Lubinsky, Gwiasda lead Barrington
to near-perfect win over Evanston
Fillies control the game in 2-0 semifinal win
By Mike Garofola
NAPERVILLE -- Barrington put in a dominating 80-minute performance to defeat Evanston, 2-0 and advance into the Class 3A state championship match where they will face Metea Valley.
The Fillies (23-2-0) have now reached their fifth final overall and fourth under manager Ryan Stengren, who watched an impressive and comprehensive effort from his club that started strong and never let up off the gas pedal until the final whistle.
"I am really happy for the girls, and proud of how they played today against a very good Evanston team,” said Stengren. “We prepared really well for this game, and they went out and executed our plan extremely well.
“As we always say ‘There's the next order of business ahead of us’ tomorrow night against Metea Valley."
The state semifinal contest played at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium on the campus of North Central College began at a frantic pace. Unfortunately, it was just a little too frantic and fast for the Wildkits (21-3-1) who soon found themselves chasing the game and never really got themselves on their collective front foot.
"That early goal really shook us," said Wildkits manager Stacy Salgado, whose club wanted to keep the school record perfect with a second state title in its second try. The 2002 championship included a win against then-Gatorade Illinois Player of the Year and future Notre Dame star Jen Buczkowski (Elk Grove) in the Sweet 16.
"It was not the start we were looking for. And when Adriana (Merriam) went out with an injury just after their first goal, our midfield struggled to pick up the slack as did our attack, which had trouble with the constant pressure that Barrington brought."
"This was a total team effort today," said Fillies junior defender Ellie Sanchez. “Especially defensively, where our backline played great. Our midfield, led by Nicole Gwiasda, it’s just incredible what she does out there. She's our spark plug -- really kept Evanston under control today.”
Teammate Brooke Brown was a big part of her team’s impressive futbol collective.
"Everyone worked together to defend - including our forwards who chased, forced bad passes, then also created chances for all of us.” Brown said. “What I am so proud of today is how few chances Evanston had on frame, must have been 3-4 at the very most."
Brown kept Evanston on alert with nearly every one of ther corners she sent into the box. She also provided quality distribution, defending and the assist on the Fillies second goal.
Gwiasda, who was named co-Mid-Suburban League West Division Player of the Year along with Brown, played what has become more common than not for her -- an extraordinary 80 minutes of constant motion where she disrupts, wins back possession, both with elite positioning, and then dictates play almost instantly.
"Today you saw just how valuable Nicole is, what she does so well for us," beamed Stengren.
A quick glance at what the Ohio State-bound Gwiasda accomplished showed 21 aerial wins and 16 tackling victories to help stymie an Evanston attack that suffered from the loss of Merriam, who is the architect of its success. Without her, top scorers Jocelyn Leigh (26 goals) and Brealyn Viamille (18 goals) only combined for two shots on frame against Fillies keeper Abby Raynor.
"It's no excuse, but we've dealt with injuries, especially of late in our midfield,” said Salgado. “With Merriam, whose been fighting injuries here and there, it was her back today. Unfortunately, she just wasn't able to go from the first 5-6 minutes of play."
Kate Lubinsky gave the Fillies their first goal when she redirected her header past keeper Ariel Kite in the fourth minute after teammates Brown and Piper Lucier kept alive a corner.
Lucier, whom Stengren complimented for her pace, creative runs and two-way play, appeared to be taken down in the box minutes later, but not in the eyes of referee Miguel Chavez, who waved off the Fillies plea.
Brown, then Lubinsky forced Kite into action with consecutive attempts in the 20th minute. Brown could have doubled the advantage when she unloaded a 30-yard free kick off the underside of the bar, but the ball came down on the wrong side of the goal line.
Lubinsky would have had another opportunity to add to the score sheet if not for an alert Carly Menocal who moved quickly to challenge the unmarked Filly, who was in-close thanks to a lovely pass from Lucier.
"It was a terrific first half of soccer, but I wasn't all together happy that we didn't put another one or two in to put more pressure on them heading into the second half,” said Stengren.
When Evanston was unable to clear another corner after the second period began, Barrington made them pay.
Brown found an unmarked Gwiasda with her corner serve. The ensuing one-time side volley nestled into the back of the net at 50 minutes.
"Barrington just came out with more energy than we did and pretty much played that way the entire game," said Wildkits senior Lucinda Lindland. “We broke down in the first five minutes, and we just were not playing our style of soccer and not sticking to our game plan, which they took advantage of.”
Ariel Kite, who kept the Wildkits in this contest with a handful of brilliant close-range saves in the second half, was injured when she came off her line to punch out a dangerous free kick sent into the box by Brown in the 57th minute. She went off, but quickly returned. She received more attention for the injury after the game.
Kite's heroics earned her Chicacgoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors along with Barrington’s Gwiasda.
