Deerfield closes record-setting season
with 3rd place win over Fenwick
Freshman Emory scores brace in 3-0 win
By Dave Owen
NAPERVILLE – The third place game can perhaps be perceived as a consolation prize after a tough state semifinal loss.
But not by Deerfield, which cast aside the disappointment from Friday’s 3-2 defeat to Benet to best Fenwick 3-0 in the Class AA third place match Saturday morning.
“We told them we get the opportunity to be together as a group one more time,” Warriors coach Rich Grady said, “and we wanted to play the way that we have all season, which is go out and attack. And I think we did that.
“This group has a lot of fun playing together, and they wanted to end it the right way. I think they did. I’m really proud of all of them.”
Both Deerfield (23-4-2) and Fenwick (13-8-2) used the first half to substitute early and often, giving their entire rosters an opportunity to see state finals weekend experience.
Then after a scoreless and rather sluggish first half, the Warriors got down to business with two goals in the first 8:04 of the second half to essentially decide the outcome.
“We all realized we were taking it too seriously (in the first half),” said Deerfield’s Ryane Emory, who led the second half surge with two goals. “We were really just down on our energy. In the second half we brought up the energy, and started to enjoy it more.”
Scoring goals sure adds to any enjoyment level, and Deerfield used a familiar catalyst to jump ahead 1-0 with 36:20 left in the game.
Senior Holly Deutsch closed the season with school records in assists for a season (31) and varsity career (62). After her first corner kick send resulted in an Emma Nitsun shot deflected wide by a Fenwick defender, Deutsch’s second corner kick in 30 seconds led to a Deerfield lead.
Deutsch’s send sprung loose to Jessie Fisher in front, who lined a 10-yard shot into the net to put the Warriors in front.
“Holly’s ablity to drive down the side and then cross it is just really amazing,” Deerfield standout sophomore Emily Fox said. “She’s so fast, and that’s how we get a lot of our goals. She’s helped our success this year a lot.”
Fox would provide the assist that put Deerfield up 2-0 with 31:56 left. Her pass sprung Emory in on left wing. She deposited the ensuing shot inside the left post.
“I think we did an amazing job today,” Emory said. “We couldn’t have wished for much better. We all did our best.
“We know we gave our all yesterday. And sometimes you don’t win. But we wanted to end with a bang today.”
Emory added the final fireworks with 25:05 left to play. Off a right-side dribble drive and cross by Deutsch, Emory powered home a 10-yard shot right side to make the lead 3-0.
“We’ve become so close this past season,” Emory said, “that we wanted to go all out and put everything we had into this game. We wanted to make sure we ended on a win.”
Deerfield’s excellent second half continued with another chance with 14:05 to go. Off another Deutsch corner kick, junior Maggie Culver just missed a goal when her shot clanged off the right post.
For its part, Fenwick had to deal both with a determined Deerfield squad and fatigue Saturday.
The Friars had battled eventual Class AA champion Triad to a two-overtime marathon in Friday’s semifinals. A pair of Triad goals in the second 10-minute overtime session snapping a 1-1 tie.
“I’ve always wanted to be here (at state) since freshman year,” Fenwick senior Emily Ortiz said, “and it’s an amazing accomplishment.
“I love our players. They all put in all the hard work, and I know that even though this isn’t exactly what we wanted (fourth place), we gave it our all.
“It was a long bus ride here (Saturday morning), and everybody had to see the trainer. Our mentality in this game could have maybe been a bit stronger, but I know we gave it our all.”
Fenwick earned the third state trophy in program history, after placing fourth in 2004 and third in 2013.
“It’s been amazing,” Ortiz said. “We made history.”
The Friars emerged from the first 40 minutes of play tied 0-0 mainly by repelling numerous threats by Fox and Deutsch.
Fox made her initial impact with a 30-yard shot just over the net 12 minutes in, then a Deutsch 18-yard right side liner two minutes later was deflected wide left by diving Fenwick goalkeeper Audrey Hinrichs.
Hinrichs later made the save on a Fox 30-yard free kick (18th minute), then blocked and controlled a Deutsch 12-yard shot in the 35th minute to maintain the nil-nil halftime tally.
