Carmel can't catch
counter-intuitive Nazareth
Roadrunners win 3-2 over Corsairs in season’s final ESCC game
By Gary Larsen
LA GRANGE —It's particularly maddening for a soccer team to apply a steady spell of attacking pressure that doesn’t bear fruit, then see an opponent score off of that pressure in the counter attack.
On the flip side of that equation, it's especially satisfying for a soccer team that stands tall against steady attacking pressure and then strikes gold in the counter.
Host Nazareth was on the good side of that scenario against Carmel on Wednesday during the game’s most pivotal stretch of play, en route to a 3-2 home win. The East Suburban Catholic Conference game was the final regular-season match for both teams.
“It was a crazy game,” Carmel senior Sarah Galla said.
It started off with a goal from Carmel’s Jillian Miller before the game was even 10 minutes old. Sofia Coury reached the end line on the right side and served a ball in that Miller buried to give Carmel its 1-0 lead. It was Coury’s team-leading eighth assist of the season.
Carmel and Nazareth entered the game with identical 8-5-3 overall records, and much of the first half after Miller’s goal reflected that parity. From Carmel’s Lyndsey Basara streaking constantly up the left side to the end line, to Nazareth forward Olivia Austin establishing her considerable presence, both teams flirted with scoring chances in the first half.
Most shots came from distance and most of those were off frame as Carmel (8-6-3, 3-3-1) maintained it’s lead. But with 35 seconds remaining before halftime, Austin broke between a pair of defenders and poked a shot past charging Carmel keeper Maggie Bowes from 10 yards away.
Nazareth (9-5-3, 3-4-0) had tied the game by doing what they’ve done numerous times this season for coach Alex Wilkinson.
“The end of the first and second halves are a big part of the game, when teams are getting tired,” Wilkinson said. “We won a lot of our games at the beginning of the season by scoring in the last five or ten minutes. So I knew they had that little extra tank of energy because I've seen it. And Olivia is just a special player.”
Austin’s goal might well have given Nazareth momentum to start the second half, but instead it was Carmel who came out full throttle after intermission.
Between Basara’s relentless fight up the left side to the end line, and shots taken by Galla, Basara, Maddie Preda, Franny Wyacek and others, Carmel kept the ball in its attacking final third for a solid 20 minutes to start the half.
Galla even poked a shot past Nazareth keeper Gillian Alberto at 60 minutes, only to see the Roadrunners’ Andrea Stavropoulos stop the shot near the goal line before Alberto retreated and pounced on it.
“We could've put away a few chances and this game might've been a lot different,” Carmel coach Stephanie Kile said. “I thought we dominated the second half, especially scoring-chance wise, so it’s frustrating to see the final result. But credit to (Nazareth) because they got the job done.”
During Carmel’s strong stretch of second-half play, Austin hovered around midfield, patiently hoping for an outlet pass from her defense that might give her a chance to counter. It came at 61 minutes and she made it count.
“The defense did a great job stepping up and they were able to get it up to me,” Austin said. “I saw space and I saw one defender and I just decided to take it.”
Austin got behind the defense and sent in a hard-hit shot from 18 yards that found the net to give Nazareth a 2-1 lead.
Austin has haunted Carmel on multiple fronts this year. The 6-foot striker also played on Nazareth’s varsity basketball team and buried a game-winning three-pointer against Carmel on February 10.
Nazareth went up 3-1 at 71 minutes on a momentous boot from Adriana Berruti. Berruti launched a shot from 50 yards that landed just inside the 18 and bounced high and over Bowes’ outstretched hands before bouncing into the net.
Carmel trailed by two goals, but not for long. Galla took a feed from Mia Salvi and fired from 18 yards at 72 minutes to make it 3-2, and the Corsairs fought for a tying goal down the stretch that Nazareth would not concede.
Carmel played without leading scorer Anna Hartman (15 goals) due to concussion protocol, but in her first game back after a two-week absence due to injury, Galla was prominent throughout the contest.
“Sarah really stepped up today in her first game back in weeks, and I thought Grace Harvey and Jillian Miller did well today,” Kile said, “Liz (Galla) also played well, and (Basara) just plays an exhausting position for us.”
Carmel hopes to get Hartman back for its regional-opening game against Crystal Lake South at home on June 3, and the Corsairs hope that the team’s second-leading scorer in Salvi (10 goals) will also be available for their first post-season game. Salvi left the field late in Wednesday’s game after colliding with a defender.
“We’ve had some good wins prior to this and some motivational moments going forward,” Kile said. “I think it hurt us today not having Anna and we lost Mia there at the end which wasn't ideal. But the other girls on the bench are stepping up and working hard and showing a good work rate.”
Galla believes her team won’t linger on Wednesday’s loss.
