Hersey tops York on penalty kicks
Game turns into defensive struggle after 1st half goal flurry
By Ken Keenan
SCHAUMBURG -- An offensive slugfest between eventual victor
Hersey and York in the first half of PepsiCo Showdown play on Saturday
morphed into a defensive struggle the rest of the way, forcing penalty
kicks to decide the outcome of a 2-2 deadlock.
"I think in the first half we had a lot more energy," said York
senior forward Jessica Bianchi, who tallied both of the Dukes' goals.
"We were struggling to find our feet in the second half. In the first
half, we had more drive, but we got tired and weren't concentrating
enough."
York coach Don Vana, whose squad exited the PepsiCo match with a
2-1-2 slate, agreed.
"We did get tired," he said. "And we played lazy at the end. It was a
tale of two halves. We played good for a while but not in the second
half."
Hersey skipper Darren Llewellyn said his team was "more disciplined"
following the break. "Once our center-backs got together, we didn't give (York) open
chances in the second half, " he said.
Senior defender Kayla Knauss said the Huskies "kind of wanted to see
how they (York) played in the first half -- then the second half we were more
disciplined to cover the seams. But, I mean, the game could have gone
either way."
The Huskies easily won the PK battle, scoring three-consecutive times
while the Dukes went 1-for-4, with junior midfielder Jenna Lundgren
notching the lone tally. On each miss, York fired directly at Hersey
goalkeeper Claire Gritt.
Meanwhile, Hersey senior midfielder Abby Wendell beat York junior
keeper Ellen Foley to the right side; senior defender Annie Korff and
senior forward Jessica Schmidt scored to the left.
"We knew what we had to do (in the PK round)," said Korff, Chicagoland
Soccer's MVP of the Match. "You can't have nerves."
In the first half, both teams raced up and down the field, creating
plenty of chances. Hersey opened the scoring in the 16th minute on a
goal by Wendell, who finished with a shot from the right side into the
far corner after senior forward Sara Magnuson charged the net with
some nifty moves to earn the assist.
York tied it at 1-1 just a minute later, when Bianchi buried a short
shot after accepting a pass from sophomore midfielder Jenna Lundgren.
The Dukes then took a brief 2-1 lead in the 21st minute, as Bianchi
picked up a loose ball in a scrum and fired it in from 15 yards out on
the right side.
Hersey responded in the 23rd minute. A well-placed free kick by Korff
was tapped in by sophomore midfielder Grace Kozurek to knot things up
at 2-2.
"I kicked it, and it landed in -- you try to drop it in the box," Korff said.
"We try to zone it in there," said Huskies coach Llewellyn, whose club improved to 6-1-1 with the win. "We're not that tall to dominate the air."
Defense dominated the action after the scoring burst, with opportunities limited due to tight marking on both sides of the field.
In the 47th minute, a corner kick by Wendell found sophomore midfielder Kelly Weyrich, but her attempt was blocked by York senior forward Alyssa Kovatchis. During the same sequence, Schmidt chased down a loose ball in front of the cage before Foley ran out to scoop it up.
About two minutes later, Dukes senior midfielder Carys Hund made a
nice run before dishing to Bianchi. That began a series of quick passes
between senior middie Madison Navarro, Kovatchis and senior defender
Emily Mueller, whose shot to the left side was snagged by Gritt.
A throw-in by Kozurek in the 52nd minute was corralled by Schmidt,
with junior defender Susan Lindstrom accepting Schmidt's pass for a
chance that was snuffed out by York junior defender Kaylin Kenny. Soon
after, a Hersey free kick was headed wide by Korff.
The Huskies had a solid chance in the 57th minute. Schmidt made a nice
diagonal run from right to left to blast through the Dukes' defense on
a partial breakaway, but she fired wide left.
A splendid sliding tackle by York senior defender Annalisa Lappo foiled a nice
give-and-go between Kozurek and Wendell in the 61st minute, and the
Dukes responded a minute later with a hard shot on goal by Lundgren,
followed two minutes later by a wide shot from Hund on a play set up
by Navarro.
Scoring chances were few and far between from that point on. In the
final two minutes, Schmidt rocketed a shot over the top of the net,
and York junior defender Ffyon Hund did the same following a deft
passing sequence among Bianchi, Navarro, senior midfielder Emily
Whitcomb and junior forward Madison Casey.
The overtime session saw Hersey's Kozurek missing wide left on a
shot from a wide angle, and York's Navarro firing a hard shot on net
from 15 yards out in the final seconds. Bianchi had the best chance
for either team in the second overtime, just missing on a diving shot in
traffic.
"They're a good team -- good passing and speed," Korff said.
"We're an aggressive team -- more athletic than technical -- and that
helped us (on Saturday). But we're still learning and working on
stuff."
Starting lineups
Hersey
GK: Claire Gritt
D: Carly Cooper
D: Kayla Knauss
D: Annie Korff
D: Susan Lindstrom
M: Emma Slosar
M: Abby Wendell
M: Kelly Weyrich
F: Sara Magnuson
F: Jessica Schmidt
F: Claire Callahan
York
GK: Ellen Foley
D: Annalisa Lappo
D: Emily Mueller
D: Jenna Dvorak
D: Kaylin Kenny
M: Jenna Lundgren
M: Emily Whitcomb
M: Madison Navarro
F: Jessica Bianchi
F: Madison Casey
F: Alyssa Kovatchis
MVP of the Match: Annie Korff, D, Hersey
Officials: Tim Csuri, Francisco Laureano, Francisco M. Laureano
Game turns into defensive struggle after 1st half goal flurry
By Ken Keenan
SCHAUMBURG -- An offensive slugfest between eventual victor
Hersey and York in the first half of PepsiCo Showdown play on Saturday
morphed into a defensive struggle the rest of the way, forcing penalty
kicks to decide the outcome of a 2-2 deadlock.
