Elk Grove, Palatine find optimism in draw
Fillian denied his 300th coaching victory in 1-1 tie
By Patrick Z. McGavin
PALATINE -- Sports are meant to build toward the authoritative and convincing. Soccer is typically more subjective, the classic eye of the beholder.
Especially on the subject of ties, where circumstances and perspectives are often radically at odds, a source for optimism or frustration or some combination of the two.
On a night of harrowing weather, the spirited and competitive play helped make the moment endurable. Soccer is like life, marked by moments and anecdotes and lacking an easy resolution.
Two teams who have demonstrated improvement and growth saw enough to justify faith in the direction they are headed as Elk Grove and Palatine battled to a 1-1 draw in double overtime in Mid-Suburban League play Wednesday night.
“We have done nothing but lose to Palatine for as far back as I can remember,” Grenadiers’ coach Dean Burrier Sanchis said. “It is a team that always causes a lot of problems for us, because they are so disciplined, and they play so well on set pieces. So to get a result and break that losing streak is very satisfying.
“You have to go back a long time to find something positive when we have played them.”
The draw deprived the Pirates’ legendary coach Willie Filian of a significant coaching milestone. He is one win shy of 300-career victories on the girls’ side. The team has gone 0-3-1 since giving him his 299th win with a 1-0 win over Huntley on March 23. Fillian has 370 with the boys, punctuated by his 1994 state championship team.
“Of course we want it to happen,” senior keeper Amaya Rivera said. “We haven’t actually talked about it with Willie himself. We talked about it in a group chat, we sent the Daily Herald article around, and we wanted it to be the Fremd game, icing on the cake, but unfortunately we could not get that.
“It is in the back of our heads, but we can’t make it a priority because if we think about it too much, we are going to be focusing on that only.”
The Grenadiers are a team loaded with promise, evidenced by its outstanding young talent, the most impressive of whom is sophomore defender Alexa Joshi, a brilliant young player who has an advanced feel for the game and an intuitive sense of how to either contract or open up space.
She helped create the Grenadiers’ goal in the 16th minute. Working with another bright young talent, sophomore midfielder Katie Talens, Joshi slotted a cross from Talens that sophomore midfielder Aliyah Mendez finished with sureness and precision.
“The ball came right there, and I just had to finish,” Mendez said. “We have definitely developed as a team since the start of the season. It was definitely tough at the beginning, but we have overcome a lot of obstacles, and we are giving it our all.”
Moments later, Talens appeared to have a certain goal only for the wind to slightly alter the trajectory as it smashed off the post. Another attacking player, freshman forward Hannah Gryzik, showed great poise and a flair for creativity for the Grenadiers.
Elk Grove (3-6-2, 1-2-1) is learning to fuse the parts together, balancing the development of its young players with the necessary experience of the veteran players. Forward Gabriella Mauro personifies the experienced talent.
Gabriella and her twin sister, defender Marisa Mauro, are helping with the development of that young talent.
“We have a newer team this year since so many girls graduated,” Gabriella Mauro said. “I think our focus is to really work together and play to our strengths. Tonight we put a lot of focus on creating and finishing our opportunities.”
Palatine (2-4-1, 0-2-1) regrouped after the Grenadiers’ goal and responded in a sharp and telling manner. Filian experimented with lineup changes to diversify and bolster the attack. Melanie Simon shifted from the back to the midfield. A freshman, midfielder Allie Henning, started.
“We are still tinkering with our lineup to get kids to spots where they are dangerous,” Filian said. “We are pretty solid in the back third with regard to our defenders. We have not offered very much going forward, and we played around to try and be more creative and create more chances.”
Simon’s move to the midfield made sense given her excellent abilities as a free kick and corner specialist. She was repeatedly dangerous in creating the kind of set pieces that Burrier Sanchis feared going into the game.
In the 21st minute, dynamic junior midfielder Ann Lu freed herself and put away a blast for the Pirates’ equalizer. The goal breathed new life and confidence into the Pirates, who settled down and exerted tremendous pressure on the Grenadiers. Forward Olivia Radtke hit a looping shot into the wind that created the equivalent of special effects before it hit off the top of the crossbar.
The balance of the game was a classic back-and-forth. If the game lacked certainty, there were strong moments on both sides despite the cold and crippling conditions.
“I think we need to find ourselves, developing our leaders and watching film and seeing where we need to make improvements,” Gabriella Mauro said. “We are doing a great job of finishing each game strong, and creating chemistry on and off the field.
“We have to continue to build on that.”
Twins have a magnetic bond, and Gabriela took evident pride in the play of her sister, who helped solidify a strong defensive performance.
“It helps having her, because we know how each other plays,” Gabriella said. “Today was the first time [Marisa] had played on the outside, and she has done a great job with Alexa in creating control and being a leader of the back and making sure we are a solid defense.”
