'Selfish' Stadler lifts GBS over Lake Forest
Titans stay unbeaten with 3-1 win in Deep Dish Classic opener
By Gary Larsen
WILMETTE -- Like all good parents, Glenbrook South forward Makayla Stadler’s mother and father taught her to share as a child.
But lately they’ve changed their tune.
“I always want to look to get everybody involved. I never want to be called a ball hog,” Stadler said, “but even my parents are telling me that I need to be more selfish. So I’m trying.”
Glenbrook South coach Seong Ha agrees. As the coach of a strong, athletic, Villanova-bound soccer player like Stadler, he knows that a healthy dose of greed has always marked the best forwards around.
“I’m always like ‘Can you please be a little more selfish with the ball?’ the Titans coach said. “Because she can put a lot of pressure on teams.”
But what about Stadler’s teammates? Would they disapprove if she started to shoot more and pass less?
“No,” Titans defender Katie Sullivan said. “Never.”
On Saturday, Stadler took a step towards meeting everyone’s demand that she stop being so generous, as she scored her sixth and seventh goals of the season in the Titans’ 3-1 win over Lake Forest in the opening round of the Lou Malnati's Deep Dish Classic, hosted by New Trier and Loyola.
The game’s first 15 minutes saw Glenbrook South (6-0-2) bring the heat against the Scouts (2-2-1). The Titans, ranked 21st in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, went up 1-0 on a unique goal. After Stadler earned a corner kick seven minutes into play, and Sullivan teed it up and let it fly. The serve to the far post kept bending until it nestled into the netting inside the post.
“That was a first for me,” Sullivan said. “Usually in those situations I try to find Makayla for a header or to let somebody get a touch on it.
“I saw it curve. The goalie stepped up, and it went around her, and then everyone started running away from the goal. That’s when I knew it went in.”
Three minutes later, a Scout’s player feeling pressure near the touchline attempted a pass back to Lake Forest keeper Sophia Divagno. Stadler raced in to intercept the pass and went in alone on goal.
Stadler cut left with the ball and went around a charging Divagno before calmly burying the empty-netter.
The quick 2-0 lead almost grew quickly.
At 13 minutes Stadler swept in up the right side with a defender on her hip and got off a shot that rolled outside the far post. Titans midfielder Lauren Meier sent a shot wide a minute later, and the Titans had a chance to go up 3-0 a minute after that on a penalty kick awarded when Stadler was tripped inside the box.
Meier’s PK was headed towards the right post near the crossbar but Divagno slid over to slap it away at 15 minutes.
Coach Ty Stuckslager's teams always share the ball and aim to play a fine possession game. Lake Forest’s best stretch of attacking soccer came from that credo before halftime.
The Scouts' Ashley Bufe nearly ran down a through-ball on the left side at 22 minutes, but Titans keeper Libbie Vanderveen flew 14 yards off her line and beat Bufe to the ball.
Over the next 10 minutes, Molly Fisher and Kylie Murray sent shots wide from distance, and Ainsley Allan ripped a good shot from 20 yards that Vanderveen saved.
At 38 minutes, Allan found a payoff goal for Lake Forest’s pressure. A long serve from the left side reached the far post and found the carpet. Allan pounced on it and finished to cut the Titans’ lead in half.
Ha was less than happy with his girls at halftime.
“In the first 15 (minutes) they were great. They didn’t lose too many fifty-fifty balls,” Ha said. “But I was disappointed in the next 25 minutes because you can’t do that against a team like Lake Forest, that can possess the ball so well. What they do with the ball is what I want us to do, eventually.”
Sullivan and the Titans knew they had made a mistake by taking their collective foot off the gas pedal.
“We want to come out and play competitively, and when we had those two goals that started to kind of die down,” Sullivan said. “Nobody was really stepping to the ball. We weren’t capitalizing on being more offensive and trying to get a touch in, and it was kind of hard to communicate with the mids. We were subbing constantly and our communication was just lacking.”
The Titans took Ha’s halftime speech to heart and picked up their intensity to start the second half. Midfielder Katie Weiss hit a shot that Divagno saved to a corner kick at 43 minutes. Two minutes later it was a beautiful piece of work by Weiss that keyed South’s third goal.
