Willows fulfilling promise, rolls vs. Bulls
Kelly strikes twice in Eagles' 3-0 win over Lady Bulls
By Gary Larsen
DES PLAINES — In her first season as head coach at Willows, Leah Kartsimas couldn’t definitively know what kind of team she had until her girls could get out on the field to open their season.
“I felt good about the team, but it took that first game -- in the wind, in the cold, on turf -- to really see it,” she said.
Junior midfielder and team co-captain Theresa Presberg, however, had some positive early suspicions.
“After the first practice, me and the other captains were talking and we thought this could be a very good team,” Presberg said. “It was the chemistry that we saw the most, because I think that really makes or breaks a team.”
Willows won its season opener 4-0 over Schaumburg Christian and followed with a 7-0 victory over Christian Liberty. The success has continued.
On Tuesday, the Eagles won 3-0 over Bulls, a Chicago Public League prep school, to improve their record to 8-2 and prove Presberg prophetic.
Team chemistry has carried the day at Willows in Des Plaines, a Class A school of 288 girls per the IHSA website. Sophomore midfielder Ashleigh Fischer agrees with the age-old notion that team unity has always played a more prominent role on the girls’ side of team sports.
“I think girls bond more than guys in a way. We connect with each other more, whether it's about school or anything, really,” Fischer said. “I love how even though we’re all in different grades, we click with each other. Our personalities are all different, but we come together -- the sport brings us together.”
It wasn’t long into the Eagles’ first game against Schaumburg Christian that Kartsimas’ cautious optimism during the preseason was confirmed.
“We were passing well, shooting well, and at that point I thought this could be a great season,” Kartsimas said. “Now I wish I could start more than 11 players because of what they’ve all shown me.”
During Tuesday’s win, the Eagles showed what they could do despite a long delay to start the game, played at Maryville Academy in Des Plaines.
The Lady Bulls’ team bus was more than an hour late arriving due to traffic en route from Chicago.
“That was tough,” Presberg said. “We had to warm up, then sit down, and then warm up again. It took us a while to get going.”
When it was over, Willows had two goals from Clare Kelly and one from Faye Chapello for the shutout win. Kailey Mongoven assisted on both of Kelly’s goals and Fischer set up Chapello’s goal.
Kelly scored six minutes into play from inside the six but from there to intermission the Eagles couldn’t solve Lady Bulls keeper Kiana Ortiz.
Ortiz left her line aggressively throughout the contest, cutting off crosses and gathering attempted through-balls to keep her team within one goal of the Eagles at halftime.
Ortiz started last season in net but has adopted a much more aggressive approach this season.
“She's phenomenal, and she has come a long way this year,” Lady Bulls coach Kate Coules said. “She went to a goalie camp last summer and got some individualized help, and she's been very sound.
"She used to come out a little hesitantly, so I told her that when she makes a decision, just go. Just make sure when you make that decision to say “keeper" and let your teammates know. She has gotten very strong in that, and I'm very proud of her.”
Ortiz and central defender Claudia Llanas have given the Lady Bulls a strong defensive base to start the season as their attack finds its way.
“I've been playing with (Llanas) since my freshman year so I know I can always count on her,” Ortiz said. “Once she hears my voice she's always good about reacting. We're also friends off the field so that helps.
“Over the years we've always been a good team and had good chemistry. We've always liked each other and had a good mindset when it comes to stepping onto the field.”
Kartsimas wanted to see her girls adjust to Ortiz’s aggressive play off the line in the second half. With attempted through-balls disappearing into Ortiz’s hands time and again, a simplified approach was in order: “Shoot early and often,” Kartsimas said.
“We haven’t played against a goalkeeper who plays so aggressive off her line, so we had to adjust to that and make sure we weren’t playing it right to her every time.”
Kailey Mongoven won a ball in the corner on the left side early in the second half and served it to the near post, where Kelly buried a header to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead.
Kelly was prominent beyond the two goals she scored. The junior outside mid repeatedly battled her way up the right side and sent dangerous crosses in during the second half.
Kelly’s day earned her Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match honor.
The game’s third and final goal came when Fischer sent a corner kick from the right side to the goalmouth, where Chapello bodied it past Ortiz.
Fischer sent a good handful of corner kicks in during the game and with the wind sweeping sideways across the field, she had the wind at her back for Chapello’s goal.
“The wind definitely helps but it can also hurt depending on how much power you use,” Fischer said. “I try to drop it in the middle of the six but going against the wind that was a lot harder than I thought it would be.”
Kartsimas is pleased with the adjustments Fischer has made on corner kicks.
“Sometimes her corners would reach the back post but nobody was there. Now she's doing a nice job of playing it to the middle for us,” Kartisma said.
