Huge Grayslake comeback draws
Central even with North
Rams rally from 3-goal deficit, frosh star Hoffmann nets hat-trick
By Bobby Narang
GRAYSLAKE — Soccer sometimes gets a bad rap.
The traditional sports fans from football, basketball and baseball often point to the lack of scoring or the confusion and frustration over offsides calls.
Beauty comes in all forms in sports -- from low-scoring to high-scoring games to overtime contests.
Neighborhood rivalry games add a unique twist to any sporting event, especially on the high school level.
The Grayslake North-Grayslake Central match certainly fit that description.
Scoring, by the way, wasn’t an issue Thursday in Grayslake.
In total, 10 goals were scored as North and Central finished in a 5-5 tie in Northern Lake County Conference play.
Host and Grayslake Central coach Keith Andersson admitted the high-scoring game caught him by surprise.
“I haven’t seen that in a long time, maybe in a men’s league,” Andersson said of the total amount of goals between the two teams. “It was a great cross-town rivalry.
“You’re not going to get a better game. It went back and forth, back and forth. If you wanted goals, we made it rain tonight. That was the fun part.”
The final numbers were shocking for two teams that entered the game without a propensity for scoring goals. Grayslake North scored four times in the first half to seize a 4-2 lead but managed just one in the second half. Emily Hansen led the Knights (1-1-5, 0-1-2) with a brace against the Rams (4-4-1, 1-0-1) to give her a team-high five goals. Morgan Flynn, Ashley Hernandez and Elle Doninger added goals, and Micaela Acuna Saenz tallied two assists.
Before Thursday, the Knights were even in the scoring column with their opponents with 11 scored and 11 allowed. So naturally, after 80 minutes of intense action on a cold and blustery night, the Knights kept their season-long trend on track, leaving Grayslake Central High School with 16 goals for and 16 goals against.
Maybe that’s why Grayslake North coach Adam DeCaluwe felt both optimism and disappointment following the draw.
“I’m not pleased. We did play well and scored five goals, and we did a decent job in most phases of the game,” DeCaluwe said. “We had a couple of calls go against us that I can’t explain.
“But we also gave up five goals. We’ve been struggling to finish out games. We outshoot most teams we play, and in our humble opinion, we tend to outplay the teams we play. Against Vernon Hills, it was an even game. We hit two crossbars and a post (in a 2-0 loss April 9).
“We’ve had a lot of ties. It’s disheartening because the girls are working hard. But we’re finding a bit of a stride going forward. We’re missing some key pieces. We have two players out with big injuries.
“Our effort was good. But again, it doesn’t mean much when you give up five goals.”
Grayslake Central had a different perspective following the draw. After falling behind 3-1 in the first half and 5-2 early in the second half, the Rams were relieved to walk away with a deadlock.
Grayslake Central freshman midfielder Madison Hoffmann was the key reason for the stunning comeback. She scored three goals to raise her season total to eight to go with six assists.
Hoffmann, a three-sport varsity athlete who was named all-conference in basketball, said she broke new ground in her burgeoning soccer career with the hat-trick. She scored on a header in the 26th minute, added another goal on a penalty kick in the 58th minute and closed out the scoring with a 40-yard blast into the far upper corner on a free kick with 5:25 left in regulation.
“It was a fun game,” Hoffmann said. “I’ve never had three goals in a game, at least not in high school. On the first goal we had a corner set piece, I think from Sara Armstrong. The third goal was just a long dead ball.”
Senior teammate and goalkeeper Piper Gallaher admitted it was a crazy game, and that she was happy to see it come to an end.
The Loyola recruit was shell-shocked after allowing five goals, including four in the first half. Lost in the final score, however, was that Gallaher racked up several awe-inspiring saves and showed off next-level instincts and athleticism.
She finished with nine saves, including two in a 10-second spurt midway through the first half. Gallaher even notched a save on her back, stopping a potential goal, then falling down and grabbing the ball out of the air.
“I don’t think I’ve had that many goals (allowed) by myself or scored by our team in a long time,” Gallaher said. “I think the first one might have hit off (my teammate). This game definitely shows we have a lot to work on, but also definitely shows we can pull together as a team a lot better than we’ve done in the past, when we probably would’ve given up and settled for a loss, like 5-2.”
Gallaher said the young Rams plan to build off the draw.
“We showed we can pull together as a unit and do this,” she said. “I’ve been working on the mental side a lot. I have to work on next ball and remind myself who I am and getting my confidence back in practice and taking shots.
“I love taking shots. I love doing this at games rather than do nothing.
"The saves are one thing, but getting scored upon is another.
“It stinks. I did have a couple good saves, but it was definitely not one of my better performances.”
