St. Charles North feasts
on seconds against Geneva
North Stars show vast improvement in 3-1 victory
By Patrick Z. McGavin
GENEVA -- Soccer is a game of adages steeped in recognition. It is how games are explained and decoded. One of the elemental beliefs is that game action is impossible to simulate. The second is that no team ever makes such a striking improvement as when it goes from its first to second games.
St. Charles North had played one game so far, and flailed around offensively and never got into rhythm in losing last week against a solid Conant side 1-0. Geneva was trying to get loose and make sense of it all.
The visiting North Stars illustrated the advantage of having that game to call on.
St. Charles North senior forward Hanna Durocher punched in a ball slotted to her from freshman forward Gia Wahlberg in the third minute and the North Stars registered two more impressive first half goals. Those scores held up for the 3-1 victory over the Vikings here Wednesday night in the teams' Upstate Eight Conference River Division opener.
"It's always great, to start the year, to have that first game and see what you have," St. Charles North coach Ruth Vostal said. The North Stars looked more fluid and cohesive in a dominant opening 40 minutes that saw them control possession, tempo and the flow of the match.
"Against Conant, that was our first time really seeing everybody," Vostal said. "It's different from being inside a gym practicing. You get outside and you see the speed, you see the stamina. I was very pleased with our offensive performance.
"I thought we did a good job of creating opportunities and finishing them."
Durocher is one of four returning starters. The Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match established an intense and concentrated energy that the North Stars (1-1) rode throughout an impressive first half.
"Coach Vostal always talks about coming out hard and getting that fast start," Durocher said. "I'm a senior, a leader of the team, and I know it's on me. Even in warmups, I was feeling it. We had a lot of intensity, and we just knew we had to go out there and get [offensive] chances."
Wahlberg directed Durocher the through ball and blasted it from about 12 yards inside the near post in the third minute. Advantage North Stars. "It was a fast play," Durocher said. "The slot balls are very hard to defend and save. I just knew I had to get it off quickly because you don't get those opportunities very often, and when you do, you have to be able to finish them."
Hot starts make all the difference. Fortune favors the bold, goes another adage. St. Charles North took the first shot, and it landed. "It was very important to get that fast start, which we talked about, because we have a lot of young players and the fast start, I think, gave them a lot of confidence," Vostal said.
St. Charles North sustained its edge, working the middle with Durocher and midfielder Lizzie Parrilli. And Katy Kusswurm, a sophomore reserve who shuttles between forward and midfielder, made her presence felt.
Running in stride, Kusswurm controlled a through ball and cut through the Vikings' interior and finished with her left foot from about 12 yards out for the 2-0 North Stars advantage. "We talked about winning the 50-50 balls, which I think we did a good job on, and that created more possession time and greater chances," Vostal said.
The cumulative effect also showed. St. Charles North was energized. Geneva was reeling. The Vikings only managed one shot in the first half, on a free kick.
"This was a pretty daunting task to play against a program like St. Charles North in your first game of the year," Geneva coach Megan Owens said. "We have a lot of young kids, six freshmen and six sophomores, and the nerves showed."
A DePaul recruit, North Stars senior Parrilli punctuated the sterling first-half play by smashing home a short ball in the 33rd minute. As one-sided as the match was in the first half, Geneva (0-1) received some exceptional play by talented sophomore Emma Harkleroad, who recorded nine saves.
She made two spectacular stops in the first half to mitigate the damage done by the North Stars. "Every game is an opportunity to get better and improve," Parrilli said. "We knew Geneva is a great team, so this was a great win for us."
The news was not all bleak for the Vikings. In the 56th minute, freshman Kateyn Keenehan broke the shutout with her first career goal after midfielder Emily Hauser poached a ball that she cut through two defenders and finished from about nine yards out.
"We were down 3-0 at that point, and it was hard to get our adrenaline going," Keenehan said. "But at that moment we also felt like we just needed one goal to get our hearts going, and we were able to do that."
Likewise, Owens took a big-picture approach. "As a coach, am I satisfied with the score? No, of course not, but I saw things I liked and we played much better in the second half, and we put a goal in, which was very promising.
"We're taking a look at different things, and the season is young. I'm really proud of how hard we worked in the second half because it speaks to the potential of this team."
Starting lineups
St. Charles North
GK: Shelby Stitz
D: Raine Roberts
D: Claire Barresi
D: Lauren Neslund
M: Morgan Rerko
M: Lizzie Parrilli
M: Lauren Willis
M: Hailey Rydberg
F: Hanna Durocher
F: Gia Wahlberg
F: Taylor Sypien
Geneva
GK: Emma Harkleroad
D: Quincy Swanson
D: Megan Newingham
D: Leah Groven
D: Briar Schwardt
M: Megan Fitz
M: Emily Hauser
F: Allie Mikos
F: Olivia Tegge
F: Megan Albrecht
F: Mary Landry
Officials: Jeff Ryder (center), Dave Kintz, Steve Sarto
MVP: Hanna Durocher, F, St. Charles North
on seconds against Geneva
North Stars show vast improvement in 3-1 victory
By Patrick Z. McGavin
GENEVA -- Soccer is a game of adages steeped in recognition. It is how games are explained and decoded. One of the elemental beliefs is that game action is impossible to simulate. The second is that no team ever makes such a striking improvement as when it goes from its first to second games.
