Carranza’s 1st-half hatter fuels
historic St. Charles East win
Saints dominant in 7-0 win over Glenbard North
By Steve Nemeth
ST. CHARLES -- Historical was a universal way to describe St. Charles East’s 7-0 Monday shutout of Glenbard North.
First and foremost, it was the milestone 600th victory for the program that boasts verifiable records dating back to 1982.
For Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match Chantel Carranza, it was her first hat trick as a varsity player for the storied Saints program.
Her initial goals were the result of stellar passing from Darcy Cunningham, who has evolved into the consummate setup artist and the personification of a senior leader. Her ninth and 10th assists for 2015 upped her career count to 42, making her the all-time leader among St. Charles East players.
The footnote signifies the time span since the original St. Charles program – which even pre-dates the IHSA’s initial girls state championship tournament in 1988 -- was split into the two current high schools, East and North, starting in the 2000-01 school year.
In terms of all-time program rankings, Cunningham is three short of Julie Atkocaitis, who is fifth with 45 assists. With at least 11 more regular season matches, the question becomes: Can Cunningham surpass No. 3 Anne (Poulin) Vostal (49), the current North Star head coach; No. 2 Becky Myers (52) or even career leader Marci Miller (57)?
Certainly not to be forgotten in all the celebrating is reserve Hannah Kolb’s second-half hat trick, which is also her first-time triple as a varsity player.
Minutes into the game, the Saints – now a perfect 9-0 -- had a corner kick thwarted by Glenbard North goalie Ariana DePinto. A dozen minutes in, the Saints had a try carom off the left post. And six minutes after that, an offside whistle erased a potential goal.
But there was no mistaking the outcome of Carranza’s seven-yarder from left of center 19:26 prior to halftime when the East substitute capitalized on a Cunningham pass.
A mere 17 seconds elapsed before Cunningham’s textbook cross led to Carranza finding the back of the net from six yards out on the right side.
“It was just up to me to finish those shots,” Carranza said. “It seems like we’ve done this before."
Cunningham chimed in while listening to Carranza describe the 2-0 Saints lead, saying, “Yeah, we make eye contact, and I know she’s going to be there."
That was the backbreaker for Glenbard North.
“I thought we were doing reasonably well until we committed the cardinal error of giving up two quick goals," he said. "Allowing a team to score twice within a minute is something that’s hard to recover from, especially against a quality team like East.”
If there was a glimmer of hope for the Panthers (now 3-4-1), it grew faint when Carranza used a pass from Megan O’Neal for a 15-yard laser from the right wing 14:27 prior to intermission.
That third strike boosted the freshman’s goal total to seven, two of which double as match winners.
Another dagger to Glenbard North’s collective heart came 51.6 seconds before the halftime horn. Kayla Polivka got enough of a touch to get the ball in front of Kolb for a 13-yard blast from just left of center for a 4-0 lead.
Just 6:54 into the second half, Carranza earned her first assist of the year by finding Kolb open on the left side for a nine-yarder that ricocheted off the crossbar and down inside the goal. There was 15:33 remaining when O’Neal poked the ball to the middle for a 12-yard boot from Kolb for a 6-0 lead.
“Being part of the 600th win for the program is special. Obviously it’s now even more memorable being my first hat trick on varsity,” Kolb said. “It’s not like I score a lot, so my aim is to contribute any way possible. We did a good job of pressuring (Glenbard North) from the start, so I just wanted to help us continue doing that.”
The Saints capped the scoring when Sonia Ost volleyed a ball to the middle. From there Julia Peterson popped a header over DePinto but under the crossbar with 10:23 left. That tally meant the remaining time was cut in half, and East soon moved to a perfect 7-0 lifetime against Glenbard North.
Thanks to the efforts of previous boosters and parents, followed up most recently by Mike Cunningham, a spread sheet now exists breaking down East’s performance against 111 different opponents since 1982. The Panthers have plenty of company on the list of schools that have never defeated the Saints.
In fact, only two consistent opponents can boast of winning records against the Saints, and both have direct ties to the program’s roots.
Joe Moreau coached the Saints from 1995 through 2001 before moving on to Neuqua Valley, which sports an 8-3-3 series lead. The aforementioned standout player, Ruth (Poulin) Vostal, heads up crosstown rival St. Charles North, which leads its series 10-6-2.
Loyola Academy won its only meeting against the Saints, as did Oakville and Nerinx, both of Missouri.
Barrington is 1-1, and Metea Valley is 0-0-2. A trio of out-of-state opponents (Bishop Foley (Mich.), Catholic Memorial (Wis.) and Waukesha Catholic (Wis.) are 0-0-1 in their respective meetings against St. Charles.
“Win No. 600 is an exceptional feat for a program of this quality, and as much as it means a lot to all of us today, it speaks to the many talented and committed people who built this legacy,” coach Paul Jennison insisted.
Substituting liberally throughout the game, Jennison was proud to note that virtually everyone on the roster played a part in defeating Glenbard North.