Grayslake Central junior defender Katie Dinsmore said the team took advantage of the intermission to reset for a stronger showing in the final 40 minutes.
“I think we struggled a bit in the first half, but we really came together at halftime,” Dinsmore said. “I think the halftime talk that we got from our coaches and players in general really got our motivation up and helped get us back in the game.
“Madison had a great game for us. I’m excited for the rest of the season.”
DeCaluwe said he’s optimistic Grayslake North can use its strong, first half performance to build a winning streak in conference play.
“Emily Hansen is our captain in the midfield and one of our hardest workers. She had a good game,” he said. “Isabel Ceaser is a good defender, and she had a nice assist. Freshman Ashley Hernandez had a really nice goal and assisted on the first goal.
“We’re giving ourselves chances. We’re looking forward to the next challenge. Our girls are fighting hard and looking forward to proving themselves by the end of the season. We’re starting to feel better and hopefully we’ll have better performances and results.”
Starting lineups
Grayslake North
GK Anneke Holm
D Ashley Plant
D Maddy Barrie
D Olivia Tabbert
D Isabel Ceaser
MF Isabella Moran
MF Elle Doninger
MF Emily Hansen
MF MaKayla Campbell
F Ashley Hernandez
F Micaela Acuna Saenz
Grayslake Central
GK Piper Gallaher
D Katie Dinsmore
D Avalyn Woods
D Natalie Thorson
D Dahlia Rodriguez
MF Sara Armstrong
MF Katie Armstrong
MF Kaitlyn Morrissey
MF Madison Hoffmann
F Courtney Fletcher
F Sara Ottolino
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Madison Hoffmann, fr., MF, Grayslake Central
Scoring summary
First half
GC: Dahlia Rodriguez (Courtney Fletcher), 8th minute
GN: Morgan Flynn (Ashley Hernandez), 14th minute
GN: Emily Hansen (unassisted), 20th minute
GN: Hansen (Isabel Ceaser), 26th minute
GC: Madison Hoffmann (Sara Armstrong), 36th minute
GN: Hernandez (Micaela Acuna Saenz), 39th minute
Second half
GN: Elle Doninger (Acuna Saenz), 45th minute
GC: Katie Armstrong (Rodriguez), 54th minute
GC: Hoffmann (penalty kick), 58th minute
GC: Hoffmann (free kick), 75th minute
Central even with North
Rams rally from 3-goal deficit, frosh star Hoffmann nets hat-trick
By Bobby Narang
GRAYSLAKE — Soccer sometimes gets a bad rap.
The traditional sports fans from football, basketball and baseball often point to the lack of scoring or the confusion and frustration over offsides calls.
Beauty comes in all forms in sports -- from low-scoring to high-scoring games to overtime contests.
Neighborhood rivalry games add a unique twist to any sporting event, especially on the high school level.
The Grayslake North-Grayslake Central match certainly fit that description.
Scoring, by the way, wasn’t an issue Thursday in Grayslake.
In total, 10 goals were scored as North and Central finished in a 5-5 tie in Northern Lake County Conference play.
Host and Grayslake Central coach Keith Andersson admitted the high-scoring game caught him by surprise.
“I haven’t seen that in a long time, maybe in a men’s league,” Andersson said of the total amount of goals between the two teams. “It was a great cross-town rivalry.
“You’re not going to get a better game. It went back and forth, back and forth. If you wanted goals, we made it rain tonight. That was the fun part.”
The final numbers were shocking for two teams that entered the game without a propensity for scoring goals. Grayslake North scored four times in the first half to seize a 4-2 lead but managed just one in the second half. Emily Hansen led the Knights (1-1-5, 0-1-2) with a brace against the Rams (4-4-1, 1-0-1) to give her a team-high five goals. Morgan Flynn, Ashley Hernandez and Elle Doninger added goals, and Micaela Acuna Saenz tallied two assists.
Before Thursday, the Knights were even in the scoring column with their opponents with 11 scored and 11 allowed. So naturally, after 80 minutes of intense action on a cold and blustery night, the Knights kept their season-long trend on track, leaving Grayslake Central High School with 16 goals for and 16 goals against.
Maybe that’s why Grayslake North coach Adam DeCaluwe felt both optimism and disappointment following the draw.
“I’m not pleased. We did play well and scored five goals, and we did a decent job in most phases of the game,” DeCaluwe said. “We had a couple of calls go against us that I can’t explain.
“But we also gave up five goals. We’ve been struggling to finish out games. We outshoot most teams we play, and in our humble opinion, we tend to outplay the teams we play. Against Vernon Hills, it was an even game. We hit two crossbars and a post (in a 2-0 loss April 9).
