Unencumbered Barnes powers Carmel
Senior drops brace, picks up hat-trick in regional title win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
MUNDELEIN -- She never looked down or gave the knee a second thought. She was loose, free and locked in to the matter at hand. Zenaya Barnes existed purely in the moment, dramatizing her own value and worth to a talented Carmel team.
For much of the season Barnes felt as though she was holding herself back. The point was driven home by the brace she wore, the last emblem of her surgically repaired right knee after she suffered an ACL tear last year.
“I forgot what game it was, probably four or five games ago, but I got rid of my brace,” Barnes said. “After I got rid of it, that was what was holding me back. I was too scared to let go of it. I just wanted to be free and who I was before.
“Now that I don’t have it I feel more confident.”
Barnes put on a show for the ages by scoring three goals in an electrifying first half performance that catapulted the no. 16 Corsairs to the 4-2 victory over crosstown rival and host Mundelein in a Class 3A regional championship here Friday night.
Carmel advances to the Libertyville sectional Tuesday and plays Palatine (11-10-3), which stunned top-seeded Lake Zurich at Warren.
Barnes was the showstopper, and the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match, for her brilliant and purposeful play. She he scored in the 12th, 14th and 33rd minutes in powering the Corsairs (14-4-1) to a commanding 3-1 halftime advantage.
Her third goal, off a rebound shot initiated by senior defender Lily Sykes, proved essential after the talented Mustangs halved their two-goal deficit with a terrific tally of their own.
“When Zenaya is on, she is unstoppable,” Carmel coach Ray Krawzak said. “No matter what you do to mark her, she is able to create great chances. She got a hat-trick right away. We just had the right attitude in the first half. We won the first half and that wound up winning the game for us.”
The battle of Mundelein (11-6-3). featured a great backdrop. Mundelein captured its first outright conference title in program history. Senior forward Myah Strokosch is one of the state’s best players, a nervy and high-motor forward who applies constant pressure.
Carmel edged the Mustangs 2-1 on April 26 at home.
With Barnes making explosive diagonal runs, Carmel seized the upper hand. In the 12th minute, freshman midfielder Sarah Galla flicked a ball that caught Barnes in prime position. Her second goal quickly followed, this time off a terrific assist from junior midfielder Olivia Salvi.
Fortune inevitably favors the bold, the aggressors, and Barnes’s electric early work set the advantage.
“Honestly I think the earlier the better,” Barnes said. “Our team loves to set the tone. From the other team’s point of view, it hard to get back if the other team scores because it can bring you down [mentally]. Their defense is tough. They love to play man-on. I noticed one player was on me and then there was another holding player behind me in the back.
“The first goal set the tone and gave us the confidence that we could do it.”
Mundelein knew it was in trouble.
“You can’t give their top player that much space, and to concede two [early] goals like that is pretty tough,” Mundelein coach Ernie Billittier said. “That being said, I was really proud of our girls of getting back into the game at two to one. After we scored, I thought we had, maybe not momentum, but we came back down, and we had some good chances.
“The next five to 10 minutes we had some good play.”
Mundelein showed poise, balance and a never-say-die attitude. Carmel floored the Mustangs with the early action. To their credit, the Mustangs snapped to attention.
Strokosch went to work in the 28th minute. First she created a corner off a hustle play. Then off the service, she blasted the first ball that Carmel keeper Sophia Sarkis blocked. Junior midfielder Kate Hay alertly pounced on the rebound for the Mustangs’ score.
Carmel responsed.
In the 33rd minute, midfielder Skyler Thomas pushed a through-ball to the right wing that Sykes controlled. Barnes’s heady follow changed the complexion of the game.
“That third goal was a killer,” Billittier said.
Thomas said the Corsairs knew they had to do more than just protect a lead. They had to extend it.
“We definitely learned our lesson early in the season when we [played Evanston], and we got our goal and then they came back and scored three goals in five minutes,” she said. “We know a team can come back and score a lot. We have to stay on our toes no matter how much we are up by.”
Playing for the sixth time in the last 11 days, Carmel completed a remarkable two-week run. They played an exhaustive four games in four days, beating no. 21 Benet, playing Stevenson to a draw, shutting out Vernon Hills and losing to Saint Viator. All four programs won regional championships.
Friday's crown helped alleviate the sting of the shutout loss against Saint Viator that cost Carmel the East Suburban Catholic Conference title.
“We all knew the Viator game was a glitch,” Thomas said. “We didn’t have the attitude we needed. But today the attitude was here, and we were here, and we wanted it so bad. Every single player really played 110 percent. That is what we stressed, always going your hardest and if you were not going your hardest, there’d be another player who was willing to go harder.
“You need to earn your time on the field.”
Carmel also got a welcome boost by the return of Kathleen Graham, a four-year varsity player who was playing just her second game since making a full recovery from a bout of mononucleosis that knocked her out of four weeks of the season.
