Highland Park’s fast start
dooms Glenbrook South
Katherine Ohlwein scores brace in Giants’ 2-1 victory
By Patrick Z. McGavin
HIGHLAND PARK — Every team talks about connections and distinct personalities.
Highland Park lives it.
When two families account for half of a team's starters in the field, those close bonds animate outward in almost every capacity.
“We all talk about it but just being a team has really helped us,” Highland Park forward Katherine Ohlwein said.
“I’ve been on this team since my freshman year, and this has been one of the best teams we’ve had. We all work very well together.”
Ohlwein provided the early jolt with the two textbook goals the Giants utilized for their 2-1 nonconference victory over Glenbrook South on Wednesday.
Ohlwein earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honor for her superb play.
An Ohlwein filters through every phase of the team. Katherine, a junior, is the offensive hub at the top of the attack who has already scored six goals.
Her twin sister Madeline Ohlwein is the anchor in the back. Younger sister Greta Ohlwein is a stabilizing force in the middle of the attack.
Highland Park (3-1-0) only has three seniors on its roster.
Forward Julia Struck is Katherine’s opposite at the top of the attack.
“Julia and I play really well up front together,” Katherine Ohlwein said. “It’s like a great combination, and finding those balls has really been good.”
Katherine Ohlwein scored goals in the seventh and 26th minute that turned the tide of the game.
By contrast, Glenbrook South is a team still trying to find its identity. The Titans have just four players with previous varsity experience.
That learning curve has been steep.
“With all the things we talk about in this game -- the combinations you want to see, understanding how physical the game is, the decision you want to see, the execution and how to connect -- we are learning as we are playing," said Glenbrook South coach Mark Daniels.
Like the Ohlwein twins, Julia Struck and her twin sister, Emma Struck, a defender, have that special bond. In a game that privileges chemistry, the precision and innate understanding of how to play together is a difference-maker.
In the opening minutes, senior Sydney Schenk—the savvy veteran of the team—played a free kick from the left edge from 30 yards that nearly handcuffed Glenbrook South keeper Maggie Ryan.
The sequence foretold the Giants’ early aggressiveness and dominant edge.
“We always look to start strong,” Schenk said. “We like to get the ball up the field and keep it there. Once we got there, we pressed hard and that led to the early goals.”
In the seventh minute, sophomore midfielder Kira Thomas broke hard on the right edge and made a sharp cross that created the necessary early opportunity for Katherine Ohlwein.
She finished inside the near post from about 12 yards.
The goal continued a damaging early trend for Glenbrook South.
“The thing that has really hurt us has been the early goals,” Daniels said. “In our first three games, we have had to come from behind.
“We are learning that we can’t make mistakes in the back, or otherwise we are going to get really hurt.”
Highland Park maintained its edge with its sharp passing and ability to shift the ball quickly from one side to the other.
Given the nearly two-year separation since the last time high school teams played together, the game has never had such a high variance of outcomes.
Glenbrook South is learning how to adapt to the speed and rhythm of the game. By contrast, Highland Park is a junior-dominated team with experience.
Highland Park coach Kate Straka sees a profound difference in the two years her young players have been away from the high school game.
“It has been a long time since we’ve been together as the Highland Park program,” Straka said. “It’s very apparent the girls have been putting in work outside of our program.
“We have some amazing players ready to play, in shape, and with a much higher level of knowledge.”
Coaches like Straka are coming to terms with how much has changed during the pandemic year.
“With most of our juniors who have really played since they were freshmen, I see such amazing growth. My last memory of them was really as freshmen girls and now as junior women, they are stronger and that has increased our level of play.”
Glenbrook South (0-2-1) did not melt despite the early barrage from the Giants. The team regrouped and began to connect its passing attack and find more credible combinations.
Even if the sequence did not result in an immediate goal, it established a template, a point of attack.
In the 32nd minute, junior defender Anna Durow lofted a ball from the right edge into the middle of the box that junior midfielder Lilly O’Rourke nailed for the Titans’ goal.
“I think it comes down to resilience at the end of the day,” said O’Rourke, who blends ideal size with terrific vision and a physical edge.
She owns all four of the team's goals, including a hat-trick in the season-opening tie against Prospect. She is a bright spot the rest of the team plays off.
“One goal does not really do anything,” O’Rourke said. “It’s more about finishing the game off strong. A goal helps, but at the end of the day it’s about your mindset.
“Your mindset needs to be turned on. It’s about the communication coming out, the resilience coming through and playing hard the whole 80 minutes.”
Durow said the process is complex. The key stage in their development is getting the necessary reps and time together.
