Hinsdale Central rallies late
but falls to Fenwick in PKs
After 1-1 tie after scoreless OT, visiting Friars take shootout 4-3
By Matt Le Cren
HINSDALE – The moment was not too big for Cate McDonnell.
With her team’s season on the brink, the Hinsdale Central freshman midfielder took a pass from senior Francesca Schiavitti and calmly ripped a 12-yard shot past Fenwick goalkeeper Audrey Hinrichs.
The goal with 2:43 remaining in the second half of Tuesday’s Class 3A regional semifinal at Dickinson Field gave the sixth-seeded Red Devils new life after they trailed no. 11 seed Fenwick for more than 72 minutes.
“It was a very high-intensity game with a lot of fouls and a lot of physical action,” McDonnell said. “But I think everyone’s heart was in it, and I think that’s what kept us fighting.
“We all wanted it so bad, and I just wanted to put the ball in the back of the net, so I swung hard. Frannie had a great pass. There were a lot of great components to that play that the whole team helped out with.”
Alas, McDonnell’s strike provided just a temporary reprieve. Fenwick, despite not getting a shot off after halftime, bunkered down defensively and eked out a victory on penalty kicks.
The Friars (8-2-2) advanced to Friday’s regional finals, where they will face the winner of Wednesday’s match between no. 3 seed, undefeated Downers Grove South, and no. 14 Curie, of the Chicago Public League.
Upsets add spice to the state tournament, and many pundits figure there will be more than usual this year due to the unique challenges of playing in a pandemic. With most teams playing only within their conference or geographic area, it is hard to judge how good – or bad – any given team is.
“We only played the Catholic League and Nazareth,” said second-year Fenwick coach Craig Blazer, whose debut season was wiped out by the pandemic. “I just think people didn’t really know who we were, and I don’t think they really know me. Being in the COVID year, there was just a lack of information.”
It didn’t take long for the Friars, who lost twice to ranked Loyola and tied Nazareth and St. Ignatius, to give notice that they would be a handful.
Hinsdale Central goalkeeper Rania Arain had to make a great save on a breakaway in the fourth minute. Less than a minute later, Fenwick senior forward Juliana Giuffre stunned the home crowd by scoring on a shot from the right side of the penalty area with 35:02 left in the first half.
Fenwick barely missed taking a 2-0 lead when junior midfielder Kate Henige hit the crossbar at the 25:37 mark. But after that it was all Red Devils -- the Friars mustered only one more shot – a 30-yard free kick from Anna Dray that was saved by Arain.
“It’s such a process of the way you start the game,” Blazer said. “We got the goal and that was encouraging. But it is a full game, and it asks a lot out of you.
“Hinsdale is a very good team, and you know they weren’t going to stop. Our goalkeeper, Audrey Hinrichs, made some awesome saves to keep us in the game.
“I credit Hinsdale for their goal. But Audrey, for me, could have been the player of the game with the saves that kept us in the game.”
Indeed, Hinrichs was outstanding. The tall junior, who also plays volleyball and basketball, showcased her athleticism and mettle by making 15 saves, including three in the second overtime as the Red Devils attacked in waves.
Hinrichs stopped six shots in the first half and six more in the second. She and the Fenwick defense were under siege in the two overtime periods.
Red Devils star senior Emma Elliott nearly put the Red Devils (9-5-0) in front with 2:20 to go in the first overtime, but her 30-yard shot skimmed the top of the crossbar.
Fenwick’s luck held in the second overtime, during which the Red Devils squeezed off seven tries to finish the game with a 25-4 advantage in shots, 16 of which were on goal.
Schiavitti drilled a 25-yard drive that hit the crossbar and went high up in the air with 9:15 left. A Fenwick defender outjumped a Hinsdale player to win the ensuing header inside the 6 and seconds later a shot from the right wing went over the pipe.
Four minutes later, defender Sidney Turnbull teed up a 44-yard free kick and boomed it over the crossbar. Thirty seconds after that, Maggie Sanders missed a runner from 25 yards just wide of the left post.
The quick and elusive Sanders regularly caused angst in the Fenwick backline with her darting runs into the box, but was repeatedly denied in her bid for the go-ahead goal. Hinrichs stopped three Sanders shots in the final two minutes, thus sending the match to penalty kicks.
“When you don’t put the ball in the back of the net, that’s what happens,” Hinsdale Central coach Tony Madonia said. “Then you leave it up to chance in PKs.”
The odds may have favored the Red Devils, but everyone knows shootouts are crapshoots. This one came up snake eyes for Hinsdale Central.
All four Fenwick shooters – McGann, Henige, Abbie Rogowski and Emi Kapusta – made their penalty kicks.
So did Hinsdale Central’s first two shooters, Elliott and Schiavitti, whose conversion gave the Red Devils a brief 2-1 lead in the session.
But Hinsdale’s third shooter, Lauren Oleferchik, hit the left post. Even though Maddy Panveno made her kick in the next round, Fenwick remained in control as Kapusta’s make forced the Red Devils to make their fifth shot. Hinrichs made sure they didn’t, lunging to her left to deny Hanna Florence.
