Loyola warms up to win over Evanston
Goal into wind starts Ramblers on way to 2-0 win
By Mike Garofola
WILMETTE -- With weather conditions near arctic-like, Craig Snower wondered aloud just what type of soccer Loyola, and visiting Evanston would manage Tuesday afternoon in their nonconference match at Hoerster Field.
Much to the surprise of the Loyola manager, his sixth-ranked club put on a terrific first half display into a roaring north wind. The Ramblers scored early and followed up with wonderful all-around soccer usually reserved for later in the season on a sunny and pleasant spring day.
Scoring stars Maggie Brett and Stephanie Ramsey struck in either half as the Ramblers secured their second victory of the season by defeating Evanston 2-0.
"Yeah, I admit I didn't expect much. In fact, I really thought this was a game that should have been canceled because of the wind and cold temperature," began Snower.
"But for most of the first half, we did a lot of good things on both sides of the ball including scoring our first goal into the wind."
"Coach says on days like this it's more about playing with a lot of grit, and for each other, in order to get through conditions like these, and that's what we did," offered senior Cate Shellenback.
Both Shellenback, and Faith Craddock, retreated into a warm and toasty classroom inside the school immediately following the final whistle to thaw. Before they joined a post-game stretch with their teammates, each took a few minutes to recap the 80 minutes of soccer each had just played.
"It was so cold and windy, and we had that wind in our face to start the first half, but I thought we managed the conditions really well by connecting some passes, and moving the ball around," added Craddock, who was named Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match for her efforts along the Loyola backline.
"Faith really saved us with her defense in that first half, to me, she was the easy choice for player of the match," said Snower.
Craddock and her backline mates were important figures in the Ramblers attack in the first half as all four, when needed, stepped into the attack to distribute, connect with the midfield or provide quality service to the aforementioned duo of Brett and Ramsey up-top.
"Loyola came to play, but we just didn't match what they brought to this game today," said Evanston manager Stacy Salgado, whose 17th-ranked club fell to 2-1-0.
"A lack of communication led to that early first goal, and right away we were chasing the game. And after that, we just struggled to find feet, and control the ball, especially in the midfield in order to take advantage of having the wind at our back in that first 40 minutes."
Disaster struck the visitors at four minutes when the defense failed to be decisive on a ball sent into the area. That allowed an opportunistic Brett to collect a ball which was allowed to spill free.
Brett split two defenders with a marvelous quick touch. Once free of her opponents, the senior carried to her right, then steered her angled shot the other way and into the far inside netting.
"That's not the way to start a game against an opponent like Loyola," said senior Ruby Siegel, who wore the captains armband for Evanston.
"We didn't play a very good first half of soccer."
"We'll have to improve defensively, be better organized and stronger to the ball as well."
Loyola got an early diagonal ball from Brett to Ramsey that forced Evanston keeper Caitlin Fitzpatrick into action. The freshman came off her line like a veteran to pull the ball off the shooting boot of Ramsey in the 8th minute.
Riley Burns delivered meaningful service out of the back on several occasions while getting forward to add numbers when possible. The senior sent Brett through to the endline with a nicely weighted ball and then watched her teammate whip a dangerous ball through the box to an empty back post.
This exchange at the quarter hour began a solid 10 minutes of play in which the home side let the ball do most of the work. The Ramblers back seven swung the ball from touchline to touchline with nearly every touch staying on the ground.
"I thought we settled in and played very well into the wind in that first half -- moving the ball through our midfield and out of the back," said Snower. "But we were a lot more sloppy in the second half, and it showed with our inability to control and possess."
Evanston finally got into the game, albeit with a couple of half chances that Loyola keeper Maggie Avery had little trouble with.
Callista O'Connor had a go at 21 minutes, and four minutes later it was Margaret Rogan from Katarina Sehgal -- both forced a save from Avery, who recorded her second clean-sheet in as many games.
This resurgence of sorts by the Wildkits' attack gave the visitors hope of better things to come after the intermission, but it would never come. The home side doubled its advantage near the hour mark, and Snower began to bring on fresh legs from his bench.
"As I said, I thought we would be better with the wind at our back in the second half, but instead we were a little sloppy with our overall play. But that goal from Ramsey gave us a little room to breathe the rest of the way," offered Snower.
