No rest, no problem: Deerfield stays
hot, tops Grayslake Central
Sophomore Fox leads Warriors to 4th victory in 4 days
By Patrick Z. McGavin
GRAYSLAKE -- The brilliant statistical analyst and baseball historian Bill James pioneered a win-analysis model called Pythagorean expectation that used scoring differential to predict performance.
It has now carried over to all sports, including football, baseball and soccer. The mathematical formula differs according to the sport.
The upshot is pretty clear, however -- the greater the scoring differential, the more underlying is a team’s dominance.
Numbers always tell a narrative. Deerfield is playing lights-out soccer.
Even playing their fourth game in four days, the Warriors pushed forward with nothing holding them back.
“This week has been really tough physically, but we talked about it before the game that there’s no use in stopping now,” midfielder Ruby Levy said.
Levy was part of a fantastic and relentless attack as the Warriors, who moved from 14th to 10th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 of May 2, stayed hot with a commanding 4-0 victory at Grayslake Central on Saturday.
Deerfield (16-1-1) has won nine in a row.
Dating to a 3-0 victory over Highland Park Monday, the Warriors posted five shutouts in their perfect five-victory week and scored 16 goals.
After 18 games, Deerfield has a 77-9 scoring differential. This edition of the Warriors is currently ranked third in school scoring history behind the 2021 (79) and 2019 (84) teams.
Sophomore keeper Lauren Gottlieb posted her 12th shutout of the season. The Warriors have not conceded a goal since their 4-1 victory over Lake Zurich on April 12, a streak of 597 minutes according to team statistics.
Grayslake Central (5-6-3) has a commanding presence at keeper in Loyola recruit Piper Gallaher.
She did everything in her power, like stopping a rocket ball from Deerfield sophomore midfielder Emily Fox in the third minute.
Gallaher possesses ideal size, range and athleticism.
“I like playing the ball out of the back,” she said. “I like moving it up. As a whole, I feel like I can control it better.
“It calms us down. When we can control, and we are able to work together and find our passes, everything works a lot better.”
Unfortunately for the Rams, Deerfield’s pressure was too sustained, intense and relentless to stop everything.
“I think we started off slow and not the way we wanted,” Gallaher said.
“In the last 30 minutes of the first half, we started to play out of the back, connect and find our rhythm.”
Deerfield has many tantalizing weapons to draw from, especially savvy and skilled veterans Riley Schimanski, Holly Deutsch and Ally Linn.
Fox is moving up the charts as one of the best players in her class.
She has a great touch and a wonderful ability to separate from defenders. Her reputation now precedes her.
“I have definitely gotten some beatings this week,” Fox said, “They tend to come and foul me, or push me around a lot.”
Fox has become lethally accurate on her free kicks.
She started the Warriors’ onslaught in the seventh minute.
Deutsch played a ball that Schimanski blasted from the right wing. Fox controlled Gallaher’s stop for a brilliant half volley from about 14 yards.
“We tend to always score first,” Fox said. “That helps a lot because we had to push through a lot to get through the tiredness of playing our past games.
“We have great depth, and everybody who has stopped on the field today did amazing.”
In scoring her 18th goal, Fox also earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match for her superb play.
Grayslake Central found its way after the early Deerfield barrage. However, the visitors continued to push numbers and drive the ball.
The play of Gallaher and her backline kept the Rams close.
“We have really worked on that,” defender Katie Dinsmore said. “I think we struggled with that at the beginning of the season by getting down or get defeated when we gave up early goals.
“We’ve made a concerted effort to come out harder once we get scored on and try to get back into the game. That way, we don’t get caught in a large deficit.”
Deerfield knows how to go for the jugular. The early goal provided the necessary momentum.
“Those early goals definitely gave us the adrenaline to keep the pressure and always push through,” Levy said.
“Obviously there is no stopping after that.”
Levy scored her second goal of the week, and season, in the 34th minute.