“I know we have a bunch of younger people who have not really had varsity experience before,” Durow said.
“I think once we continue to have a bunch of practices and learn how to communicate and learn how to play as a team more, we can really move together as a team.”
Given the scarcity of scoring against quality teams, soccer is often a game of managing failure. Daniels said its part of the team learning learning curve to live with the mistakes and grow from them.
Neither team generated great scoring chances in the second half. Highland Park was willing to protect the lead.
O’Rourke almost found the equalizer on a good shot from the middle of the field from about 30 yards that took a wicked hop and nearly blindsided Giants’ keeper Morgan Cohen.
Senior forward Dani Stadler also flashed tremendous excitement on the outside of the attack for the Titans.
“We have some players who are versatile, but we are struggling to find the combinations that work best,” Daniels said. “Are we going to two or three midfielders?
“We haven’t settled on a lineup yet, and that’s still a work in progress. That might be a situation where we have to live with what it is.”
O’Rourke said the natural cohesion of the players is the most effective way of changing the early results.
“I know a lot of players on the team just missed being together,” O’Rourke said. “At GBS, we’re really a family community.
“I think coming together after two full years, the touch might not be as good, the shots might not be as accurate as they were before quarantine, it is always fun getting back on the field together and being together as a team.”
Starting lineups
Glenbrook South
GK: Maggie Ryan
D: Kaley Flentye
D: Anna Durow
D: Anya Gupta
D: Alicia Kim
MF: Lilly O’Rourke
MF: Elaina Maris
MF: Bella Gemignani
MF: Meghan Noe
F: Audrey Langenbach
F: Dani Stadler
Highland Park
GK: Morgan Cohen
D: Avery Butler
D: Madeline Ohlwein
D: Emma Struck
D: Haley Cohen
MF: Kira Thomas
MF: Sydney Schenk
MF: Greta Ohlwein
MF: Anna Stahlberger
F: Katherine Ohlwein
F: Julia Struck
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Katherine Ohlwein, jr., F, Highland Park
Scoring summary
First half
Highland Park—Katherine Ohlwein (Kira Thomas), 7th minute
Highland Park—Ohlwein (Sydney Schenk), 26th minute
Glenbrook South—Lilly O’Rourke (Anna Durow), 32nd minute
Second half
No scoring
dooms Glenbrook South
Katherine Ohlwein scores brace in Giants’ 2-1 victory
By Patrick Z. McGavin
HIGHLAND PARK — Every team talks about connections and distinct personalities.
Highland Park lives it.
When two families account for half of a team's starters in the field, those close bonds animate outward in almost every capacity.
“We all talk about it but just being a team has really helped us,” Highland Park forward Katherine Ohlwein said.
“I’ve been on this team since my freshman year, and this has been one of the best teams we’ve had. We all work very well together.”
Ohlwein provided the early jolt with the two textbook goals the Giants utilized for their 2-1 nonconference victory over Glenbrook South on Wednesday.
Ohlwein earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honor for her superb play.
An Ohlwein filters through every phase of the team. Katherine, a junior, is the offensive hub at the top of the attack who has already scored six goals.
Her twin sister Madeline Ohlwein is the anchor in the back. Younger sister Greta Ohlwein is a stabilizing force in the middle of the attack.
Highland Park (3-1-0) only has three seniors on its roster.
Forward Julia Struck is Katherine’s opposite at the top of the attack.
“Julia and I play really well up front together,” Katherine Ohlwein said. “It’s like a great combination, and finding those balls has really been good.”
Katherine Ohlwein scored goals in the seventh and 26th minute that turned the tide of the game.
By contrast, Glenbrook South is a team still trying to find its identity. The Titans have just four players with previous varsity experience.
That learning curve has been steep.
“With all the things we talk about in this game -- the combinations you want to see, understanding how physical the game is, the decision you want to see, the execution and how to connect -- we are learning as we are playing," said Glenbrook South coach Mark Daniels.
Like the Ohlwein twins, Julia Struck and her twin sister, Emma Struck, a defender, have that special bond. In a game that privileges chemistry, the precision and innate understanding of how to play together is a difference-maker.
In the opening minutes, senior Sydney Schenk—the savvy veteran of the team—played a free kick from the left edge from 30 yards that nearly handcuffed Glenbrook South keeper Maggie Ryan.
The sequence foretold the Giants’ early aggressiveness and dominant edge.
“We always look to start strong,” Schenk said. “We like to get the ball up the field and keep it there. Once we got there, we pressed hard and that led to the early goals.”