Gabriella Mauro and Palatine's Ann Lu shared the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match distinction for their play.
For the Pirates, Rivera serves a similar role as the commanding voice, the team’s only four-year starter. Her physical style and intelligent read of the game helped Palatine withstand the Grenadiers’ pressure and shut them out for 84 minutes of action.
“With my style, I like to see how sequences play out,” Rivera said. “If I am hesitant sometimes, I like to push myself out of my comfort zone and come off my line and go after a ball.”
Rivera is better equipped than most of her peers on how to negotiate the natural ebb and flow of a season, handling the volatile switches and changes that all teams must confront.
“The varsity game has a lot more pressure, and the juniors and seniors who were on the varsity last year are helping guide the younger players,” Rivera said. “You have to learn how to deal with coaching and criticism and getting yelled at if you make a mistake.”
Teams naturally improve during the course of the season, and sometimes those strides are visible and sometimes more opaque.
“We are learning, so obviously we are going to have our ups and downs,” Burrier Sanchis said. “Success is not a straight line. We have shown the ability to bounce back from tough results. We just have to have that chip on our shoulder and move on.”
Palatine is also seeking answers.
“Offensively we have gone game to game with different players,” Filian said. “We still give away the ball too much. I even asked them at times tonight whether any of them had ever played soccer before.
“We have our flashes, but it is too inconsistent.”
Starting lineups
Elk Grove
GK: Rachel Kandefer
D: Ava Hennig
D: Alexa Joshi
D: Alyssa Cobb
D: Marisa Mauro
MF: Lily Duckmann
MF: Emily Head
MF: Aliah Mendez
MF: Katie Talens
F: Gabriella Mauro
F: Hannah Gryzik
Palatine
GK: Amaya Rivera
D: Grace Marion
D: Shelby Donofrio
D: Julianna Mandarino
D: Ashley Donselaar
MF: Ann Lu
MF: Jennifer Lopez
MF: Melanie Simon
MF: Allie Henning
F: Serena Escalona
F: Olivia Radtke
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match: Gabriella Mauro, sr., F, Elk Grove
Ann Lu, jr., MF, Palatine
Scoring summary
First half
Elk Grove—Aliah Mendez (Alexa Joshi), 16th minute
Palatine—Ann Lu (unassisted), 21st minute
Second half
No scoring
First overtime
No scoring
Second overtime
No scoring
Fillian denied his 300th coaching victory in 1-1 tie
By Patrick Z. McGavin
PALATINE -- Sports are meant to build toward the authoritative and convincing. Soccer is typically more subjective, the classic eye of the beholder.
Especially on the subject of ties, where circumstances and perspectives are often radically at odds, a source for optimism or frustration or some combination of the two.
On a night of harrowing weather, the spirited and competitive play helped make the moment endurable. Soccer is like life, marked by moments and anecdotes and lacking an easy resolution.
Two teams who have demonstrated improvement and growth saw enough to justify faith in the direction they are headed as Elk Grove and Palatine battled to a 1-1 draw in double overtime in Mid-Suburban League play Wednesday night.
“We have done nothing but lose to Palatine for as far back as I can remember,” Grenadiers’ coach Dean Burrier Sanchis said. “It is a team that always causes a lot of problems for us, because they are so disciplined, and they play so well on set pieces. So to get a result and break that losing streak is very satisfying.
“You have to go back a long time to find something positive when we have played them.”
The draw deprived the Pirates’ legendary coach Willie Filian of a significant coaching milestone. He is one win shy of 300-career victories on the girls’ side. The team has gone 0-3-1 since giving him his 299th win with a 1-0 win over Huntley on March 23. Fillian has 370 with the boys, punctuated by his 1994 state championship team.
“Of course we want it to happen,” senior keeper Amaya Rivera said. “We haven’t actually talked about it with Willie himself. We talked about it in a group chat, we sent the Daily Herald article around, and we wanted it to be the Fremd game, icing on the cake, but unfortunately we could not get that.
“It is in the back of our heads, but we can’t make it a priority because if we think about it too much, we are going to be focusing on that only.”
The Grenadiers are a team loaded with promise, evidenced by its outstanding young talent, the most impressive of whom is sophomore defender Alexa Joshi, a brilliant young player who has an advanced feel for the game and an intuitive sense of how to either contract or open up space.
She helped create the Grenadiers’ goal in the 16th minute. Working with another bright young talent, sophomore midfielder Katie Talens, Joshi slotted a cross from Talens that sophomore midfielder Aliyah Mendez finished with sureness and precision.
“The ball came right there, and I just had to finish,” Mendez said. “We have definitely developed as a team since the start of the season. It was definitely tough at the beginning, but we have overcome a lot of obstacles, and we are giving it our all.”