"I think in the first half we had a lot more energy," said York
senior forward Jessica Bianchi, who tallied both of the Dukes' goals.
"We were struggling to find our feet in the second half. In the first
half, we had more drive, but we got tired and weren't concentrating
enough."
York coach Don Vana, whose squad exited the PepsiCo match with a
2-1-2 slate, agreed.
"We did get tired," he said. "And we played lazy at the end. It was a
tale of two halves. We played good for a while but not in the second
half."
Hersey skipper Darren Llewellyn said his team was "more disciplined"
following the break. "Once our center-backs got together, we didn't give (York) open
chances in the second half, " he said.
Senior defender Kayla Knauss said the Huskies "kind of wanted to see
how they (York) played in the first half -- then the second half we were more
disciplined to cover the seams. But, I mean, the game could have gone
either way."
The Huskies easily won the PK battle, scoring three-consecutive times
while the Dukes went 1-for-4, with junior midfielder Jenna Lundgren
notching the lone tally. On each miss, York fired directly at Hersey
goalkeeper Claire Gritt.
Meanwhile, Hersey senior midfielder Abby Wendell beat York junior
keeper Ellen Foley to the right side; senior defender Annie Korff and
senior forward Jessica Schmidt scored to the left.
"We knew what we had to do (in the PK round)," said Korff, Chicagoland
Soccer's MVP of the Match. "You can't have nerves."
In the first half, both teams raced up and down the field, creating
plenty of chances. Hersey opened the scoring in the 16th minute on a
goal by Wendell, who finished with a shot from the right side into the
far corner after senior forward Sara Magnuson charged the net with
some nifty moves to earn the assist.
York tied it at 1-1 just a minute later, when Bianchi buried a short
shot after accepting a pass from sophomore midfielder Jenna Lundgren.
The Dukes then took a brief 2-1 lead in the 21st minute, as Bianchi
picked up a loose ball in a scrum and fired it in from 15 yards out on
the right side.
Hersey responded in the 23rd minute. A well-placed free kick by Korff
was tapped in by sophomore midfielder Grace Kozurek to knot things up
at 2-2.
"I kicked it, and it landed in -- you try to drop it in the box," Korff said.
"We try to zone it in there," said Huskies coach Llewellyn, whose club improved to 6-1-1 with the win. "We're not that tall to dominate the air."
Defense dominated the action after the scoring burst, with opportunities limited due to tight marking on both sides of the field.
In the 47th minute, a corner kick by Wendell found sophomore midfielder Kelly Weyrich, but her attempt was blocked by York senior forward Alyssa Kovatchis. During the same sequence, Schmidt chased down a loose ball in front of the cage before Foley ran out to scoop it up.
About two minutes later, Dukes senior midfielder Carys Hund made a
nice run before dishing to Bianchi. That began a series of quick passes
between senior middie Madison Navarro, Kovatchis and senior defender
Emily Mueller, whose shot to the left side was snagged by Gritt.
A throw-in by Kozurek in the 52nd minute was corralled by Schmidt,
with junior defender Susan Lindstrom accepting Schmidt's pass for a
chance that was snuffed out by York junior defender Kaylin Kenny. Soon
after, a Hersey free kick was headed wide by Korff.
The Huskies had a solid chance in the 57th minute. Schmidt made a nice
diagonal run from right to left to blast through the Dukes' defense on
a partial breakaway, but she fired wide left.
A splendid sliding tackle by York senior defender Annalisa Lappo foiled a nice
give-and-go between Kozurek and Wendell in the 61st minute, and the
Dukes responded a minute later with a hard shot on goal by Lundgren,
followed two minutes later by a wide shot from Hund on a play set up
by Navarro.
Scoring chances were few and far between from that point on. In the
final two minutes, Schmidt rocketed a shot over the top of the net,
and York junior defender Ffyon Hund did the same following a deft
passing sequence among Bianchi, Navarro, senior midfielder Emily
Whitcomb and junior forward Madison Casey.
The overtime session saw Hersey's Kozurek missing wide left on a
shot from a wide angle, and York's Navarro firing a hard shot on net
from 15 yards out in the final seconds. Bianchi had the best chance
for either team in the second overtime, just missing on a diving shot in
traffic.
"They're a good team -- good passing and speed," Korff said.
"We're an aggressive team -- more athletic than technical -- and that
helped us (on Saturday). But we're still learning and working on
stuff."
Starting lineups
Hersey
GK: Claire Gritt
D: Carly Cooper
D: Kayla Knauss
D: Annie Korff
D: Susan Lindstrom
M: Emma Slosar
M: Abby Wendell
M: Kelly Weyrich
F: Sara Magnuson
F: Jessica Schmidt
F: Claire Callahan
York
GK: Ellen Foley
D: Annalisa Lappo
D: Emily Mueller
D: Jenna Dvorak
D: Kaylin Kenny
M: Jenna Lundgren
M: Emily Whitcomb
M: Madison Navarro
F: Jessica Bianchi
F: Madison Casey
F: Alyssa Kovatchis
MVP of the Match: Annie Korff, D, Hersey
Officials: Tim Csuri, Francisco Laureano, Francisco M. Laureano