Through 10 games, Willows has earned a 36-9 scoring edge over its opponents. Junior keeper Kathryn Stangel earned her fourth shutout of the year with Tuesday’s win, and the starting back four of Presberg, Bridet Mongoven, Mary Grace Kenny, and Celia Coyle played solidly. Ana Kagan also came in off the bench and put forth quality minutes for the defense.
Central defender Bridget Mongoven began the season as a midfielder, but that didn’t last long.
“I saw her speed and had to move her back,” Kartsimas said. “I like having one secure back back there, and Bridget is one of our fastest players.”
Starting midfielders Fischer, Kelly, Emma Dunaway, and Kailey Mongoven, and starting forwards Margarita Manrique and Fransi Inguanti all adjusted nicely in the game’s second half.
“The girls played well,” Kartsimas said. “Our communication lacked a little bit in the first half, but having that hour and a half (delay) before the game kind of knocked us around a little. But we picked it up, realized where we were faltering in the first half, and were able to kick it into gear in the second half.”
One element that tends to get lost during a high school sports season is the idea that having fun should also be a primary motivator.
Willows athletic director Paul Chanan has watched this year’s soccer team embrace that ideal.
“The team has meshed so nicely, and it's not just about winning and losing,” he said.
“They get along so well and that speaks a lot to (Kartsimas), too. She has been incredibly strong in bringing the team together and keeping them focused on the same goal, for the same purpose, and to have a good time as well. This team really does seem to have a good time together.”
Starting lineups
Bulls
GK Kiana Ortiz
D Juridia Sanchez
D Claudia Llanas
D Kelly Espinoza
D Arlin Gonzalez-Ortiz
M Fatima Garcia
M Maira Pena
M Andrea Ortiz
M Viridiana Hernandez
M Daisy Lopez
F Lesly Rojas
Willows
D Bridget Mongoven
D Theresa Presberg
D Mary Grace Kenny
D Celia Coyle
M Ashleigh Fischer
M Emma Dunaway
M Clare Kelly
M Kailey Mongoven
F Margarita Manrique
F Fransi Inguanti
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Clare Kelly, sr., M, Willows Academy
Scoring summary
First half
Willows Academy — Kelly (K. Mongoven)
Second half
Willows Academy — Kelly (K. Mongoven)
Willows Academy — F. Chapello (Fischer)
Kelly strikes twice in Eagles' 3-0 win over Lady Bulls
By Gary Larsen
DES PLAINES — In her first season as head coach at Willows, Leah Kartsimas couldn’t definitively know what kind of team she had until her girls could get out on the field to open their season.
“I felt good about the team, but it took that first game -- in the wind, in the cold, on turf -- to really see it,” she said.
Junior midfielder and team co-captain Theresa Presberg, however, had some positive early suspicions.
“After the first practice, me and the other captains were talking and we thought this could be a very good team,” Presberg said. “It was the chemistry that we saw the most, because I think that really makes or breaks a team.”
Willows won its season opener 4-0 over Schaumburg Christian and followed with a 7-0 victory over Christian Liberty. The success has continued.
On Tuesday, the Eagles won 3-0 over Bulls, a Chicago Public League prep school, to improve their record to 8-2 and prove Presberg prophetic.
Team chemistry has carried the day at Willows in Des Plaines, a Class A school of 288 girls per the IHSA website. Sophomore midfielder Ashleigh Fischer agrees with the age-old notion that team unity has always played a more prominent role on the girls’ side of team sports.
“I think girls bond more than guys in a way. We connect with each other more, whether it's about school or anything, really,” Fischer said. “I love how even though we’re all in different grades, we click with each other. Our personalities are all different, but we come together -- the sport brings us together.”
It wasn’t long into the Eagles’ first game against Schaumburg Christian that Kartsimas’ cautious optimism during the preseason was confirmed.
“We were passing well, shooting well, and at that point I thought this could be a great season,” Kartsimas said. “Now I wish I could start more than 11 players because of what they’ve all shown me.”
During Tuesday’s win, the Eagles showed what they could do despite a long delay to start the game, played at Maryville Academy in Des Plaines.
The Lady Bulls’ team bus was more than an hour late arriving due to traffic en route from Chicago.
“That was tough,” Presberg said. “We had to warm up, then sit down, and then warm up again. It took us a while to get going.”
When it was over, Willows had two goals from Clare Kelly and one from Faye Chapello for the shutout win. Kailey Mongoven assisted on both of Kelly’s goals and Fischer set up Chapello’s goal.
Kelly scored six minutes into play from inside the six but from there to intermission the Eagles couldn’t solve Lady Bulls keeper Kiana Ortiz.