Deerfield’s second half finishes impacted the final score, but not Fenwick’s memories of its state tournament run.
“Just making it here was such an accomplishment,” Fenwick senior Abbie Rogowski said. “That was our goal from the beginning, so I’m happy we reached that goal.”
Hinrichs, Ortiz, Rogowski and Kate Henige (19 goals, seven assists) were Fenwick’s senior captains, and sophomore Caroline Henige scored 12 goals to rank second on the team.
Rogowski’s sophomore sister Maddie was unable to play due to injury, but still savored the unique state weekend experience.
“Maddie Rogowski was out and that hurt us,” Fenwick coach Craig Blazer said. “But she said ‘I like how many people are here and how everybody treats you first class, and how important it makes everybody feel.’
“Being good and working hard and being recognized for that is part of the process,” Blazer added. “And now our younger players are just going to be more and more invested (in making it back here).”
Deerfield’s good feelings extended beyond the season-ending win.
Among the players seeing action were standout senior forward Riley Schimanski (18 goals, 11 assists in 25 games), who made a two-minute appearance in the second half after suffering a late-season ACL injury.
“It was nice to give Riley a last moment on the field,” Grady said, “and the same with Marissa (Siciliano) who has been out for two seasons with an ACL. It was nice to get everybody on the field.”
Fox’s 25-goal season helped fill the void left by the Schimanski injury.
“Definitely when we lost Riley I knew I had to step up,” she said. “And even though I didn’t play her position, I had to take over more to try to keep our success going.”
After finishing with 15 wins and reaching the sectional finals last spring, the Warriors rose to another level this year. They set school records for most wins, fewest losses and most goals with 110 scored.
“This year was especially special for us,” Deerfield senior defender Ally Linn said. “We missed our sophomore year because of COVID. This team, we’ve never been closer. We knew when we started the season that we wanted to do something special.
“We wanted to build a strong culture. Freshman year our team wasn’t as close, and we saw the difference on and off the field. We felt the importance of getting rid of the age gap, and just all be close and do that in order to be able to go far.”
Deutsch was another key leader.
“Definitely as seniors and both of us being captains we just wanted to lead our team and show what hard work does,” Deutsch said, “and set an example for the underclassmen. And for them to carry this on in the future.”
The leader of Deerfield’s sophomore group noted the importance of present and future cohesiveness.
“We’re all really close,” Fox said. “We have a great bond. Everyone accepts everyone no matter what age you are. We all work together, and it’s a really great atmosphere.
“Definitely losing these seniors will be really hard on the program, but we’re hoping that the younger players can step up and continue this program and make it the best.”
That growing pride in the program was part of the approach to Saturday’s game.
“We were given a special opportunity,” Linn said, “to be one of two teams to be able to win our last game.”
“Obviously it was disappointing yesterday,” Fox said, “but we got this far and we wanted to win our last game. That’s what we had to do.
“Honestly I like ending our season this way. It was fun, we got everyone in, everyone contributed, and we won.”
Deerfield earned its second state trophy, after placing second in Class AA in its first trip to the finals in 2016.
“I think it’s a magical season,” Grady said. “We played one of the toughest schedules we ever played ... and to get here ... obviously we wanted to win two games, but we won one. And I thought we played very well in the other (a 3-2 semifinal loss to Benet).
“That’s all you can ask, that they perform to their capabilities. And I think they did. It’s a special group. It’s been fun to be around them.”
Starting lineups
Deerfield
GK Lauren Gottlieb
D Ally Linn
D Emma Gassman
D Lauryn Morris
D Katie Morgan
M Madeline Stevens
M Erin Emory
M Emily Fox
M Maggie Culver
M Holly Deutsch
F Emma Nitsun
Fenwick
GK Audrey Hinrichs
D Emily Ortiz
D Abbie Rogowski
D Julia Cianci
D Grace Kapsch
M Fiona Roche
M Natalie Del Guidice
M Caroline Henige
M Gabi Kapusta
F Kiera Mullarkey
F Kate Henige
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match:
Ryane Emory, fr. F, Deerfield
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
D: Jessie Fisher (Holly Deutsch assist), 44’
D: Ryane Emory (Emily Fox), 49’
D: Emory (Deutsch), 55’
with 3rd place win over Fenwick
Freshman Emory scores brace in 3-0 win
By Dave Owen
NAPERVILLE – The third place game can perhaps be perceived as a consolation prize after a tough state semifinal loss.
