Hinsdale Central falls
victim to New Trier blitz
No. 4 Red Devils yield to top-seeded Trevians
By Patrick Z. McGavin
SCHAUMBURG — Michael Smith knew the most dangerous part of playing defending state champion New Trier was how the Red Devils countered the Trevians' early opportunity offense.
"Everybody that plays against New Trier, you know they want to come out in the first five or 10 minutes and score a couple of goals and take you out early," said Smith, the Red Devils' coach. "We talked with our girls about this before the game and we thought we were ready to handle their early pressure, but we just made too many mistakes."
New Trier stunned the fourth-seeded Red Devils by scoring three times in the first 28 minutes as the defending tournament champion and top-seed posted an impressive 4-1 victory in a PepsiCo Showdown semifinal at Olympic Park here Saturday.
Playing in their first-ever Pepsi tournament, Hinsdale Central (8-2) was floored by the Trevians' precision passing and high attack, which left them disorganized.
"I thought we were ready to play, because we knew coming in that New Trier was a great team," Hinsdale Central junior forward Emma Dannhausen-Brun said. "At the start of the game, I thought we matched them and took it to them, but they got the one goal and a couple of lucky ones after that."
New Trier star forward Kelly Maday asserted her claim to being the state's top junior. The University of Illinois recruit and Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match scored a goal and assisted on forward Haley Yamada's finish to power the undefeated Trevians (11-0).
Maday showed no ill effects from a sprained thumb suffered during practice earlier in the week. She wore a soft cast on her left arm.
"I was trying to avoid a collision, and I got hit with the ball," she said. "When I fell today, it hurt a little bit, but otherwise it wasn't too bad. I didn't feel anything when I was running."
Her speed and creativity make her particularly dangerous in open space. In the 13th minute, she drove down the left edge and had the option of either slotting the ball or taking her own shot. Her left-footed blast from about nine yards out clipped the side of a Hinsdale Central defender and squeezed inside the post for the opening goal.
"I took that dribble and as I was trying to slot it back with my left foot, I was either trying to play it far post or have someone get that job done for me," she said. "The defender ended up running right through my pass."
Hinsdale Central has the athletes and defenders to match up with the Trevians. In New Trier's 1-0 victory over Hersey in the quarterfinals, the Huskies flooded the back with extra defenders to clog up the passing lanes.
Smith had Hinsdale Central play the Trevians ostensibly straight up, using his normal formation. He was not going to back down.
"That's the whole reason we got into this tournament -- because we want to play the New Triers and see where we stand," Smith said.
New Trier coach Jim Burnside said, "I thought the girls did a great job. We're playing against a very athletic, well-organized team, and that No. 15 [Dannhausen-Brun] is a tremendous player. They came at us and didn't back down from us in the least, nor should they."
After matching the Trevians in the first 15 minutes, the next stretch unmade the Red Devils. New Trier forward Maggie Armstrong pushed her team's lead to 2-0 in the 18th minute by smashing in a ball at the top of the box off a sharp feed from forward Bina Saipi.
"After that first goal it got our confidence up. Nothing really stopped us after that, and we just kept going," Maday said. "We knew we could find ways to break them down."
Junior goalkeeper Katy Coseglia made two spectacular saves in the first half to keep the Red Devils close. She deftly bolted from the box to deny a breakaway by the Trevians' Jackie Welch and stopped a point-blank shot from an impossible angle.
Hinsdale Central finally caught itself late in the first half and began to accumulate greater possession time and connect on its passes. The Red Devils were especially dangerous on set pieces. On one, Erin Smith smashed a header off a free kick that repelled off the post.
Hinsdale Central finally broke through in the 38th minute as junior reserve forward Melanie Sims registered her first score of the year on a beautifully designed set piece. Corner specialist Lauren Cangelosi lofted a perfect ball that Sims elevated on with a sharp and dramatic header.
