Smashing start can't split
Deerfield, Glenbrook South
Teams play to 2-2 in final GBS quad match
By Patrick Z. McGavin
GLENVIEW -- Momentum is one of the most unaccountable qualities of sports.
Math nerds like to suggest the underlying numbers prove it’s more random than suggestive.
The math favored Deerfield.
The raw emotion belonged to Glenbrook South.
Just as Deerfield seemed ready to roll on Thursday night, the Titans decided both individually and en masse -- enough was enough.
“We’ve had an up-and-down season, but I think tonight we really showed our worth,” Glenbrook South forward Audrey Langenbach said.
“I thought, after a pretty slow start, we really improved, and we just showed everything we had on this field.”
The Titans offset two early goals by Deerfield to create two beautiful scoring sequences that resulted in the 2-2 tie in the final game of the Glenbrook South Quad.
The round robin tournament also featured no. 23 Young and St. Ignatius.
For the night, Glenbrook South found a way to slow down the rampaging and tenth-ranked Warriors.
Deerfield (17-1-2) saw its 10-game winning streak come to an end, but it extended its unbeaten run to 11 games.
The Warriors also thrived despite the absence of two of its best players: midfielder Emily Fox was unavailable due to illness; center back Katie Morgan, the linchpin of the defense, was attending the college graduation of her older sister.
“Definitely missing people changed up our lineup,” forward Riley Schimanski said.
“Everyone came in and played really strong. I was really proud of the way we were able to defend against a very good team.”
Schimanski and midfielder Holly Deutsch strike a palatable fear in the opposition.
Playing in a soft, sideways and persistent rain, the two turned the opening minutes into a gorgeous platform of everything they are capable of.
Deutsch is magic with the ball at her feet, creative and dynamic in space. Schimanski has a phenomenal feel for the game, and the ability to seemingly score from anywhere.
The ball just explodes off her foot.
Right off the jump, Deerfield looked to push the ball wide and find Schimanski or Deutsch in space.
In the second minute, Schimanski worked the ball through a tight window and found Deutsch for a beautiful one-touch from about 12 yards.
“When we have challenges, our team is not fearful of taking the challenge,” Deutsch said.
“We rise up to the opportunity.”
Of late, goals have come fast and easy for the Warriors.
The dazzling pair came back moments later, their roles reversed, with Deutsch playing a ball that Schimanski blasted home from about the same distance for another harshly beautiful goal.
With barely eight minutes elapsed, the Warriors led 2-0, and Glenbrook South (7-12-1) had every reason to capitulate.
But the Titans have been in this situation before and allowed early goals metastasize and produce lopsided results.
The players had other ideas.
“With a lot of us being seniors, we showed what we got,” Langenbach said.
What appeared to be a one-sided affair instead became a barn-burner.
Glenbrook South settled in, and began to connect in the middle. Beyond that, a certain pride took hold.
“The team knows there are only a few games left, and we are going to put our hearts and soul out there onto the field, especially with the playoffs coming up,” midfielder Lilly O’Rourke said.
“Despite digging ourselves a hole in starting out the game, I thought we played really strong throughout the game.”
The Titans have a suite of weapons in players like O’Rourke, Langenbach, and midfielder Anna Durow.
Midfielder Bella Gemignani is another dangerous talent, a poised, quick player with a feel for the game.
In the 12th minute, she blasted a rocket ball from about 16 yards inside the far post and into the upper, right-hand corner.
Deerfield’s streak of nine-consecutive shutouts was gone. The Warriors had not given up a goal since the second half of a 4-1 victory over Lake Zurich on April 12.
Midfielder Meghan Noe completed the remarkable, opening quarter of the game with the fourth and final goal in the 21st minute.
Her beautiful free kick from about 28 yards was an aesthetic and physical marvel.
Then a curious thing happened: a shootout evolved into a tactical game, with spectacular saves by the Titans’ keeper Bella Crist keeping the game close.
Deerfield clearly had the better opportunities to break the tie.
The conditions created a weird set of patterns as well, the ball seemingly not always following the normal rules of physics.
During one dramatic sequence in the second half, Crist bolted out of the box and had the ball deflect off her back.
It rolled toward the Glenbrook South goal until a defensive clearance.
The propulsive early back and forth actions of the two quick Deerfield scores, and the Glenbrook South responses played out in other aspects of the game.
Schimanski, in particular, created some pressure at the point of attack. Deutsch nearly got free behind the Titans’ back.
O’Rourke was a significant target for the Titans.