But not by Deerfield, which cast aside the disappointment from Friday’s 3-2 defeat to Benet to best Fenwick 3-0 in the Class AA third place match Saturday morning.
“We told them we get the opportunity to be together as a group one more time,” Warriors coach Rich Grady said, “and we wanted to play the way that we have all season, which is go out and attack. And I think we did that.
“This group has a lot of fun playing together, and they wanted to end it the right way. I think they did. I’m really proud of all of them.”
Both Deerfield (23-4-2) and Fenwick (13-8-2) used the first half to substitute early and often, giving their entire rosters an opportunity to see state finals weekend experience.
Then after a scoreless and rather sluggish first half, the Warriors got down to business with two goals in the first 8:04 of the second half to essentially decide the outcome.
“We all realized we were taking it too seriously (in the first half),” said Deerfield’s Ryane Emory, who led the second half surge with two goals. “We were really just down on our energy. In the second half we brought up the energy, and started to enjoy it more.”
Scoring goals sure adds to any enjoyment level, and Deerfield used a familiar catalyst to jump ahead 1-0 with 36:20 left in the game.
Senior Holly Deutsch closed the season with school records in assists for a season (31) and varsity career (62). After her first corner kick send resulted in an Emma Nitsun shot deflected wide by a Fenwick defender, Deutsch’s second corner kick in 30 seconds led to a Deerfield lead.
Deutsch’s send sprung loose to Jessie Fisher in front, who lined a 10-yard shot into the net to put the Warriors in front.
“Holly’s ablity to drive down the side and then cross it is just really amazing,” Deerfield standout sophomore Emily Fox said. “She’s so fast, and that’s how we get a lot of our goals. She’s helped our success this year a lot.”
Fox would provide the assist that put Deerfield up 2-0 with 31:56 left. Her pass sprung Emory in on left wing. She deposited the ensuing shot inside the left post.
“I think we did an amazing job today,” Emory said. “We couldn’t have wished for much better. We all did our best.
“We know we gave our all yesterday. And sometimes you don’t win. But we wanted to end with a bang today.”
Emory added the final fireworks with 25:05 left to play. Off a right-side dribble drive and cross by Deutsch, Emory powered home a 10-yard shot right side to make the lead 3-0.
“We’ve become so close this past season,” Emory said, “that we wanted to go all out and put everything we had into this game. We wanted to make sure we ended on a win.”
Deerfield’s excellent second half continued with another chance with 14:05 to go. Off another Deutsch corner kick, junior Maggie Culver just missed a goal when her shot clanged off the right post.
For its part, Fenwick had to deal both with a determined Deerfield squad and fatigue Saturday.
The Friars had battled eventual Class AA champion Triad to a two-overtime marathon in Friday’s semifinals. A pair of Triad goals in the second 10-minute overtime session snapping a 1-1 tie.
“I’ve always wanted to be here (at state) since freshman year,” Fenwick senior Emily Ortiz said, “and it’s an amazing accomplishment.
“I love our players. They all put in all the hard work, and I know that even though this isn’t exactly what we wanted (fourth place), we gave it our all.
“It was a long bus ride here (Saturday morning), and everybody had to see the trainer. Our mentality in this game could have maybe been a bit stronger, but I know we gave it our all.”
Fenwick earned the third state trophy in program history, after placing fourth in 2004 and third in 2013.
“It’s been amazing,” Ortiz said. “We made history.”
The Friars emerged from the first 40 minutes of play tied 0-0 mainly by repelling numerous threats by Fox and Deutsch.
Fox made her initial impact with a 30-yard shot just over the net 12 minutes in, then a Deutsch 18-yard right side liner two minutes later was deflected wide left by diving Fenwick goalkeeper Audrey Hinrichs.
Hinrichs later made the save on a Fox 30-yard free kick (18th minute), then blocked and controlled a Deutsch 12-yard shot in the 35th minute to maintain the nil-nil halftime tally.
