Scoreless in Naperville
Wheaton Warrenville South and Naperville Central battle to draw
By Chris Walker
NAPERVILLE – Early on in Tuesday’s DuPage Valley Conference match between Wheaton Warrenville South and Naperville Central, Kayla Burke missed what may have been the Redhawks’ best scoring chance of the night as Tigers’ keeper Nell Rosenthal made the save.
Chances were limited for both teams and those that were created never culminated in finding the back of the net, and the teams left Naperville deadlocked in a 0-0 draw after 80 minutes of regulation and two overtimes.
“I kind of felt like we had some good opportunities, and it’s funny because sometimes the best opportunity you have is right at the beginning of the game,” Redhawks coach Ed Watson said. “Kayla was in there and the keeper made a great save on her, but I bet if she had it back she would’ve probably tried to cut in on her and played the empty net, but it’s a lot easier to say that while standing on the sideline.”
Naperville Central (10-8-2, 1-3-1) is a team of realists. After playing 20 games this spring, the Redhawks realize that scoring has been difficult for them, so they’re likely going to need to shut out opponents and then scratch and claw, or do whatever they can, to find that single goal that can be the difference.
“I said to my assistant coaches once we got into overtime that the itch starts and you want to make a change, but I told them that this is how we have to play, and this is how it’s going to be in state tournament, which is the next game we’ll play,” Watson said. “If we can keep our opponents to zero then we keep playing and if we run out of time then we’ll put in on the yellow spot and try to knock it in from 12 yards out.”
With the conference decided, and it being the final regular season game for the Redhawks, there truly wasn’t any pressure on the team, but more of a focus on execution and preparation for next week’s regional opener against West Aurora.
Watson played three different keepers and estimates that 15 field players also saw action.
“This game didn’t matter in conference so we weren’t really worried about this game,” he said. “It’s a shame though because there really isn’t a team in the conference that was really that much better than we were, but we gave up some goals against teams that they were able to make hold up.”
After dropping four straight, the Redhawks have won and tied in their last two games and didn’t allow any scoring.
“Our defense really came together and we were able to shut them out,” Burke said. “I think if we can continue to come together as a team and work on our formation like we did (on Tuesday) then I think we’ll be able find a way to put some goals in the net.”
Naperville Central senior Meredith Tunney, who was named MVP of the Match for holding things together for the Redhawks, believes the team is coming out of a little bit of a slump at the perfect time.
“I think we’ve come out of it, which should be good,” she said. “We had some nice chances up top and we eliminated all of their chances. We just need to find a way to poke one in while keeping them at zero. Our defense has really been stepping up. We’ve worked hard at communication in back and you can see it’s paying off.”
Wheaton Warrenville South (10-7-2, 2-2-1) wasn’t displeased with the outcome.
“Tying Naperville Central is not bad, it’s a good place to be, when you think of the adversity we’ve faced in the last month with injuries to just about everyone,” Tigers coach Guy Callipari said. “But, we’ve weathered the storm and pulled together.”
Perhaps the best news out of its camp was the play of A.J. Jakuszewski. During a phone interview with Callipari on Monday, he said he wasn’t sure if she’d play this week or if she’d still be resting and recovering for next week’s regional game against West Chicago.
“It’s day-to-day with A.J. and obviously being Senior Night on Wednesday she’s going to want to play some minutes there too,” Callipari said. “We’ll do that and then get her some rest for four or five days. She’s responded well though which is a good sign.”
The Tigers appeared sluggish early in the game, but seemed to get into a better flow later into the evening.
“I thought it was a pretty even match," Jakuszewski said. “We fought really hard, and I thought we were kind of matching them one-on-one. We were a little frantic in the beginning and didn’t see as much possession, but once we calmed down and found feet we were able to work the ball.”
Injuries have made things difficult for the Tigers. As soon as someone steps into a new role and learns their responsibilities, they seemingly go down with an injury and personnel changes have the team starting all over.
“We’re still trying to develop continuity and a rhythm with our play, and we just have not been able to establish that,” Callipari said. “Every time we get started we have to retract and add new people and find a different way.
“I was pretty pleased that given that both teams were pretty evenly matched that the play went back and forth, and was pretty wide open with chances for both sides, so it was a pretty good game all in all for us.”
Chances are pretty good that you’re going to see your fair share of positives and negatives over the course of 100 minutes of soccer.
“We were struggling to make passes and get on the offensive attack at times,” Wheaton Warrenville South senior Tori Adomshick said. “We started getting more chances later, but we need to focus more on finishing. We have to see the net and make sure we hit it. This was a pretty even match and there were a lot of 50/50s that both teams were going hard at, but we also won a lot of them.”
The Redhawks turned up their attack in the second overtime.
Kayla Burke had a shot 8:34 into it that was saved by Rosenthal and Ryan Dudycha lined a shot at Rosenthal with 7:21 left. With 5:32 remaining, Meridith Hannan had a brief open look but her shot was offline.
