Woods chops down Curie, Young advances
Dolphins 5-0 win earns them city semis berth, rematch with Lane
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- Sara Woods has the knack. It is a rare and blessed quality to have -- the combination of the presence, vision and anticipation to plot out the game.
“She knows how to get herself in the right situations,” Young coach Spero Mandakas said.
Woods drilled a free kick from 35 yards in the second minute that established a dominant edge for Young. She added two additional goals and an assist as the Dolphins cruised past Curie 5-0 in a Chicago Public League tournament quarterfinal Saturday at Back of the Yards.
A two-time defending city runner-up to Lane, Young (12-9-0) advances to play the Indians in the 5 p.m. semifinal Tuesday at Lane. Jones and Payton meet at 7 p.m. there in the second semifinal. All of the top four seeds advanced in the 24-team playoffs.
Woods registered her third hat trick of the year. She has two in the Dolphins’ last three games and has scored half of her team-best 16 goals in the Dolphins’ three city tournament games.
She earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honor for her standout play.
Young won the toss and elected to play with a wind that gusted up to 20-miles per hour.
“We just knew we had to get a lot of shots off in the first half, because we had the wind,” Woods said. “I had the free kick in the first couple of minutes, and I just knew I had to put in more far post.”
Curie (8-4-2) was dazed by the early blow. The Condors were part of the Premier Division until last year. Their players have a history and knowledge of the Dolphins. Curie features two of the city’s best players, regardless of division affiliation.
Forward Ashley Capetillo is a creative wizard with the ball who is dangerous from anywhere on the field. Yesi Ibanez, a versatile and skilled player who moves around the field, is another dynamic threat. Unfortunately, the Condors’ chance to advance was hampered by a near nonexistent bench. They had just 13 available players.
“We were short-handed today, but the first thing is, no excuses,” Curie coach Jeff Mikula said. “My all-city players (Capetillo and Ibanez) definitely shined today. At the same time, we struggled to get a consistent effort from all 11 players at the same time.”
The early contrasts between the two schools were clear.
“I feel like the (early goal) brings up the team morale,” Woods said. “It really gives us more momentum going forward because we know that we have the early lead. I think it also just takes away the other team. It takes them out of the match psychologically, and we kept building from there.”
Woods has been the catalyst during the city tournament. Freshman midfielder Mia Lisanti has also emerged as a vital piece in the last part of the season. She helped the Dolphins maintain their aggressive stride.
She played a ball to junior forward Sophie Putrim, another of the Dolphins’ angular and athletic players, who pushed the ball up the field unobstructed for the second goal.
“We wanted to try and set the pressure and get the early lead,” Mandakas said. “We wanted to pressure on their back and take advantage.”
Putrim has battled injuries, including the consequences of a concussion that forced her to miss most of her sophomore year. She burst on the scene as a freshman. She gives the Dolphins a big and skilled player at the top of the formation and a dangerous complement to Woods.
“We have a strong lineup the whole way through,” Putrim said. “I think if we just focus and string passes together, we are going to be able to finish and get our shots on goal. We are going to have those opportunities against any team, and we cannot let that falter.”
Dazed by the Dolphins’ aggressive start, Curie eventually settled down and found a more workable shape and rhythm by getting the ball to Capetillo in space. With the game still in the balance, Capetillo worked hard to bring her team back, pushing hard and drilling rocket balls that Young keeper Sloane Kistinger made strong stops of.
“We were not confident at the beginning, but then we had a talk with our coach, and he helped motivate us and pumped us up,” Capetillo said. “He had the faith in us, and that made us want to try harder. We started to work together, because we did not want to put the season to waste.”
Curie keeper Maria Navarro played well, but the relentless Young attack was too much to overcome. In the 32nd minute, Lisanti and Woods countered the developing Curie attack.
Lisanti recovered a goal kick and pushed the ball forward and slotted a through-ball to a sprinting Woods on the right wing. Woods finished with authority for the commanding 3-0 lead at the break.
Woods turned the game into a rout in the 43rd minute. She outplayed a Curie defender to the ball and played a sharp ball to junior midfielder Jessica O’Donnell at the top of the box. O’Donnell also finished impressively.
Woods punctuated the dominant performance by drilling a short ball on a nicely placed cross from midfielder Sarah Heise. It was game, set and match.
Curie looked to find some salvation and played hard until the end to score. Capetillo and Ibanez were just wide on a couple of free kicks.
“We have talented players, but if you don’t show up mentally they get the best of you, and that is what happened today,” Mikula said.
Now the Dolphins confront Lane, who beat Young 5-0 in the the teams’ final game of the Premier schedule on April 26th.
“Since that game our training has very, very serious,” Woods said. “We have been doing a lot of running. Everybody’s mindset is just a little different because obviously the outcome was not what we wanted against Lane.
“In these (city tournament) games we just want to come out and show we could play as well as we can.”
Starting lineups
Curie
GK: Maria Navarro
D: Yesi Ibanez
D: Anay Salas
D: Daisy Preciado
D: Lucero Sanroman
D: Corina Juarez
MF: Dominique Zamudio
MF: Karina Serna
MF: America Pinedo
F: Crystal Gamino
F: Ashley Capetillo
Young
GK: Sloane Kistinger
D: Cameron Herman
D: Addie Schlensker
D: Mariah Helm
D: Kyra Sobel
MF: Jessica O’Donnell
MF: Sarah Heise
MF: Mia Lisanti
F: Sara Woods
F: Gabrielle Cattan
F: Sophie Putrim
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Sara Woods, jr., F, Young
Dolphins 5-0 win earns them city semis berth, rematch with Lane
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- Sara Woods has the knack. It is a rare and blessed quality to have -- the combination of the presence, vision and anticipation to plot out the game.