Deerfield’s second half finishes impacted the final score, but not Fenwick’s memories of its state tournament run.
“Just making it here was such an accomplishment,” Fenwick senior Abbie Rogowski said. “That was our goal from the beginning, so I’m happy we reached that goal.”
Hinrichs, Ortiz, Rogowski and Kate Henige (19 goals, seven assists) were Fenwick’s senior captains, and sophomore Caroline Henige scored 12 goals to rank second on the team.
Rogowski’s sophomore sister Maddie was unable to play due to injury, but still savored the unique state weekend experience.
“Maddie Rogowski was out and that hurt us,” Fenwick coach Craig Blazer said. “But she said ‘I like how many people are here and how everybody treats you first class, and how important it makes everybody feel.’
“Being good and working hard and being recognized for that is part of the process,” Blazer added. “And now our younger players are just going to be more and more invested (in making it back here).”
Deerfield’s good feelings extended beyond the season-ending win.
Among the players seeing action were standout senior forward Riley Schimanski (18 goals, 11 assists in 25 games), who made a two-minute appearance in the second half after suffering a late-season ACL injury.
“It was nice to give Riley a last moment on the field,” Grady said, “and the same with Marissa (Siciliano) who has been out for two seasons with an ACL. It was nice to get everybody on the field.”
Fox’s 25-goal season helped fill the void left by the Schimanski injury.
“Definitely when we lost Riley I knew I had to step up,” she said. “And even though I didn’t play her position, I had to take over more to try to keep our success going.”
After finishing with 15 wins and reaching the sectional finals last spring, the Warriors rose to another level this year. They set school records for most wins, fewest losses and most goals with 110 scored.
“This year was especially special for us,” Deerfield senior defender Ally Linn said. “We missed our sophomore year because of COVID. This team, we’ve never been closer. We knew when we started the season that we wanted to do something special.
“We wanted to build a strong culture. Freshman year our team wasn’t as close, and we saw the difference on and off the field. We felt the importance of getting rid of the age gap, and just all be close and do that in order to be able to go far.”
Deutsch was another key leader.
“Definitely as seniors and both of us being captains we just wanted to lead our team and show what hard work does,” Deutsch said, “and set an example for the underclassmen. And for them to carry this on in the future.”
The leader of Deerfield’s sophomore group noted the importance of present and future cohesiveness.
“We’re all really close,” Fox said. “We have a great bond. Everyone accepts everyone no matter what age you are. We all work together, and it’s a really great atmosphere.
“Definitely losing these seniors will be really hard on the program, but we’re hoping that the younger players can step up and continue this program and make it the best.”
That growing pride in the program was part of the approach to Saturday’s game.
“We were given a special opportunity,” Linn said, “to be one of two teams to be able to win our last game.”
“Obviously it was disappointing yesterday,” Fox said, “but we got this far and we wanted to win our last game. That’s what we had to do.
“Honestly I like ending our season this way. It was fun, we got everyone in, everyone contributed, and we won.”
Deerfield earned its second state trophy, after placing second in Class AA in its first trip to the finals in 2016.
“I think it’s a magical season,” Grady said. “We played one of the toughest schedules we ever played ... and to get here ... obviously we wanted to win two games, but we won one. And I thought we played very well in the other (a 3-2 semifinal loss to Benet).
“That’s all you can ask, that they perform to their capabilities. And I think they did. It’s a special group. It’s been fun to be around them.”
Starting lineups
Deerfield
GK Lauren Gottlieb
D Ally Linn
D Emma Gassman
D Lauryn Morris
D Katie Morgan
M Madeline Stevens
M Erin Emory
M Emily Fox
M Maggie Culver
M Holly Deutsch
F Emma Nitsun
Fenwick
GK Audrey Hinrichs
D Emily Ortiz
D Abbie Rogowski
D Julia Cianci
D Grace Kapsch
M Fiona Roche
M Natalie Del Guidice
M Caroline Henige
M Gabi Kapusta
F Kiera Mullarkey
F Kate Henige
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match:
Ryane Emory, fr. F, Deerfield
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
D: Jessie Fisher (Holly Deutsch assist), 44’
D: Ryane Emory (Emily Fox), 49’
D: Emory (Deutsch), 55’