“We adjusted the formation to give them a different look,” Watson said. “We took advantage of them not recognizing it right off the bat and that happens.”
The Tigers had a free kick opportunity from 25 yards away with a little more than two minutes left and Anna Fank had a nice shot that was saved with 1:57, but not much more in the final overtime. The Tigers played until the buzzer sounded though, taking a corner kick with about 20 seconds remaining and nearly putting in a rebound opportunity in the final seconds.
“We’re just trying to get ready to go into the playoffs,” Adomshick said. “We’re really working on playing the full game, communicating to make sure we’re getting better and trying to build that continuity with all our players.”
With a roster featuring 34 players, and a season that has featured more than its share of difficult losses, one could understand if a team like Naperville Central would be in disarray, but that’s far from the case.
Under the leadership of their seniors, the Redhawks seemed poised for a strong run in the Plainfield North regional.
“Our seniors have been real positive throughout the entire season and I’ve probably been the most negative of the people who have a voice,” Watson said. “I’ve gotten on the kids about how it’s not good enough to play – you have got to play to win. There haven’t been too many games that I’ve been disappointed in our effort. I feel like we have that figured out.
“There has to be a sense of urgency when you play, and I think the girls are recognizing that when they go on the field they have to give their complete attention to their job.”
Those difficult losses, namely to DuPage Valley foes like Wheaton North and Naperville North, certainly have prepared the Redhawks.
“We have enough pieces to be dangerous as an opponent, but we could also be knocked out right away because we don’t have that big-time scoring threat,” Watson said. “We got Isabel Reedy back (from injury) and she got some minutes (Tuesday) so that should be good and the rust should be off by next week. That will give us more depth. Someone who was starting will now go into a reserve role so we’ll have someone coming onto the field with a ton of experience and not skip a beat.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK: Nell Rosenthal
D: Rachel Conrady
D: Shannon Ehrardt
D: Ava Fickle
D: Julia Hildebrand
MF: Tori Adomshick
MF: Rachel Deeman
MF: A.J. Jakuszewski
MF: Julia Martz
MF: Nikki Molino
F: Anna Fank
Naperville Central
GK: Abby Hershik
D: Sarah Avery
D: Caitlin Reice
D: Kayla Rowan
D: Taylor Stenmark
MF: Kirsten Dorgan
MF: Alison Kincaide
MF: Meredith Tunney
F: Meridith Hannan
F: Mackenzie Sisko
F: Kayla Burke
MVP of Match: Meredith Tunney, MF, Naperville Central
Wheaton Warrenville South and Naperville Central battle to draw
By Chris Walker
NAPERVILLE – Early on in Tuesday’s DuPage Valley Conference match between Wheaton Warrenville South and Naperville Central, Kayla Burke missed what may have been the Redhawks’ best scoring chance of the night as Tigers’ keeper Nell Rosenthal made the save.
Chances were limited for both teams and those that were created never culminated in finding the back of the net, and the teams left Naperville deadlocked in a 0-0 draw after 80 minutes of regulation and two overtimes.
“I kind of felt like we had some good opportunities, and it’s funny because sometimes the best opportunity you have is right at the beginning of the game,” Redhawks coach Ed Watson said. “Kayla was in there and the keeper made a great save on her, but I bet if she had it back she would’ve probably tried to cut in on her and played the empty net, but it’s a lot easier to say that while standing on the sideline.”
Naperville Central (10-8-2, 1-3-1) is a team of realists. After playing 20 games this spring, the Redhawks realize that scoring has been difficult for them, so they’re likely going to need to shut out opponents and then scratch and claw, or do whatever they can, to find that single goal that can be the difference.
“I said to my assistant coaches once we got into overtime that the itch starts and you want to make a change, but I told them that this is how we have to play, and this is how it’s going to be in state tournament, which is the next game we’ll play,” Watson said. “If we can keep our opponents to zero then we keep playing and if we run out of time then we’ll put in on the yellow spot and try to knock it in from 12 yards out.”
With the conference decided, and it being the final regular season game for the Redhawks, there truly wasn’t any pressure on the team, but more of a focus on execution and preparation for next week’s regional opener against West Aurora.
Watson played three different keepers and estimates that 15 field players also saw action.
“This game didn’t matter in conference so we weren’t really worried about this game,” he said. “It’s a shame though because there really isn’t a team in the conference that was really that much better than we were, but we gave up some goals against teams that they were able to make hold up.”
After dropping four straight, the Redhawks have won and tied in their last two games and didn’t allow any scoring.
“Our defense really came together and we were able to shut them out,” Burke said. “I think if we can continue to come together as a team and work on our formation like we did (on Tuesday) then I think we’ll be able find a way to put some goals in the net.”
Naperville Central senior Meredith Tunney, who was named MVP of the Match for holding things together for the Redhawks, believes the team is coming out of a little bit of a slump at the perfect time.