“We just need to get ready for the playoffs at this point,” she said. “We’ll take this as a learning lesson. We played as a team in the second half and even though it didn't show on the scoreboard, I'm proud of our girls today. I thought we combined together pretty well and we gave it our all. We didn't give up at any point even after they scored those goals.
“I thought Jillian (Miller) played awesome out there today. She's only a freshman and she just gives it her all. I thought Mia Salvi played really good, too.”
Nazareth hosts Solorio in a regional opener on June 1, and hope to ride the momentum of its win over Carmel.
“I loved how my girls were nonstop today,” Austin said. “We didn't give up, we stayed on our marks, and we did a really good job communicating which is always crucial. Overall we've done a great job of staying together this year which is one of the most important things for any team.”
Austin applauded the play of teammates Alberto, Colette Kinsella, Andrea Stavropoulos, and Nikolette Weiss for their contributions. Wilkinson also pointed to the play of Coker University-bound senior mid Berruti.
“She has been a huge part of our team,” Wilkinson said. “She's our facilitator and our leader got the field. She has been improving her game a little more each game, winning more headers, using her left foot, and taking her game to the next level.
“Every conference game is tough in the ESCC. We've got tough teams in this conference. Once you get to conference and you really get to the meat of it, if you can get through that and learn from those games you're prepared for the playoffs. That's why I love our conference. You might take some hits but it will make you a better team.”
Starting lineups
Carmel
GK Maggie Bowes
D Grace Harvey
D Abby Gibbons
D Zkylah Barnes
D Maddie Preda
MF Elizabeth Galla
MF Kate Jones
MF Jillian Miller
MF Lyndsey Basara
F Mia Salvi
F Sofia Coury
Nazareth
GK Gillian Alberto
D Andrea Stavropoulos
D Maribel Crespo
D Trea Notz
MF Jane McNamara
MF Colette Kinsella
MF Adriana Berruti
MF Samantha Rozmus
MF Evelyn Sifferman
F Olivia Austin
F Nicolette Weiss
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Olivia Austin, fr., F, Nazareth
Scoring summary
First half
Carmel — Miller (Coury) 6 minutes
Nazareth — Austin (UA) 40 minutes
Second half
Nazareth — Austin (UA) 61 minutes
Nazareth — Berruti (UA) 72 minutes
Carmel — S. Galla (Salvi) 73 minutes
counter-intuitive Nazareth
Roadrunners win 3-2 over Corsairs in season’s final ESCC game
By Gary Larsen
LA GRANGE —It's particularly maddening for a soccer team to apply a steady spell of attacking pressure that doesn’t bear fruit, then see an opponent score off of that pressure in the counter attack.
On the flip side of that equation, it's especially satisfying for a soccer team that stands tall against steady attacking pressure and then strikes gold in the counter.
Host Nazareth was on the good side of that scenario against Carmel on Wednesday during the game’s most pivotal stretch of play, en route to a 3-2 home win. The East Suburban Catholic Conference game was the final regular-season match for both teams.
“It was a crazy game,” Carmel senior Sarah Galla said.
It started off with a goal from Carmel’s Jillian Miller before the game was even 10 minutes old. Sofia Coury reached the end line on the right side and served a ball in that Miller buried to give Carmel its 1-0 lead. It was Coury’s team-leading eighth assist of the season.
Carmel and Nazareth entered the game with identical 8-5-3 overall records, and much of the first half after Miller’s goal reflected that parity. From Carmel’s Lyndsey Basara streaking constantly up the left side to the end line, to Nazareth forward Olivia Austin establishing her considerable presence, both teams flirted with scoring chances in the first half.
Most shots came from distance and most of those were off frame as Carmel (8-6-3, 3-3-1) maintained it’s lead. But with 35 seconds remaining before halftime, Austin broke between a pair of defenders and poked a shot past charging Carmel keeper Maggie Bowes from 10 yards away.
Nazareth (9-5-3, 3-4-0) had tied the game by doing what they’ve done numerous times this season for coach Alex Wilkinson.
“The end of the first and second halves are a big part of the game, when teams are getting tired,” Wilkinson said. “We won a lot of our games at the beginning of the season by scoring in the last five or ten minutes. So I knew they had that little extra tank of energy because I've seen it. And Olivia is just a special player.”
Austin’s goal might well have given Nazareth momentum to start the second half, but instead it was Carmel who came out full throttle after intermission.
Between Basara’s relentless fight up the left side to the end line, and shots taken by Galla, Basara, Maddie Preda, Franny Wyacek and others, Carmel kept the ball in its attacking final third for a solid 20 minutes to start the half.