The goal energized the Red Devils, who played looser and with more purpose at the start of the second half. Hinsdale Central managed several strong scoring threats, including a ball from the upper edge of the box by Lizzie Nelson that Trevians keeper Dani Kaufman made a strong play on.
The play of the game occurred in the 55th minute. Off another free kick, Hinsdale Central sophomore Erin Otto controlled the ball as Kaufman was pulled out of the net by the scramble. Her shot was headed for a seemingly certain goal before Trevian defender Caroline Smith emerged from seemingly nowhere to knock the ball offline.
The play that did not bring Hinsdale Central within 3-2 was its last significant scoring threat of the day. Then Maday put the game out of reach in the 62nd minute as she bounded down the left side and left a perfect ball for Yamada.
"This was definitely one of our best games this year, especially to do it against a team I hadn't played before," Maday said. "They're a great team, and they were hard to break down in the back. They could keep up with us and they were big, so we had to go at them and try and find the gaps, split their defense and try to find runs over the top."
Despite the loss, Smith saw positives.
"After that we settled down there, I thought we had some good play in the middle, and I liked the fight and spirit of the team, even after we were down," he said. "Now we know what it's like to play against a team like that.
"Hopefully we'll get a chance to see them again, and if we do, we're going to play a lot better."
Starting lineups
Hinsdale Central
GK: Katy Coseglia
D: Lauren Cangelosi
D: Maeve McLaughlin
D: Erin Smith
D: Jenny Saviski
M: Kaitlyn Livingston
M: Katie Murphy
M: Emily LaRocque
M: Lizzie Nelson
F: Emma Dannhausen-Brun
F: Erin Otto
New Trier
GK: Dani Kaufman
D: Caroline Smith
D: Jen Fishman
D: Megan Murdoch
D: Jackie Welch
M: Adena Kerzner
M: Bina Saipi
M: Dana Ulrich
M: Katie Sadera
F: Kelly Maday
F: Maggie Armstrong
MVP of the Match: Kelly Maday, F, New Trier
Officials: Miguel Chavez, Zach Richter, Vic Walker
victim to New Trier blitz
No. 4 Red Devils yield to top-seeded Trevians
By Patrick Z. McGavin
SCHAUMBURG — Michael Smith knew the most dangerous part of playing defending state champion New Trier was how the Red Devils countered the Trevians' early opportunity offense.
"Everybody that plays against New Trier, you know they want to come out in the first five or 10 minutes and score a couple of goals and take you out early," said Smith, the Red Devils' coach. "We talked with our girls about this before the game and we thought we were ready to handle their early pressure, but we just made too many mistakes."
New Trier stunned the fourth-seeded Red Devils by scoring three times in the first 28 minutes as the defending tournament champion and top-seed posted an impressive 4-1 victory in a PepsiCo Showdown semifinal at Olympic Park here Saturday.
Playing in their first-ever Pepsi tournament, Hinsdale Central (8-2) was floored by the Trevians' precision passing and high attack, which left them disorganized.
"I thought we were ready to play, because we knew coming in that New Trier was a great team," Hinsdale Central junior forward Emma Dannhausen-Brun said. "At the start of the game, I thought we matched them and took it to them, but they got the one goal and a couple of lucky ones after that."
New Trier star forward Kelly Maday asserted her claim to being the state's top junior. The University of Illinois recruit and Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match scored a goal and assisted on forward Haley Yamada's finish to power the undefeated Trevians (11-0).
Maday showed no ill effects from a sprained thumb suffered during practice earlier in the week. She wore a soft cast on her left arm.
"I was trying to avoid a collision, and I got hit with the ball," she said. "When I fell today, it hurt a little bit, but otherwise it wasn't too bad. I didn't feel anything when I was running."
Her speed and creativity make her particularly dangerous in open space. In the 13th minute, she drove down the left edge and had the option of either slotting the ball or taking her own shot. Her left-footed blast from about nine yards out clipped the side of a Hinsdale Central defender and squeezed inside the post for the opening goal.
