Carmel's rock-solid back line halts Nazareth
Sophomore Miller helps bar the door in 3-0 victory
By Rusty Silber
MUNDELEIN -- When Carmel began its season, it had to look for different players to lead its back line on defense, and it was no easy task putting it all together.
But the Corsairs have something to hang their hat on so far this season. They've started out with a 7-1-1 overall record and an unbeaten 3-0 mark in the East Suburban Catholic Conference after Carmel shut out visiting Nazareth 3-0 on Wednesday afternoon.
McKenzie Runyan, Amanda Lasso and Angela Salvi each scored for the Corsairs.
As for Carmel's defense, through nine matches they've allowed 7 goals, while junior keeper Christina O'Block earned her fourth-straight clean sheet with three stops.
Leading the way out of the back is sophomore Haley Miller. Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match takes on the sweeper role for the Corsairs.
"My goal is to make sure opposing teams don't get past the back line," Miller said. "Just keep the players in front of me and keep everyone organized. Being back there has been really exciting, but there's a lot of pressure."
Some of the work leads back to practice, which has helped a lot for game-time situations.
"We always coordinate things in practice," Miller said. "But you can't practice how things will go in a game. So we depend a lot more on our communication. We do rely on each other, and we know how each other plays pretty well."
The other players who join Miller in the back are seniors Mary Murphy and Emma Kobitter. They have worked their way up through the program and are starting this year for the first time. Also, freshman Elizabeth Sykes has been helpful coming in off the bench.
The Corsairs' defensive chemistry evolved last summer when they took notice of Miller and her backline mates.
"(Miller) has stepped up for us," Carmel coach John Halloran said. "In the summer, we saw her play that position in a tournament in Ohio. That really gave me the confidence that she can do the job. I told her after tryouts, 'I want you to win the job. Just be the person that we can rely on.'
"She has learned on the fly a little bit, with the sophisticated elements of the position. She has a ton of natural ability, works hard, and I can trust her to give me everything she's got. We're asking for a lot of responsibility but all of these girls are doing their parts "
Carmel also did its part offensively Wednesday by scoring in the first five minutes. McKenzie Runyan took a pass from Mackenzie Sheehan and found the back of the net for a 1-0 lead over Nazareth (5-2-1, 2-1).
The Corsairs added another one off the foot of Lasso on a setup by Megan Runyan for a 2-0 advantage in the 34th minute.
Carmel found an insurance goal in the early part of the second half, when Salvi scored in the 44th minute for the three-goal difference.
"It's nice to get another (victory)," Halloran said. "I did tell the girls at halftime, 'I didn't think that we played all that well.' We scored so early that they assumed that we were going to walk over (Nazareth), and that wasn't the case.
"You're just not going to do that against them. We took about a 30-minute break there. Then we picked up a second goal. They had a couple of chances against us, and we were lucky that they didn't score."
Nazareth has had a decent run of games this season and tried to stay with Carmel on the road. But the Roadrunners had a difficult time finding high-quality shots on goal.
"The team could never get into a rhythm on the field," Nazareth coach John Nikchevich said. "The game was a reminder to this group of young players how good the ESCC is in soccer. The players will need to reflect on the game and understand the steps they need to take. There are no easy teams in the ESCC."
Starting lineups
Nazareth
GK-Peggy Masterson
D-Emily Beedie
D-Briana Tovar
D-Emily Fredlin
D-Abby Shannon
MF-Lily Frank
MF-Adeline Doyle
MF-Claire Ramsey
MF-Mary Claire Harrington
F-Angelica Ariola
F-Kelly Renehan
Carmel
GK-Christina O'Block
D-Haley MIller
D-Emma Kobitter
D-Mary Murphy
MF-Megan Runyan
MF-McKenzie Runyan
MF-Amanda Lasso
MF-Erin Johnston
MF-Mackenzie Sheehan
F-Angela Salvi
F-Kayla Handel
MVP of the Match: Haley Miller, Carmel
Sophomore Miller helps bar the door in 3-0 victory
By Rusty Silber
MUNDELEIN -- When Carmel began its season, it had to look for different players to lead its back line on defense, and it was no easy task putting it all together.
