Glenbard E. goes back-to-back vs. Andrew
Windy City champ defeats finals foe to open 2018 title defense
By Mike Garofola
LOMBARD -- Two first half goals by Mimi Camacho helped Glenbard East to a well-deserved 3-0 victory Wednesday afternoon that gave the Rams the perfect start to their defense of the Windy City Ram Classic.
Camacho got her club off to a flying start just four minutes into its tournament opener, then doubled the Rams advantage in the 16th minute to all but insure they would move on into the next round on Thursday when they host Providence, which rolled over Oak Lawn 7-0.
"For a first game of the season, it wasn't too bad out there today," admitted Rams manager Kent Overbey.
"You could see we were trying to do some thimean, knocking the ball around, building our attack, and doing our best to find feet. At times, we looked like we were in midseason form, and others not so.
"But Andrew had something to say about that also. They came out strong, surprising us with their physical play and a couple of good chances in the early going. But fortunately we have Faith Davies as our keeper, and she came through when we needed her to."
Davies, who as a sophomore was a starting outside-back for the Rams third place state team, has turned into a terrific player between the sticks for Overbey. When Andrew's talented junior Megan Nemec unloaded a pair of close-range angled shots just after the opening whistle, it was Davies who turned away both blasts to keep the visiting Thunderbolts off the scoreboard.
"We've come to expect that from Faith," admitted Overbey, whose club defeated Andrew, 4-0 in the 2017 Windy City Classic final.
The Rams, ranked no. 23 in Chicagoland Soccer's preseason Top 25, were more than ready to begin their season.
"We were all excited to begin play on Tuesday. But when it was called off because of the cold weather, it made all of us (more) anxious to get started today," said senior, Katie Hansen, who wore the captain's armband along with Elizabeth Toledo and Mattie Pusateri. "So when they finally got here, I think we were all ready to go."
And the team was primed to play well together.
"Our 2017 team was really close. But this year, even though we have so many new players, we have already formed a tight bond, and it showed today," added Camacho, who was named Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match for her efforts. "We played pretty well for our first time out."
The senior finished past Thunderbolts keeper Gabby Sportiella after Toledo put a lovely ball through to allow her teammate to break free of the Andrew central defenders.
She nearly added another to the scoreline minutes later when an early ball from Toledo forced Sportiella far off her line and out of the box in hopes of slowing the speedy Rams striker.
The homeside continued to pile on the pressure with consecutive corners from Pusateri. The first was parried away by the Andrew backline. The second attempt was not handled as well -- Glenbard East's Alyse Donato was able to send a well-placed ball back to the spot.
That's where a valiant effort by Sportiella spilled freely to an opportunistic Camacho, who headed into the back of the net from close range.
With a strong wind at its back, the Rams forced Andrew to defend far more than it would have liked. But on a couple of occasions the visitors were dangerous when they had the chance. The Thunderbolts found the aforementioned Nemec and her teammate Erin Jaskierski on a counter.
"We were without two of our starters, but that's not an excuse for our loss," began Andrew manager Loren Zolk.
"We played well at times, but Glenbard East was better than we were today. I know as the season goes on, we'll be a much better overall team."
Sportiella would come to the rescue for the Thunderbolts just before the intermission.
On the other end of the park, Andrew had a pair of corners that were diffused by Hansen and her backline mates Sam Johnson, Summer Garcia and Pusateri, who defended well to help keep the Rams two-goal advantage safe.
"We have several new players this year, including a couple of new starters along the back," said Hansen, who will play next fall for the University of Montana. "But even with that, I thought we kept our shape and communicated really well for our first game together. So it was a good start for our defense,"
Keeper Davies was directly involved in the Rams third and final strike of the afternoon.
The senior unloaded a monster punt into the teeth of a strong wind, and it found Camacho alone near the midline.
From there, the two-goal scorer turned provider when she put an inch-perfect ball onto the foot of Lindsey Novak, whose angled run allowed enough time and space to steer in her shot from the right side into the far corner just two minutes into the second period.
That was all Glenbard East would need but credit Andrew, which did not give in despite chasing three goals.
Allison Jensen went wide with her attempt from 18 yards, and two outstanding tackles from Toledo stopped any potential trouble inside the Rams box midway through the half.
Overbey brought on fresh legs from time to time in order to get many of his players a taste of the action. Freshman Maddie Weltin showing she can be one to count on all throughout the season with her pace and solid runs while up-top.
"To finally get out and play was great for all of us, and to be able to mix in our bench with our starters during the game to get them valuable time was big also," said Overbey.
"As I said before, we did well in our first time out, especially against a quality opponent. Now we'll see how we come out and play against Providence."
Starting lineups
Andrew
GK- Gabby Sportiello
D- Addison Lim
D- Bridget Tunney
D- Emma Lehnert
D- Nicole Koppers
M- Kristina Karstensen
M- Megan Nemec
M- Brandi Muys
M- Samantha Termunde
F- Samatha Koppers
F- Erin Jaskierski
Glenbard East
GK- Faith Davies
D- Sam Johnson
D- Katie Hansen
D- Mattie Pusateri
D- Summer Garcia
M- Lindsay Novak
M- Aylse Donato
M- Ali Liljestrand
M- Amy Chiero
F- Mimi Camacho
F- Elizabeth Toledo
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Mimi Camacho, sr., F, Glenbard East
Game summary
Glenbard East
Camacho (Toledo) 4'
Camacho (Donato) 16'
Novak (Camacho) 37'
Yellow cards:
Megan Nemec (Glenbard East) dissent
Center official: Brad Richter
Windy City champ defeats finals foe to open 2018 title defense
By Mike Garofola
LOMBARD -- Two first half goals by Mimi Camacho helped Glenbard East to a well-deserved 3-0 victory Wednesday afternoon that gave the Rams the perfect start to their defense of the Windy City Ram Classic.
