Barrington beats Hersey
for 4th-straight Soccer Bowl win
MSL title match comes down to officials' call
By Dave Owen
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS -- Halftime ceremonies during the Mid-Suburban League Soccer Bowl title game Wednesday featured on-field introductions of every all-conference player.
Shortly after play resumed between Barrington and host Hersey, the MVPs of the league’s respective divisions were fittingly in the spotlight for the deciding play of the match.
Off a 25-yard free kick to the far post by Sophia Spinell with 36:21 left to play, Barrington star forward and MSL West Most Valuable Player Jenna Szczesny’s point-blank header was brilliantly swept off the goal line by Hersey standout Kayla Knauss.
But officials ruled the ball had crossed the line, giving the Fillies (16-1-4) the goal and the eventual difference in a 1-0 victory over the Huskies (13-5-2).
MSL East MVP Knauss’ near-save was just part of the frustration for Hersey on the deciding play.
“The girls were contending that she (Szczesny) was offsides, came back on, then went back and scored,” Hersey coach Darren Llewellyn said. “I couldn’t see. But we gave up the back post a number of times on set plays. That was a weakness, and I didn’t know we had that, so it’s a nice learning experience for us.”
Wednesday’s intense battle was a far cry from the 0-0 tie between the two teams Monday.
“He (Barrington coach Ryan Stengren) didn’t play his starters,” said Llewellyn, who used his usual lineup Monday. “That was just exercise. It showed me that he has JV players who can play.”
Winning the vital rematch Wednesday capped a four-year sweep of MSL titles for the Barrington senior class.
“It’s really special,” Szczesny said. “And this is a great team to have done it with. I couldn’t have asked for better people to be around.”
Szczesny, Megan Fox and goalkeeper Hannah Luedtke have all been on varsity since freshman year.
“This means the world to me,” midfielder Fox said. “I never could have imagined from my freshman year to my senior year that we would get conference championships four years in a row.
“It was really exciting, and I’m so proud of everyone on the team. It was a group effort: on the bench, on the field, everyone.”
Luedtke also figured prominently in Wednesday’s win. The standout goalkeeper helped the Fillies withstood a furious Hersey barrage in the final 100 seconds.
Barrington led 1-0 and had produced virtually all of the game’s scoring chances, but that suddenly changed.
With 1:40 left, Hersey’s Claire Callahan raced in up the right sideline. Dribbling in on two defenders, she lined a high 12-yard shot that Luedtke leaped to get a hand on and deflect high off the right post.
Then, with 25 seconds to go, the Huskies’ last shot at a tie was a great one.
Jessica Schmidt’s left-side drive produced a throw-in left of the box. Annie Korff’s ensuing toss was flicked by a Gina Miklasz header toward Grace Kozurek racing in right of the goal.
Kozurek lined a 5-yard left-footed shot destined for the lower right corner, but Luedtke dove to make the save and dramatically clinch the Barrington win.
“It was a little scary, but I got there,” Luedtke said. “I knew that the cross was coming, and I saw the girl (Kozurek) running from the top of the box in. I was ready for the shot, and I just reacted and dove and I got there.”
After a night dominated by Barrington's offensive chances, Luedtke’s game-saving plays earned her Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors.
“It got a little crazy at the end, but we stayed strong and kept doing our best to get it out of there,” Luedtke said. “On the second save, the defenders came back there and supported me as well, so that was very good.”
Barrington has produced 12 shutouts this season with a defensive unit that features junior Lauren Pircher and sophomores Jackie Batliner, Ellie Stodola and Kayla Keck.
“They have developed a ton from the beginning,” Luedtke said. “They communicate a lot, they have really started to connect and they really play well together. They move as a unit. They played great tonight, and I couldn’t do it without them in front of me.”
While the Barrington defensive corps limited Hersey shots until the final minutes, the Fillies put relentless pressure all night on the Huskies’ net.
