Heavy metal leaves Fenwick with the blues
2 shots off crossbar send Friars away with 0-0 tie at Providence
By Dave Owen
NEW LENOX – Four weeks made little difference in winter-like temperatures, but brought a much different result on the scoreboard.
Fenwick’s 5-2 win over Providence in the Windy City Classic on March 17 seemed to bode well for the Friars heading into Tuesday’s Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Red Division match between the two schools exactly one month later.
Instead, the Celtics’ grass field became a field of frustration for the visitors.
In an otherwise defensive battle of back-and-forth chances between the sides, Fenwick (8-2-1, 1-0-1) endured 35-degree temperatures and the aggravation of hitting the crossbar with two shots in settling for a 0-0 tie with the Celtics (7-3-1, 0-1-1).
The cruelest of those two near misses came during a furious Fenwick rush in the final 30 seconds. Lauren Stibich drove into the offensive zone and sent a cross to Morgan Hosty in front.
With the ball cleared back to the right of the net, Stibich chipped a tough angle 10-yard shot that glanced off the crossbar and down into the crease. Providence cleared the ball to deny an amazing buzzer-beating bid by the Friars.
“I saw we had liked 30 seconds left, and I knew we had one more play left,” Stibich said. “So I thought I might as well take it up, dish it into the middle and see if anybody could get any body part on it. It was just unlucky that it hit the crossbar.”
Said Providence defender Regan Sauer: “That was a really crazy finish. It stressed me out definitely. But Fenwick’s a really good team.
“We got really lucky there. We kind of fell apart a little bit, but kind of pulled it back together the last two seconds.”
The final push left a dramatic last impression.
“I think we showed some sense of urgency at the end,” Friars coach Robert Watson said, “but I mentioned to the girls that maybe we need to do that throughout the game versus toward the end when it’s evident with the clock and the last few minutes we all turn up the level of play.
“I’d like to see us do that a little earlier in the game but a nice final five minutes. We certainly didn’t sit back and go for a tie. We were trying to win.”
Fenwick also came inches from a go-ahead goal with 12:15 left in the first half.
Stibich was again involved when her pass found senior Shannon Ehrhardt open left of the goal.
Ehrhardt’s ensuing high 15-yard chip appeared poised to find a home in the upper reaches of the net but instead clanged off the crossbar. Hosty’s rebound shot was then corralled by Providence goalkeeper Kayla Ambrose.
Outside of those two great Fenwick bids to score, Providence put up its strongest showing in a while against the Friars.
“Fenwick beat us pretty good last year, and beat us 5-2 earlier this year,” Providence coach Dan Potempa said. “Our girls could have hung their heads and said ‘They’re just going to do it again,’ but they went out and played a tough game against a tough team.
“We had a couple good opportunities we could have put away, Fenwick had some good opportunities. We were definitely on our heels late. They pushed late there, and my girls I think were a little tired. But we held them off, and I’m really happy with that 0-0 draw there.”
Potempa noted a few changes from the March 17 match.
“Last time we played them it was their speed (that decided the game),” he said. “I don’t know if it was the difference between grass (Tuesday) and turf (March 17), but we were also able to figure out their formation a little bit, and make some adjustments so we could contain them a little bit.
“Both my center backs played a really good game, especially Regan (Sauer), and that really set the tone. When they play well, the rest of the team steps up as well.”
Speaking of stepping up on defense, Fenwick has stood tall all season. And Tuesday was no different.
The Friars’ seventh shutout of 2018 (with just six goals allowed in 11 matches) was another stellar effort by a defensive unit led by goalkeeper McKenzie Blaze, outside backs Tess Shannon and Regan Hultquist and center backs/Chicagoland Soccer co-MVPs of the Match Margaux Shearer and Lauren Miller.
“Our goalkeeper (Blaze) and our center defenders are the ones right now doing a lot for us,” Watson said.
Blaze was up to the challenge several times in the second half. Her biggest play came with 15:10 left, when a long Providence send set up a potential Karli Boyd breakaway.
In a race to the ball, Blaze arrived just late but was able to deflect Boyd’s shot wide left. Blaze then grabbed a deflection of the ensuing corner kick to snuff out the last of the Celtics' threats.