Moments later, Talens appeared to have a certain goal only for the wind to slightly alter the trajectory as it smashed off the post. Another attacking player, freshman forward Hannah Gryzik, showed great poise and a flair for creativity for the Grenadiers.
Elk Grove (3-6-2, 1-2-1) is learning to fuse the parts together, balancing the development of its young players with the necessary experience of the veteran players. Forward Gabriella Mauro personifies the experienced talent.
Gabriella and her twin sister, defender Marisa Mauro, are helping with the development of that young talent.
“We have a newer team this year since so many girls graduated,” Gabriella Mauro said. “I think our focus is to really work together and play to our strengths. Tonight we put a lot of focus on creating and finishing our opportunities.”
Palatine (2-4-1, 0-2-1) regrouped after the Grenadiers’ goal and responded in a sharp and telling manner. Filian experimented with lineup changes to diversify and bolster the attack. Melanie Simon shifted from the back to the midfield. A freshman, midfielder Allie Henning, started.
“We are still tinkering with our lineup to get kids to spots where they are dangerous,” Filian said. “We are pretty solid in the back third with regard to our defenders. We have not offered very much going forward, and we played around to try and be more creative and create more chances.”
Simon’s move to the midfield made sense given her excellent abilities as a free kick and corner specialist. She was repeatedly dangerous in creating the kind of set pieces that Burrier Sanchis feared going into the game.
In the 21st minute, dynamic junior midfielder Ann Lu freed herself and put away a blast for the Pirates’ equalizer. The goal breathed new life and confidence into the Pirates, who settled down and exerted tremendous pressure on the Grenadiers. Forward Olivia Radtke hit a looping shot into the wind that created the equivalent of special effects before it hit off the top of the crossbar.
The balance of the game was a classic back-and-forth. If the game lacked certainty, there were strong moments on both sides despite the cold and crippling conditions.
“I think we need to find ourselves, developing our leaders and watching film and seeing where we need to make improvements,” Gabriella Mauro said. “We are doing a great job of finishing each game strong, and creating chemistry on and off the field.
“We have to continue to build on that.”
Twins have a magnetic bond, and Gabriela took evident pride in the play of her sister, who helped solidify a strong defensive performance.
“It helps having her, because we know how each other plays,” Gabriella said. “Today was the first time [Marisa] had played on the outside, and she has done a great job with Alexa in creating control and being a leader of the back and making sure we are a solid defense.”
Gabriella Mauro and Palatine's Ann Lu shared the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match distinction for their play.
For the Pirates, Rivera serves a similar role as the commanding voice, the team’s only four-year starter. Her physical style and intelligent read of the game helped Palatine withstand the Grenadiers’ pressure and shut them out for 84 minutes of action.
“With my style, I like to see how sequences play out,” Rivera said. “If I am hesitant sometimes, I like to push myself out of my comfort zone and come off my line and go after a ball.”
Rivera is better equipped than most of her peers on how to negotiate the natural ebb and flow of a season, handling the volatile switches and changes that all teams must confront.
“The varsity game has a lot more pressure, and the juniors and seniors who were on the varsity last year are helping guide the younger players,” Rivera said. “You have to learn how to deal with coaching and criticism and getting yelled at if you make a mistake.”
Teams naturally improve during the course of the season, and sometimes those strides are visible and sometimes more opaque.
“We are learning, so obviously we are going to have our ups and downs,” Burrier Sanchis said. “Success is not a straight line. We have shown the ability to bounce back from tough results. We just have to have that chip on our shoulder and move on.”
Palatine is also seeking answers.
“Offensively we have gone game to game with different players,” Filian said. “We still give away the ball too much. I even asked them at times tonight whether any of them had ever played soccer before.
“We have our flashes, but it is too inconsistent.”
Starting lineups
Elk Grove
GK: Rachel Kandefer
D: Ava Hennig
D: Alexa Joshi
D: Alyssa Cobb
D: Marisa Mauro
MF: Lily Duckmann
MF: Emily Head
MF: Aliah Mendez
MF: Katie Talens
F: Gabriella Mauro
F: Hannah Gryzik
Palatine
GK: Amaya Rivera
D: Grace Marion
D: Shelby Donofrio
D: Julianna Mandarino
D: Ashley Donselaar
MF: Ann Lu
MF: Jennifer Lopez
MF: Melanie Simon
MF: Allie Henning
F: Serena Escalona
F: Olivia Radtke
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match: Gabriella Mauro, sr., F, Elk Grove
Ann Lu, jr., MF, Palatine
Scoring summary
First half
Elk Grove—Aliah Mendez (Alexa Joshi), 16th minute
Palatine—Ann Lu (unassisted), 21st minute
Second half
No scoring
First overtime
No scoring
Second overtime
No scoring