutes.
The Trevians cleared the ensuing free kick from Kaitlyn Joniak with confidence.
"I really felt like we were building up to a goal," said Winslow. "But when Hannah aggravated a previous injury and had to come off for good, we struggled afterwards when we were forced to make a few adjustments here and there.
"It's not an excuse, but minor injuries we've been fighting kind of caught up to us tonight against a very talented and physical team that will make you pay for your mistakes."
One of those mistakes led to the opener at 29 minutes when the Spartans (3-2-2) allowed a ball to fall freely into the box - where an opportunistic Nicole Kaspi found a way to steer her low attempt through a crowd and past Syron, who had no chance on this one.
"Our confidence, and the momentum of the game really changed after that first goal, and after (it) our overall play really took off," said senior, Avery Schuldt, who, like so many of her teammates, were ultimate box-to-box warriors during a marvelous second half of play by the Trevians.
The home side entertained the New Trier faithful with some flashy work on and away from the ball heading into the intermission as it went in search of adding another onto the scoreboard.
Syron was fearless when she took a hard hit on a 50-50 ball near the spot after a in-swinging corner by Lily Conley, while the aforementioned Iserloth and her backline mate, Sydney Parker each took turns sending dangerous balls over the top to the Trevians front runners.
"During the last 5-7 minutes of the first half, and for nearly all of the second half, we did a great job of supplying quality (diagonal) balls in their end, which, even if they didn't catch-up to one of our players created some dangerous situations, while wearing their defense down at the same time," said Burnside.
Added Winslow: "That, along with their ability to be dangerous in set piece and dead ball opportunities was their 'M.O.' according to Steve Goletz (Naperville North manager) who played New Trier earlier. We were aware of it, but right now, we're just not handling that as well as we need to."
The Spartans inability to defend a corner allowed New Trier to double its advantage just after the break when a short clearing effort fell harmlessly out to senior Megan Murdoch.
"There was a rebound, and Emma (Weaver) did a nice job with (it) and the ball came out to me just outside the box. I took a chance with my shot," recounted Murdoch, who along with her mates watched her curling 35-yard attempt find the upper 90 of the far corner.
"At the half, coach talked about what we had to do in the second half, and one of the things was to defend and stay aggressive, especially with balls sent in or over the top, and it really kept them under pressure for most of that half."
New Trier was now rocking after the Murdoch strike, finding openings on the counter or through the run of play from what looked like nothing. Then yet another lovely diagonal ball out of the back from Parker was brought down by Schuldt deep on the left side.
From there, Murdoch carried freely along the endline before unloading an unstoppable angled attempt which rattled off the far post and over the endline to all but dash the hopes of a Spartans comeback.
"It was kind of a cross, or maybe a shot," said Muroch with a wry smile of her crafty left-footer at 49 minutes.
Though now chasing three goals, a proud Spartans club still played with impressive heart and a solid work rate. And although the Trevians midfield unit was able to take away much of the play in the middle of the park, the visitors were able to generate a couple of quality chances before the shrill of the final whistle ended this contest.
With speed going forward, Hensley, Peck and Pasquale nearly put Adeline Shaw in on Trevians keeper, Katy Symanietz, before a brilliant individual effort from Pasquale up the left side was turned away by Symanietz.
Symanietz's counterpart Syron stayed busy as well - punching a Weaver corner out of the area, then pushing a well-struck long-range strike from Kaspi up and over the woodwork in the closing moments.
"We played all of our great 3A opponents really well, and have shown we're right there with them," offered Peck.. "But I feel like we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to show that we (really) are a team that can play with them, despite us being a 2A team
"We have to keep things positive, and finish this tournament with a win, and just get back to playing the way we all know that we can."
Said Winslow: "We're at the end of a busy stretch, and one, when it ends, that will give us a little time to rest and recover from a few of our injuries, while also giving us time to clean some things up.
"We're a program that won't duck any quality opponent, and being a part of a first-class tournament like this one proves that. But it also exposes a couple of our shortcomings that we'll need to address as we prepare for the second half of the season."
The Spartans will end its run at the inaugural North Shore Invitation Hinsdale Central at 10 a.m. Saturday in Northfield.
Following its match with Loyola in its tourney finale, New Trier returns to league play when it travels to Maine South on Tuesday, before jumping back into the prestigious Naperville Invitational, when it first hosts first Oak Park and River Forest and then Bartlett next week.