In the 61st minute, Graham caught a ball from midfielder Emma Heinrich, wheeled and fired in a beautiful 14-yard shot for the 4-1 advantage.
“It’s good to be back,” Graham said. “We are very active in our play, and we are beating people to the ball. We are being very competitive. Being back now, I really notice that now, as opposed to the beginning of the season. It took us a while to get there. We are here in the playoffs and we want this, and everybody on the whole team is putting in their whole effort.”
Strokosch hammered a rocket ball in the 64th minute to account for the final score. Mundelein did not go quietly into the night, underscoring Carmel’s own resolve and desire to never be satisfied.
“We could not let up,” Krawzak said. “They did not give us the opportunity to relax. They did a really nice job of always believing in themselves and thinking they were always still in the game. Even until the final whistle we had to play them. Ernie and his Mundelein girls deserve a lot of praise for the effort they put into the game.”
The early deficit will be hard for Mundelein to forget.
“Chasing is never fun,” Billittier said. “For long stretches of second half, we were putting pressure and putting pressure on them. I was fine with that. If we could get to three to two and put some pressure on them.
“The feeling is lousy right now, but I am proud of my girls and proud of my seniors. We will have time to reflect later.
“Regardless I am very proud of my kids.”
Starting lineups
Mundelein
GK: Gillian Beginski
D: Hadlee Linane
D: Carly Zentz
D: Molly Mishler
D: Eva Their
M: Morgan Albertson
M: Kate Hay
M: Nicole Robb
M: Jackie Tyma
M: Gigi Sahagun
F: Myah Strokosch
Carmel
GK: Sophia Sarkis
D: Lily Sykes
D: Ciara Thomas
D: Liz Galla
D: Morgan Smola
M: Emma Heinrich
M: Skyler Thomas
M: Olivia Salvi
M: Mia Salvi
M: Sarah Galla
M: Zenaya Barnes
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Zenaya Barnes, jr., F, Carmel
Scoring summary
First half
Carmel—Zenaya Barnes (Sarah Galla), 12th minute
Carmel—Zenaya Barnes (Olivia Salvi), 14th minute
Mundelein—Kate Hay (unassisted), 28th minute
Carmel—Zenaya Barnes (unassisted), 33rd minute
Second half
Carmel—Kathleen Graham (Emma Heinrich), 61st
Mundelein—Myah Strokosch (Gigi Sahagun) , 64th
Senior drops brace, picks up hat-trick in regional title win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
MUNDELEIN -- She never looked down or gave the knee a second thought. She was loose, free and locked in to the matter at hand. Zenaya Barnes existed purely in the moment, dramatizing her own value and worth to a talented Carmel team.
For much of the season Barnes felt as though she was holding herself back. The point was driven home by the brace she wore, the last emblem of her surgically repaired right knee after she suffered an ACL tear last year.
“I forgot what game it was, probably four or five games ago, but I got rid of my brace,” Barnes said. “After I got rid of it, that was what was holding me back. I was too scared to let go of it. I just wanted to be free and who I was before.
“Now that I don’t have it I feel more confident.”
Barnes put on a show for the ages by scoring three goals in an electrifying first half performance that catapulted the no. 16 Corsairs to the 4-2 victory over crosstown rival and host Mundelein in a Class 3A regional championship here Friday night.
Carmel advances to the Libertyville sectional Tuesday and plays Palatine (11-10-3), which stunned top-seeded Lake Zurich at Warren.
Barnes was the showstopper, and the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match, for her brilliant and purposeful play. She he scored in the 12th, 14th and 33rd minutes in powering the Corsairs (14-4-1) to a commanding 3-1 halftime advantage.
Her third goal, off a rebound shot initiated by senior defender Lily Sykes, proved essential after the talented Mustangs halved their two-goal deficit with a terrific tally of their own.
“When Zenaya is on, she is unstoppable,” Carmel coach Ray Krawzak said. “No matter what you do to mark her, she is able to create great chances. She got a hat-trick right away. We just had the right attitude in the first half. We won the first half and that wound up winning the game for us.”
The battle of Mundelein (11-6-3). featured a great backdrop. Mundelein captured its first outright conference title in program history. Senior forward Myah Strokosch is one of the state’s best players, a nervy and high-motor forward who applies constant pressure.
Carmel edged the Mustangs 2-1 on April 26 at home.
With Barnes making explosive diagonal runs, Carmel seized the upper hand. In the 12th minute, freshman midfielder Sarah Galla flicked a ball that caught Barnes in prime position. Her second goal quickly followed, this time off a terrific assist from junior midfielder Olivia Salvi.
Fortune inevitably favors the bold, the aggressors, and Barnes’s electric early work set the advantage.