Midfielder Ryane Emory created off the dribble at the top of the box, and slotted a ball left that allowed Levy to unwind and smash home the ball from 15 yards.
Deerfield led 2-0 at halftime.
The sequence illustrated the versatility of the Warriors' attack and the interchangeability of the players.
Levy is fully recovered from a string of early season injuries. She is just one more dynamic player coach Rich Grady throws into the mix.
For a team like Deerfield, goals are contagious. Even going against an elite keeper like Gallaher, the math favored the Warriors.
Another scintillating Deutsch and Schimanski combination action led to Linn facing an open net and tapping in a two-yarder in the 42nd minute.
Deerfield’s 3-5-3 formation privileges possession and control. Linn has the freedom to play in the middle or fall back as necessary.
“This has been a big learning experience for me, because I just started playing in the midfield last year,” Linn said. “I am reading the game to know when we need our midfielders to drop back and when outside players have to push up.
“We are definitely able to communicate with each other.”
Defender Avery Kingsepp put the finishing touches on the Deerfield clinic with a beautiful corner shot from about 28 yards in the 62nd minute.
“That was a great shot,” Gallaher said.
“When the second half came around, we got a little shell-shocked there. I thought we did a good job of bouncing back. I thought we might have been able to score a few times there.”
Grayslake Central forward Courtney Fletcher had a couple of prized moments, getting on the edge and forcing strong actions by Gottlieb, who finished with three saves.
Forward Ava Ramsey also had a solid scoring chance that was just wide of the frame.
“It took us a while, but we tell the girls to play side by side and relax with the ball,” Grayslake Central coach Keith Andersson said.
“When we can maintain possession, we can play with anybody. When you possess the ball, it’s hard for the other team to do anything.”
That’s tough to do against Deerfield. The Warriors offense have become accustomed to making headlines.
An athletic and skilled back featuring two-way standout Katie Morgan, Maddie Stevens and Emma Gassman has been sensational.
“I think a big part of us is that we trust our offense, but we trust our defense just as much,” Linn said.
“When we are attacking, we know even if we lose the ball, our three backs are going to be all over it.”
The victory followed the most impressive of the week, a 1-0 victory over then no. 24 Young on Friday in the Glenbrook South quad.
Kingsepp scored the game-winner.
“One of the great things about this stretch of games is that we have played high-quality teams who have challenged our defense,” said Grady, who won his 200th-career game with the result.
“I’m really happy with how we’re playing. Lauren doesn’t get a break, because she’s our only keeper. Everybody’s playing really well for us.”
Despite the one-sided score, Andersson also saw signs of hope as the season reached a crucial juncture.
“When our offense started to take a second or even third touch, everything flowed a lot better,” he said.
“I told the girls I am not really worried about our record. I want to see them progressing and play the way we want. Once you get into the state tournament, anything can happen.”
Starting lineups
Deerfield
GK: Lauren Gottlieb
D: Maddie Stevens
D: Katie Morgan
D: Emma Gassman
MF: Ally Linn
MF: Holly Deutsch
MF: Emily Fox
MF: Jessie Fisher
MF: Erin Emory
F: Riley Schimanski
F: Ryane Emory
Grayslake Central
G: Piper Gallaher
D: Nathalie Thorson
D: Katie Dinsmore
D: Avalyn Woods
D: Sara Armstrong
MF: Sara Ottolino
MF: Madison Hoffman
MF: Kaitlyn Morrissey
MF: Katie Armstrong
F: Courtney Fletcher
F: Ava Ramsey
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Emily Fox, so., MF, Deerfield
Scoring summary
First half
Deerfield—Emily Fox (Riley Schimanski), 7th minute
Deerfield—Ruby Levy (Ryane Emory), 34th minute
Second half
Deerfield—Ally Linn (Holly Deutsch), 42nd minute
Deerfield—Avery Kingsepp (unassisted), 62nd minute
hot, tops Grayslake Central
Sophomore Fox leads Warriors to 4th victory in 4 days
By Patrick Z. McGavin
GRAYSLAKE -- The brilliant statistical analyst and baseball historian Bill James pioneered a win-analysis model called Pythagorean expectation that used scoring differential to predict performance.
