Young's 2nd half awakening tops Parker
Dolphins win 5-0 in indoor game at Fire Pitch
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- Running free and having the clarity and insight to improvise in the moment are an essential rite of passage within the sport of soccer. Just getting out was an act of liberation. After days of inactivity and confinement, Young's Audrey Howaniec was eager for the moment.
She had to get rid of the nerves and the jitters and let her body fuse with her mind. The early spring snow wreaked havoc on the start of the girls soccer season, forcing delays and disrupting the natural rhythm.
Despite their profound differences, a small private school and a large Chicago Public League institution, Parker and Young have traditionally initiated the season with a competitive and spirited kickoff game at Parker. The scheduled Monday afternoon game was postponed by snow. Young had few options until then, having access to its gym for one day and having to work on the “bridge,” a 20-by-50 feet space that connects two of the campus buildings.
The coaches, Parker’s Neil Curran and Young’s Spero Mandakas, came up with an inventive solution by staging the game at the Fire Pitch -- the beautiful, state of the art, regulation-size indoor turf surface of the Chicago Fire Academy located at 3626 N. Talman Avenue. Both were extremely pleased by the generosity and openness of the Fire to host the game.
Players on both sides were anxious and relieved to get in a sustained run, and the level of play was high and vigorous and much more competitive than the seemingly one-sided 5-0 margin of the mid-afternoon game Thursday.
All the scoring happened in the second half, and Young took full control by scoring three goals during a seven-minute burst.
Howaniec was the story for Young, even though she did not score and was credited with only one assist. She was the best player on the field, and her quickness and explosive ability to generate runs turned the game in the Dolphins’ favor.
A three-sport athlete who also excels in basketball and tennis, the sophomore forward made Young’s success possible with her runs and deep forays that put Parker on its heels defensively and created considerable spaces for the Dolphins to organize their attack. Her game mirrored the overall play of the Dolphins: nervous, slightly awkward, gaining in confidence rhythm and speed, and finally overpowering.
“I was a little nervous at the beginning,” Howaniec said. “Once we started playing we really came together as a team, and it was very exciting. The first half we were just kind of seeing how well we all played together. We did not get as many finishes on the ball as we’d have liked.
“In the second half, that is when it really started to happen.”
Howaniec earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors for her play.
“She is going to be a great player for us,” Mandakas said. “She is a really athletic player, and her speed and ability to see the field really opens up the game.
“Because she is always going from one sport to the other, she is still learning. Right now we are just trying to increase the soccer game and that soccer knowledge, and she is getting much better. She has the athletic ability to jump in and make up for maybe what she lacks in other areas.”
The big question surrounding the Dolphins, who were city runner-ups to Lane last year, is how the team would cope with the graduation of Gaby Schwartz, the Chicago Public League’s best player who scored 24 goals and registered 10 assists for the Dolphins a year ago.
Four different players scored goals for the Dolphins, a healthy start to what the players and coaches hope is a more balanced attack.
“When we were in a dire situation (last year) and we needed to score a goal, we were relying on Gaby,” Mandakas said. “It was forced through her. We don’t have that one player to force it into, and we can just play soccer and play the system we want to play.”
In the second half, Young monopolized possession and allowed the Colonels few legitimate scoring chances.
Energized by the sharp runs and increased scoring chances generated by Howaniec, Young (1-0-0) took off and finally wore down the Colonels with their superior depth, size and physical style of play. Building off the late first half offensive thrust, Young maintained its dominance in possession and shots on goal. A Howaniec ball hit off the crossbar in the 44th minute.
Young broke through in the 50th minute on a disputed penalty kick awarded after a Parker defender was called for a handball inside the box. Senior defender Gabrielle Cattan converted by drilling a hard ball into the upper left corner.
“We have a lot of new players on the team, and we are trying to figure out where everybody fits,” Cattan said. “We are trying to get our chemistry. A lot of players were nervous, because it was our first game.
“Once we got the first goal, people started to relax more. We had a lead, and we started to pass the ball more and having more opportunities and just taking more chances at the goal.”
The longer a scoreless game plays out, the more it favors the underdog. That tends to change the moment the favorite finds the back of the net.
“We were doing a good job in the build-up phase in the first and second third,” Mandakas said. “Once we got into the second third the runs were not timed, and we were just kind of waiting for the balls to be placed. Audrey did a better job of getting into that space and making those runs. We were able to play the ball into the space and we were getting some quality chances.”
Young also experimented with different player combinations and positional variety. Mandakas figured he rotated in 12 different players for the team’s top six offensive positions. The onslaught took a toll on the Colonels (0-1-0).