"The thing I really like about this team is how many different styles of play we can go through during the course of a game, and how comfortable the girls are playing that way," began Burnside.
"I haven't really had a team like that in quite awhile, so it's fun for all of us to be a part of. And I believe our ability to adapt like that on the fly will make them a serious contender down the road."
Starting lineups
St. Francis
GK- Tammy Syron
D- Lauren Douglass
D- Sarah Maller
D- Erin Curtis
D- Maggie O'Reilly
M- Kaitlin Joniak
M- Claire Hensley
M- Kendra Pasquale
M- Jill DiTusa
F- Erin Peck
F- Hannah Rittenhouse
New Trier
GK- Katy Symanietz
D- Megan Murdoch
D- Sam Urban
D- Sydney Parker
D- Caroline Iserloth
M- Avery Schuldt
M- Lily Conley
M- Hope Baisley
M- Whitney Hoban
F- Emma Weaver
F- Hannah Arment
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Caroline Iserloth, jr., D, New Trier
Referee: John Martelin
Trevians ward off early surge, earn 3-0 win, title match berth
By Mike Garofola
NORTHFIELD -- It's an old, but always true adage that defense wins games and championships.
Despite New Trier's second half attack, it was a sturdy and stifling backline which impressed New Trevians' manager Jim Burnside the most after his club recorded a 3-0 victory over St. Francis on the turf at New Trier Stadium.
"The absolute best effort of the year defensively, especially from our backline," said Burnside, whose club will now face longtime rival Loyola at 10 a.m. Saturday morning in the third place game of inaugural North Shore Invitational.
"We knew that St. Francis had some wonderfully talented attacking players, particularly no. 9 (Kendra Pasquale) who, along with her teammates showed just how dangerous they could be in that first thirty minutes.
"But we found a way to keep them under wraps, and with Caroline Iserloth having just a great game out there tonight, and a commitment from the girls to defend (first), we were able to get ourselves a very nice win with a terrific overall team effort."
For her outstanding effort, Iserloth earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors.
It was a tale of (almost) two halves as a rampant Spartans club began this contest at break neck speed and pace as it enjoyed a marvelous opening twenty minute-plus
effort led by Pasquale, Claire Hensley and Erin Peck, to name a few.
"We showed we could play with the best: first Naperville North (here) two days ago in a 0-0 draw, and tonight in the first thirty minutes when we did just about everything, but score," said Spartans manager Jim Winslow.
"We had a great 25 minutes of soccer, but after they scored that first goal, our level of play and confidence dropped off," said Peck, a junior. "Although we tried to pick each other up out on the field, we just couldn't get back to where we were playing before that goal."
There were plenty of close calls for both sides in the first quarter hour as each club tested the other in the final third with quick and clever balls sent over the top, or by penetrating passes that required some sharp and timely clearing attempts or tackles.
A free kick from New Trier spilled back into the area and an alert Iserloth quickly sent it back into the mix. That forced Spartans keeper Tammy Syron far off her line on a challenge which left an open net behind her.
If not for an offside flag correctly raised, the Trevians (9-1-0) may have struck early.
Elle Curtis parried another ball over the top by Iserloth at 13 minutes, all of which occurred between a trio of chances by the Spartans, who always seemed to find another gear with either Pasquale or Hensley in the engine room.
Pasquale would go close in the 11th minute, as did St. Francis' big target up-top -- Hannah Rittenhouse -- moments later. Perhaps the Spartans best first half chance came when Peck split a pair of defenders with a burst of speed, only to be taken down near the edge at 20 minutes.
The Trevians cleared the ensuing free kick from Kaitlyn Joniak with confidence.
"I really felt like we were building up to a goal," said Winslow. "But when Hannah aggravated a previous injury and had to come off for good, we struggled afterwards when we were forced to make a few adjustments here and there.
"It's not an excuse, but minor injuries we've been fighting kind of caught up to us tonight against a very talented and physical team that will make you pay for your mistakes."
One of those mistakes led to the opener at 29 minutes when the Spartans (3-2-2) allowed a ball to fall freely into the box - where an opportunistic Nicole Kaspi found a way to steer her low attempt through a crowd and past Syron, who had no chance on this one.
"Our confidence, and the momentum of the game really changed after that first goal, and after (it) our overall play really took off," said senior, Avery Schuldt, who, like so many of her teammates, were ultimate box-to-box warriors during a marvelous second half of play by the Trevians.
The home side entertained the New Trier faithful with some flashy work on and away from the ball heading into the intermission as it went in search of adding another onto the scoreboard.