“It’s a little bit bittersweet, because we worked so hard to get where we were,” Schiavitti said. “It’s hard to say goodbye to something that meant so much to me for the past four years.”
Schiavitti is one of only four seniors – Elliott, Oleferchik and backup goalkeeper Grace Clopton are the others – who played their last game for the Red Devils.
“We have a super-young team,” Madonia noted. “We only had four seniors, and we had two sophomores starting and Cate as a freshman got ample playing time, too.”
McDonnell’s play, especially her goal, was the sweet part of what Schiavitti was talking about. She knows McDonnell, who had three goals as a rookie, is primed to have a good prep career.
“Cate has been such a beast out here,” Schiavitti said. “She’s been an awesome person to be on the team with, because she’s always so uplifting and then works hard. So it was awesome to see her goal.”
While her goal didn’t translate into a playoff victory, McDonnell and the Red Devils do have big goals for the future.
“I think everyone is going to take this year to heart and everyone is going to use this as motivation moving forward,” McDonnell said. “The seniors are leaving a great legacy and showing that we persevered through the uncertainty of this year.
“COVID definitely caused some setbacks. But I think everyone is going to move forward and fight even harder.”
Starting lineups
Fenwick
GK Audrey Hinrichs
D Emily Ortiz
D Anna Bjorson
D Abbie Rogowski
D Julia Cianci
M Caroline Henige
M Emi Kapusta
M Anna Dray
M Maggie Rogowski
F Grace McGann
F Juliana Giuffre
Hinsdale Central
GK Rania Arain
D Lauren Oleferchik
D Claire Kumskis
D Ava Elliott
D Sidney Turnbull
M Maddy Panveno
M Cate McDonnell
M Maggie Sanders
M Emma Elliott
F Francesca Schiavitti
F Hanna Florence
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Audrey Hinrichs, jr., GK, Fenwick
Scoring summary
First half
Fenwick – Juliana Giuffre 35:02 remaining
Second half
Hinsdale Central – Cate McDonnell (Francesca Schiavitti) 2:43 remaining
First overtime
No scoring’
Second overtime
No scoring
Penalty kicks (Fenwick wins 4-3)
Hinsdale Central
Emma Elliott, goal
Francesca Schiavitti, goal
Lauren Oleferchik, miss (hit left post)
Maddy Panveno, goal
Hanna Florence, saved
Fenwick
Grace McGann, goal
Kate Henige, goal
Abbie Rogowski
Emi Kapusta, goal
but falls to Fenwick in PKs
After 1-1 tie after scoreless OT, visiting Friars take shootout 4-3
By Matt Le Cren
HINSDALE – The moment was not too big for Cate McDonnell.
With her team’s season on the brink, the Hinsdale Central freshman midfielder took a pass from senior Francesca Schiavitti and calmly ripped a 12-yard shot past Fenwick goalkeeper Audrey Hinrichs.
The goal with 2:43 remaining in the second half of Tuesday’s Class 3A regional semifinal at Dickinson Field gave the sixth-seeded Red Devils new life after they trailed no. 11 seed Fenwick for more than 72 minutes.
“It was a very high-intensity game with a lot of fouls and a lot of physical action,” McDonnell said. “But I think everyone’s heart was in it, and I think that’s what kept us fighting.
“We all wanted it so bad, and I just wanted to put the ball in the back of the net, so I swung hard. Frannie had a great pass. There were a lot of great components to that play that the whole team helped out with.”
Alas, McDonnell’s strike provided just a temporary reprieve. Fenwick, despite not getting a shot off after halftime, bunkered down defensively and eked out a victory on penalty kicks.
The Friars (8-2-2) advanced to Friday’s regional finals, where they will face the winner of Wednesday’s match between no. 3 seed, undefeated Downers Grove South, and no. 14 Curie, of the Chicago Public League.
Upsets add spice to the state tournament, and many pundits figure there will be more than usual this year due to the unique challenges of playing in a pandemic. With most teams playing only within their conference or geographic area, it is hard to judge how good – or bad – any given team is.
“We only played the Catholic League and Nazareth,” said second-year Fenwick coach Craig Blazer, whose debut season was wiped out by the pandemic. “I just think people didn’t really know who we were, and I don’t think they really know me. Being in the COVID year, there was just a lack of information.”
It didn’t take long for the Friars, who lost twice to ranked Loyola and tied Nazareth and St. Ignatius, to give notice that they would be a handful.
Hinsdale Central goalkeeper Rania Arain had to make a great save on a breakaway in the fourth minute. Less than a minute later, Fenwick senior forward Juliana Giuffre stunned the home crowd by scoring on a shot from the right side of the penalty area with 35:02 left in the first half.
Fenwick barely missed taking a 2-0 lead when junior midfielder Kate Henige hit the crossbar at the 25:37 mark. But after that it was all Red Devils -- the Friars mustered only one more shot – a 30-yard free kick from Anna Dray that was saved by Arain.