Quality chances early on included Hersey goalkeeper Claire Gritt’s saves on Ann Marie Niro and Pircher, and Gritt’s catch of a Spinell corner kick toward the crease.
The Fillies’ pressure intensified late in the half. In one sequence, Szczesny hit the crossbar with a 15-yard shot, then the scramble in the box for the rebound resulted in Gritt being fouled.
In the final three minutes of the half, Niro sent a 25-yarder just over the crossbar and Knauss nicely cleared a Szczesny send toward the crease. A 32-yarder over the net by Hersey’s Abby Wendell with 35 seconds left foreshadowed the Huskies’ ability to answer the waves with their own pressure.
“Even at the half I told them when we get the ball up here and don’t have control, we don’t need to press,” Llewellyn said. “But when we get it on our forwards’ feet, everyone has to come together. That didn’t happen until the end.
“No matter what I said, I couldn’t get them to close that space when we had possession, so we had counterattacks with three people in a 40-yard gap. That’s just being protective because they didn’t want to give up anything. They really believed they could take them to PKs.”
Barrington’s skills provided reason to worry.
“They’re super talented,” Llewellyn said.
That talent was back at work with 37:30 left, when Kayla Schutter fired a 30-yard shot off the right post.
The waves of chances against talented Hersey had Stengren both impressed and frustrated.
“There wasn’t a lot of space,” Stengren said, “and I’ll say this: It’s the best we’ve done at breaking that down. We just didn’t finish well.
“I thought it might be one of those days. We hit a couple of posts and missed chances we would normally finish. Then something might happen; (Hersey) would come down and that would be it. I warned them of that before the game, and it almost played out that way. For all the skill level we have, we need to show that skill level in the box."
The goal 70 seconds after Schutter drew iron was another close call, this time in Barrington’s favor.
“We hit the post a ton of times,” Szczesny said. “It felt like we all did it. Our movement was great. We had chances, but you’re not going to make all of them. I’m glad we made that one though.”
While Barrington’s chances continued, Knauss turned the tables with 28 minutes left. On a Barrington corner kick to the box, Knauss headed the ball upfield to herself and began a personal rush into the offensive third before the Fillies defense denied a potential greater play by the senior.
“We fought hard the whole time,” Knauss said. “We had a couple of opportunities on goal that we didn’t make, but we held them to one. That was pretty good. We wanted everyone to know that this was a game we had to go all out the entire time, and we did.”
Hersey needed plenty of star power to counter Barrington.
“Kayla and Annie (Korff) always play well, and Abby (Wendell) in the middle,” Llewellyn said. “And Kelly Weyhrich is everywhere. She challenges anybody. Those are our mainstays, and I had Sara Magnuson on defense because she’s fast and aggressive. She was holding her own against Jenna, which if you can do that, that’s special.
“And (forward) Jess Schmidt was a workhorse. When you get the ball under pressure and there’s already four people (from Barrington), it takes a special ball or a special move or mistake on their part. They were swarming.”
Barrington’s offense continued to create a buzz with 24:30 left, when Gritt’s diving save denied a low 18-yard drive by Kelsey Muniz. Fox’s 28-yarder off a Muniz pass went wide right 40 seconds later.
A Hersey chance with 21 minutes left resulted in Luedtke’s catch of a Carly Cooper 30-yard shot.
The Fillies nearly made it 2-0 in unlikely fashion with 6:40 to go, when a curling corner kick by Spinell grazed off the top of the crossbar and onto the top of the net.
Another Spinell corner kick with 5:25 to go was more traditionally dangerous: Szczesny and Batliner battled two Hersey defenders for the ball at the left post, with a Barrington foul being called.
Then after a Schutter 20-yarder went wide with 2:30 left, the Fillies finished the night hanging on against a relentless last Hersey rush.
“We were looking for that counterattack,” Llewellyn said. “We had some in the first half but just didn’t shoot, or we didn’t have enough support so there was nowhere to go with the ball.