Technically, the Saints’ seventh shutout of the year was split between starter Sara Rosenfeldt and Melanie Domann, neither of whom had to make a true save. The duo filled in for regular goalie Alison Chesterfield. She sat out after receiving a red card during a 2-1 triumph Saturday over Geneva that gave the Saints the championship of the 26th annual Augsburg-Drach Invitational they hosted.
“Our entire defense did another solid job, but our entire roster made this win happen,” Jennison said. “I really believe that with the play of the girls who came in, someone could not look at the 11 on the field and differentiate who was or wasn’t a regular. They competed at the same level, and that speaks to the depth we have and the commitment made by everyone on the team.”
The bench contributions were notable given that East has a big match Tuesday. The Saints will to host Upstate Eight Conference foe Batavia in a showdown at 4:30 p.m. that could determine the River Division title winner.
However, on Monday, there was no mistaking the pride in the eyes of assistant coach Bernie Kehoe, who has helped Jennison during his seven-year tenure.
“Initially as a parent, having a daughter and two sons come through this school, I’ve had the good fortune to watch a lot of this history for the girls as well as the success for the boys program,” Kehoe said. “There’s no other way to describe it other than wonderful.”
While not a part of the 500th milestone, Darcy Cunningham helped produce victory No. 550 as well as No. 600.
“I can’t imagine being associated with anything so unique as a 600th victory,” Cunningham said.
Should anyone assume that her career status is confined to setting up others, the Washington University of St. Louis signee is also 21st on the St. Charles career goal chart. Only one of those 34 is from the current year.
“While I haven’t scored as much this year, I’ve been looking at other ways to contribute. With half our lineup being younger, I’m really not interested in any individual achievement as much as team success,” Cunningham said.
“Right now I’m actually content to see the joy on a teammate’s face when they score, so assists are just as gratifying. Whether it’s their first goal on varsity, their first hat trick, it’s part of producing the kind of team success we want at East.”
Starting lineups
Glenbard North
G Ariana DePinto
D Arianna Cllard
D Sarah Peters
D Katie Rissman
M Violet Jakupi
M Emily Dybowski
M Jamie Scott
M Aurellia Carulli
F Sammy Anon
F Amand Biondo
F Emma Martinez
St. Charles East
G Sara Rosenfeldt
D Sara Buetow
D Hayley Popiel
D Mallory Mollenhauer
D Maggie Smith
M Kelli Santo Paulo
M Kaitlyn Dziubinski
M Julie Herbrand
F Claire Rasmussen
F Darcy Cunningham
F Sophie Jendrezejczyk
MVP of the Match: Chantel Carranza, F, St. Charles East
Officials: Andy Moratto, Victor Herrera, Carlos Herrera
historic St. Charles East win
Saints dominant in 7-0 win over Glenbard North
By Steve Nemeth
ST. CHARLES -- Historical was a universal way to describe St. Charles East’s 7-0 Monday shutout of Glenbard North.
First and foremost, it was the milestone 600th victory for the program that boasts verifiable records dating back to 1982.
For Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match Chantel Carranza, it was her first hat trick as a varsity player for the storied Saints program.
Her initial goals were the result of stellar passing from Darcy Cunningham, who has evolved into the consummate setup artist and the personification of a senior leader. Her ninth and 10th assists for 2015 upped her career count to 42, making her the all-time leader among St. Charles East players.
The footnote signifies the time span since the original St. Charles program – which even pre-dates the IHSA’s initial girls state championship tournament in 1988 -- was split into the two current high schools, East and North, starting in the 2000-01 school year.
In terms of all-time program rankings, Cunningham is three short of Julie Atkocaitis, who is fifth with 45 assists. With at least 11 more regular season matches, the question becomes: Can Cunningham surpass No. 3 Anne (Poulin) Vostal (49), the current North Star head coach; No. 2 Becky Myers (52) or even career leader Marci Miller (57)?
Certainly not to be forgotten in all the celebrating is reserve Hannah Kolb’s second-half hat trick, which is also her first-time triple as a varsity player.
Minutes into the game, the Saints – now a perfect 9-0 -- had a corner kick thwarted by Glenbard North goalie Ariana DePinto. A dozen minutes in, the Saints had a try carom off the left post. And six minutes after that, an offside whistle erased a potential goal.
But there was no mistaking the outcome of Carranza’s seven-yarder from left of center 19:26 prior to halftime when the East substitute capitalized on a Cunningham pass.
A mere 17 seconds elapsed before Cunningham’s textbook cross led to Carranza finding the back of the net from six yards out on the right side.
“It was just up to me to finish those shots,” Carranza said. “It seems like we’ve done this before."
Cunningham chimed in while listening to Carranza describe the 2-0 Saints lead, saying, “Yeah, we make eye contact, and I know she’s going to be there."
That was the backbreaker for Glenbard North.
“I thought we were doing reasonably well until we committed the cardinal error of giving up two quick goals," he said. "Allowing a team to score twice within a minute is something that’s hard to recover from, especially against a quality team like East.”
If there was a glimmer of hope for the Panthers (now 3-4-1), it grew faint when Carranza used a pass from Megan O’Neal for a 15-yard laser from the right wing 14:27 prior to intermission.
