Zatarski stays hot, leads Glenbard East
to 2-0 win over Streamwood
Senior records brace as Rams continue quest for Upstate 8 title
By Jared Birchfield
STREAMWOOD -- Maia Zatarski continues to dominate Glenbard East’s offense.
The senior midfielder scored both goals in the Rams’ 2-0 win over Upstate Eight Conference rival Streamwood Friday at the Sabres’ Millennium Field home.
Zatarski scored her 10th and 11th goals of the season in the first 23 minutes of the match.
After the second tally, the Sabres, with only 12 players in kit and missing four starters, clamped down and played even with Glenbard East for the rest of the match.
The Rams got on the board in the fifth minute. Zatarski corralled a ball knocked loose by teammate Brielle DeForest and bashed it into the back of the net from 20 yards.
“Brielle got through a good tackle, and I got lucky to get the ball at my feet for a shot,” said the senior.
Glenbard East coach Kent Overbey’s game yielded fruit.
“It was very critical to get that first goal in the match,” he said. “We are dealing with some injuries and illness, so that score really gave us a little bit of breathing room.
“We were able to cycle some people through. Hopefully, we saved some energy for the rest of the season and did not overwork anybody in the rain.”
Glenbard East is battling Elgin and Bartlett for the top spot in the conference. The Rams play six matches in the next 13 days with four of them against league foes.
Zatarski earned the brace at the 17:00 mark of the first half on shot from 40 yards that snuck just under the crossbar.
“Honestly, I was just in the right place at the right time,” she said about the second goal. “Everyone was pushing hard to get the ball up the field, and I got lucky to be in the spot to take the shot.”
Zatarski earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match thanks to her scoring prowess.
“I wish Selena (Chavez), my goalie, was about 5 inches taller she probably would have gotten to it,” said Steamwood coach Matt Polovin about the second tally. “And we had one little mishap on that first goal. Other than that, we played with them.”
Between Zatarski’s strikes, another potential Glenbard East first half goal after a Sophia Sommesi corner kick, was stopped by Chavez.
Zatarski said the Rams rode a positive vibe from their 1-1 tie with Bartlett on Wednesday.
“I think the key (to the win) was right at the beginning we started pretty strong. I think we just had the energy coming in from our last game,” said the senior “We knew that bringing in energy really gets us going at the beginning.”
Overbey agreed about his team’s drive.
“I thought we had the better energy,” he said. “I thought we came out strong from the start. With our pressure up-top, we were able get on the end of them.”
Polovin faced a challenge he has had all season filling out a line-up card while key players are unable to play.
“I'm missing four starters tonight,” Polovin said. “I'd told the girls I give them so much credit for the way they played throughout the whole game literally with only one sub on the bench. That's all I had.
“That was a makeshift group. A few of the starters I was missing were from my defensive line. I had to insert girls that normally don't play those positions.
“Lily Ende, played on the outside. She hasn't played much at all in this entire season, and I had to throw her in. I thought she did a nice job.”
Esther Cardena, one of Polovin’s experienced defenders, was key to preventing more Glenbard East goal according to the Streamwood coach.
“Esther, our sweeper, really keeps everyone together,” he said. “She's got such great speed and tenacity out there and great footwork as a defender. She kept us in the game just by her defensive prowess out there.”
Glenbard East was not intimated by Streamwood’s main scoring threats Dayanara Huerta and Diana Herrera according to DeForest.
“Once we figured out that their forwards weren't as scary as we thought they were, we were able to step up more and be able to play out easier,” the junior said. “And when they did get past me, I had the backline helping me out like Ciara (Johnson), Hope (McKenna), Jamie (Quirk) and Julia (Berata).
“We have a really young backline. They're all new to it, but they're doing a really great job out there, I feel so supported by all of them.”
Johnson, Quirk and McKenna are sophomores and Bereta is a freshman.
“I think we did well. We didn't let them get around,” DeForest continued. “We didn't step as much. We … let them take as many touches as they want, and then we forced them to play something.”
Overbey agreed his defense neutralized the top offensive threats for Streamwood (3-11-1, 2-4-1).