Weiss won a ball on the left side, spun around a Scouts midfielder, and took it to the endline. After beating a final defender and turning the corner, she served a perfect ball to the far post, where Stadler elevated and stretched the back netting with a header from point-blank range.
“Katie Weiss made a great play with a turn in the midfield, and then a great cross,” Stadler said. “Nobody was guarding me, and I just got my head on it.”
“That was a sensational play by Katie Weiss,” Ha said.
The rest of the half largely belonged to the Titans, who twice hit the crossbar. Meier and Sullivan sent good chances just wide, while Stadler and Ellie Flowers saw good shots saved by Divagno.
Jessica Ehlinger took over in net in the second half for Glenbrook South, and a backline featuring Sullivan, Katie Gates, Challen Flaws, and Jessica Peters were steady throughout.
“We’re slow starters," Ha said. “So even though we’re undefeated I still feel like conceptually, and what we’re trying to do structurally to build out of the back -- we don’t play a pretty style of soccer. But the great thing about these girls is they’re athletes, and they compete hard.
“And one of the things I really enjoy about this year’s team is that we have a lot of depth. Last year I wasn’t as comfortable, but now when I look down the bench, I can throw anyone in any spot.”
Starting lineups
Glenbrook South
GK Libbie Vanderveen
D Katie Sullivan
D Katie Gates
D Challen Flaws
D Jessica Peters
M Katie Weiss
M Lauren Meier
M Ellie Flowers
M Julia DiSano
F Alex Shaw
F Makayla Stadler
Lake Forest
GK Sophia Divagno
D Maggie Mick
D Leland Keller
D Allison Weber
D Lily Bryant
M Kylie Murray
M Dimi Schwietzer
M Mary Gregg
M Elise Stanley
M Carrie Esplin
F Ainsley Allan
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Makayla Stadler, jr., F, Glenbrook South
Scoring summary
First half
Glenbrook South: Sullivan (CK) 7th minute
Glenbrook South: Stadler (UA), 10th minute
Lake Forest: Allan (UA), 38th minute
Second half
Glenbrook South: Stadler (Weiss), 45th minute
Titans stay unbeaten with 3-1 win in Deep Dish Classic opener
By Gary Larsen
WILMETTE -- Like all good parents, Glenbrook South forward Makayla Stadler’s mother and father taught her to share as a child.
But lately they’ve changed their tune.
“I always want to look to get everybody involved. I never want to be called a ball hog,” Stadler said, “but even my parents are telling me that I need to be more selfish. So I’m trying.”
Glenbrook South coach Seong Ha agrees. As the coach of a strong, athletic, Villanova-bound soccer player like Stadler, he knows that a healthy dose of greed has always marked the best forwards around.
“I’m always like ‘Can you please be a little more selfish with the ball?’ the Titans coach said. “Because she can put a lot of pressure on teams.”
But what about Stadler’s teammates? Would they disapprove if she started to shoot more and pass less?
“No,” Titans defender Katie Sullivan said. “Never.”
On Saturday, Stadler took a step towards meeting everyone’s demand that she stop being so generous, as she scored her sixth and seventh goals of the season in the Titans’ 3-1 win over Lake Forest in the opening round of the Lou Malnati's Deep Dish Classic, hosted by New Trier and Loyola.
The game’s first 15 minutes saw Glenbrook South (6-0-2) bring the heat against the Scouts (2-2-1). The Titans, ranked 21st in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, went up 1-0 on a unique goal. After Stadler earned a corner kick seven minutes into play, and Sullivan teed it up and let it fly. The serve to the far post kept bending until it nestled into the netting inside the post.
“That was a first for me,” Sullivan said. “Usually in those situations I try to find Makayla for a header or to let somebody get a touch on it.
“I saw it curve. The goalie stepped up, and it went around her, and then everyone started running away from the goal. That’s when I knew it went in.”
Three minutes later, a Scout’s player feeling pressure near the touchline attempted a pass back to Lake Forest keeper Sophia Divagno. Stadler raced in to intercept the pass and went in alone on goal.
Stadler cut left with the ball and went around a charging Divagno before calmly burying the empty-netter.
The quick 2-0 lead almost grew quickly.