It has now carried over to all sports, including football, baseball and soccer. The mathematical formula differs according to the sport.
The upshot is pretty clear, however -- the greater the scoring differential, the more underlying is a team’s dominance.
Numbers always tell a narrative. Deerfield is playing lights-out soccer.
Even playing their fourth game in four days, the Warriors pushed forward with nothing holding them back.
“This week has been really tough physically, but we talked about it before the game that there’s no use in stopping now,” midfielder Ruby Levy said.
Levy was part of a fantastic and relentless attack as the Warriors, who moved from 14th to 10th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 of May 2, stayed hot with a commanding 4-0 victory at Grayslake Central on Saturday.
Deerfield (16-1-1) has won nine in a row.
Dating to a 3-0 victory over Highland Park Monday, the Warriors posted five shutouts in their perfect five-victory week and scored 16 goals.
After 18 games, Deerfield has a 77-9 scoring differential. This edition of the Warriors is currently ranked third in school scoring history behind the 2021 (79) and 2019 (84) teams.
Sophomore keeper Lauren Gottlieb posted her 12th shutout of the season. The Warriors have not conceded a goal since their 4-1 victory over Lake Zurich on April 12, a streak of 597 minutes according to team statistics.
Grayslake Central (5-6-3) has a commanding presence at keeper in Loyola recruit Piper Gallaher.
She did everything in her power, like stopping a rocket ball from Deerfield sophomore midfielder Emily Fox in the third minute.
Gallaher possesses ideal size, range and athleticism.
“I like playing the ball out of the back,” she said. “I like moving it up. As a whole, I feel like I can control it better.
“It calms us down. When we can control, and we are able to work together and find our passes, everything works a lot better.”
Unfortunately for the Rams, Deerfield’s pressure was too sustained, intense and relentless to stop everything.
“I think we started off slow and not the way we wanted,” Gallaher said.
“In the last 30 minutes of the first half, we started to play out of the back, connect and find our rhythm.”
Deerfield has many tantalizing weapons to draw from, especially savvy and skilled veterans Riley Schimanski, Holly Deutsch and Ally Linn.
Fox is moving up the charts as one of the best players in her class.
She has a great touch and a wonderful ability to separate from defenders. Her reputation now precedes her.
“I have definitely gotten some beatings this week,” Fox said, “They tend to come and foul me, or push me around a lot.”
Fox has become lethally accurate on her free kicks.
She started the Warriors’ onslaught in the seventh minute.
Deutsch played a ball that Schimanski blasted from the right wing. Fox controlled Gallaher’s stop for a brilliant half volley from about 14 yards.
“We tend to always score first,” Fox said. “That helps a lot because we had to push through a lot to get through the tiredness of playing our past games.
“We have great depth, and everybody who has stopped on the field today did amazing.”
In scoring her 18th goal, Fox also earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match for her superb play.
Grayslake Central found its way after the early Deerfield barrage. However, the visitors continued to push numbers and drive the ball.
The play of Gallaher and her backline kept the Rams close.
“We have really worked on that,” defender Katie Dinsmore said. “I think we struggled with that at the beginning of the season by getting down or get defeated when we gave up early goals.
“We’ve made a concerted effort to come out harder once we get scored on and try to get back into the game. That way, we don’t get caught in a large deficit.”
Deerfield knows how to go for the jugular. The early goal provided the necessary momentum.
“Those early goals definitely gave us the adrenaline to keep the pressure and always push through,” Levy said.
“Obviously there is no stopping after that.”
Levy scored her second goal of the week, and season, in the 34th minute.