“They're (Huerta and Herrera) very dangerous working off of each other, and I thought we did a good job of keeping them in front of us most of the time,” he said. “(Goalkeeper) Zoe (Romano) was always there to step forward and clean up anything they got through.”
Romano, a Catawba College commit, had four saves.
Herrera had Streamwood’s two best chances to get on the scoreboard.
In the 13th minute, Romano made a nice basket catch on the senior’s corner kick.
Early in the second half, Herrera drilled a shot that the Rams’ keeper blocked.
“Diana Herrera had a good rip from 20 yards. Normally she'll put that in,” Polovin said. “She just had a laser right to the goalie.”
Another key to Glenbard East win was the Rams’ play in the middle of the pitch, according to Overbey.
“I thought our midfield did a good job of controlling the game,” he said. “Natalie Borcean and a Sommesi are two of the toughest players around. It's hard to get through that wall that they present.”
Glenbard East posted back-to-back road wins that put it in the conference catbird's seat with a 1-0 win Saturday at Elgin. The Rams record headed into the final two weeks of the season is 9-5-1, 5-0-1.
Polovin saw a lot of good take-aways from the match.
“If you can take all the positives that we had tonight, which I felt were quite a few, and take them to our next game we’ll stay on the right track,” the Streamwood coach said. “The most important that thing right now is getting ready for the regionals.”
Starting lineups
Glenbard East
GK – Zoe Romano
D- Jamie Quirk
D – Ciara Johnson
D – Hope McKenna
D – Brielle DeForest
M – Maia Zatarski
M – Natalie Borcean
M – Sophia Sommesi
F – Sarah Conroy
F – Sarah Liljestrand
F – Jasmine Dhamers
Streamwood
GK – Selina Chavez
D – Esther Cardenas
D – Karla Morales
D – Jeidy Salazar
D – Alondra Mendoza
M – Lilly Ende
M – Reyna Saldivar
M – Alea Soriano
F – Dayanara Huerta
F – Daniela Sanchez
F – Diana Herrera
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Maia Zatarski, sr., MF, Glenbard East
Scoring summary
First half
GE: Maia Zatarski (Jamie Quirk), 6th minute
GE: Maia Zatarski (unassisted), 23rd minute
Second half
No scoring
to 2-0 win over Streamwood
Senior records brace as Rams continue quest for Upstate 8 title
By Jared Birchfield
STREAMWOOD -- Maia Zatarski continues to dominate Glenbard East’s offense.
The senior midfielder scored both goals in the Rams’ 2-0 win over Upstate Eight Conference rival Streamwood Friday at the Sabres’ Millennium Field home.
Zatarski scored her 10th and 11th goals of the season in the first 23 minutes of the match.
After the second tally, the Sabres, with only 12 players in kit and missing four starters, clamped down and played even with Glenbard East for the rest of the match.
The Rams got on the board in the fifth minute. Zatarski corralled a ball knocked loose by teammate Brielle DeForest and bashed it into the back of the net from 20 yards.
“Brielle got through a good tackle, and I got lucky to get the ball at my feet for a shot,” said the senior.
Glenbard East coach Kent Overbey’s game yielded fruit.
“It was very critical to get that first goal in the match,” he said. “We are dealing with some injuries and illness, so that score really gave us a little bit of breathing room.
“We were able to cycle some people through. Hopefully, we saved some energy for the rest of the season and did not overwork anybody in the rain.”
Glenbard East is battling Elgin and Bartlett for the top spot in the conference. The Rams play six matches in the next 13 days with four of them against league foes.
Zatarski earned the brace at the 17:00 mark of the first half on shot from 40 yards that snuck just under the crossbar.
“Honestly, I was just in the right place at the right time,” she said about the second goal. “Everyone was pushing hard to get the ball up the field, and I got lucky to be in the spot to take the shot.”
Zatarski earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match thanks to her scoring prowess.
“I wish Selena (Chavez), my goalie, was about 5 inches taller she probably would have gotten to it,” said Steamwood coach Matt Polovin about the second tally. “And we had one little mishap on that first goal. Other than that, we played with them.”
Between Zatarski’s strikes, another potential Glenbard East first half goal after a Sophia Sommesi corner kick, was stopped by Chavez.
Zatarski said the Rams rode a positive vibe from their 1-1 tie with Bartlett on Wednesday.