Galla even poked a shot past Nazareth keeper Gillian Alberto at 60 minutes, only to see the Roadrunners’ Andrea Stavropoulos stop the shot near the goal line before Alberto retreated and pounced on it.
“We could've put away a few chances and this game might've been a lot different,” Carmel coach Stephanie Kile said. “I thought we dominated the second half, especially scoring-chance wise, so it’s frustrating to see the final result. But credit to (Nazareth) because they got the job done.”
During Carmel’s strong stretch of second-half play, Austin hovered around midfield, patiently hoping for an outlet pass from her defense that might give her a chance to counter. It came at 61 minutes and she made it count.
“The defense did a great job stepping up and they were able to get it up to me,” Austin said. “I saw space and I saw one defender and I just decided to take it.”
Austin got behind the defense and sent in a hard-hit shot from 18 yards that found the net to give Nazareth a 2-1 lead.
Austin has haunted Carmel on multiple fronts this year. The 6-foot striker also played on Nazareth’s varsity basketball team and buried a game-winning three-pointer against Carmel on February 10.
Nazareth went up 3-1 at 71 minutes on a momentous boot from Adriana Berruti. Berruti launched a shot from 50 yards that landed just inside the 18 and bounced high and over Bowes’ outstretched hands before bouncing into the net.
Carmel trailed by two goals, but not for long. Galla took a feed from Mia Salvi and fired from 18 yards at 72 minutes to make it 3-2, and the Corsairs fought for a tying goal down the stretch that Nazareth would not concede.
Carmel played without leading scorer Anna Hartman (15 goals) due to concussion protocol, but in her first game back after a two-week absence due to injury, Galla was prominent throughout the contest.
“Sarah really stepped up today in her first game back in weeks, and I thought Grace Harvey and Jillian Miller did well today,” Kile said, “Liz (Galla) also played well, and (Basara) just plays an exhausting position for us.”
Carmel hopes to get Hartman back for its regional-opening game against Crystal Lake South at home on June 3, and the Corsairs hope that the team’s second-leading scorer in Salvi (10 goals) will also be available for their first post-season game. Salvi left the field late in Wednesday’s game after colliding with a defender.
“We’ve had some good wins prior to this and some motivational moments going forward,” Kile said. “I think it hurt us today not having Anna and we lost Mia there at the end which wasn't ideal. But the other girls on the bench are stepping up and working hard and showing a good work rate.”
Galla believes her team won’t linger on Wednesday’s loss.
“We just need to get ready for the playoffs at this point,” she said. “We’ll take this as a learning lesson. We played as a team in the second half and even though it didn't show on the scoreboard, I'm proud of our girls today. I thought we combined together pretty well and we gave it our all. We didn't give up at any point even after they scored those goals.
“I thought Jillian (Miller) played awesome out there today. She's only a freshman and she just gives it her all. I thought Mia Salvi played really good, too.”
Nazareth hosts Solorio in a regional opener on June 1, and hope to ride the momentum of its win over Carmel.
“I loved how my girls were nonstop today,” Austin said. “We didn't give up, we stayed on our marks, and we did a really good job communicating which is always crucial. Overall we've done a great job of staying together this year which is one of the most important things for any team.”
Austin applauded the play of teammates Alberto, Colette Kinsella, Andrea Stavropoulos, and Nikolette Weiss for their contributions. Wilkinson also pointed to the play of Coker University-bound senior mid Berruti.
“She has been a huge part of our team,” Wilkinson said. “She's our facilitator and our leader got the field. She has been improving her game a little more each game, winning more headers, using her left foot, and taking her game to the next level.
“Every conference game is tough in the ESCC. We've got tough teams in this conference. Once you get to conference and you really get to the meat of it, if you can get through that and learn from those games you're prepared for the playoffs. That's why I love our conference. You might take some hits but it will make you a better team.”
Starting lineups
Carmel
GK Maggie Bowes
D Grace Harvey
D Abby Gibbons
D Zkylah Barnes
D Maddie Preda
MF Elizabeth Galla
MF Kate Jones
MF Jillian Miller
MF Lyndsey Basara
F Mia Salvi
F Sofia Coury
Nazareth
GK Gillian Alberto
D Andrea Stavropoulos
D Maribel Crespo
D Trea Notz
MF Jane McNamara
MF Colette Kinsella
MF Adriana Berruti
MF Samantha Rozmus
MF Evelyn Sifferman
F Olivia Austin
F Nicolette Weiss
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Olivia Austin, fr., F, Nazareth
Scoring summary
First half
Carmel — Miller (Coury) 6 minutes
Nazareth — Austin (UA) 40 minutes
Second half
Nazareth — Austin (UA) 61 minutes
Nazareth — Berruti (UA) 72 minutes
Carmel — S. Galla (Salvi) 73 minutes