“I think we’ve come out of it, which should be good,” she said. “We had some nice chances up top and we eliminated all of their chances. We just need to find a way to poke one in while keeping them at zero. Our defense has really been stepping up. We’ve worked hard at communication in back and you can see it’s paying off.”
Wheaton Warrenville South (10-7-2, 2-2-1) wasn’t displeased with the outcome.
“Tying Naperville Central is not bad, it’s a good place to be, when you think of the adversity we’ve faced in the last month with injuries to just about everyone,” Tigers coach Guy Callipari said. “But, we’ve weathered the storm and pulled together.”
Perhaps the best news out of its camp was the play of A.J. Jakuszewski. During a phone interview with Callipari on Monday, he said he wasn’t sure if she’d play this week or if she’d still be resting and recovering for next week’s regional game against West Chicago.
“It’s day-to-day with A.J. and obviously being Senior Night on Wednesday she’s going to want to play some minutes there too,” Callipari said. “We’ll do that and then get her some rest for four or five days. She’s responded well though which is a good sign.”
The Tigers appeared sluggish early in the game, but seemed to get into a better flow later into the evening.
“I thought it was a pretty even match," Jakuszewski said. “We fought really hard, and I thought we were kind of matching them one-on-one. We were a little frantic in the beginning and didn’t see as much possession, but once we calmed down and found feet we were able to work the ball.”
Injuries have made things difficult for the Tigers. As soon as someone steps into a new role and learns their responsibilities, they seemingly go down with an injury and personnel changes have the team starting all over.
“We’re still trying to develop continuity and a rhythm with our play, and we just have not been able to establish that,” Callipari said. “Every time we get started we have to retract and add new people and find a different way.
“I was pretty pleased that given that both teams were pretty evenly matched that the play went back and forth, and was pretty wide open with chances for both sides, so it was a pretty good game all in all for us.”
Chances are pretty good that you’re going to see your fair share of positives and negatives over the course of 100 minutes of soccer.
“We were struggling to make passes and get on the offensive attack at times,” Wheaton Warrenville South senior Tori Adomshick said. “We started getting more chances later, but we need to focus more on finishing. We have to see the net and make sure we hit it. This was a pretty even match and there were a lot of 50/50s that both teams were going hard at, but we also won a lot of them.”
The Redhawks turned up their attack in the second overtime.
Kayla Burke had a shot 8:34 into it that was saved by Rosenthal and Ryan Dudycha lined a shot at Rosenthal with 7:21 left. With 5:32 remaining, Meridith Hannan had a brief open look but her shot was offline.
“We adjusted the formation to give them a different look,” Watson said. “We took advantage of them not recognizing it right off the bat and that happens.”
The Tigers had a free kick opportunity from 25 yards away with a little more than two minutes left and Anna Fank had a nice shot that was saved with 1:57, but not much more in the final overtime. The Tigers played until the buzzer sounded though, taking a corner kick with about 20 seconds remaining and nearly putting in a rebound opportunity in the final seconds.
“We’re just trying to get ready to go into the playoffs,” Adomshick said. “We’re really working on playing the full game, communicating to make sure we’re getting better and trying to build that continuity with all our players.”
With a roster featuring 34 players, and a season that has featured more than its share of difficult losses, one could understand if a team like Naperville Central would be in disarray, but that’s far from the case.
Under the leadership of their seniors, the Redhawks seemed poised for a strong run in the Plainfield North regional.
“Our seniors have been real positive throughout the entire season and I’ve probably been the most negative of the people who have a voice,” Watson said. “I’ve gotten on the kids about how it’s not good enough to play – you have got to play to win. There haven’t been too many games that I’ve been disappointed in our effort. I feel like we have that figured out.
“There has to be a sense of urgency when you play, and I think the girls are recognizing that when they go on the field they have to give their complete attention to their job.”
Those difficult losses, namely to DuPage Valley foes like Wheaton North and Naperville North, certainly have prepared the Redhawks.
“We have enough pieces to be dangerous as an opponent, but we could also be knocked out right away because we don’t have that big-time scoring threat,” Watson said. “We got Isabel Reedy back (from injury) and she got some minutes (Tuesday) so that should be good and the rust should be off by next week. That will give us more depth. Someone who was starting will now go into a reserve role so we’ll have someone coming onto the field with a ton of experience and not skip a beat.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK: Nell Rosenthal
D: Rachel Conrady
D: Shannon Ehrardt
D: Ava Fickle
D: Julia Hildebrand
MF: Tori Adomshick
MF: Rachel Deeman
MF: A.J. Jakuszewski
MF: Julia Martz
MF: Nikki Molino
F: Anna Fank
Naperville Central
GK: Abby Hershik
D: Sarah Avery
D: Caitlin Reice
D: Kayla Rowan
D: Taylor Stenmark
MF: Kirsten Dorgan
MF: Alison Kincaide
MF: Meredith Tunney
F: Meridith Hannan
F: Mackenzie Sisko
F: Kayla Burke
MVP of Match: Meredith Tunney, MF, Naperville Central