Late, late goal draws
Evanston even with New Trier
Under high pressure, Dominguez's deep blast delivers 1-1 draw
By Michael Wojtychiw
NORTHFIELD -- Evanston and New Trier have arguably one of the best rivalries in the state. Both teams consistently fight for Central Suburban League South Division supremacy in pretty much every sport, making the rivalry even bigger.
The two teams came into Wednesday evening's matchup atop the conference standings: the Trevians at 6-0-1; the Wildkits at 4-1-2. The fact that the Trevians handed Evanston its only loss of the year -- overall and in conference -- made Wednesday's game even bigger. And it didn't disappoint.
After leading for the final nearly 48 minutes, the Trevians saw their 1-0 lead disappear when Evanston's Nahla Dominguez boomed a free kick over the head of a leaping Wynne Hague into the top right corner of the net, from about 40 yards, to tie the game at 1-1 with under two minutes remaining.
"I was a little nervous to take it because at a game earlier against Glenbrook North, same scenario, I let the fans get to me and shanked it," Dominguez said. "But there's a phrase my mom keeps telling me in Spanish 'calma' so I kept telling myself 'calma, calma' and although they screaming and booing me, I just said 'alright.'
"I aimed for back post and just curved it in.
"I said to my friends before the game, in these types of games you can be a hero or not, and I think that was a hero moment."
After a flurry of early activity in the first half, including four shots - two by each team - in the first 10 minutes of the game, both teams settled down and a midfield game ensued for most of the half.
That ended when Caroline Finnigan took a beautiful pass from Elizabeth Marquardt and put it past Evanston keeper Caitlin Fitzpatrick with just under 10 minutes before the half.
Finnigan has become more of an offensive threat this year for the Trevians (12-1-4, 6-0-2). She has eased into more of a midfield role setting up teammates, while also scoring big goals herself.
The Wildkits came into the game with a powerful offense, having beaten their past two opponents, Glenbrook South and Maine South, by 5-0 and 6-0 margins.
The Trevians, ranked fourth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, are known for having a strong defense – they had given up only two conference goals and six total goals on the year. Still, Finnigan and her squad knew it'd be a tough battle to keep their rivals off the board.
"It's just all about our lockdown defense," she said. "We're so locked in and have so many people covering. We're holding possession really well above them and when we do that we can dominate the game. But it's also how many first balls and head balls we can win off the punts.
"We all care so much. This is a team and an environment where we will literally lay ourselves on the line for this team. We care so much about each other and the whole program that we're willing to play the best to be the best."
The Trevians came out of halftime looking to extend the lead, but were foiled multiple times in the first couple minutes as Fitzpatrick made saves on shots by Kate Dobsch and Mia Sedgwick.
Finishing is something that Finnigan feels her squad can improve on a little bit, but that they're getting there.
"We had so many opportunities to finish, we just have to put the ball in the back of the net," she said.
"I feel like that is sometimes a little mental for us. We're having the crosses and finishing sometimes, but not all the time.
"We've just got to have that mentality to finish all the time."
The 14th-ranked Wildkits (11-1-3, 4-1-3), on the other hand, had to figure out how to get past the New Trier defense, something that their coaches talked to them about at halftime.
"We thrive on playing composed, playing balls to our feet, that's when we're at our best," Evanston head coach Stacy Salgado said. "We had to check in with ourselves and remind ourselves that that's how we play and to continue to be hungry for the ball.
"They're obviously a team that wins balls in the air more than we do, so anticipating the first and second ball and reading off that is something we talked about.”
"They're a very high-pressed team," Dominguez said. "That shook our mids a little bit. In the mid it was a little confusing, because they'd push up and leave a big gap.
“But I feel like as we figured that out, we were able to win more possession in the second half."
Prior to the goal, the best chance the Wildkits had in the half was actually a minute prior when they had a goal wiped off the board due to an offsides call with about two-and-a-half minutes remaining.
