Naperville N., Barrington battle
to high-powered draw
Host North comes back from 2-0 deficit to neutralize Fillies
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – For nearly 55 minutes Monday night, Barrington and Naperville North engaged in the defensive struggle everyone expected.
Then the fireworks began.
The two traditional powerhouses, who have combined to win three of the past six Class 3A state championships, combined for four goals – all on restarts – in a 14-minute span.
The reigning state champion Fillies, ranked no. 1 in Chicagoland Soccer's preseason poll, scored twice in a two-minute stretch, only to see the no. 4 Huskies rally for a 2-2 tie.
Illinois recruit Katelynn Buescher secured the draw for Naperville North when she scored on a rebound with 10:05 remaining after Barrington goalkeeper Samantha Schmitz stopped her penalty kick.
Buescher was asked facetiously if she had drawn up the equalizer way.
“I wish,” she joked. “No, I just got lucky.
“That’s a really good goalie, and that was a great save by her. I was just lucky enough for it to bounce out and my eyes zeroed in and I was like, ‘This ball is going in; I have to put it away.’”
Buescher did just that, pouncing on the ball just before Schmitz, who had lunged to her right to stop the penalty, could get to it.
It turned out to be the last scoring chance for either side after a flurry of offense in what turned out to be a thrilling season opener for both sides.
The reactions to the result were slightly different as it felt more like a win for the Huskies, who were stunned to find themselves trailing by two on their home field. North gave up only nine goals all of last season – though three were to Barrington.
“I’m always gunning for a win, but to go down 2-0 and then to fight back, especially in Game 1, I was really happy about that,” Buescher said. “This team came together, and battled and I think that’s really good for a first game. I wish we could have won, but I’m OK with the way it ended.”
Barrington coach Ryan Stengren, whose expectations remain high despite returning only four starters from the squad that ended New Trier’s three-year reign atop Illinois soccer, wasn’t as satisfied.
“(Scoring twice) is the happy part but I’m frustrated,” Stengren said. “(It was) stuff that we’ve talked about that this team needs to grow up and prevent.
“It’s the first game, so we have the whole season to get it right. It’s just frustrating when you get a 2-0 lead and you throw it away because you’re not being smart and doing things the right way. You took your foot off the gas pedal, and that’s what happens against a really good team.”
After mustering only one shot in the first half, the Fillies got things revved up and scored on consecutive corner kicks.
Christine Batliner broke the ice at the 24:18 mark of the second half when she bent a service from the left side off the crossbar and the post. Naperville North goalkeeper Maddie Housmann got a piece of it but not enough to prevent it from coming down across the line.
Barrington made it 2-0 just 2:10 later on another corner kick. This time Madi Rosen’s boot from the right corner sailed across the goalmouth and found the head of sophomore Tina Teik, whose power header went under the crossbar.
“I told the girls that in terms of being fast, physical, well-coached and organized (Barrington) is about as good as it gets,” Naperville North coach Steve Goletz said. “Barrington is always good at restarts, and they burned us.
“First one was tough because the kid hits a dream ball that curls in. You tip to your cap to her there. I thought our goalie did a great job of trying to get over and get anything on it, and she was a little unlucky to not punch it out.
“The second one, great ball whipped in, but we’ve got to make it harder on them. Great header, great serve but it was too easy for that girl to get on the end of it.
“But they didn’t have a chance, really, in the run of play to score on us. Defensively that’s all you can ask for. We’ve just got to clean up restarts.”
Indeed, there was nothing else wrong with the Huskies, who answered with a pair of brilliant efforts of their own.
The Huskies cut the deficit in half just 1:50 after Teik’s tally on another dead-ball situation. Illinois State recruit Shaina Dudas launched an 18-yard free kick from the top right corner of the penalty area that sailed to the left side of the goal.
Sophomore defender Reilly Riggs not only got to a ball that looked like it was headed out of bounds; she headed it back on front of the net, where a crowd of Huskies crashed in on Schmitz.
Benmore, a Northern Iowa-bound senior forward, buried a five-yard shot to get the hosts on the board.
“That was insane,” Buescher said. “I would put our comeback mostly on Riggs’ effort because we were all really going to the goal, but just that extra effort in the corner, she couldn’t have done anything more. That was the driving factor.
“It’s really nice to have these new faces that are giving us much effort as the people returning.”