But the Corsairs have something to hang their hat on so far this season. They've started out with a 7-1-1 overall record and an unbeaten 3-0 mark in the East Suburban Catholic Conference after Carmel shut out visiting Nazareth 3-0 on Wednesday afternoon.
McKenzie Runyan, Amanda Lasso and Angela Salvi each scored for the Corsairs.
As for Carmel's defense, through nine matches they've allowed 7 goals, while junior keeper Christina O'Block earned her fourth-straight clean sheet with three stops.
Leading the way out of the back is sophomore Haley Miller. Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match takes on the sweeper role for the Corsairs.
"My goal is to make sure opposing teams don't get past the back line," Miller said. "Just keep the players in front of me and keep everyone organized. Being back there has been really exciting, but there's a lot of pressure."
Some of the work leads back to practice, which has helped a lot for game-time situations.
"We always coordinate things in practice," Miller said. "But you can't practice how things will go in a game. So we depend a lot more on our communication. We do rely on each other, and we know how each other plays pretty well."
The other players who join Miller in the back are seniors Mary Murphy and Emma Kobitter. They have worked their way up through the program and are starting this year for the first time. Also, freshman Elizabeth Sykes has been helpful coming in off the bench.
The Corsairs' defensive chemistry evolved last summer when they took notice of Miller and her backline mates.
"(Miller) has stepped up for us," Carmel coach John Halloran said. "In the summer, we saw her play that position in a tournament in Ohio. That really gave me the confidence that she can do the job. I told her after tryouts, 'I want you to win the job. Just be the person that we can rely on.'
"She has learned on the fly a little bit, with the sophisticated elements of the position. She has a ton of natural ability, works hard, and I can trust her to give me everything she's got. We're asking for a lot of responsibility but all of these girls are doing their parts "
Carmel also did its part offensively Wednesday by scoring in the first five minutes. McKenzie Runyan took a pass from Mackenzie Sheehan and found the back of the net for a 1-0 lead over Nazareth (5-2-1, 2-1).
The Corsairs added another one off the foot of Lasso on a setup by Megan Runyan for a 2-0 advantage in the 34th minute.
Carmel found an insurance goal in the early part of the second half, when Salvi scored in the 44th minute for the three-goal difference.
"It's nice to get another (victory)," Halloran said. "I did tell the girls at halftime, 'I didn't think that we played all that well.' We scored so early that they assumed that we were going to walk over (Nazareth), and that wasn't the case.
"You're just not going to do that against them. We took about a 30-minute break there. Then we picked up a second goal. They had a couple of chances against us, and we were lucky that they didn't score."
Nazareth has had a decent run of games this season and tried to stay with Carmel on the road. But the Roadrunners had a difficult time finding high-quality shots on goal.
"The team could never get into a rhythm on the field," Nazareth coach John Nikchevich said. "The game was a reminder to this group of young players how good the ESCC is in soccer. The players will need to reflect on the game and understand the steps they need to take. There are no easy teams in the ESCC."
Starting lineups
Nazareth
GK-Peggy Masterson
D-Emily Beedie
D-Briana Tovar
D-Emily Fredlin
D-Abby Shannon
MF-Lily Frank
MF-Adeline Doyle
MF-Claire Ramsey
MF-Mary Claire Harrington
F-Angelica Ariola
F-Kelly Renehan
Carmel
GK-Christina O'Block
D-Haley MIller
D-Emma Kobitter
D-Mary Murphy
MF-Megan Runyan
MF-McKenzie Runyan
MF-Amanda Lasso
MF-Erin Johnston
MF-Mackenzie Sheehan
F-Angela Salvi
F-Kayla Handel
MVP of the Match: Haley Miller, Carmel