For New Trier, the game continued to show the maturation of a young Trevians squad. Manager Jim Burnside's group has played a tough schedule, with wins against Stevenson, Glenbrook North and Lake Forest, among others, all in the past 12 days, as well as earlier contests with Loyola, Libertyville, Lane and Barrington. So playing these types of games is something that the squad is built for.
"We're playing good competition, and each game makes us a little better," Burnside said. "We find things we can do better and then that shows us how we can improve. I think that's a huge part of what the process of the season is.
"We've played good competition. We've played a good amount of games, and we've learned from it. We're in a really good spot. We're creating chances, looking like we're right on the cusp of some beautiful goals. We're defending really well too."
The teams finish up conference play next week before heading off for hopeful state playoff runs. On Thursday, the IHSA announced state playoff seeds and as a shock to nobody, the Trevians earned the top seed in the Maine South Sectional, while Evanston earned the second seed.
So, the two teams have a chance to face off again in the sectional final in June, again in Northfield. The IHSA has decided that the higher seeded team will host every matchup, so as long as it continues to win, New Trier would have home-field advantage throughout the sectional.
"We're going to let this game burn for a little, but we're going to come back out in our next two conference games and go and grind out to the state championship," Finnigan said. "We're going to have serious fun."
Starting Lineups
Evanston
GK: Caitlin Fitzpatrick
D: Carly Menacal
D: Ruby Rogers
D: Lucinda Lindland
D: Sarah Sollinger
MF: Nahla Dominguez
MF: Adriana Merriam
MF: Shayna DaSilva
MF: Sydney Ross
F: Brayln Viamille
F: Nadia Van Den Berg
New Trier
GK: Wynne Hague
D: Jenna Birdsell
D: Anna Marshall
D: Ava Shah
MF: Caroline Finnigan
MF: Mia Sedgwick
MF: Annie Paden
MF: Kate Dobsch
F: Kendall Sierens
F: Charlotte Dellin
F: Morgan Fagan
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Nahla Dominguez, jr., MF, Evanston
Scoring summary
First half
New Trier - Caroline Finnigan (Elizabeth Marquardt), 30th minute
Second half
Evanston - Nahla Dominguez (free kick), 79th minute
Evanston even with New Trier
Under high pressure, Dominguez's deep blast delivers 1-1 draw
By Michael Wojtychiw
NORTHFIELD -- Evanston and New Trier have arguably one of the best rivalries in the state. Both teams consistently fight for Central Suburban League South Division supremacy in pretty much every sport, making the rivalry even bigger.
The two teams came into Wednesday evening's matchup atop the conference standings: the Trevians at 6-0-1; the Wildkits at 4-1-2. The fact that the Trevians handed Evanston its only loss of the year -- overall and in conference -- made Wednesday's game even bigger. And it didn't disappoint.
After leading for the final nearly 48 minutes, the Trevians saw their 1-0 lead disappear when Evanston's Nahla Dominguez boomed a free kick over the head of a leaping Wynne Hague into the top right corner of the net, from about 40 yards, to tie the game at 1-1 with under two minutes remaining.
"I was a little nervous to take it because at a game earlier against Glenbrook North, same scenario, I let the fans get to me and shanked it," Dominguez said. "But there's a phrase my mom keeps telling me in Spanish 'calma' so I kept telling myself 'calma, calma' and although they screaming and booing me, I just said 'alright.'
"I aimed for back post and just curved it in.
"I said to my friends before the game, in these types of games you can be a hero or not, and I think that was a hero moment."
After a flurry of early activity in the first half, including four shots - two by each team - in the first 10 minutes of the game, both teams settled down and a midfield game ensued for most of the half.
That ended when Caroline Finnigan took a beautiful pass from Elizabeth Marquardt and put it past Evanston keeper Caitlin Fitzpatrick with just under 10 minutes before the half.
Finnigan has become more of an offensive threat this year for the Trevians (12-1-4, 6-0-2). She has eased into more of a midfield role setting up teammates, while also scoring big goals herself.
The Wildkits came into the game with a powerful offense, having beaten their past two opponents, Glenbrook South and Maine South, by 5-0 and 6-0 margins.