Syron was fearless when she took a hard hit on a 50-50 ball near the spot after a in-swinging corner by Lily Conley, while the aforementioned Iserloth and her backline mate, Sydney Parker each took turns sending dangerous balls over the top to the Trevians front runners.
"During the last 5-7 minutes of the first half, and for nearly all of the second half, we did a great job of supplying quality (diagonal) balls in their end, which, even if they didn't catch-up to one of our players created some dangerous situations, while wearing their defense down at the same time," said Burnside.
Added Winslow: "That, along with their ability to be dangerous in set piece and dead ball opportunities was their 'M.O.' according to Steve Goletz (Naperville North manager) who played New Trier earlier. We were aware of it, but right now, we're just not handling that as well as we need to."
The Spartans inability to defend a corner allowed New Trier to double its advantage just after the break when a short clearing effort fell harmlessly out to senior Megan Murdoch.
"There was a rebound, and Emma (Weaver) did a nice job with (it) and the ball came out to me just outside the box. I took a chance with my shot," recounted Murdoch, who along with her mates watched her curling 35-yard attempt find the upper 90 of the far corner.
"At the half, coach talked about what we had to do in the second half, and one of the things was to defend and stay aggressive, especially with balls sent in or over the top, and it really kept them under pressure for most of that half."
New Trier was now rocking after the Murdoch strike, finding openings on the counter or through the run of play from what looked like nothing. Then yet another lovely diagonal ball out of the back from Parker was brought down by Schuldt deep on the left side.
From there, Murdoch carried freely along the endline before unloading an unstoppable angled attempt which rattled off the far post and over the endline to all but dash the hopes of a Spartans comeback.
"It was kind of a cross, or maybe a shot," said Muroch with a wry smile of her crafty left-footer at 49 minutes.
Though now chasing three goals, a proud Spartans club still played with impressive heart and a solid work rate. And although the Trevians midfield unit was able to take away much of the play in the middle of the park, the visitors were able to generate a couple of quality chances before the shrill of the final whistle ended this contest.
With speed going forward, Hensley, Peck and Pasquale nearly put Adeline Shaw in on Trevians keeper, Katy Symanietz, before a brilliant individual effort from Pasquale up the left side was turned away by Symanietz.
Symanietz's counterpart Syron stayed busy as well - punching a Weaver corner out of the area, then pushing a well-struck long-range strike from Kaspi up and over the woodwork in the closing moments.
"We played all of our great 3A opponents really well, and have shown we're right there with them," offered Peck.. "But I feel like we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to show that we (really) are a team that can play with them, despite us being a 2A team
"We have to keep things positive, and finish this tournament with a win, and just get back to playing the way we all know that we can."
Said Winslow: "We're at the end of a busy stretch, and one, when it ends, that will give us a little time to rest and recover from a few of our injuries, while also giving us time to clean some things up.
"We're a program that won't duck any quality opponent, and being a part of a first-class tournament like this one proves that. But it also exposes a couple of our shortcomings that we'll need to address as we prepare for the second half of the season."
The Spartans will end its run at the inaugural North Shore Invitation Hinsdale Central at 10 a.m. Saturday in Northfield.
Following its match with Loyola in its tourney finale, New Trier returns to league play when it travels to Maine South on Tuesday, before jumping back into the prestigious Naperville Invitational, when it first hosts first Oak Park and River Forest and then Bartlett next week.
"The thing I really like about this team is how many different styles of play we can go through during the course of a game, and how comfortable the girls are playing that way," began Burnside.
"I haven't really had a team like that in quite awhile, so it's fun for all of us to be a part of. And I believe our ability to adapt like that on the fly will make them a serious contender down the road."
Starting lineups
St. Francis
GK- Tammy Syron
D- Lauren Douglass
D- Sarah Maller
D- Erin Curtis
D- Maggie O'Reilly
M- Kaitlin Joniak
M- Claire Hensley
M- Kendra Pasquale
M- Jill DiTusa
F- Erin Peck
F- Hannah Rittenhouse
New Trier
GK- Katy Symanietz
D- Megan Murdoch
D- Sam Urban
D- Sydney Parker
D- Caroline Iserloth
M- Avery Schuldt
M- Lily Conley
M- Hope Baisley
M- Whitney Hoban
F- Emma Weaver
F- Hannah Arment
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Caroline Iserloth, jr., D, New Trier
Referee: John Martelin