Ortiz left her line aggressively throughout the contest, cutting off crosses and gathering attempted through-balls to keep her team within one goal of the Eagles at halftime.
Ortiz started last season in net but has adopted a much more aggressive approach this season.
“She's phenomenal, and she has come a long way this year,” Lady Bulls coach Kate Coules said. “She went to a goalie camp last summer and got some individualized help, and she's been very sound.
"She used to come out a little hesitantly, so I told her that when she makes a decision, just go. Just make sure when you make that decision to say “keeper" and let your teammates know. She has gotten very strong in that, and I'm very proud of her.”
Ortiz and central defender Claudia Llanas have given the Lady Bulls a strong defensive base to start the season as their attack finds its way.
“I've been playing with (Llanas) since my freshman year so I know I can always count on her,” Ortiz said. “Once she hears my voice she's always good about reacting. We're also friends off the field so that helps.
“Over the years we've always been a good team and had good chemistry. We've always liked each other and had a good mindset when it comes to stepping onto the field.”
Kartsimas wanted to see her girls adjust to Ortiz’s aggressive play off the line in the second half. With attempted through-balls disappearing into Ortiz’s hands time and again, a simplified approach was in order: “Shoot early and often,” Kartsimas said.
“We haven’t played against a goalkeeper who plays so aggressive off her line, so we had to adjust to that and make sure we weren’t playing it right to her every time.”
Kailey Mongoven won a ball in the corner on the left side early in the second half and served it to the near post, where Kelly buried a header to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead.
Kelly was prominent beyond the two goals she scored. The junior outside mid repeatedly battled her way up the right side and sent dangerous crosses in during the second half.
Kelly’s day earned her Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match honor.
The game’s third and final goal came when Fischer sent a corner kick from the right side to the goalmouth, where Chapello bodied it past Ortiz.
Fischer sent a good handful of corner kicks in during the game and with the wind sweeping sideways across the field, she had the wind at her back for Chapello’s goal.
“The wind definitely helps but it can also hurt depending on how much power you use,” Fischer said. “I try to drop it in the middle of the six but going against the wind that was a lot harder than I thought it would be.”
Kartsimas is pleased with the adjustments Fischer has made on corner kicks.
“Sometimes her corners would reach the back post but nobody was there. Now she's doing a nice job of playing it to the middle for us,” Kartisma said.
Through 10 games, Willows has earned a 36-9 scoring edge over its opponents. Junior keeper Kathryn Stangel earned her fourth shutout of the year with Tuesday’s win, and the starting back four of Presberg, Bridet Mongoven, Mary Grace Kenny, and Celia Coyle played solidly. Ana Kagan also came in off the bench and put forth quality minutes for the defense.
Central defender Bridget Mongoven began the season as a midfielder, but that didn’t last long.
“I saw her speed and had to move her back,” Kartsimas said. “I like having one secure back back there, and Bridget is one of our fastest players.”
Starting midfielders Fischer, Kelly, Emma Dunaway, and Kailey Mongoven, and starting forwards Margarita Manrique and Fransi Inguanti all adjusted nicely in the game’s second half.
“The girls played well,” Kartsimas said. “Our communication lacked a little bit in the first half, but having that hour and a half (delay) before the game kind of knocked us around a little. But we picked it up, realized where we were faltering in the first half, and were able to kick it into gear in the second half.”
One element that tends to get lost during a high school sports season is the idea that having fun should also be a primary motivator.
Willows athletic director Paul Chanan has watched this year’s soccer team embrace that ideal.
“The team has meshed so nicely, and it's not just about winning and losing,” he said.
“They get along so well and that speaks a lot to (Kartsimas), too. She has been incredibly strong in bringing the team together and keeping them focused on the same goal, for the same purpose, and to have a good time as well. This team really does seem to have a good time together.”
Starting lineups
Bulls
GK Kiana Ortiz
D Juridia Sanchez
D Claudia Llanas
D Kelly Espinoza
D Arlin Gonzalez-Ortiz
M Fatima Garcia
M Maira Pena
M Andrea Ortiz
M Viridiana Hernandez
M Daisy Lopez
F Lesly Rojas
Willows
D Bridget Mongoven
D Theresa Presberg
D Mary Grace Kenny
D Celia Coyle
M Ashleigh Fischer
M Emma Dunaway
M Clare Kelly
M Kailey Mongoven
F Margarita Manrique
F Fransi Inguanti
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Clare Kelly, sr., M, Willows Academy
Scoring summary
First half
Willows Academy — Kelly (K. Mongoven)
Second half
Willows Academy — Kelly (K. Mongoven)
Willows Academy — F. Chapello (Fischer)