The Trevians, ranked fourth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, are known for having a strong defense – they had given up only two conference goals and six total goals on the year. Still, Finnigan and her squad knew it'd be a tough battle to keep their rivals off the board.
"It's just all about our lockdown defense," she said. "We're so locked in and have so many people covering. We're holding possession really well above them and when we do that we can dominate the game. But it's also how many first balls and head balls we can win off the punts.
"We all care so much. This is a team and an environment where we will literally lay ourselves on the line for this team. We care so much about each other and the whole program that we're willing to play the best to be the best."
The Trevians came out of halftime looking to extend the lead, but were foiled multiple times in the first couple minutes as Fitzpatrick made saves on shots by Kate Dobsch and Mia Sedgwick.
Finishing is something that Finnigan feels her squad can improve on a little bit, but that they're getting there.
"We had so many opportunities to finish, we just have to put the ball in the back of the net," she said.
"I feel like that is sometimes a little mental for us. We're having the crosses and finishing sometimes, but not all the time.
"We've just got to have that mentality to finish all the time."
The 14th-ranked Wildkits (11-1-3, 4-1-3), on the other hand, had to figure out how to get past the New Trier defense, something that their coaches talked to them about at halftime.
"We thrive on playing composed, playing balls to our feet, that's when we're at our best," Evanston head coach Stacy Salgado said. "We had to check in with ourselves and remind ourselves that that's how we play and to continue to be hungry for the ball.
"They're obviously a team that wins balls in the air more than we do, so anticipating the first and second ball and reading off that is something we talked about.”
"They're a very high-pressed team," Dominguez said. "That shook our mids a little bit. In the mid it was a little confusing, because they'd push up and leave a big gap.
“But I feel like as we figured that out, we were able to win more possession in the second half."
Prior to the goal, the best chance the Wildkits had in the half was actually a minute prior when they had a goal wiped off the board due to an offsides call with about two-and-a-half minutes remaining.
For New Trier, the game continued to show the maturation of a young Trevians squad. Manager Jim Burnside's group has played a tough schedule, with wins against Stevenson, Glenbrook North and Lake Forest, among others, all in the past 12 days, as well as earlier contests with Loyola, Libertyville, Lane and Barrington. So playing these types of games is something that the squad is built for.
"We're playing good competition, and each game makes us a little better," Burnside said. "We find things we can do better and then that shows us how we can improve. I think that's a huge part of what the process of the season is.
"We've played good competition. We've played a good amount of games, and we've learned from it. We're in a really good spot. We're creating chances, looking like we're right on the cusp of some beautiful goals. We're defending really well too."
The teams finish up conference play next week before heading off for hopeful state playoff runs. On Thursday, the IHSA announced state playoff seeds and as a shock to nobody, the Trevians earned the top seed in the Maine South Sectional, while Evanston earned the second seed.
So, the two teams have a chance to face off again in the sectional final in June, again in Northfield. The IHSA has decided that the higher seeded team will host every matchup, so as long as it continues to win, New Trier would have home-field advantage throughout the sectional.
"We're going to let this game burn for a little, but we're going to come back out in our next two conference games and go and grind out to the state championship," Finnigan said. "We're going to have serious fun."
Starting Lineups
Evanston
GK: Caitlin Fitzpatrick
D: Carly Menacal
D: Ruby Rogers
D: Lucinda Lindland
D: Sarah Sollinger
MF: Nahla Dominguez
MF: Adriana Merriam
MF: Shayna DaSilva
MF: Sydney Ross
F: Brayln Viamille
F: Nadia Van Den Berg
New Trier
GK: Wynne Hague
D: Jenna Birdsell
D: Anna Marshall
D: Ava Shah
MF: Caroline Finnigan
MF: Mia Sedgwick
MF: Annie Paden
MF: Kate Dobsch
F: Kendall Sierens
F: Charlotte Dellin
F: Morgan Fagan
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Nahla Dominguez, jr., MF, Evanston
Scoring summary
First half
New Trier - Caroline Finnigan (Elizabeth Marquardt), 30th minute
Second half
Evanston - Nahla Dominguez (free kick), 79th minute