“But the girls didn’t quit. They really pushed forward at the end, which was something they should have done the whole game. I thought we had one at the end, especially on the throw-in. But I’m OK with it. We didn’t quit.”
The two teams could meet again with even higher stakes: Both are top three seeds at the Glenbrook South Sectional and could face off in the finals.
For this wild night, Barrington dominated early and survived late to add to its legacy of MSL success.
“Four for four (titles for the seniors) - has that ever been done?” Stengren asked. “I’m very thrilled for them. But Hersey made it very difficult. They are a classy program.”
Fox relished the four-peat feat, as well as the sometimes-frustrating battle Wednesday to achieve it.
“It’s been an amazing year,” Fox said. “I’m really proud of my team that we were able to do something like this.
“We just didn’t let up. We kept going after it no matter how many times we shot on the post or just wide. The key was keeping our possession, moving off the ball constantly and taking the end line.”
Stengren now can start prepping his team for the next challenge. The late Hersey threats against his otherwise solid defense will be a focus.
“(The defense) did well,” he said, “but it needs to be a little more organized, and we’ll tighten it up. We have some time now to practice, train and get better. That’s the great thing.”
Hersey also has reason for postseason optimism.
“We’re just going to have to take every game one by one and play hard,” Knauss said. “We played through the entire game. That’s all you can ask for.”
Starting lineups
Barrington
GK: Hannah Luedtke
D: Jackie Batliner
D: Lauren Pircher
D: Kayla Keck
D: Ellie Stodola
MF: Megan Fox
MF: Kelsey Muniz
MF: Ann Marie Niro
MF: Sophia Spinell
F: Jenna Szczesny
F: Kayla Schlutter
Hersey
GK: Claire Gritt
D: Carly Cooper
D: Kayla Knauss
D: Annie Korff
D: Claire Niemczyk
MF: Kelly Weyhrich
MF: Grace Kozurek
MF: Emma Slosar
MF: Abby Wendell
F: Sara Magnuson
F: Jessica Schmidt
MVP of the Match: Hannah Luedtke, GK, Barrington
for 4th-straight Soccer Bowl win
MSL title match comes down to officials' call
By Dave Owen
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS -- Halftime ceremonies during the Mid-Suburban League Soccer Bowl title game Wednesday featured on-field introductions of every all-conference player.
Shortly after play resumed between Barrington and host Hersey, the MVPs of the league’s respective divisions were fittingly in the spotlight for the deciding play of the match.
Off a 25-yard free kick to the far post by Sophia Spinell with 36:21 left to play, Barrington star forward and MSL West Most Valuable Player Jenna Szczesny’s point-blank header was brilliantly swept off the goal line by Hersey standout Kayla Knauss.
But officials ruled the ball had crossed the line, giving the Fillies (16-1-4) the goal and the eventual difference in a 1-0 victory over the Huskies (13-5-2).
MSL East MVP Knauss’ near-save was just part of the frustration for Hersey on the deciding play.
“The girls were contending that she (Szczesny) was offsides, came back on, then went back and scored,” Hersey coach Darren Llewellyn said. “I couldn’t see. But we gave up the back post a number of times on set plays. That was a weakness, and I didn’t know we had that, so it’s a nice learning experience for us.”
Wednesday’s intense battle was a far cry from the 0-0 tie between the two teams Monday.
“He (Barrington coach Ryan Stengren) didn’t play his starters,” said Llewellyn, who used his usual lineup Monday. “That was just exercise. It showed me that he has JV players who can play.”
Winning the vital rematch Wednesday capped a four-year sweep of MSL titles for the Barrington senior class.
“It’s really special,” Szczesny said. “And this is a great team to have done it with. I couldn’t have asked for better people to be around.”
Szczesny, Megan Fox and goalkeeper Hannah Luedtke have all been on varsity since freshman year.
“This means the world to me,” midfielder Fox said. “I never could have imagined from my freshman year to my senior year that we would get conference championships four years in a row.
“It was really exciting, and I’m so proud of everyone on the team. It was a group effort: on the bench, on the field, everyone.”