At 13 minutes Stadler swept in up the right side with a defender on her hip and got off a shot that rolled outside the far post. Titans midfielder Lauren Meier sent a shot wide a minute later, and the Titans had a chance to go up 3-0 a minute after that on a penalty kick awarded when Stadler was tripped inside the box.
Meier’s PK was headed towards the right post near the crossbar but Divagno slid over to slap it away at 15 minutes.
Coach Ty Stuckslager's teams always share the ball and aim to play a fine possession game. Lake Forest’s best stretch of attacking soccer came from that credo before halftime.
The Scouts' Ashley Bufe nearly ran down a through-ball on the left side at 22 minutes, but Titans keeper Libbie Vanderveen flew 14 yards off her line and beat Bufe to the ball.
Over the next 10 minutes, Molly Fisher and Kylie Murray sent shots wide from distance, and Ainsley Allan ripped a good shot from 20 yards that Vanderveen saved.
At 38 minutes, Allan found a payoff goal for Lake Forest’s pressure. A long serve from the left side reached the far post and found the carpet. Allan pounced on it and finished to cut the Titans’ lead in half.
Ha was less than happy with his girls at halftime.
“In the first 15 (minutes) they were great. They didn’t lose too many fifty-fifty balls,” Ha said. “But I was disappointed in the next 25 minutes because you can’t do that against a team like Lake Forest, that can possess the ball so well. What they do with the ball is what I want us to do, eventually.”
Sullivan and the Titans knew they had made a mistake by taking their collective foot off the gas pedal.
“We want to come out and play competitively, and when we had those two goals that started to kind of die down,” Sullivan said. “Nobody was really stepping to the ball. We weren’t capitalizing on being more offensive and trying to get a touch in, and it was kind of hard to communicate with the mids. We were subbing constantly and our communication was just lacking.”
The Titans took Ha’s halftime speech to heart and picked up their intensity to start the second half. Midfielder Katie Weiss hit a shot that Divagno saved to a corner kick at 43 minutes. Two minutes later it was a beautiful piece of work by Weiss that keyed South’s third goal.
Weiss won a ball on the left side, spun around a Scouts midfielder, and took it to the endline. After beating a final defender and turning the corner, she served a perfect ball to the far post, where Stadler elevated and stretched the back netting with a header from point-blank range.
“Katie Weiss made a great play with a turn in the midfield, and then a great cross,” Stadler said. “Nobody was guarding me, and I just got my head on it.”
“That was a sensational play by Katie Weiss,” Ha said.
The rest of the half largely belonged to the Titans, who twice hit the crossbar. Meier and Sullivan sent good chances just wide, while Stadler and Ellie Flowers saw good shots saved by Divagno.
Jessica Ehlinger took over in net in the second half for Glenbrook South, and a backline featuring Sullivan, Katie Gates, Challen Flaws, and Jessica Peters were steady throughout.
“We’re slow starters," Ha said. “So even though we’re undefeated I still feel like conceptually, and what we’re trying to do structurally to build out of the back -- we don’t play a pretty style of soccer. But the great thing about these girls is they’re athletes, and they compete hard.
“And one of the things I really enjoy about this year’s team is that we have a lot of depth. Last year I wasn’t as comfortable, but now when I look down the bench, I can throw anyone in any spot.”
Starting lineups
Glenbrook South
GK Libbie Vanderveen
D Katie Sullivan
D Katie Gates
D Challen Flaws
D Jessica Peters
M Katie Weiss
M Lauren Meier
M Ellie Flowers
M Julia DiSano
F Alex Shaw
F Makayla Stadler
Lake Forest
GK Sophia Divagno
D Maggie Mick
D Leland Keller
D Allison Weber
D Lily Bryant
M Kylie Murray
M Dimi Schwietzer
M Mary Gregg
M Elise Stanley
M Carrie Esplin
F Ainsley Allan
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Makayla Stadler, jr., F, Glenbrook South
Scoring summary
First half
Glenbrook South: Sullivan (CK) 7th minute
Glenbrook South: Stadler (UA), 10th minute
Lake Forest: Allan (UA), 38th minute
Second half
Glenbrook South: Stadler (Weiss), 45th minute