Outside of that sequence and a 15-yard shot over the net by Providence’s Sierra Vidican 11 minutes into the second half, the Friars’ defensive four was able to squelch any close-in chances.
“Defensively we’ve been trying this new formation where we’re playing a sweeper-stopper,” Shearer said. “I have Regan Hultquist right on top of me, and she plays really well as the stopper.
“Overall I feel we’re starting to really get the hang of the formation as a team and learning to push up the field. I feel it’s a key part to our defense.”
Miller’s play has also been key to that defense, even as her spot has somewhat evolved.
“”My role has definitely changed now,” Miller said. “It’s an adjustment with me going more towards the outside. I don’t always have Margaux next to me.
“It’s different, but the more games we play the more comfortable we’re getting. As soon as we really click with it, I think it’s going to be a really strong formation.”
Fenwick’s starting four weren’t the only defensive luminaries.
In the 27th minute, sophomore reserve Alyssa Ruiz nicely won and cleared a 50-50 ball on a Providence send to the box. Then five minutes before halftime, Ehrhardt blocked a Chase McCool shot attempt off a Celtics corner kick.
At the other end of the field, a similar defensive effort was needed to keep Fenwick off the scoreboard.
Off a Friars corner kick in the 16th minute, Anissa Nourse’s high 15-yard shot was grabbed by Ambrose at the right post. The Celtics keeper also nabbed a well-struck 30-yard shot by Miller in the 25th minute.
Sauer and the Providence defense were strong in the second half, especially as the Friars upped the ante in the final minutes of play.
Nourse was denied on a Sauer blocked shot with 8:20 left, then an Ambrose save 40 seconds later. Then with 5:50 to go, Anna Waring made an offensive zone interception but blasted a 20-yard shot just over the crossbar.
“I think today we really worked together as a unit,” Sauer said of the Celtics’ own shutout performance. “We wanted to go out there and play our best and at least tie this team, because Fenwick’s always been a really good team. We wanted to put our best foot forward and see what we could do.”
Sauer, and a finalist for soccer’s all-name team, both came up big in limiting the Friars.
“Me and Chase McCool definitely communicate a lot about who has each other’s man,” Sauer said. “If I go up, she’ll cover for me. We always have each other’s back. That’s how we were able to keep their forwards in check.”
Potempa named several other Celtics who keyed the excellent effort against the Friars.
“Karli (Boyd) up-top at forward created some good opportunities, and Lindsay Graham at center mid really helped control the game too,” he said. “She was trying to mark two or three girls on her own sometimes.
“This (tie) is a step in the right direction,” Potempa added. “It’s about turning results around from last year, and even earlier this year, the 5-2 (loss). We have a tough couple games coming up, but if we play like this, we can hang with teams and beat them.”
For Fenwick, a determined opponent and some tough luck on crossbar shots produced a nil-nil tie Tuesday. But the Friars’ optimism over a strong start to 2018 remains unscathed.
“I feel we have a lot of potential this year,” Shearer said. “I feel there’s a lot more heart as a team. Putting what we’ve learned in practice and putting our all into games, I think we’re going to have a very successful season.”
As for any lessons from the tie?
“I think we just learned that we have to step to every ball with 100 percent effort,” Miller said. “We can’t slack off for any moment, because all it takes is one second for them to come back and counter. We got lucky today that they didn’t put anything away, but we have to be on our toes at all times and constantly giving our best.”
Stibich took the oh-so-close final shot of the match, and shared Miller's view.
“We need to use this to see that we need to be pushing as much as we did in the last 10 seconds throughout the entire game,” Stibich said. “We have to give it our all the entire time, or there’s no point.”
Starting lineups
Fenwick
GK McKenzie Blaze
D Tess Shannon
D Margaux Shearer
D Lauren Miller
D Regan Hultquist
M Alessia Mollo
M Lauren Stibich
M Anna Waring
M Molly Griffin
F Kaylie Fredian
F Morgan Hosty
Providence
GK Kayla Ambrose
D Jillian Janoyvak
D Chase McCool
D Regan Sauer
D Catherine Slade
M Brianna Geary
M Lindsay Graham
M Maria Spesia
M Brooke Geary
F Karli Boyd
F Sierra Vidican
Chicagoland Soccer co-MVPs of the Match: Margaux Shearer, jr. D, Fenwick
Lauren Miller, sr. D, Fenwick
Scoring
None
2 shots off crossbar send Friars away with 0-0 tie at Providence
By Dave Owen
NEW LENOX – Four weeks made little difference in winter-like temperatures, but brought a much different result on the scoreboard.