The scoring possibilities of the last 59 minutes tended toward the possible. Crist made two highlight-reel saves.
Despite conceding those two goals, sophomore Lauren Gottlieb continued to impress for Deerfield, which gave up two or more goals for just the third time this season.
“I get frustrated in my mind, and I say I should have done this,” she said.
“Then I think about the next thing, and I always think about the bright side, and what we’re doing well. Being discouraged is the worst thing.”
Deerfield went 2-0-1 in the tournament, beating St. Ignatius and Young.
The Warriors recent history has overshadowed a newly developed part of its game.
“Based on previous years, we have always been an offensive team,” Gottlieb said.
“This year we try to focus on both because we know we have skill on both sides. Honestly, I think most people are not talking about our defense is a good thing. It means that we’re not making mistakes.”
The end of the quad event also made the dawn of the state tournament feel all the closer.
Deerfield earned the no. 1 sectional seed at the Class AA Wauconda Sectional. Glenbrook South is the no. 9 seed in at Class 3A Warren.
“I think we worked really hard, and we deserved that seeding,” Deutsch said.
O’Rourke represented the Glenbrook South angle.
“I think we left the field with our heads high, and happy with how we played,” she said.
Starting lineups
Deerfield
GK: Lauren Gottlieb
D: Lauryn Morris
D: Maddie Stevens
D: Avery Kingsepp
M: Ally Linn
M: Erin Emory
M: Ruby Levy
M: Simone Criz
F: Holly Deutsch
F: Ryane Emory
F: Riley Schimanski
Glenbrook South
GK: Bella Crist
D: Ashley Ciss
D: Mia DeMattia
D: Ava DeMattia
D: Caitlyn Antman
D: Adyson Clemen
MF: Heather Sundstrom
MF: Bella Gemignani
MF: Meghan Noe
F: Anna Durow
F: Lilly O’Rourke
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match:
Riley Schimanski, sr., F, Deerfield;
Bella Crist, sr, GK, Glenbrook South
Scoring summary
First half
D: Holly Deutsch (Riley Schimanski), 2nd minute
D: Schimanski (Deutsch), 8th minute
GBS: Bella Gemignani (Heather Sundstrom), 12th minute
GBS: Meghan Noe (free kick), 21st minute
Second half
No scoring
Deerfield, Glenbrook South
Teams play to 2-2 in final GBS quad match
By Patrick Z. McGavin
GLENVIEW -- Momentum is one of the most unaccountable qualities of sports.
Math nerds like to suggest the underlying numbers prove it’s more random than suggestive.
The math favored Deerfield.
The raw emotion belonged to Glenbrook South.
Just as Deerfield seemed ready to roll on Thursday night, the Titans decided both individually and en masse -- enough was enough.
“We’ve had an up-and-down season, but I think tonight we really showed our worth,” Glenbrook South forward Audrey Langenbach said.
“I thought, after a pretty slow start, we really improved, and we just showed everything we had on this field.”
The Titans offset two early goals by Deerfield to create two beautiful scoring sequences that resulted in the 2-2 tie in the final game of the Glenbrook South Quad.
The round robin tournament also featured no. 23 Young and St. Ignatius.
For the night, Glenbrook South found a way to slow down the rampaging and tenth-ranked Warriors.
Deerfield (17-1-2) saw its 10-game winning streak come to an end, but it extended its unbeaten run to 11 games.
The Warriors also thrived despite the absence of two of its best players: midfielder Emily Fox was unavailable due to illness; center back Katie Morgan, the linchpin of the defense, was attending the college graduation of her older sister.
“Definitely missing people changed up our lineup,” forward Riley Schimanski said.
“Everyone came in and played really strong. I was really proud of the way we were able to defend against a very good team.”
Schimanski and midfielder Holly Deutsch strike a palatable fear in the opposition.
Playing in a soft, sideways and persistent rain, the two turned the opening minutes into a gorgeous platform of everything they are capable of.
Deutsch is magic with the ball at her feet, creative and dynamic in space. Schimanski has a phenomenal feel for the game, and the ability to seemingly score from anywhere.
The ball just explodes off her foot.
Right off the jump, Deerfield looked to push the ball wide and find Schimanski or Deutsch in space.
In the second minute, Schimanski worked the ball through a tight window and found Deutsch for a beautiful one-touch from about 12 yards.
“When we have challenges, our team is not fearful of taking the challenge,” Deutsch said.
“We rise up to the opportunity.”
Of late, goals have come fast and easy for the Warriors.