“I think the key (to the win) was right at the beginning we started pretty strong. I think we just had the energy coming in from our last game,” said the senior “We knew that bringing in energy really gets us going at the beginning.”
Overbey agreed about his team’s drive.
“I thought we had the better energy,” he said. “I thought we came out strong from the start. With our pressure up-top, we were able get on the end of them.”
Polovin faced a challenge he has had all season filling out a line-up card while key players are unable to play.
“I'm missing four starters tonight,” Polovin said. “I'd told the girls I give them so much credit for the way they played throughout the whole game literally with only one sub on the bench. That's all I had.
“That was a makeshift group. A few of the starters I was missing were from my defensive line. I had to insert girls that normally don't play those positions.
“Lily Ende, played on the outside. She hasn't played much at all in this entire season, and I had to throw her in. I thought she did a nice job.”
Esther Cardena, one of Polovin’s experienced defenders, was key to preventing more Glenbard East goal according to the Streamwood coach.
“Esther, our sweeper, really keeps everyone together,” he said. “She's got such great speed and tenacity out there and great footwork as a defender. She kept us in the game just by her defensive prowess out there.”
Glenbard East was not intimated by Streamwood’s main scoring threats Dayanara Huerta and Diana Herrera according to DeForest.
“Once we figured out that their forwards weren't as scary as we thought they were, we were able to step up more and be able to play out easier,” the junior said. “And when they did get past me, I had the backline helping me out like Ciara (Johnson), Hope (McKenna), Jamie (Quirk) and Julia (Berata).
“We have a really young backline. They're all new to it, but they're doing a really great job out there, I feel so supported by all of them.”
Johnson, Quirk and McKenna are sophomores and Bereta is a freshman.
“I think we did well. We didn't let them get around,” DeForest continued. “We didn't step as much. We … let them take as many touches as they want, and then we forced them to play something.”
Overbey agreed his defense neutralized the top offensive threats for Streamwood (3-11-1, 2-4-1).
“They're (Huerta and Herrera) very dangerous working off of each other, and I thought we did a good job of keeping them in front of us most of the time,” he said. “(Goalkeeper) Zoe (Romano) was always there to step forward and clean up anything they got through.”
Romano, a Catawba College commit, had four saves.
Herrera had Streamwood’s two best chances to get on the scoreboard.
In the 13th minute, Romano made a nice basket catch on the senior’s corner kick.
Early in the second half, Herrera drilled a shot that the Rams’ keeper blocked.
“Diana Herrera had a good rip from 20 yards. Normally she'll put that in,” Polovin said. “She just had a laser right to the goalie.”
Another key to Glenbard East win was the Rams’ play in the middle of the pitch, according to Overbey.
“I thought our midfield did a good job of controlling the game,” he said. “Natalie Borcean and a Sommesi are two of the toughest players around. It's hard to get through that wall that they present.”
Glenbard East posted back-to-back road wins that put it in the conference catbird's seat with a 1-0 win Saturday at Elgin. The Rams record headed into the final two weeks of the season is 9-5-1, 5-0-1.
Polovin saw a lot of good take-aways from the match.
“If you can take all the positives that we had tonight, which I felt were quite a few, and take them to our next game we’ll stay on the right track,” the Streamwood coach said. “The most important that thing right now is getting ready for the regionals.”
Starting lineups
Glenbard East
GK – Zoe Romano
D- Jamie Quirk
D – Ciara Johnson
D – Hope McKenna
D – Brielle DeForest
M – Maia Zatarski
M – Natalie Borcean
M – Sophia Sommesi
F – Sarah Conroy
F – Sarah Liljestrand
F – Jasmine Dhamers
Streamwood
GK – Selina Chavez
D – Esther Cardenas
D – Karla Morales
D – Jeidy Salazar
D – Alondra Mendoza
M – Lilly Ende
M – Reyna Saldivar
M – Alea Soriano
F – Dayanara Huerta
F – Daniela Sanchez
F – Diana Herrera
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Maia Zatarski, sr., MF, Glenbard East
Scoring summary
First half
GE: Maia Zatarski (Jamie Quirk), 6th minute
GE: Maia Zatarski (unassisted), 23rd minute
Second half
No scoring