Midfielder Ryane Emory created off the dribble at the top of the box, and slotted a ball left that allowed Levy to unwind and smash home the ball from 15 yards.
Deerfield led 2-0 at halftime.
The sequence illustrated the versatility of the Warriors' attack and the interchangeability of the players.
Levy is fully recovered from a string of early season injuries. She is just one more dynamic player coach Rich Grady throws into the mix.
For a team like Deerfield, goals are contagious. Even going against an elite keeper like Gallaher, the math favored the Warriors.
Another scintillating Deutsch and Schimanski combination action led to Linn facing an open net and tapping in a two-yarder in the 42nd minute.
Deerfield’s 3-5-3 formation privileges possession and control. Linn has the freedom to play in the middle or fall back as necessary.
“This has been a big learning experience for me, because I just started playing in the midfield last year,” Linn said. “I am reading the game to know when we need our midfielders to drop back and when outside players have to push up.
“We are definitely able to communicate with each other.”
Defender Avery Kingsepp put the finishing touches on the Deerfield clinic with a beautiful corner shot from about 28 yards in the 62nd minute.
“That was a great shot,” Gallaher said.
“When the second half came around, we got a little shell-shocked there. I thought we did a good job of bouncing back. I thought we might have been able to score a few times there.”
Grayslake Central forward Courtney Fletcher had a couple of prized moments, getting on the edge and forcing strong actions by Gottlieb, who finished with three saves.
Forward Ava Ramsey also had a solid scoring chance that was just wide of the frame.
“It took us a while, but we tell the girls to play side by side and relax with the ball,” Grayslake Central coach Keith Andersson said.
“When we can maintain possession, we can play with anybody. When you possess the ball, it’s hard for the other team to do anything.”
That’s tough to do against Deerfield. The Warriors offense have become accustomed to making headlines.
An athletic and skilled back featuring two-way standout Katie Morgan, Maddie Stevens and Emma Gassman has been sensational.
“I think a big part of us is that we trust our offense, but we trust our defense just as much,” Linn said.
“When we are attacking, we know even if we lose the ball, our three backs are going to be all over it.”
The victory followed the most impressive of the week, a 1-0 victory over then no. 24 Young on Friday in the Glenbrook South quad.
Kingsepp scored the game-winner.
“One of the great things about this stretch of games is that we have played high-quality teams who have challenged our defense,” said Grady, who won his 200th-career game with the result.
“I’m really happy with how we’re playing. Lauren doesn’t get a break, because she’s our only keeper. Everybody’s playing really well for us.”
Despite the one-sided score, Andersson also saw signs of hope as the season reached a crucial juncture.
“When our offense started to take a second or even third touch, everything flowed a lot better,” he said.
“I told the girls I am not really worried about our record. I want to see them progressing and play the way we want. Once you get into the state tournament, anything can happen.”
Starting lineups
Deerfield
GK: Lauren Gottlieb
D: Maddie Stevens
D: Katie Morgan
D: Emma Gassman
MF: Ally Linn
MF: Holly Deutsch
MF: Emily Fox
MF: Jessie Fisher
MF: Erin Emory
F: Riley Schimanski
F: Ryane Emory
Grayslake Central
G: Piper Gallaher
D: Nathalie Thorson
D: Katie Dinsmore
D: Avalyn Woods
D: Sara Armstrong
MF: Sara Ottolino
MF: Madison Hoffman
MF: Kaitlyn Morrissey
MF: Katie Armstrong
F: Courtney Fletcher
F: Ava Ramsey
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Emily Fox, so., MF, Deerfield
Scoring summary
First half
Deerfield—Emily Fox (Riley Schimanski), 7th minute
Deerfield—Ruby Levy (Ryane Emory), 34th minute
Second half
Deerfield—Ally Linn (Holly Deutsch), 42nd minute
Deerfield—Avery Kingsepp (unassisted), 62nd minute