Luedtke also figured prominently in Wednesday’s win. The standout goalkeeper helped the Fillies withstood a furious Hersey barrage in the final 100 seconds.
Barrington led 1-0 and had produced virtually all of the game’s scoring chances, but that suddenly changed.
With 1:40 left, Hersey’s Claire Callahan raced in up the right sideline. Dribbling in on two defenders, she lined a high 12-yard shot that Luedtke leaped to get a hand on and deflect high off the right post.
Then, with 25 seconds to go, the Huskies’ last shot at a tie was a great one.
Jessica Schmidt’s left-side drive produced a throw-in left of the box. Annie Korff’s ensuing toss was flicked by a Gina Miklasz header toward Grace Kozurek racing in right of the goal.
Kozurek lined a 5-yard left-footed shot destined for the lower right corner, but Luedtke dove to make the save and dramatically clinch the Barrington win.
“It was a little scary, but I got there,” Luedtke said. “I knew that the cross was coming, and I saw the girl (Kozurek) running from the top of the box in. I was ready for the shot, and I just reacted and dove and I got there.”
After a night dominated by Barrington's offensive chances, Luedtke’s game-saving plays earned her Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors.
“It got a little crazy at the end, but we stayed strong and kept doing our best to get it out of there,” Luedtke said. “On the second save, the defenders came back there and supported me as well, so that was very good.”
Barrington has produced 12 shutouts this season with a defensive unit that features junior Lauren Pircher and sophomores Jackie Batliner, Ellie Stodola and Kayla Keck.
“They have developed a ton from the beginning,” Luedtke said. “They communicate a lot, they have really started to connect and they really play well together. They move as a unit. They played great tonight, and I couldn’t do it without them in front of me.”
While the Barrington defensive corps limited Hersey shots until the final minutes, the Fillies put relentless pressure all night on the Huskies’ net.
Quality chances early on included Hersey goalkeeper Claire Gritt’s saves on Ann Marie Niro and Pircher, and Gritt’s catch of a Spinell corner kick toward the crease.
The Fillies’ pressure intensified late in the half. In one sequence, Szczesny hit the crossbar with a 15-yard shot, then the scramble in the box for the rebound resulted in Gritt being fouled.
In the final three minutes of the half, Niro sent a 25-yarder just over the crossbar and Knauss nicely cleared a Szczesny send toward the crease. A 32-yarder over the net by Hersey’s Abby Wendell with 35 seconds left foreshadowed the Huskies’ ability to answer the waves with their own pressure.
“Even at the half I told them when we get the ball up here and don’t have control, we don’t need to press,” Llewellyn said. “But when we get it on our forwards’ feet, everyone has to come together. That didn’t happen until the end.
“No matter what I said, I couldn’t get them to close that space when we had possession, so we had counterattacks with three people in a 40-yard gap. That’s just being protective because they didn’t want to give up anything. They really believed they could take them to PKs.”
Barrington’s skills provided reason to worry.
“They’re super talented,” Llewellyn said.
That talent was back at work with 37:30 left, when Kayla Schutter fired a 30-yard shot off the right post.
The waves of chances against talented Hersey had Stengren both impressed and frustrated.
“There wasn’t a lot of space,” Stengren said, “and I’ll say this: It’s the best we’ve done at breaking that down. We just didn’t finish well.
“I thought it might be one of those days. We hit a couple of posts and missed chances we would normally finish. Then something might happen; (Hersey) would come down and that would be it. I warned them of that before the game, and it almost played out that way. For all the skill level we have, we need to show that skill level in the box."
The goal 70 seconds after Schutter drew iron was another close call, this time in Barrington’s favor.
“We hit the post a ton of times,” Szczesny said. “It felt like we all did it. Our movement was great. We had chances, but you’re not going to make all of them. I’m glad we made that one though.”