Fenwick’s 5-2 win over Providence in the Windy City Classic on March 17 seemed to bode well for the Friars heading into Tuesday’s Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Red Division match between the two schools exactly one month later.
Instead, the Celtics’ grass field became a field of frustration for the visitors.
In an otherwise defensive battle of back-and-forth chances between the sides, Fenwick (8-2-1, 1-0-1) endured 35-degree temperatures and the aggravation of hitting the crossbar with two shots in settling for a 0-0 tie with the Celtics (7-3-1, 0-1-1).
The cruelest of those two near misses came during a furious Fenwick rush in the final 30 seconds. Lauren Stibich drove into the offensive zone and sent a cross to Morgan Hosty in front.
With the ball cleared back to the right of the net, Stibich chipped a tough angle 10-yard shot that glanced off the crossbar and down into the crease. Providence cleared the ball to deny an amazing buzzer-beating bid by the Friars.
“I saw we had liked 30 seconds left, and I knew we had one more play left,” Stibich said. “So I thought I might as well take it up, dish it into the middle and see if anybody could get any body part on it. It was just unlucky that it hit the crossbar.”
Said Providence defender Regan Sauer: “That was a really crazy finish. It stressed me out definitely. But Fenwick’s a really good team.
“We got really lucky there. We kind of fell apart a little bit, but kind of pulled it back together the last two seconds.”
The final push left a dramatic last impression.
“I think we showed some sense of urgency at the end,” Friars coach Robert Watson said, “but I mentioned to the girls that maybe we need to do that throughout the game versus toward the end when it’s evident with the clock and the last few minutes we all turn up the level of play.
“I’d like to see us do that a little earlier in the game but a nice final five minutes. We certainly didn’t sit back and go for a tie. We were trying to win.”
Fenwick also came inches from a go-ahead goal with 12:15 left in the first half.
Stibich was again involved when her pass found senior Shannon Ehrhardt open left of the goal.
Ehrhardt’s ensuing high 15-yard chip appeared poised to find a home in the upper reaches of the net but instead clanged off the crossbar. Hosty’s rebound shot was then corralled by Providence goalkeeper Kayla Ambrose.
Outside of those two great Fenwick bids to score, Providence put up its strongest showing in a while against the Friars.
“Fenwick beat us pretty good last year, and beat us 5-2 earlier this year,” Providence coach Dan Potempa said. “Our girls could have hung their heads and said ‘They’re just going to do it again,’ but they went out and played a tough game against a tough team.
“We had a couple good opportunities we could have put away, Fenwick had some good opportunities. We were definitely on our heels late. They pushed late there, and my girls I think were a little tired. But we held them off, and I’m really happy with that 0-0 draw there.”
Potempa noted a few changes from the March 17 match.
“Last time we played them it was their speed (that decided the game),” he said. “I don’t know if it was the difference between grass (Tuesday) and turf (March 17), but we were also able to figure out their formation a little bit, and make some adjustments so we could contain them a little bit.
“Both my center backs played a really good game, especially Regan (Sauer), and that really set the tone. When they play well, the rest of the team steps up as well.”
Speaking of stepping up on defense, Fenwick has stood tall all season. And Tuesday was no different.
The Friars’ seventh shutout of 2018 (with just six goals allowed in 11 matches) was another stellar effort by a defensive unit led by goalkeeper McKenzie Blaze, outside backs Tess Shannon and Regan Hultquist and center backs/Chicagoland Soccer co-MVPs of the Match Margaux Shearer and Lauren Miller.
“Our goalkeeper (Blaze) and our center defenders are the ones right now doing a lot for us,” Watson said.
Blaze was up to the challenge several times in the second half. Her biggest play came with 15:10 left, when a long Providence send set up a potential Karli Boyd breakaway.
In a race to the ball, Blaze arrived just late but was able to deflect Boyd’s shot wide left. Blaze then grabbed a deflection of the ensuing corner kick to snuff out the last of the Celtics' threats.
Outside of that sequence and a 15-yard shot over the net by Providence’s Sierra Vidican 11 minutes into the second half, the Friars’ defensive four was able to squelch any close-in chances.