The Fillies kept the pressure on with a high degree of positional rotation. Every player constantly scanned the field to stay hyper-aware of their opponents.
"The way we defended as a team is the way we train for each team we play,” said Sanchez. “We watch so much film to prepare."
Kite stopped a pair of sitters, while her counterpart, Abby Raynor saved a Lindland attempt in the 68th minute. She later came far off her line to win a 50/50 challenge with Sofia Dailey.
"Ariel was so amazing for us today, she saved us so many times," said Lindland.
"It's obviously not the way we wanted to come out and play, but we did, and now we have to move on," began Evanston’s manager.
"There are a lot of tears right now, especially from our seniors, but that's okay. (It) shows they care, and that they'll come out here tomorrow and give their best effort in order to finish a very successful season with a victory.”
Brown and Sanchez stayed behind to talk to the press while five senior teammates hustled back home to attend graduation.
"We're happy with this result to get us into the game we've been working for and wanting all season,” said Brown. “As we always say, once this game is over, it's on to the next one."
Starting lineups
Barrington (4-5-1)
G- Abby Raynor
D- Ellie Sanchez
D- Grace Stagnito
D- Caitlin Paul
D- Kathleen Baker
M- Kate Lubinsky
M- Brooke Brown
M- Nicole Gwiasda
M- Kaitlin Taylor
M- Piper Lucier
F- Sarah Sarnowski
Evanston (4-4-2)
G- Ariel Kite
D- Sydney Ross
D- Carly Menocal
D- Ellie Oif
D- Lucinda Lindland
M- Tate Lucas
M- Nadia VandenBerg
M- Adriana Merriam
M- Nahla Dominguez
F- Brealyn Viamille
F- Jocelyn Leigh
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match:
Nicole Gwiasda, sr., MF, Barrington;
Ariel Kite, jr., GK, Evanston
Officials: Miguel Chavez, referee; Rommel Benyamin, AR1; Doug Nuefeldt, AR2
Scoring summary
First half
Barrington: Lubinsky (Lucier, Brown) 4'
Second half
Barrington: Gwiasda (Brown) 50'
Game Statistics
Shots on
Barrington: 10
Evanston: 3
Shots off Frame
Barrington:12
Evanston: 3
Corner kicks
Barrington: 12
Evanston: 1
Offsides
Barrington: 4
Evanston: 0
Fouls
Barrington: 5
Evanston: 7
to near-perfect win over Evanston
Fillies control the game in 2-0 semifinal win
By Mike Garofola
NAPERVILLE -- Barrington put in a dominating 80-minute performance to defeat Evanston, 2-0 and advance into the Class 3A state championship match where they will face Metea Valley.
The Fillies (23-2-0) have now reached their fifth final overall and fourth under manager Ryan Stengren, who watched an impressive and comprehensive effort from his club that started strong and never let up off the gas pedal until the final whistle.
"I am really happy for the girls, and proud of how they played today against a very good Evanston team,” said Stengren. “We prepared really well for this game, and they went out and executed our plan extremely well.
“As we always say ‘There's the next order of business ahead of us’ tomorrow night against Metea Valley."
The state semifinal contest played at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium on the campus of North Central College began at a frantic pace. Unfortunately, it was just a little too frantic and fast for the Wildkits (21-3-1) who soon found themselves chasing the game and never really got themselves on their collective front foot.
"That early goal really shook us," said Wildkits manager Stacy Salgado, whose club wanted to keep the school record perfect with a second state title in its second try. The 2002 championship included a win against then-Gatorade Illinois Player of the Year and future Notre Dame star Jen Buczkowski (Elk Grove) in the Sweet 16.
"It was not the start we were looking for. And when Adriana (Merriam) went out with an injury just after their first goal, our midfield struggled to pick up the slack as did our attack, which had trouble with the constant pressure that Barrington brought."
"This was a total team effort today," said Fillies junior defender Ellie Sanchez. “Especially defensively, where our backline played great. Our midfield, led by Nicole Gwiasda, it’s just incredible what she does out there. She's our spark plug -- really kept Evanston under control today.”
Teammate Brooke Brown was a big part of her team’s impressive futbol collective.
"Everyone worked together to defend - including our forwards who chased, forced bad passes, then also created chances for all of us.” Brown said. “What I am so proud of today is how few chances Evanston had on frame, must have been 3-4 at the very most."
Brown kept Evanston on alert with nearly every one of ther corners she sent into the box. She also provided quality distribution, defending and the assist on the Fillies second goal.
Gwiasda, who was named co-Mid-Suburban League West Division Player of the Year along with Brown, played what has become more common than not for her -- an extraordinary 80 minutes of constant motion where she disrupts, wins back possession, both with elite positioning, and then dictates play almost instantly.