While Barrington’s chances continued, Knauss turned the tables with 28 minutes left. On a Barrington corner kick to the box, Knauss headed the ball upfield to herself and began a personal rush into the offensive third before the Fillies defense denied a potential greater play by the senior.
“We fought hard the whole time,” Knauss said. “We had a couple of opportunities on goal that we didn’t make, but we held them to one. That was pretty good. We wanted everyone to know that this was a game we had to go all out the entire time, and we did.”
Hersey needed plenty of star power to counter Barrington.
“Kayla and Annie (Korff) always play well, and Abby (Wendell) in the middle,” Llewellyn said. “And Kelly Weyhrich is everywhere. She challenges anybody. Those are our mainstays, and I had Sara Magnuson on defense because she’s fast and aggressive. She was holding her own against Jenna, which if you can do that, that’s special.
“And (forward) Jess Schmidt was a workhorse. When you get the ball under pressure and there’s already four people (from Barrington), it takes a special ball or a special move or mistake on their part. They were swarming.”
Barrington’s offense continued to create a buzz with 24:30 left, when Gritt’s diving save denied a low 18-yard drive by Kelsey Muniz. Fox’s 28-yarder off a Muniz pass went wide right 40 seconds later.
A Hersey chance with 21 minutes left resulted in Luedtke’s catch of a Carly Cooper 30-yard shot.
The Fillies nearly made it 2-0 in unlikely fashion with 6:40 to go, when a curling corner kick by Spinell grazed off the top of the crossbar and onto the top of the net.
Another Spinell corner kick with 5:25 to go was more traditionally dangerous: Szczesny and Batliner battled two Hersey defenders for the ball at the left post, with a Barrington foul being called.
Then after a Schutter 20-yarder went wide with 2:30 left, the Fillies finished the night hanging on against a relentless last Hersey rush.
“We were looking for that counterattack,” Llewellyn said. “We had some in the first half but just didn’t shoot, or we didn’t have enough support so there was nowhere to go with the ball.
“But the girls didn’t quit. They really pushed forward at the end, which was something they should have done the whole game. I thought we had one at the end, especially on the throw-in. But I’m OK with it. We didn’t quit.”
The two teams could meet again with even higher stakes: Both are top three seeds at the Glenbrook South Sectional and could face off in the finals.
For this wild night, Barrington dominated early and survived late to add to its legacy of MSL success.
“Four for four (titles for the seniors) - has that ever been done?” Stengren asked. “I’m very thrilled for them. But Hersey made it very difficult. They are a classy program.”
Fox relished the four-peat feat, as well as the sometimes-frustrating battle Wednesday to achieve it.
“It’s been an amazing year,” Fox said. “I’m really proud of my team that we were able to do something like this.
“We just didn’t let up. We kept going after it no matter how many times we shot on the post or just wide. The key was keeping our possession, moving off the ball constantly and taking the end line.”
Stengren now can start prepping his team for the next challenge. The late Hersey threats against his otherwise solid defense will be a focus.
“(The defense) did well,” he said, “but it needs to be a little more organized, and we’ll tighten it up. We have some time now to practice, train and get better. That’s the great thing.”
Hersey also has reason for postseason optimism.
“We’re just going to have to take every game one by one and play hard,” Knauss said. “We played through the entire game. That’s all you can ask for.”
Starting lineups
Barrington
GK: Hannah Luedtke
D: Jackie Batliner
D: Lauren Pircher
D: Kayla Keck
D: Ellie Stodola
MF: Megan Fox
MF: Kelsey Muniz
MF: Ann Marie Niro
MF: Sophia Spinell
F: Jenna Szczesny
F: Kayla Schlutter
Hersey
GK: Claire Gritt
D: Carly Cooper
D: Kayla Knauss
D: Annie Korff
D: Claire Niemczyk
MF: Kelly Weyhrich
MF: Grace Kozurek
MF: Emma Slosar
MF: Abby Wendell
F: Sara Magnuson
F: Jessica Schmidt
MVP of the Match: Hannah Luedtke, GK, Barrington