That third strike boosted the freshman’s goal total to seven, two of which double as match winners.
Another dagger to Glenbard North’s collective heart came 51.6 seconds before the halftime horn. Kayla Polivka got enough of a touch to get the ball in front of Kolb for a 13-yard blast from just left of center for a 4-0 lead.
Just 6:54 into the second half, Carranza earned her first assist of the year by finding Kolb open on the left side for a nine-yarder that ricocheted off the crossbar and down inside the goal. There was 15:33 remaining when O’Neal poked the ball to the middle for a 12-yard boot from Kolb for a 6-0 lead.
“Being part of the 600th win for the program is special. Obviously it’s now even more memorable being my first hat trick on varsity,” Kolb said. “It’s not like I score a lot, so my aim is to contribute any way possible. We did a good job of pressuring (Glenbard North) from the start, so I just wanted to help us continue doing that.”
The Saints capped the scoring when Sonia Ost volleyed a ball to the middle. From there Julia Peterson popped a header over DePinto but under the crossbar with 10:23 left. That tally meant the remaining time was cut in half, and East soon moved to a perfect 7-0 lifetime against Glenbard North.
Thanks to the efforts of previous boosters and parents, followed up most recently by Mike Cunningham, a spread sheet now exists breaking down East’s performance against 111 different opponents since 1982. The Panthers have plenty of company on the list of schools that have never defeated the Saints.
In fact, only two consistent opponents can boast of winning records against the Saints, and both have direct ties to the program’s roots.
Joe Moreau coached the Saints from 1995 through 2001 before moving on to Neuqua Valley, which sports an 8-3-3 series lead. The aforementioned standout player, Ruth (Poulin) Vostal, heads up crosstown rival St. Charles North, which leads its series 10-6-2.
Loyola Academy won its only meeting against the Saints, as did Oakville and Nerinx, both of Missouri.
Barrington is 1-1, and Metea Valley is 0-0-2. A trio of out-of-state opponents (Bishop Foley (Mich.), Catholic Memorial (Wis.) and Waukesha Catholic (Wis.) are 0-0-1 in their respective meetings against St. Charles.
“Win No. 600 is an exceptional feat for a program of this quality, and as much as it means a lot to all of us today, it speaks to the many talented and committed people who built this legacy,” coach Paul Jennison insisted.
Substituting liberally throughout the game, Jennison was proud to note that virtually everyone on the roster played a part in defeating Glenbard North.
Technically, the Saints’ seventh shutout of the year was split between starter Sara Rosenfeldt and Melanie Domann, neither of whom had to make a true save. The duo filled in for regular goalie Alison Chesterfield. She sat out after receiving a red card during a 2-1 triumph Saturday over Geneva that gave the Saints the championship of the 26th annual Augsburg-Drach Invitational they hosted.
“Our entire defense did another solid job, but our entire roster made this win happen,” Jennison said. “I really believe that with the play of the girls who came in, someone could not look at the 11 on the field and differentiate who was or wasn’t a regular. They competed at the same level, and that speaks to the depth we have and the commitment made by everyone on the team.”
The bench contributions were notable given that East has a big match Tuesday. The Saints will to host Upstate Eight Conference foe Batavia in a showdown at 4:30 p.m. that could determine the River Division title winner.
However, on Monday, there was no mistaking the pride in the eyes of assistant coach Bernie Kehoe, who has helped Jennison during his seven-year tenure.
“Initially as a parent, having a daughter and two sons come through this school, I’ve had the good fortune to watch a lot of this history for the girls as well as the success for the boys program,” Kehoe said. “There’s no other way to describe it other than wonderful.”
While not a part of the 500th milestone, Darcy Cunningham helped produce victory No. 550 as well as No. 600.
“I can’t imagine being associated with anything so unique as a 600th victory,” Cunningham said.
Should anyone assume that her career status is confined to setting up others, the Washington University of St. Louis signee is also 21st on the St. Charles career goal chart. Only one of those 34 is from the current year.
“While I haven’t scored as much this year, I’ve been looking at other ways to contribute. With half our lineup being younger, I’m really not interested in any individual achievement as much as team success,” Cunningham said.
“Right now I’m actually content to see the joy on a teammate’s face when they score, so assists are just as gratifying. Whether it’s their first goal on varsity, their first hat trick, it’s part of producing the kind of team success we want at East.”
Starting lineups
Glenbard North
G Ariana DePinto
D Arianna Cllard
D Sarah Peters
D Katie Rissman
M Violet Jakupi
M Emily Dybowski
M Jamie Scott
M Aurellia Carulli
F Sammy Anon
F Amand Biondo
F Emma Martinez
St. Charles East
G Sara Rosenfeldt
D Sara Buetow
D Hayley Popiel
D Mallory Mollenhauer
D Maggie Smith
M Kelli Santo Paulo
M Kaitlyn Dziubinski
M Julie Herbrand
F Claire Rasmussen
F Darcy Cunningham
F Sophie Jendrezejczyk
MVP of the Match: Chantel Carranza, F, St. Charles East
Officials: Andy Moratto, Victor Herrera, Carlos Herrera