Indeed, both teams fielded a bunch of new starters eager to get an opportunity. That included Barrington's Teik, who scored six goals as a freshman last season but has moved into the starting lineup for the first time.
“It’s an honor, it’s a privilege and it’s fun,” Teik said of starting for the defending champs. “We’re just going to try to work together.”
More work needs to be done, of course, but Teik was pleased with the result.
“It was overall a very good team effort and it was a good first game,” Teik said. “I think there is a lot to improve on, but we’re going to work on it.
“I think the other team fought back well, and it was just a very even game overall.”
The Huskies’ comeback was just as impressive as the Fillies’ fine flurry. Barrington gave up just six goals in 2017 and surrendered two in a game just once, that coming against, you guessed it, Naperville North.
“Give them credit,” Stengren said. “They never gave up, and they came back, but we’ve got to be better in those situations.
“We’re a young team. That’s what inexperience does for you (in those situations).”
The Huskies also have only four returning starters, though they do count six Division I players in their starting lineup. All of them are seniors.
“Super happy with our seniors and their leadership and how they responded from 2-0 down to rally the troops and keep battling,” Goletz said. “For opening night, what a great game (between) two good teams.
“I think we both have some question marks about what we’ve got. We lost a lot, they lost probably even more than we did, but they’re still a great program, and they showed it again tonight.”
Starting lineups
Barrington
GK Samantha Schmitz
D Julia Moreno
D Alexis Armando
D Kate McGreevy
D Madi Rosen
M Christine Batliner
M Ashley Rocco
M Michayla Herr
M Jen Devona
M Lauren Caffe
M Tina Teik
Naperville North
GK Maddie Hausmann
D Paige Sylvester
D Reilly Riggs
D Jessica Siebers
D Alyssa Siebers
M Emily Magee
M Leah Shumate
M Katelynn Buescher
F Shaina Dudas
F Hannah Martin
F Katie Murphy
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Katelyn Buescher, sr., MF, Naperville North
Scoring summary
2nd Half
Barrington – Chrstine Batliner 24:18
Barrington – Tina Teik (Madi Rosen) 22:08
Naperville North – Megan Benmore (Reilly Riggs, Shaina Dudas) 20:18
Naperville North – Katelyn Buescher 10:05
to high-powered draw
Host North comes back from 2-0 deficit to neutralize Fillies
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – For nearly 55 minutes Monday night, Barrington and Naperville North engaged in the defensive struggle everyone expected.
Then the fireworks began.
The two traditional powerhouses, who have combined to win three of the past six Class 3A state championships, combined for four goals – all on restarts – in a 14-minute span.
The reigning state champion Fillies, ranked no. 1 in Chicagoland Soccer's preseason poll, scored twice in a two-minute stretch, only to see the no. 4 Huskies rally for a 2-2 tie.
Illinois recruit Katelynn Buescher secured the draw for Naperville North when she scored on a rebound with 10:05 remaining after Barrington goalkeeper Samantha Schmitz stopped her penalty kick.
Buescher was asked facetiously if she had drawn up the equalizer way.
“I wish,” she joked. “No, I just got lucky.
“That’s a really good goalie, and that was a great save by her. I was just lucky enough for it to bounce out and my eyes zeroed in and I was like, ‘This ball is going in; I have to put it away.’”
Buescher did just that, pouncing on the ball just before Schmitz, who had lunged to her right to stop the penalty, could get to it.
It turned out to be the last scoring chance for either side after a flurry of offense in what turned out to be a thrilling season opener for both sides.
The reactions to the result were slightly different as it felt more like a win for the Huskies, who were stunned to find themselves trailing by two on their home field. North gave up only nine goals all of last season – though three were to Barrington.
“I’m always gunning for a win, but to go down 2-0 and then to fight back, especially in Game 1, I was really happy about that,” Buescher said. “This team came together, and battled and I think that’s really good for a first game. I wish we could have won, but I’m OK with the way it ended.”
Barrington coach Ryan Stengren, whose expectations remain high despite returning only four starters from the squad that ended New Trier’s three-year reign atop Illinois soccer, wasn’t as satisfied.
“(Scoring twice) is the happy part but I’m frustrated,” Stengren said. “(It was) stuff that we’ve talked about that this team needs to grow up and prevent.
“It’s the first game, so we have the whole season to get it right. It’s just frustrating when you get a 2-0 lead and you throw it away because you’re not being smart and doing things the right way. You took your foot off the gas pedal, and that’s what happens against a really good team.”