“Defensively we’ve been trying this new formation where we’re playing a sweeper-stopper,” Shearer said. “I have Regan Hultquist right on top of me, and she plays really well as the stopper.
“Overall I feel we’re starting to really get the hang of the formation as a team and learning to push up the field. I feel it’s a key part to our defense.”
Miller’s play has also been key to that defense, even as her spot has somewhat evolved.
“”My role has definitely changed now,” Miller said. “It’s an adjustment with me going more towards the outside. I don’t always have Margaux next to me.
“It’s different, but the more games we play the more comfortable we’re getting. As soon as we really click with it, I think it’s going to be a really strong formation.”
Fenwick’s starting four weren’t the only defensive luminaries.
In the 27th minute, sophomore reserve Alyssa Ruiz nicely won and cleared a 50-50 ball on a Providence send to the box. Then five minutes before halftime, Ehrhardt blocked a Chase McCool shot attempt off a Celtics corner kick.
At the other end of the field, a similar defensive effort was needed to keep Fenwick off the scoreboard.
Off a Friars corner kick in the 16th minute, Anissa Nourse’s high 15-yard shot was grabbed by Ambrose at the right post. The Celtics keeper also nabbed a well-struck 30-yard shot by Miller in the 25th minute.
Sauer and the Providence defense were strong in the second half, especially as the Friars upped the ante in the final minutes of play.
Nourse was denied on a Sauer blocked shot with 8:20 left, then an Ambrose save 40 seconds later. Then with 5:50 to go, Anna Waring made an offensive zone interception but blasted a 20-yard shot just over the crossbar.
“I think today we really worked together as a unit,” Sauer said of the Celtics’ own shutout performance. “We wanted to go out there and play our best and at least tie this team, because Fenwick’s always been a really good team. We wanted to put our best foot forward and see what we could do.”
Sauer, and a finalist for soccer’s all-name team, both came up big in limiting the Friars.
“Me and Chase McCool definitely communicate a lot about who has each other’s man,” Sauer said. “If I go up, she’ll cover for me. We always have each other’s back. That’s how we were able to keep their forwards in check.”
Potempa named several other Celtics who keyed the excellent effort against the Friars.
“Karli (Boyd) up-top at forward created some good opportunities, and Lindsay Graham at center mid really helped control the game too,” he said. “She was trying to mark two or three girls on her own sometimes.
“This (tie) is a step in the right direction,” Potempa added. “It’s about turning results around from last year, and even earlier this year, the 5-2 (loss). We have a tough couple games coming up, but if we play like this, we can hang with teams and beat them.”
For Fenwick, a determined opponent and some tough luck on crossbar shots produced a nil-nil tie Tuesday. But the Friars’ optimism over a strong start to 2018 remains unscathed.
“I feel we have a lot of potential this year,” Shearer said. “I feel there’s a lot more heart as a team. Putting what we’ve learned in practice and putting our all into games, I think we’re going to have a very successful season.”
As for any lessons from the tie?
“I think we just learned that we have to step to every ball with 100 percent effort,” Miller said. “We can’t slack off for any moment, because all it takes is one second for them to come back and counter. We got lucky today that they didn’t put anything away, but we have to be on our toes at all times and constantly giving our best.”
Stibich took the oh-so-close final shot of the match, and shared Miller's view.
“We need to use this to see that we need to be pushing as much as we did in the last 10 seconds throughout the entire game,” Stibich said. “We have to give it our all the entire time, or there’s no point.”
Starting lineups
Fenwick
GK McKenzie Blaze
D Tess Shannon
D Margaux Shearer
D Lauren Miller
D Regan Hultquist
M Alessia Mollo
M Lauren Stibich
M Anna Waring
M Molly Griffin
F Kaylie Fredian
F Morgan Hosty
Providence
GK Kayla Ambrose
D Jillian Janoyvak
D Chase McCool
D Regan Sauer
D Catherine Slade
M Brianna Geary
M Lindsay Graham
M Maria Spesia
M Brooke Geary
F Karli Boyd
F Sierra Vidican
Chicagoland Soccer co-MVPs of the Match: Margaux Shearer, jr. D, Fenwick
Lauren Miller, sr. D, Fenwick
Scoring
None