The Ramblers had an opportunity or two to strike before the Ramsey finish -- the first coming when Lauren Daffada got things started from out of the back.
Brett collected Daffada's helper and put Ramsey through. If not for an alert Fitzpatrick, who made the decision to challenge off her line, Ramsey would have had 1-v.-1 with the Wildkits' keeper.
Moments later, Shellenback put one on frame for Fitzpatrick to save.
Anna Holten came on in the 59th minute, and the senior made her mark on the game immediately when she put Ramsey into the area with a wonderful ball that broke open the Evanston defense.
Ramsey's clever zig-zag run drew Fitzpatrick away from her line and allowed Ramsey to navigate her angled attempt into a now-open net.
Evanston had one last chance to get on the scoreboard when a foul at the top of the box put Vanessa Eljaiek over the ball, but the senior drove her low shot through the Ramblers five-man wall and directly into the gloves of Avery.
"We obviously have things to work on and sort out," admitted Salgado.
"We didn't do much of anything that I can say was positive today, including our possession game. But it's early, and we'll get back at it, (and) hopefully we'll see Craig's team again at the North Shore Invitational in April. We should be a better team at that point."
In the meantime, Salgado will watch her club open Central Suburban League South Division play at Glenbrook South on Friday, while Loyola starts it Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Red Division slate against Mother McCauley on Saturday morning on the South Side.
Starting lineups
Evanston (4-3-3)
GK- Caitlin Fitzpatrick
D- Avery Ackman
D- Ruby Siegel
D- Annika DeStefano
D- Ryann Lucas
M- Vanessa Eljalek
M- Margaret Rogan
M- Callista O'Connor
F- Katarina Sehgal
F- Hadley Bushala
F- Keara Kerr
Loyola (4-4-2)
GK- Maggie Avery
D- Lauren Daffada
D- Riley Burns
D- Kiersten Kerrane
D- Faith Craddock
M- Vanessa Murray
M- Claire Kelly
M- Cate Shellenback
M- Sophie Doerr
F- Stephanie Ramsey
F- Maggie Brett
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Faith Craddock, jr., D, Loyola
Referee: Ninos Alexander
Yellow cards: none
Goal into wind starts Ramblers on way to 2-0 win
By Mike Garofola
WILMETTE -- With weather conditions near arctic-like, Craig Snower wondered aloud just what type of soccer Loyola, and visiting Evanston would manage Tuesday afternoon in their nonconference match at Hoerster Field.
Much to the surprise of the Loyola manager, his sixth-ranked club put on a terrific first half display into a roaring north wind. The Ramblers scored early and followed up with wonderful all-around soccer usually reserved for later in the season on a sunny and pleasant spring day.
Scoring stars Maggie Brett and Stephanie Ramsey struck in either half as the Ramblers secured their second victory of the season by defeating Evanston 2-0.
"Yeah, I admit I didn't expect much. In fact, I really thought this was a game that should have been canceled because of the wind and cold temperature," began Snower.
"But for most of the first half, we did a lot of good things on both sides of the ball including scoring our first goal into the wind."
"Coach says on days like this it's more about playing with a lot of grit, and for each other, in order to get through conditions like these, and that's what we did," offered senior Cate Shellenback.
Both Shellenback, and Faith Craddock, retreated into a warm and toasty classroom inside the school immediately following the final whistle to thaw. Before they joined a post-game stretch with their teammates, each took a few minutes to recap the 80 minutes of soccer each had just played.
"It was so cold and windy, and we had that wind in our face to start the first half, but I thought we managed the conditions really well by connecting some passes, and moving the ball around," added Craddock, who was named Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match for her efforts along the Loyola backline.
"Faith really saved us with her defense in that first half, to me, she was the easy choice for player of the match," said Snower.
Craddock and her backline mates were important figures in the Ramblers attack in the first half as all four, when needed, stepped into the attack to distribute, connect with the midfield or provide quality service to the aforementioned duo of Brett and Ramsey up-top.
"Loyola came to play, but we just didn't match what they brought to this game today," said Evanston manager Stacy Salgado, whose 17th-ranked club fell to 2-1-0.
"A lack of communication led to that early first goal, and right away we were chasing the game. And after that, we just struggled to find feet, and control the ball, especially in the midfield in order to take advantage of having the wind at our back in that first 40 minutes."