“It’s such a process of the way you start the game,” Blazer said. “We got the goal and that was encouraging. But it is a full game, and it asks a lot out of you.
“Hinsdale is a very good team, and you know they weren’t going to stop. Our goalkeeper, Audrey Hinrichs, made some awesome saves to keep us in the game.
“I credit Hinsdale for their goal. But Audrey, for me, could have been the player of the game with the saves that kept us in the game.”
Indeed, Hinrichs was outstanding. The tall junior, who also plays volleyball and basketball, showcased her athleticism and mettle by making 15 saves, including three in the second overtime as the Red Devils attacked in waves.
Hinrichs stopped six shots in the first half and six more in the second. She and the Fenwick defense were under siege in the two overtime periods.
Red Devils star senior Emma Elliott nearly put the Red Devils (9-5-0) in front with 2:20 to go in the first overtime, but her 30-yard shot skimmed the top of the crossbar.
Fenwick’s luck held in the second overtime, during which the Red Devils squeezed off seven tries to finish the game with a 25-4 advantage in shots, 16 of which were on goal.
Schiavitti drilled a 25-yard drive that hit the crossbar and went high up in the air with 9:15 left. A Fenwick defender outjumped a Hinsdale player to win the ensuing header inside the 6 and seconds later a shot from the right wing went over the pipe.
Four minutes later, defender Sidney Turnbull teed up a 44-yard free kick and boomed it over the crossbar. Thirty seconds after that, Maggie Sanders missed a runner from 25 yards just wide of the left post.
The quick and elusive Sanders regularly caused angst in the Fenwick backline with her darting runs into the box, but was repeatedly denied in her bid for the go-ahead goal. Hinrichs stopped three Sanders shots in the final two minutes, thus sending the match to penalty kicks.
“When you don’t put the ball in the back of the net, that’s what happens,” Hinsdale Central coach Tony Madonia said. “Then you leave it up to chance in PKs.”
The odds may have favored the Red Devils, but everyone knows shootouts are crapshoots. This one came up snake eyes for Hinsdale Central.
All four Fenwick shooters – McGann, Henige, Abbie Rogowski and Emi Kapusta – made their penalty kicks.
So did Hinsdale Central’s first two shooters, Elliott and Schiavitti, whose conversion gave the Red Devils a brief 2-1 lead in the session.
But Hinsdale’s third shooter, Lauren Oleferchik, hit the left post. Even though Maddy Panveno made her kick in the next round, Fenwick remained in control as Kapusta’s make forced the Red Devils to make their fifth shot. Hinrichs made sure they didn’t, lunging to her left to deny Hanna Florence.
“It’s a little bit bittersweet, because we worked so hard to get where we were,” Schiavitti said. “It’s hard to say goodbye to something that meant so much to me for the past four years.”
Schiavitti is one of only four seniors – Elliott, Oleferchik and backup goalkeeper Grace Clopton are the others – who played their last game for the Red Devils.
“We have a super-young team,” Madonia noted. “We only had four seniors, and we had two sophomores starting and Cate as a freshman got ample playing time, too.”
McDonnell’s play, especially her goal, was the sweet part of what Schiavitti was talking about. She knows McDonnell, who had three goals as a rookie, is primed to have a good prep career.
“Cate has been such a beast out here,” Schiavitti said. “She’s been an awesome person to be on the team with, because she’s always so uplifting and then works hard. So it was awesome to see her goal.”
While her goal didn’t translate into a playoff victory, McDonnell and the Red Devils do have big goals for the future.
“I think everyone is going to take this year to heart and everyone is going to use this as motivation moving forward,” McDonnell said. “The seniors are leaving a great legacy and showing that we persevered through the uncertainty of this year.
“COVID definitely caused some setbacks. But I think everyone is going to move forward and fight even harder.”
Starting lineups
Fenwick
GK Audrey Hinrichs
D Emily Ortiz
D Anna Bjorson
D Abbie Rogowski
D Julia Cianci
M Caroline Henige
M Emi Kapusta
M Anna Dray
M Maggie Rogowski
F Grace McGann
F Juliana Giuffre
Hinsdale Central
GK Rania Arain
D Lauren Oleferchik
D Claire Kumskis
D Ava Elliott
D Sidney Turnbull
M Maddy Panveno
M Cate McDonnell
M Maggie Sanders
M Emma Elliott
F Francesca Schiavitti
F Hanna Florence
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Audrey Hinrichs, jr., GK, Fenwick
Scoring summary
First half
Fenwick – Juliana Giuffre 35:02 remaining
Second half
Hinsdale Central – Cate McDonnell (Francesca Schiavitti) 2:43 remaining
First overtime
No scoring’
Second overtime
No scoring
Penalty kicks (Fenwick wins 4-3)
Hinsdale Central
Emma Elliott, goal
Francesca Schiavitti, goal
Lauren Oleferchik, miss (hit left post)
Maddy Panveno, goal
Hanna Florence, saved
Fenwick
Grace McGann, goal
Kate Henige, goal
Abbie Rogowski
Emi Kapusta, goal