After mustering only one shot in the first half, the Fillies got things revved up and scored on consecutive corner kicks.
Christine Batliner broke the ice at the 24:18 mark of the second half when she bent a service from the left side off the crossbar and the post. Naperville North goalkeeper Maddie Housmann got a piece of it but not enough to prevent it from coming down across the line.
Barrington made it 2-0 just 2:10 later on another corner kick. This time Madi Rosen’s boot from the right corner sailed across the goalmouth and found the head of sophomore Tina Teik, whose power header went under the crossbar.
“I told the girls that in terms of being fast, physical, well-coached and organized (Barrington) is about as good as it gets,” Naperville North coach Steve Goletz said. “Barrington is always good at restarts, and they burned us.
“First one was tough because the kid hits a dream ball that curls in. You tip to your cap to her there. I thought our goalie did a great job of trying to get over and get anything on it, and she was a little unlucky to not punch it out.
“The second one, great ball whipped in, but we’ve got to make it harder on them. Great header, great serve but it was too easy for that girl to get on the end of it.
“But they didn’t have a chance, really, in the run of play to score on us. Defensively that’s all you can ask for. We’ve just got to clean up restarts.”
Indeed, there was nothing else wrong with the Huskies, who answered with a pair of brilliant efforts of their own.
The Huskies cut the deficit in half just 1:50 after Teik’s tally on another dead-ball situation. Illinois State recruit Shaina Dudas launched an 18-yard free kick from the top right corner of the penalty area that sailed to the left side of the goal.
Sophomore defender Reilly Riggs not only got to a ball that looked like it was headed out of bounds; she headed it back on front of the net, where a crowd of Huskies crashed in on Schmitz.
Benmore, a Northern Iowa-bound senior forward, buried a five-yard shot to get the hosts on the board.
“That was insane,” Buescher said. “I would put our comeback mostly on Riggs’ effort because we were all really going to the goal, but just that extra effort in the corner, she couldn’t have done anything more. That was the driving factor.
“It’s really nice to have these new faces that are giving us much effort as the people returning.”
Indeed, both teams fielded a bunch of new starters eager to get an opportunity. That included Barrington's Teik, who scored six goals as a freshman last season but has moved into the starting lineup for the first time.
“It’s an honor, it’s a privilege and it’s fun,” Teik said of starting for the defending champs. “We’re just going to try to work together.”
More work needs to be done, of course, but Teik was pleased with the result.
“It was overall a very good team effort and it was a good first game,” Teik said. “I think there is a lot to improve on, but we’re going to work on it.
“I think the other team fought back well, and it was just a very even game overall.”
The Huskies’ comeback was just as impressive as the Fillies’ fine flurry. Barrington gave up just six goals in 2017 and surrendered two in a game just once, that coming against, you guessed it, Naperville North.
“Give them credit,” Stengren said. “They never gave up, and they came back, but we’ve got to be better in those situations.
“We’re a young team. That’s what inexperience does for you (in those situations).”
The Huskies also have only four returning starters, though they do count six Division I players in their starting lineup. All of them are seniors.
“Super happy with our seniors and their leadership and how they responded from 2-0 down to rally the troops and keep battling,” Goletz said. “For opening night, what a great game (between) two good teams.
“I think we both have some question marks about what we’ve got. We lost a lot, they lost probably even more than we did, but they’re still a great program, and they showed it again tonight.”
Starting lineups
Barrington
GK Samantha Schmitz
D Julia Moreno
D Alexis Armando
D Kate McGreevy
D Madi Rosen
M Christine Batliner
M Ashley Rocco
M Michayla Herr
M Jen Devona
M Lauren Caffe
M Tina Teik
Naperville North
GK Maddie Hausmann
D Paige Sylvester
D Reilly Riggs
D Jessica Siebers
D Alyssa Siebers
M Emily Magee
M Leah Shumate
M Katelynn Buescher
F Shaina Dudas
F Hannah Martin
F Katie Murphy
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Katelyn Buescher, sr., MF, Naperville North
Scoring summary
2nd Half
Barrington – Chrstine Batliner 24:18
Barrington – Tina Teik (Madi Rosen) 22:08
Naperville North – Megan Benmore (Reilly Riggs, Shaina Dudas) 20:18
Naperville North – Katelyn Buescher 10:05