Camacho got her club off to a flying start just four minutes into its tournament opener, then doubled the Rams advantage in the 16th minute to all but insure they would move on into the next round on Thursday when they host Providence, which rolled over Oak Lawn 7-0.
"For a first game of the season, it wasn't too bad out there today," admitted Rams manager Kent Overbey.
"You could see we were trying to do some thimean, knocking the ball around, building our attack, and doing our best to find feet. At times, we looked like we were in midseason form, and others not so.
"But Andrew had something to say about that also. They came out strong, surprising us with their physical play and a couple of good chances in the early going. But fortunately we have Faith Davies as our keeper, and she came through when we needed her to."
Davies, who as a sophomore was a starting outside-back for the Rams third place state team, has turned into a terrific player between the sticks for Overbey. When Andrew's talented junior Megan Nemec unloaded a pair of close-range angled shots just after the opening whistle, it was Davies who turned away both blasts to keep the visiting Thunderbolts off the scoreboard.
"We've come to expect that from Faith," admitted Overbey, whose club defeated Andrew, 4-0 in the 2017 Windy City Classic final.
The Rams, ranked no. 23 in Chicagoland Soccer's preseason Top 25, were more than ready to begin their season.
"We were all excited to begin play on Tuesday. But when it was called off because of the cold weather, it made all of us (more) anxious to get started today," said senior, Katie Hansen, who wore the captain's armband along with Elizabeth Toledo and Mattie Pusateri. "So when they finally got here, I think we were all ready to go."
And the team was primed to play well together.
"Our 2017 team was really close. But this year, even though we have so many new players, we have already formed a tight bond, and it showed today," added Camacho, who was named Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match for her efforts. "We played pretty well for our first time out."
The senior finished past Thunderbolts keeper Gabby Sportiella after Toledo put a lovely ball through to allow her teammate to break free of the Andrew central defenders.
She nearly added another to the scoreline minutes later when an early ball from Toledo forced Sportiella far off her line and out of the box in hopes of slowing the speedy Rams striker.
The homeside continued to pile on the pressure with consecutive corners from Pusateri. The first was parried away by the Andrew backline. The second attempt was not handled as well -- Glenbard East's Alyse Donato was able to send a well-placed ball back to the spot.
That's where a valiant effort by Sportiella spilled freely to an opportunistic Camacho, who headed into the back of the net from close range.
With a strong wind at its back, the Rams forced Andrew to defend far more than it would have liked. But on a couple of occasions the visitors were dangerous when they had the chance. The Thunderbolts found the aforementioned Nemec and her teammate Erin Jaskierski on a counter.
"We were without two of our starters, but that's not an excuse for our loss," began Andrew manager Loren Zolk.
"We played well at times, but Glenbard East was better than we were today. I know as the season goes on, we'll be a much better overall team."
Sportiella would come to the rescue for the Thunderbolts just before the intermission.
On the other end of the park, Andrew had a pair of corners that were diffused by Hansen and her backline mates Sam Johnson, Summer Garcia and Pusateri, who defended well to help keep the Rams two-goal advantage safe.
"We have several new players this year, including a couple of new starters along the back," said Hansen, who will play next fall for the University of Montana. "But even with that, I thought we kept our shape and communicated really well for our first game together. So it was a good start for our defense,"
Keeper Davies was directly involved in the Rams third and final strike of the afternoon.
The senior unloaded a monster punt into the teeth of a strong wind, and it found Camacho alone near the midline.
From there, the two-goal scorer turned provider when she put an inch-perfect ball onto the foot of Lindsey Novak, whose angled run allowed enough time and space to steer in her shot from the right side into the far corner just two minutes into the second period.
That was all Glenbard East would need but credit Andrew, which did not give in despite chasing three goals.
Allison Jensen went wide with her attempt from 18 yards, and two outstanding tackles from Toledo stopped any potential trouble inside the Rams box midway through the half.
Overbey brought on fresh legs from time to time in order to get many of his players a taste of the action. Freshman Maddie Weltin showing she can be one to count on all throughout the season with her pace and solid runs while up-top.
"To finally get out and play was great for all of us, and to be able to mix in our bench with our starters during the game to get them valuable time was big also," said Overbey.
"As I said before, we did well in our first time out, especially against a quality opponent. Now we'll see how we come out and play against Providence."
Starting lineups
Andrew
GK- Gabby Sportiello
D- Addison Lim
D- Bridget Tunney
D- Emma Lehnert
D- Nicole Koppers
M- Kristina Karstensen
M- Megan Nemec
M- Brandi Muys
M- Samantha Termunde
F- Samatha Koppers
F- Erin Jaskierski
Glenbard East
GK- Faith Davies
D- Sam Johnson
D- Katie Hansen
D- Mattie Pusateri
D- Summer Garcia
M- Lindsay Novak
M- Aylse Donato
M- Ali Liljestrand
M- Amy Chiero
F- Mimi Camacho
F- Elizabeth Toledo
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Mimi Camacho, sr., F, Glenbard East
Game summary
Glenbard East
Camacho (Toledo) 4'
Camacho (Donato) 16'
Novak (Camacho) 37'
Yellow cards:
Megan Nemec (Glenbard East) dissent
Center official: Brad Richter