Junior midfielder Sarah Heise helped break the game open by scoring goals in the 60th and 65th minute, respectively. Mandakas had just inserted her into the game. She made her presence felt immediately, playing a rebound ball from Howaniec and finishing it inside the near post. Her second goal developed off a sharp cross and superb finish.
“My coach put me in a different position, and I think that helped, to be more wide, instead of in the center,” Heise said. “I think it was good, too, how we got more comfortable and relaxed out there. It was frustrating in the beginning to not be able to finish, but then we did.”
Cattan’s penalty kick goal was the only score attributed to a starter. Reserves accounted for the other goals. Junior midfielder Olivia Putrim smashed a ball inside the near post in the 67th minute and senior forward Anna Dennis completed the scoring in the 76th minute.
Despite the loss, Parker has much to be encouraged by.
Hayley Milgrom and Zoe Patinkin are terrific young talents. Milgrom had a couple of free kicks that amounted to the team’s best scoring chances. Parker was the better team in the first 20 minutes, and the Colonels forced Young to step up its game.
“This is a scrappy, young team,” Curran said. “The bulk of the talent is in the freshman class, so it bodes well for the next couple of years. We are literally trying to find our pieces and put everything together.
“We returned some key players from last year, Haley Milgrom and Zoe in particular. Even though there were five goals rung up on [keeper] Julia [Smith], I think she is much improved from last year. Two of the goals were deflections. On two of the goals, she made the initial save, and we didn’t have any defenders to clear the ball away.
“We should have done better in this game. A couple of the goals were the ricochet goals where Julia made the initial save and then we didn’t have anybody there to follow up defensively.
“I was telling the girls this game was not exactly a bad result against a school that is 10 times bigger than we are. We have good players, at different spots and that is always nice to have.”
Starting lineups
Parker
GK: Julia Smith
D: Jordan Shapiro
D: Simone Turner
D: Senna Gardner
D: Abby Smith
MF: Alexandra Takoudis
MF: Molly Taylor
MF: Alex Ori
MF: Lindsay Carlin
F: Zoe Patinkin
F: Hayley Milgrom
Young
GK: Sloane Kistinger
D: Addie Schlensker
D: Gabrielle Cattan
D: Mariah Helm
MF: Cameron Herman
MF: Kyra Sobel
MF: Eleanor Sherline
MF: Carina Barillas
F: Sara Woods
F: Mia Lisanti
F: Audrey Howaniec
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Audrey Howaniec, so,. F, Young
Dolphins win 5-0 in indoor game at Fire Pitch
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- Running free and having the clarity and insight to improvise in the moment are an essential rite of passage within the sport of soccer. Just getting out was an act of liberation. After days of inactivity and confinement, Young's Audrey Howaniec was eager for the moment.
She had to get rid of the nerves and the jitters and let her body fuse with her mind. The early spring snow wreaked havoc on the start of the girls soccer season, forcing delays and disrupting the natural rhythm.
Despite their profound differences, a small private school and a large Chicago Public League institution, Parker and Young have traditionally initiated the season with a competitive and spirited kickoff game at Parker. The scheduled Monday afternoon game was postponed by snow. Young had few options until then, having access to its gym for one day and having to work on the “bridge,” a 20-by-50 feet space that connects two of the campus buildings.
The coaches, Parker’s Neil Curran and Young’s Spero Mandakas, came up with an inventive solution by staging the game at the Fire Pitch -- the beautiful, state of the art, regulation-size indoor turf surface of the Chicago Fire Academy located at 3626 N. Talman Avenue. Both were extremely pleased by the generosity and openness of the Fire to host the game.
Players on both sides were anxious and relieved to get in a sustained run, and the level of play was high and vigorous and much more competitive than the seemingly one-sided 5-0 margin of the mid-afternoon game Thursday.
All the scoring happened in the second half, and Young took full control by scoring three goals during a seven-minute burst.
Howaniec was the story for Young, even though she did not score and was credited with only one assist. She was the best player on the field, and her quickness and explosive ability to generate runs turned the game in the Dolphins’ favor.
A three-sport athlete who also excels in basketball and tennis, the sophomore forward made Young’s success possible with her runs and deep forays that put Parker on its heels defensively and created considerable spaces for the Dolphins to organize their attack. Her game mirrored the overall play of the Dolphins: nervous, slightly awkward, gaining in confidence rhythm and speed, and finally overpowering.
“I was a little nervous at the beginning,” Howaniec said. “Once we started playing we really came together as a team, and it was very exciting. The first half we were just kind of seeing how well we all played together. We did not get as many finishes on the ball as we’d have liked.
“In the second half, that is when it really started to happen.”
Howaniec earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors for her play.
“She is going to be a great player for us,” Mandakas said. “She is a really athletic player, and her speed and ability to see the field really opens up the game.