“Honestly I think the earlier the better,” Barnes said. “Our team loves to set the tone. From the other team’s point of view, it hard to get back if the other team scores because it can bring you down [mentally]. Their defense is tough. They love to play man-on. I noticed one player was on me and then there was another holding player behind me in the back.
“The first goal set the tone and gave us the confidence that we could do it.”
Mundelein knew it was in trouble.
“You can’t give their top player that much space, and to concede two [early] goals like that is pretty tough,” Mundelein coach Ernie Billittier said. “That being said, I was really proud of our girls of getting back into the game at two to one. After we scored, I thought we had, maybe not momentum, but we came back down, and we had some good chances.
“The next five to 10 minutes we had some good play.”
Mundelein showed poise, balance and a never-say-die attitude. Carmel floored the Mustangs with the early action. To their credit, the Mustangs snapped to attention.
Strokosch went to work in the 28th minute. First she created a corner off a hustle play. Then off the service, she blasted the first ball that Carmel keeper Sophia Sarkis blocked. Junior midfielder Kate Hay alertly pounced on the rebound for the Mustangs’ score.
Carmel responsed.
In the 33rd minute, midfielder Skyler Thomas pushed a through-ball to the right wing that Sykes controlled. Barnes’s heady follow changed the complexion of the game.
“That third goal was a killer,” Billittier said.
Thomas said the Corsairs knew they had to do more than just protect a lead. They had to extend it.
“We definitely learned our lesson early in the season when we [played Evanston], and we got our goal and then they came back and scored three goals in five minutes,” she said. “We know a team can come back and score a lot. We have to stay on our toes no matter how much we are up by.”
Playing for the sixth time in the last 11 days, Carmel completed a remarkable two-week run. They played an exhaustive four games in four days, beating no. 21 Benet, playing Stevenson to a draw, shutting out Vernon Hills and losing to Saint Viator. All four programs won regional championships.
Friday's crown helped alleviate the sting of the shutout loss against Saint Viator that cost Carmel the East Suburban Catholic Conference title.
“We all knew the Viator game was a glitch,” Thomas said. “We didn’t have the attitude we needed. But today the attitude was here, and we were here, and we wanted it so bad. Every single player really played 110 percent. That is what we stressed, always going your hardest and if you were not going your hardest, there’d be another player who was willing to go harder.
“You need to earn your time on the field.”
Carmel also got a welcome boost by the return of Kathleen Graham, a four-year varsity player who was playing just her second game since making a full recovery from a bout of mononucleosis that knocked her out of four weeks of the season.
In the 61st minute, Graham caught a ball from midfielder Emma Heinrich, wheeled and fired in a beautiful 14-yard shot for the 4-1 advantage.
“It’s good to be back,” Graham said. “We are very active in our play, and we are beating people to the ball. We are being very competitive. Being back now, I really notice that now, as opposed to the beginning of the season. It took us a while to get there. We are here in the playoffs and we want this, and everybody on the whole team is putting in their whole effort.”
Strokosch hammered a rocket ball in the 64th minute to account for the final score. Mundelein did not go quietly into the night, underscoring Carmel’s own resolve and desire to never be satisfied.
“We could not let up,” Krawzak said. “They did not give us the opportunity to relax. They did a really nice job of always believing in themselves and thinking they were always still in the game. Even until the final whistle we had to play them. Ernie and his Mundelein girls deserve a lot of praise for the effort they put into the game.”
The early deficit will be hard for Mundelein to forget.
“Chasing is never fun,” Billittier said. “For long stretches of second half, we were putting pressure and putting pressure on them. I was fine with that. If we could get to three to two and put some pressure on them.
“The feeling is lousy right now, but I am proud of my girls and proud of my seniors. We will have time to reflect later.
“Regardless I am very proud of my kids.”
Starting lineups
Mundelein
GK: Gillian Beginski
D: Hadlee Linane
D: Carly Zentz
D: Molly Mishler
D: Eva Their
M: Morgan Albertson
M: Kate Hay
M: Nicole Robb
M: Jackie Tyma
M: Gigi Sahagun
F: Myah Strokosch
Carmel
GK: Sophia Sarkis
D: Lily Sykes
D: Ciara Thomas
D: Liz Galla
D: Morgan Smola
M: Emma Heinrich
M: Skyler Thomas
M: Olivia Salvi
M: Mia Salvi
M: Sarah Galla
M: Zenaya Barnes
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Zenaya Barnes, jr., F, Carmel
Scoring summary
First half
Carmel—Zenaya Barnes (Sarah Galla), 12th minute
Carmel—Zenaya Barnes (Olivia Salvi), 14th minute
Mundelein—Kate Hay (unassisted), 28th minute
Carmel—Zenaya Barnes (unassisted), 33rd minute
Second half
Carmel—Kathleen Graham (Emma Heinrich), 61st
Mundelein—Myah Strokosch (Gigi Sahagun) , 64th