In the seventh minute, sophomore midfielder Kira Thomas broke hard on the right edge and made a sharp cross that created the necessary early opportunity for Katherine Ohlwein.
She finished inside the near post from about 12 yards.
The goal continued a damaging early trend for Glenbrook South.
“The thing that has really hurt us has been the early goals,” Daniels said. “In our first three games, we have had to come from behind.
“We are learning that we can’t make mistakes in the back, or otherwise we are going to get really hurt.”
Highland Park maintained its edge with its sharp passing and ability to shift the ball quickly from one side to the other.
Given the nearly two-year separation since the last time high school teams played together, the game has never had such a high variance of outcomes.
Glenbrook South is learning how to adapt to the speed and rhythm of the game. By contrast, Highland Park is a junior-dominated team with experience.
Highland Park coach Kate Straka sees a profound difference in the two years her young players have been away from the high school game.
“It has been a long time since we’ve been together as the Highland Park program,” Straka said. “It’s very apparent the girls have been putting in work outside of our program.
“We have some amazing players ready to play, in shape, and with a much higher level of knowledge.”
Coaches like Straka are coming to terms with how much has changed during the pandemic year.
“With most of our juniors who have really played since they were freshmen, I see such amazing growth. My last memory of them was really as freshmen girls and now as junior women, they are stronger and that has increased our level of play.”
Glenbrook South (0-2-1) did not melt despite the early barrage from the Giants. The team regrouped and began to connect its passing attack and find more credible combinations.
Even if the sequence did not result in an immediate goal, it established a template, a point of attack.
In the 32nd minute, junior defender Anna Durow lofted a ball from the right edge into the middle of the box that junior midfielder Lilly O’Rourke nailed for the Titans’ goal.
“I think it comes down to resilience at the end of the day,” said O’Rourke, who blends ideal size with terrific vision and a physical edge.
She owns all four of the team's goals, including a hat-trick in the season-opening tie against Prospect. She is a bright spot the rest of the team plays off.
“One goal does not really do anything,” O’Rourke said. “It’s more about finishing the game off strong. A goal helps, but at the end of the day it’s about your mindset.
“Your mindset needs to be turned on. It’s about the communication coming out, the resilience coming through and playing hard the whole 80 minutes.”
Durow said the process is complex. The key stage in their development is getting the necessary reps and time together.
“I know we have a bunch of younger people who have not really had varsity experience before,” Durow said.
“I think once we continue to have a bunch of practices and learn how to communicate and learn how to play as a team more, we can really move together as a team.”
Given the scarcity of scoring against quality teams, soccer is often a game of managing failure. Daniels said its part of the team learning learning curve to live with the mistakes and grow from them.
Neither team generated great scoring chances in the second half. Highland Park was willing to protect the lead.
O’Rourke almost found the equalizer on a good shot from the middle of the field from about 30 yards that took a wicked hop and nearly blindsided Giants’ keeper Morgan Cohen.
Senior forward Dani Stadler also flashed tremendous excitement on the outside of the attack for the Titans.
“We have some players who are versatile, but we are struggling to find the combinations that work best,” Daniels said. “Are we going to two or three midfielders?
“We haven’t settled on a lineup yet, and that’s still a work in progress. That might be a situation where we have to live with what it is.”
O’Rourke said the natural cohesion of the players is the most effective way of changing the early results.
“I know a lot of players on the team just missed being together,” O’Rourke said. “At GBS, we’re really a family community.
“I think coming together after two full years, the touch might not be as good, the shots might not be as accurate as they were before quarantine, it is always fun getting back on the field together and being together as a team.”
Starting lineups
Glenbrook South
GK: Maggie Ryan
D: Kaley Flentye
D: Anna Durow
D: Anya Gupta
D: Alicia Kim
MF: Lilly O’Rourke
MF: Elaina Maris
MF: Bella Gemignani
MF: Meghan Noe
F: Audrey Langenbach
F: Dani Stadler
Highland Park
GK: Morgan Cohen
D: Avery Butler
D: Madeline Ohlwein
D: Emma Struck
D: Haley Cohen
MF: Kira Thomas
MF: Sydney Schenk
MF: Greta Ohlwein
MF: Anna Stahlberger
F: Katherine Ohlwein
F: Julia Struck
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Katherine Ohlwein, jr., F, Highland Park
Scoring summary
First half
Highland Park—Katherine Ohlwein (Kira Thomas), 7th minute
Highland Park—Ohlwein (Sydney Schenk), 26th minute
Glenbrook South—Lilly O’Rourke (Anna Durow), 32nd minute
Second half
No scoring