“She knows how to get herself in the right situations,” Young coach Spero Mandakas said.
Woods drilled a free kick from 35 yards in the second minute that established a dominant edge for Young. She added two additional goals and an assist as the Dolphins cruised past Curie 5-0 in a Chicago Public League tournament quarterfinal Saturday at Back of the Yards.
A two-time defending city runner-up to Lane, Young (12-9-0) advances to play the Indians in the 5 p.m. semifinal Tuesday at Lane. Jones and Payton meet at 7 p.m. there in the second semifinal. All of the top four seeds advanced in the 24-team playoffs.
Woods registered her third hat trick of the year. She has two in the Dolphins’ last three games and has scored half of her team-best 16 goals in the Dolphins’ three city tournament games.
She earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honor for her standout play.
Young won the toss and elected to play with a wind that gusted up to 20-miles per hour.
“We just knew we had to get a lot of shots off in the first half, because we had the wind,” Woods said. “I had the free kick in the first couple of minutes, and I just knew I had to put in more far post.”
Curie (8-4-2) was dazed by the early blow. The Condors were part of the Premier Division until last year. Their players have a history and knowledge of the Dolphins. Curie features two of the city’s best players, regardless of division affiliation.
Forward Ashley Capetillo is a creative wizard with the ball who is dangerous from anywhere on the field. Yesi Ibanez, a versatile and skilled player who moves around the field, is another dynamic threat. Unfortunately, the Condors’ chance to advance was hampered by a near nonexistent bench. They had just 13 available players.
“We were short-handed today, but the first thing is, no excuses,” Curie coach Jeff Mikula said. “My all-city players (Capetillo and Ibanez) definitely shined today. At the same time, we struggled to get a consistent effort from all 11 players at the same time.”
The early contrasts between the two schools were clear.
“I feel like the (early goal) brings up the team morale,” Woods said. “It really gives us more momentum going forward because we know that we have the early lead. I think it also just takes away the other team. It takes them out of the match psychologically, and we kept building from there.”
Woods has been the catalyst during the city tournament. Freshman midfielder Mia Lisanti has also emerged as a vital piece in the last part of the season. She helped the Dolphins maintain their aggressive stride.
She played a ball to junior forward Sophie Putrim, another of the Dolphins’ angular and athletic players, who pushed the ball up the field unobstructed for the second goal.
“We wanted to try and set the pressure and get the early lead,” Mandakas said. “We wanted to pressure on their back and take advantage.”
Putrim has battled injuries, including the consequences of a concussion that forced her to miss most of her sophomore year. She burst on the scene as a freshman. She gives the Dolphins a big and skilled player at the top of the formation and a dangerous complement to Woods.
“We have a strong lineup the whole way through,” Putrim said. “I think if we just focus and string passes together, we are going to be able to finish and get our shots on goal. We are going to have those opportunities against any team, and we cannot let that falter.”
Dazed by the Dolphins’ aggressive start, Curie eventually settled down and found a more workable shape and rhythm by getting the ball to Capetillo in space. With the game still in the balance, Capetillo worked hard to bring her team back, pushing hard and drilling rocket balls that Young keeper Sloane Kistinger made strong stops of.
“We were not confident at the beginning, but then we had a talk with our coach, and he helped motivate us and pumped us up,” Capetillo said. “He had the faith in us, and that made us want to try harder. We started to work together, because we did not want to put the season to waste.”
Curie keeper Maria Navarro played well, but the relentless Young attack was too much to overcome. In the 32nd minute, Lisanti and Woods countered the developing Curie attack.
Lisanti recovered a goal kick and pushed the ball forward and slotted a through-ball to a sprinting Woods on the right wing. Woods finished with authority for the commanding 3-0 lead at the break.
Woods turned the game into a rout in the 43rd minute. She outplayed a Curie defender to the ball and played a sharp ball to junior midfielder Jessica O’Donnell at the top of the box. O’Donnell also finished impressively.
Woods punctuated the dominant performance by drilling a short ball on a nicely placed cross from midfielder Sarah Heise. It was game, set and match.
Curie looked to find some salvation and played hard until the end to score. Capetillo and Ibanez were just wide on a couple of free kicks.
“We have talented players, but if you don’t show up mentally they get the best of you, and that is what happened today,” Mikula said.
Now the Dolphins confront Lane, who beat Young 5-0 in the the teams’ final game of the Premier schedule on April 26th.
“Since that game our training has very, very serious,” Woods said. “We have been doing a lot of running. Everybody’s mindset is just a little different because obviously the outcome was not what we wanted against Lane.
“In these (city tournament) games we just want to come out and show we could play as well as we can.”
Starting lineups
Curie
GK: Maria Navarro
D: Yesi Ibanez
D: Anay Salas
D: Daisy Preciado
D: Lucero Sanroman
D: Corina Juarez
MF: Dominique Zamudio
MF: Karina Serna
MF: America Pinedo
F: Crystal Gamino
F: Ashley Capetillo
Young
GK: Sloane Kistinger
D: Cameron Herman
D: Addie Schlensker
D: Mariah Helm
D: Kyra Sobel
MF: Jessica O’Donnell
MF: Sarah Heise
MF: Mia Lisanti
F: Sara Woods
F: Gabrielle Cattan
F: Sophie Putrim
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Sara Woods, jr., F, Young