St. Charles North had played one game so far, and flailed around offensively and never got into rhythm in losing last week against a solid Conant side 1-0. Geneva was trying to get loose and make sense of it all.
The visiting North Stars illustrated the advantage of having that game to call on.
St. Charles North senior forward Hanna Durocher punched in a ball slotted to her from freshman forward Gia Wahlberg in the third minute and the North Stars registered two more impressive first half goals. Those scores held up for the 3-1 victory over the Vikings here Wednesday night in the teams' Upstate Eight Conference River Division opener.
"It's always great, to start the year, to have that first game and see what you have," St. Charles North coach Ruth Vostal said. The North Stars looked more fluid and cohesive in a dominant opening 40 minutes that saw them control possession, tempo and the flow of the match.
"Against Conant, that was our first time really seeing everybody," Vostal said. "It's different from being inside a gym practicing. You get outside and you see the speed, you see the stamina. I was very pleased with our offensive performance.
"I thought we did a good job of creating opportunities and finishing them."
Durocher is one of four returning starters. The Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match established an intense and concentrated energy that the North Stars (1-1) rode throughout an impressive first half.
"Coach Vostal always talks about coming out hard and getting that fast start," Durocher said. "I'm a senior, a leader of the team, and I know it's on me. Even in warmups, I was feeling it. We had a lot of intensity, and we just knew we had to go out there and get [offensive] chances."
Wahlberg directed Durocher the through ball and blasted it from about 12 yards inside the near post in the third minute. Advantage North Stars. "It was a fast play," Durocher said. "The slot balls are very hard to defend and save. I just knew I had to get it off quickly because you don't get those opportunities very often, and when you do, you have to be able to finish them."
Hot starts make all the difference. Fortune favors the bold, goes another adage. St. Charles North took the first shot, and it landed. "It was very important to get that fast start, which we talked about, because we have a lot of young players and the fast start, I think, gave them a lot of confidence," Vostal said.
St. Charles North sustained its edge, working the middle with Durocher and midfielder Lizzie Parrilli. And Katy Kusswurm, a sophomore reserve who shuttles between forward and midfielder, made her presence felt.
Running in stride, Kusswurm controlled a through ball and cut through the Vikings' interior and finished with her left foot from about 12 yards out for the 2-0 North Stars advantage. "We talked about winning the 50-50 balls, which I think we did a good job on, and that created more possession time and greater chances," Vostal said.
The cumulative effect also showed. St. Charles North was energized. Geneva was reeling. The Vikings only managed one shot in the first half, on a free kick.
"This was a pretty daunting task to play against a program like St. Charles North in your first game of the year," Geneva coach Megan Owens said. "We have a lot of young kids, six freshmen and six sophomores, and the nerves showed."
A DePaul recruit, North Stars senior Parrilli punctuated the sterling first-half play by smashing home a short ball in the 33rd minute. As one-sided as the match was in the first half, Geneva (0-1) received some exceptional play by talented sophomore Emma Harkleroad, who recorded nine saves.
She made two spectacular stops in the first half to mitigate the damage done by the North Stars. "Every game is an opportunity to get better and improve," Parrilli said. "We knew Geneva is a great team, so this was a great win for us."
The news was not all bleak for the Vikings. In the 56th minute, freshman Kateyn Keenehan broke the shutout with her first career goal after midfielder Emily Hauser poached a ball that she cut through two defenders and finished from about nine yards out.
"We were down 3-0 at that point, and it was hard to get our adrenaline going," Keenehan said. "But at that moment we also felt like we just needed one goal to get our hearts going, and we were able to do that."
Likewise, Owens took a big-picture approach. "As a coach, am I satisfied with the score? No, of course not, but I saw things I liked and we played much better in the second half, and we put a goal in, which was very promising.
"We're taking a look at different things, and the season is young. I'm really proud of how hard we worked in the second half because it speaks to the potential of this team."
Starting lineups
St. Charles North
GK: Shelby Stitz
D: Raine Roberts
D: Claire Barresi
D: Lauren Neslund
M: Morgan Rerko
M: Lizzie Parrilli
M: Lauren Willis
M: Hailey Rydberg
F: Hanna Durocher
F: Gia Wahlberg
F: Taylor Sypien
Geneva
GK: Emma Harkleroad
D: Quincy Swanson
D: Megan Newingham
D: Leah Groven
D: Briar Schwardt
M: Megan Fitz
M: Emily Hauser
F: Allie Mikos
F: Olivia Tegge
F: Megan Albrecht
F: Mary Landry
Officials: Jeff Ryder (center), Dave Kintz, Steve Sarto
MVP: Hanna Durocher, F, St. Charles North