"I took that dribble and as I was trying to slot it back with my left foot, I was either trying to play it far post or have someone get that job done for me," she said. "The defender ended up running right through my pass."
Hinsdale Central has the athletes and defenders to match up with the Trevians. In New Trier's 1-0 victory over Hersey in the quarterfinals, the Huskies flooded the back with extra defenders to clog up the passing lanes.
Smith had Hinsdale Central play the Trevians ostensibly straight up, using his normal formation. He was not going to back down.
"That's the whole reason we got into this tournament -- because we want to play the New Triers and see where we stand," Smith said.
New Trier coach Jim Burnside said, "I thought the girls did a great job. We're playing against a very athletic, well-organized team, and that No. 15 [Dannhausen-Brun] is a tremendous player. They came at us and didn't back down from us in the least, nor should they."
After matching the Trevians in the first 15 minutes, the next stretch unmade the Red Devils. New Trier forward Maggie Armstrong pushed her team's lead to 2-0 in the 18th minute by smashing in a ball at the top of the box off a sharp feed from forward Bina Saipi.
"After that first goal it got our confidence up. Nothing really stopped us after that, and we just kept going," Maday said. "We knew we could find ways to break them down."
Junior goalkeeper Katy Coseglia made two spectacular saves in the first half to keep the Red Devils close. She deftly bolted from the box to deny a breakaway by the Trevians' Jackie Welch and stopped a point-blank shot from an impossible angle.
Hinsdale Central finally caught itself late in the first half and began to accumulate greater possession time and connect on its passes. The Red Devils were especially dangerous on set pieces. On one, Erin Smith smashed a header off a free kick that repelled off the post.
Hinsdale Central finally broke through in the 38th minute as junior reserve forward Melanie Sims registered her first score of the year on a beautifully designed set piece. Corner specialist Lauren Cangelosi lofted a perfect ball that Sims elevated on with a sharp and dramatic header.
The goal energized the Red Devils, who played looser and with more purpose at the start of the second half. Hinsdale Central managed several strong scoring threats, including a ball from the upper edge of the box by Lizzie Nelson that Trevians keeper Dani Kaufman made a strong play on.
The play of the game occurred in the 55th minute. Off another free kick, Hinsdale Central sophomore Erin Otto controlled the ball as Kaufman was pulled out of the net by the scramble. Her shot was headed for a seemingly certain goal before Trevian defender Caroline Smith emerged from seemingly nowhere to knock the ball offline.
The play that did not bring Hinsdale Central within 3-2 was its last significant scoring threat of the day. Then Maday put the game out of reach in the 62nd minute as she bounded down the left side and left a perfect ball for Yamada.
"This was definitely one of our best games this year, especially to do it against a team I hadn't played before," Maday said. "They're a great team, and they were hard to break down in the back. They could keep up with us and they were big, so we had to go at them and try and find the gaps, split their defense and try to find runs over the top."
Despite the loss, Smith saw positives.
"After that we settled down there, I thought we had some good play in the middle, and I liked the fight and spirit of the team, even after we were down," he said. "Now we know what it's like to play against a team like that.
"Hopefully we'll get a chance to see them again, and if we do, we're going to play a lot better."
Starting lineups
Hinsdale Central
GK: Katy Coseglia
D: Lauren Cangelosi
D: Maeve McLaughlin
D: Erin Smith
D: Jenny Saviski
M: Kaitlyn Livingston
M: Katie Murphy
M: Emily LaRocque
M: Lizzie Nelson
F: Emma Dannhausen-Brun
F: Erin Otto
New Trier
GK: Dani Kaufman
D: Caroline Smith
D: Jen Fishman
D: Megan Murdoch
D: Jackie Welch
M: Adena Kerzner
M: Bina Saipi
M: Dana Ulrich
M: Katie Sadera
F: Kelly Maday
F: Maggie Armstrong
MVP of the Match: Kelly Maday, F, New Trier
Officials: Miguel Chavez, Zach Richter, Vic Walker