The dazzling pair came back moments later, their roles reversed, with Deutsch playing a ball that Schimanski blasted home from about the same distance for another harshly beautiful goal.
With barely eight minutes elapsed, the Warriors led 2-0, and Glenbrook South (7-12-1) had every reason to capitulate.
But the Titans have been in this situation before and allowed early goals metastasize and produce lopsided results.
The players had other ideas.
“With a lot of us being seniors, we showed what we got,” Langenbach said.
What appeared to be a one-sided affair instead became a barn-burner.
Glenbrook South settled in, and began to connect in the middle. Beyond that, a certain pride took hold.
“The team knows there are only a few games left, and we are going to put our hearts and soul out there onto the field, especially with the playoffs coming up,” midfielder Lilly O’Rourke said.
“Despite digging ourselves a hole in starting out the game, I thought we played really strong throughout the game.”
The Titans have a suite of weapons in players like O’Rourke, Langenbach, and midfielder Anna Durow.
Midfielder Bella Gemignani is another dangerous talent, a poised, quick player with a feel for the game.
In the 12th minute, she blasted a rocket ball from about 16 yards inside the far post and into the upper, right-hand corner.
Deerfield’s streak of nine-consecutive shutouts was gone. The Warriors had not given up a goal since the second half of a 4-1 victory over Lake Zurich on April 12.
Midfielder Meghan Noe completed the remarkable, opening quarter of the game with the fourth and final goal in the 21st minute.
Her beautiful free kick from about 28 yards was an aesthetic and physical marvel.
Then a curious thing happened: a shootout evolved into a tactical game, with spectacular saves by the Titans’ keeper Bella Crist keeping the game close.
Deerfield clearly had the better opportunities to break the tie.
The conditions created a weird set of patterns as well, the ball seemingly not always following the normal rules of physics.
During one dramatic sequence in the second half, Crist bolted out of the box and had the ball deflect off her back.
It rolled toward the Glenbrook South goal until a defensive clearance.
The propulsive early back and forth actions of the two quick Deerfield scores, and the Glenbrook South responses played out in other aspects of the game.
Schimanski, in particular, created some pressure at the point of attack. Deutsch nearly got free behind the Titans’ back.
O’Rourke was a significant target for the Titans.
The scoring possibilities of the last 59 minutes tended toward the possible. Crist made two highlight-reel saves.
Despite conceding those two goals, sophomore Lauren Gottlieb continued to impress for Deerfield, which gave up two or more goals for just the third time this season.
“I get frustrated in my mind, and I say I should have done this,” she said.
“Then I think about the next thing, and I always think about the bright side, and what we’re doing well. Being discouraged is the worst thing.”
Deerfield went 2-0-1 in the tournament, beating St. Ignatius and Young.
The Warriors recent history has overshadowed a newly developed part of its game.
“Based on previous years, we have always been an offensive team,” Gottlieb said.
“This year we try to focus on both because we know we have skill on both sides. Honestly, I think most people are not talking about our defense is a good thing. It means that we’re not making mistakes.”
The end of the quad event also made the dawn of the state tournament feel all the closer.
Deerfield earned the no. 1 sectional seed at the Class AA Wauconda Sectional. Glenbrook South is the no. 9 seed in at Class 3A Warren.
“I think we worked really hard, and we deserved that seeding,” Deutsch said.
O’Rourke represented the Glenbrook South angle.
“I think we left the field with our heads high, and happy with how we played,” she said.
Starting lineups
Deerfield
GK: Lauren Gottlieb
D: Lauryn Morris
D: Maddie Stevens
D: Avery Kingsepp
M: Ally Linn
M: Erin Emory
M: Ruby Levy
M: Simone Criz
F: Holly Deutsch
F: Ryane Emory
F: Riley Schimanski
Glenbrook South
GK: Bella Crist
D: Ashley Ciss
D: Mia DeMattia
D: Ava DeMattia
D: Caitlyn Antman
D: Adyson Clemen
MF: Heather Sundstrom
MF: Bella Gemignani
MF: Meghan Noe
F: Anna Durow
F: Lilly O’Rourke
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match:
Riley Schimanski, sr., F, Deerfield;
Bella Crist, sr, GK, Glenbrook South
Scoring summary
First half
D: Holly Deutsch (Riley Schimanski), 2nd minute
D: Schimanski (Deutsch), 8th minute
GBS: Bella Gemignani (Heather Sundstrom), 12th minute
GBS: Meghan Noe (free kick), 21st minute
Second half
No scoring