"Today you saw just how valuable Nicole is, what she does so well for us," beamed Stengren.
A quick glance at what the Ohio State-bound Gwiasda accomplished showed 21 aerial wins and 16 tackling victories to help stymie an Evanston attack that suffered from the loss of Merriam, who is the architect of its success. Without her, top scorers Jocelyn Leigh (26 goals) and Brealyn Viamille (18 goals) only combined for two shots on frame against Fillies keeper Abby Raynor.
"It's no excuse, but we've dealt with injuries, especially of late in our midfield,” said Salgado. “With Merriam, whose been fighting injuries here and there, it was her back today. Unfortunately, she just wasn't able to go from the first 5-6 minutes of play."
Kate Lubinsky gave the Fillies their first goal when she redirected her header past keeper Ariel Kite in the fourth minute after teammates Brown and Piper Lucier kept alive a corner.
Lucier, whom Stengren complimented for her pace, creative runs and two-way play, appeared to be taken down in the box minutes later, but not in the eyes of referee Miguel Chavez, who waved off the Fillies plea.
Brown, then Lubinsky forced Kite into action with consecutive attempts in the 20th minute. Brown could have doubled the advantage when she unloaded a 30-yard free kick off the underside of the bar, but the ball came down on the wrong side of the goal line.
Lubinsky would have had another opportunity to add to the score sheet if not for an alert Carly Menocal who moved quickly to challenge the unmarked Filly, who was in-close thanks to a lovely pass from Lucier.
"It was a terrific first half of soccer, but I wasn't all together happy that we didn't put another one or two in to put more pressure on them heading into the second half,” said Stengren.
When Evanston was unable to clear another corner after the second period began, Barrington made them pay.
Brown found an unmarked Gwiasda with her corner serve. The ensuing one-time side volley nestled into the back of the net at 50 minutes.
"Barrington just came out with more energy than we did and pretty much played that way the entire game," said Wildkits senior Lucinda Lindland. “We broke down in the first five minutes, and we just were not playing our style of soccer and not sticking to our game plan, which they took advantage of.”
Ariel Kite, who kept the Wildkits in this contest with a handful of brilliant close-range saves in the second half, was injured when she came off her line to punch out a dangerous free kick sent into the box by Brown in the 57th minute. She went off, but quickly returned. She received more attention for the injury after the game.
Kite's heroics earned her Chicacgoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors along with Barrington’s Gwiasda.
The Fillies kept the pressure on with a high degree of positional rotation. Every player constantly scanned the field to stay hyper-aware of their opponents.
"The way we defended as a team is the way we train for each team we play,” said Sanchez. “We watch so much film to prepare."
Kite stopped a pair of sitters, while her counterpart, Abby Raynor saved a Lindland attempt in the 68th minute. She later came far off her line to win a 50/50 challenge with Sofia Dailey.
"Ariel was so amazing for us today, she saved us so many times," said Lindland.
"It's obviously not the way we wanted to come out and play, but we did, and now we have to move on," began Evanston’s manager.
"There are a lot of tears right now, especially from our seniors, but that's okay. (It) shows they care, and that they'll come out here tomorrow and give their best effort in order to finish a very successful season with a victory.”
Brown and Sanchez stayed behind to talk to the press while five senior teammates hustled back home to attend graduation.
"We're happy with this result to get us into the game we've been working for and wanting all season,” said Brown. “As we always say, once this game is over, it's on to the next one."
Starting lineups
Barrington (4-5-1)
G- Abby Raynor
D- Ellie Sanchez
D- Grace Stagnito
D- Caitlin Paul
D- Kathleen Baker
M- Kate Lubinsky
M- Brooke Brown
M- Nicole Gwiasda
M- Kaitlin Taylor
M- Piper Lucier
F- Sarah Sarnowski
Evanston (4-4-2)
G- Ariel Kite
D- Sydney Ross
D- Carly Menocal
D- Ellie Oif
D- Lucinda Lindland
M- Tate Lucas
M- Nadia VandenBerg
M- Adriana Merriam
M- Nahla Dominguez
F- Brealyn Viamille
F- Jocelyn Leigh
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match:
Nicole Gwiasda, sr., MF, Barrington;
Ariel Kite, jr., GK, Evanston
Officials: Miguel Chavez, referee; Rommel Benyamin, AR1; Doug Nuefeldt, AR2
Scoring summary
First half
Barrington: Lubinsky (Lucier, Brown) 4'
Second half
Barrington: Gwiasda (Brown) 50'
Game Statistics
Shots on
Barrington: 10
Evanston: 3
Shots off Frame
Barrington:12
Evanston: 3
Corner kicks
Barrington: 12
Evanston: 1
Offsides
Barrington: 4
Evanston: 0
Fouls
Barrington: 5
Evanston: 7