Disaster struck the visitors at four minutes when the defense failed to be decisive on a ball sent into the area. That allowed an opportunistic Brett to collect a ball which was allowed to spill free.
Brett split two defenders with a marvelous quick touch. Once free of her opponents, the senior carried to her right, then steered her angled shot the other way and into the far inside netting.
"That's not the way to start a game against an opponent like Loyola," said senior Ruby Siegel, who wore the captains armband for Evanston.
"We didn't play a very good first half of soccer."
"We'll have to improve defensively, be better organized and stronger to the ball as well."
Loyola got an early diagonal ball from Brett to Ramsey that forced Evanston keeper Caitlin Fitzpatrick into action. The freshman came off her line like a veteran to pull the ball off the shooting boot of Ramsey in the 8th minute.
Riley Burns delivered meaningful service out of the back on several occasions while getting forward to add numbers when possible. The senior sent Brett through to the endline with a nicely weighted ball and then watched her teammate whip a dangerous ball through the box to an empty back post.
This exchange at the quarter hour began a solid 10 minutes of play in which the home side let the ball do most of the work. The Ramblers back seven swung the ball from touchline to touchline with nearly every touch staying on the ground.
"I thought we settled in and played very well into the wind in that first half -- moving the ball through our midfield and out of the back," said Snower. "But we were a lot more sloppy in the second half, and it showed with our inability to control and possess."
Evanston finally got into the game, albeit with a couple of half chances that Loyola keeper Maggie Avery had little trouble with.
Callista O'Connor had a go at 21 minutes, and four minutes later it was Margaret Rogan from Katarina Sehgal -- both forced a save from Avery, who recorded her second clean-sheet in as many games.
This resurgence of sorts by the Wildkits' attack gave the visitors hope of better things to come after the intermission, but it would never come. The home side doubled its advantage near the hour mark, and Snower began to bring on fresh legs from his bench.
"As I said, I thought we would be better with the wind at our back in the second half, but instead we were a little sloppy with our overall play. But that goal from Ramsey gave us a little room to breathe the rest of the way," offered Snower.
The Ramblers had an opportunity or two to strike before the Ramsey finish -- the first coming when Lauren Daffada got things started from out of the back.
Brett collected Daffada's helper and put Ramsey through. If not for an alert Fitzpatrick, who made the decision to challenge off her line, Ramsey would have had 1-v.-1 with the Wildkits' keeper.
Moments later, Shellenback put one on frame for Fitzpatrick to save.
Anna Holten came on in the 59th minute, and the senior made her mark on the game immediately when she put Ramsey into the area with a wonderful ball that broke open the Evanston defense.
Ramsey's clever zig-zag run drew Fitzpatrick away from her line and allowed Ramsey to navigate her angled attempt into a now-open net.
Evanston had one last chance to get on the scoreboard when a foul at the top of the box put Vanessa Eljaiek over the ball, but the senior drove her low shot through the Ramblers five-man wall and directly into the gloves of Avery.
"We obviously have things to work on and sort out," admitted Salgado.
"We didn't do much of anything that I can say was positive today, including our possession game. But it's early, and we'll get back at it, (and) hopefully we'll see Craig's team again at the North Shore Invitational in April. We should be a better team at that point."
In the meantime, Salgado will watch her club open Central Suburban League South Division play at Glenbrook South on Friday, while Loyola starts it Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Red Division slate against Mother McCauley on Saturday morning on the South Side.
Starting lineups
Evanston (4-3-3)
GK- Caitlin Fitzpatrick
D- Avery Ackman
D- Ruby Siegel
D- Annika DeStefano
D- Ryann Lucas
M- Vanessa Eljalek
M- Margaret Rogan
M- Callista O'Connor
F- Katarina Sehgal
F- Hadley Bushala
F- Keara Kerr
Loyola (4-4-2)
GK- Maggie Avery
D- Lauren Daffada
D- Riley Burns
D- Kiersten Kerrane
D- Faith Craddock
M- Vanessa Murray
M- Claire Kelly
M- Cate Shellenback
M- Sophie Doerr
F- Stephanie Ramsey
F- Maggie Brett
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Faith Craddock, jr., D, Loyola
Referee: Ninos Alexander
Yellow cards: none