“Because she is always going from one sport to the other, she is still learning. Right now we are just trying to increase the soccer game and that soccer knowledge, and she is getting much better. She has the athletic ability to jump in and make up for maybe what she lacks in other areas.”
The big question surrounding the Dolphins, who were city runner-ups to Lane last year, is how the team would cope with the graduation of Gaby Schwartz, the Chicago Public League’s best player who scored 24 goals and registered 10 assists for the Dolphins a year ago.
Four different players scored goals for the Dolphins, a healthy start to what the players and coaches hope is a more balanced attack.
“When we were in a dire situation (last year) and we needed to score a goal, we were relying on Gaby,” Mandakas said. “It was forced through her. We don’t have that one player to force it into, and we can just play soccer and play the system we want to play.”
In the second half, Young monopolized possession and allowed the Colonels few legitimate scoring chances.
Energized by the sharp runs and increased scoring chances generated by Howaniec, Young (1-0-0) took off and finally wore down the Colonels with their superior depth, size and physical style of play. Building off the late first half offensive thrust, Young maintained its dominance in possession and shots on goal. A Howaniec ball hit off the crossbar in the 44th minute.
Young broke through in the 50th minute on a disputed penalty kick awarded after a Parker defender was called for a handball inside the box. Senior defender Gabrielle Cattan converted by drilling a hard ball into the upper left corner.
“We have a lot of new players on the team, and we are trying to figure out where everybody fits,” Cattan said. “We are trying to get our chemistry. A lot of players were nervous, because it was our first game.
“Once we got the first goal, people started to relax more. We had a lead, and we started to pass the ball more and having more opportunities and just taking more chances at the goal.”
The longer a scoreless game plays out, the more it favors the underdog. That tends to change the moment the favorite finds the back of the net.
“We were doing a good job in the build-up phase in the first and second third,” Mandakas said. “Once we got into the second third the runs were not timed, and we were just kind of waiting for the balls to be placed. Audrey did a better job of getting into that space and making those runs. We were able to play the ball into the space and we were getting some quality chances.”
Young also experimented with different player combinations and positional variety. Mandakas figured he rotated in 12 different players for the team’s top six offensive positions. The onslaught took a toll on the Colonels (0-1-0).
Junior midfielder Sarah Heise helped break the game open by scoring goals in the 60th and 65th minute, respectively. Mandakas had just inserted her into the game. She made her presence felt immediately, playing a rebound ball from Howaniec and finishing it inside the near post. Her second goal developed off a sharp cross and superb finish.
“My coach put me in a different position, and I think that helped, to be more wide, instead of in the center,” Heise said. “I think it was good, too, how we got more comfortable and relaxed out there. It was frustrating in the beginning to not be able to finish, but then we did.”
Cattan’s penalty kick goal was the only score attributed to a starter. Reserves accounted for the other goals. Junior midfielder Olivia Putrim smashed a ball inside the near post in the 67th minute and senior forward Anna Dennis completed the scoring in the 76th minute.
Despite the loss, Parker has much to be encouraged by.
Hayley Milgrom and Zoe Patinkin are terrific young talents. Milgrom had a couple of free kicks that amounted to the team’s best scoring chances. Parker was the better team in the first 20 minutes, and the Colonels forced Young to step up its game.
“This is a scrappy, young team,” Curran said. “The bulk of the talent is in the freshman class, so it bodes well for the next couple of years. We are literally trying to find our pieces and put everything together.
“We returned some key players from last year, Haley Milgrom and Zoe in particular. Even though there were five goals rung up on [keeper] Julia [Smith], I think she is much improved from last year. Two of the goals were deflections. On two of the goals, she made the initial save, and we didn’t have any defenders to clear the ball away.
“We should have done better in this game. A couple of the goals were the ricochet goals where Julia made the initial save and then we didn’t have anybody there to follow up defensively.
“I was telling the girls this game was not exactly a bad result against a school that is 10 times bigger than we are. We have good players, at different spots and that is always nice to have.”
Starting lineups
Parker
GK: Julia Smith
D: Jordan Shapiro
D: Simone Turner
D: Senna Gardner
D: Abby Smith
MF: Alexandra Takoudis
MF: Molly Taylor
MF: Alex Ori
MF: Lindsay Carlin
F: Zoe Patinkin
F: Hayley Milgrom
Young
GK: Sloane Kistinger
D: Addie Schlensker
D: Gabrielle Cattan
D: Mariah Helm
MF: Cameron Herman
MF: Kyra Sobel
MF: Eleanor Sherline
MF: Carina Barillas
F: Sara Woods
F: Mia Lisanti
F: Audrey Howaniec
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Audrey Howaniec, so,. F, Young