“We’ve had a lot of ties. It’s disheartening because the girls are working hard. But we’re finding a bit of a stride going forward. We’re missing some key pieces. We have two players out with big injuries.
“Our effort was good. But again, it doesn’t mean much when you give up five goals.”
Grayslake Central had a different perspective following the draw. After falling behind 3-1 in the first half and 5-2 early in the second half, the Rams were relieved to walk away with a deadlock.
Grayslake Central freshman midfielder Madison Hoffmann was the key reason for the stunning comeback. She scored three goals to raise her season total to eight to go with six assists.
Hoffmann, a three-sport varsity athlete who was named all-conference in basketball, said she broke new ground in her burgeoning soccer career with the hat-trick. She scored on a header in the 26th minute, added another goal on a penalty kick in the 58th minute and closed out the scoring with a 40-yard blast into the far upper corner on a free kick with 5:25 left in regulation.
“It was a fun game,” Hoffmann said. “I’ve never had three goals in a game, at least not in high school. On the first goal we had a corner set piece, I think from Sara Armstrong. The third goal was just a long dead ball.”
Senior teammate and goalkeeper Piper Gallaher admitted it was a crazy game, and that she was happy to see it come to an end.
The Loyola recruit was shell-shocked after allowing five goals, including four in the first half. Lost in the final score, however, was that Gallaher racked up several awe-inspiring saves and showed off next-level instincts and athleticism.
She finished with nine saves, including two in a 10-second spurt midway through the first half. Gallaher even notched a save on her back, stopping a potential goal, then falling down and grabbing the ball out of the air.
“I don’t think I’ve had that many goals (allowed) by myself or scored by our team in a long time,” Gallaher said. “I think the first one might have hit off (my teammate). This game definitely shows we have a lot to work on, but also definitely shows we can pull together as a team a lot better than we’ve done in the past, when we probably would’ve given up and settled for a loss, like 5-2.”
Gallaher said the young Rams plan to build off the draw.
“We showed we can pull together as a unit and do this,” she said. “I’ve been working on the mental side a lot. I have to work on next ball and remind myself who I am and getting my confidence back in practice and taking shots.
“I love taking shots. I love doing this at games rather than do nothing.
"The saves are one thing, but getting scored upon is another.
“It stinks. I did have a couple good saves, but it was definitely not one of my better performances.”
Grayslake Central junior defender Katie Dinsmore said the team took advantage of the intermission to reset for a stronger showing in the final 40 minutes.
“I think we struggled a bit in the first half, but we really came together at halftime,” Dinsmore said. “I think the halftime talk that we got from our coaches and players in general really got our motivation up and helped get us back in the game.
“Madison had a great game for us. I’m excited for the rest of the season.”
DeCaluwe said he’s optimistic Grayslake North can use its strong, first half performance to build a winning streak in conference play.
“Emily Hansen is our captain in the midfield and one of our hardest workers. She had a good game,” he said. “Isabel Ceaser is a good defender, and she had a nice assist. Freshman Ashley Hernandez had a really nice goal and assisted on the first goal.
“We’re giving ourselves chances. We’re looking forward to the next challenge. Our girls are fighting hard and looking forward to proving themselves by the end of the season. We’re starting to feel better and hopefully we’ll have better performances and results.”
Starting lineups
Grayslake North
GK Anneke Holm
D Ashley Plant
D Maddy Barrie
D Olivia Tabbert
D Isabel Ceaser
MF Isabella Moran
MF Elle Doninger
MF Emily Hansen
MF MaKayla Campbell
F Ashley Hernandez
F Micaela Acuna Saenz
Grayslake Central
GK Piper Gallaher
D Katie Dinsmore
D Avalyn Woods
D Natalie Thorson
D Dahlia Rodriguez
MF Sara Armstrong
MF Katie Armstrong
MF Kaitlyn Morrissey
MF Madison Hoffmann
F Courtney Fletcher
F Sara Ottolino
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Madison Hoffmann, fr., MF, Grayslake Central
Scoring summary
First half
GC: Dahlia Rodriguez (Courtney Fletcher), 8th minute
GN: Morgan Flynn (Ashley Hernandez), 14th minute
GN: Emily Hansen (unassisted), 20th minute
GN: Hansen (Isabel Ceaser), 26th minute
GC: Madison Hoffmann (Sara Armstrong), 36th minute
GN: Hernandez (Micaela Acuna Saenz), 39th minute
Second half
GN: Elle Doninger (Acuna Saenz), 45th minute
GC: Katie Armstrong (Rodriguez), 54th minute
GC: Hoffmann (penalty kick), 58th minute
GC: Hoffmann (free kick), 75th minute