Carmel's dynamic scoring duo
powers win over Grayslake North
Fix, Hartman combine for each goal, assist in 5-1 victory
By Bobby Narang
MUNDELEIN — Anna Hartman and Emily Fix are starting to click.
A continuance of this trend spells bad news for Carmel’s upcoming opponents. It certainly did for nonconference foe Grayslake North on Monday night.
After Hartman’s performance as a starting guard for Carmel’s Class 3A state championship basketball team, she got a late start to the soccer season.
Meanwhile, Fix’s move from playing club soccer to high school also required time on the field for adjustments.
“We understand how each other plays better,” Fix said of playing with the uber-talented Hartman. “As the season has gone on, I’ve gotten used to playing with Anna.
“It’s not like I played with her last year. It’s our first year playing. The first game of the season, our (connection) was really good, but then we had to kind of figure each other out, which included a lot of formation changes.
“We’ve now gotten more comfortable with each other and with our formations. That’s really helped us.
“Also, in the beginning of the season, I was struggling a bit to get goals. I don’t normally play a center-forward position. I think getting my confidence throughout the season has really helped me.
“It’s really exciting. In club, I don’t score very much. I’m so glad I’m playing for my school. Scoring is so much different here.”
Hartman agreed with Fix’s assessment.
“Off the field, I think our team has gotten a lot closer, and now Emily is on a roll,” Hartman said. “We’re starting to do really good as a team.”
The no. 25 Corsairs are definitely on a roll, partly thanks to the Hartman-Fix duo.
On a windy evening, Fix scored three goals with an assist, and Hartman added two goals and an assist to power Carmel to the dominating 5-1 win at Baker Field.
Carmel (10-5-1) built off Saturday’s 8-1 rout over Marian by netting four balls in the north goal, which had 20 mile-per-hour winds whipping in its direction.
Carmel coach Stephanie Kile said she’s happy to see Hartman and Fix meshing well together on the pitch. Fix leads the team with 16 goals and seven assists; Hartman has 12 goals and a team-high 19 assists.
“They’ve both playing great,” Kile said. “Emily has scored nine goals in the last four games. She’s really created a spark for our offense. Anna has 19 assists and been playing great. It’s been a lot of fun watching them.”
The Class AA Corsairs hope to continue their roll Thursday, when they face Stevenson in Lincolnshire for a nonconference game between two of the top teams in Lake County. The Patriots (14-1-1) defeated the Corsairs 2-0 in group play at the 4th annual Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish Classic on April 13.
“That’s going to be a huge game and help us with momentum if we can win on Thursday night,” Kile said. “That’s a big one, but we’re also looking forward to the playoffs. I truly think we have a good chance.”
Carmel senior defender Zkylah Barnes said the backline is ready for the challenge of playing the highly ranked Patriots.
Class 3A Stevenson, which defeated Libertyville 1-0 on Monday to claim the North Suburban Conference title, has outscoring its opponents 28-3 in the last seven games.
Grayslake North (6-5-7) scored its lone goal with 12:20 remaining in the second half on junior forward Arissa Vettraino’s powerful shot from 27 yards. Carmel’s goalie Lisete Astudillo tallied five saves, including four in the second half.
“We had the wind in the first half, which was a great advantage for us, and we took advantage of that,” Barnes said. “The defense played well. I’m proud of our effort. We did really good overall.
“(Stevenson) is going to be a good game. We’re all working hard and have everything in mind for that game coming up.
“It’s a great time. I’m pleased with how our team is doing and how everything is going. Communication and keeping our heads high are important, just to keep going and pushing.”
Fix said she’s motivated to knock off the Patriots.
“I’m very excited for Stevenson,” Fix said. “I know a lot of girls on that team. It’s always a really competitive match, and it’s going to be fun playing against a talented team.”
Hartman said the Corsairs are excited to see how much they’ve improved since the last meeting with the Patriots. One thing that will definitely improve is the temperature. It’s slated to be 86 degrees in Lincolnshire.
“The last game we played them I think we could’ve won that game,” Hartman said. “We played pretty good. It would be nice to beat them going into the playoffs.”
Fix notched a hat-trick for the second time this season. She scored four goals in a 5-1 win over Marist on May 4. She said she tried to take advantage of the strong wind, which forced the referee to fix the goalposts in the 11th minute. Fix notched her first goal in the fourth minute.
“The first goal was my favorite, just to start the game and get some momentum,” Fix said. “The second goal I was running and trying to get Anna the assist, but she played a nice ball back to me.
“When we had the wind, it was so much easier. We weren’t fighting those backward-turning balls and it was much easier to get behind the defense. Starting off with that wind really helped us.”
Hartman tallied two goals, one in each half. She scored her first goal off a corner kick and a deflection off her stomach. Fix blasted the shot that hit Hartman in the gut and managed to find the back of the net.
Hartman added her second goal with 65 seconds remaining in the match.
“The first goal knocked the wind out of me,” Hartman said. “It also happened to me two games ago off an assist from Emily. It was frustrating at times with the wind. When we got a chance, we responded.”
Kile said the Corsairs are looking to continue their recent surge into the playoffs. As the no. 2 seed in the Wauconda Sectional, the Corsairs start the playoffs against no. 14-seed and regional host Ridgewood on May 17.
“The wind was certainly a factor, so we knew we had to come out strong and capitalize. We also knew it was going to be a factor in the second half limiting our chances,” Kile said. “I’m happy with the first half, to give us momentum moving forward, especially against a team in our sectional. It’s always nice to get a win like that.”
Starting lineups
Grayslake North
GK Anneke Holm
D Ashley Plant
D Isabel Ceaser
D Olivia Tabbert
MF Ashley Hernandez
MF Elle Doninger
MF Emily Hanse
MF Makayla Campbell
MF Isabella Moran
F Micaela Acuna Saenz
F Arissa Vettraino
Carmel
GK Lisete Astudillo
D Zkylah Barnes
D Peyton Carney
D Grace Harvey
D Mila Schachelmayer
MF Bella D’Amore
MF Maddie Nikolai
MF Jillian Miller
MF Kate Jones
F Anna Hartman
F Emily Fix
Chicagoland MVP of the Match: Emily Fix, jr. F, Carmel.
Scoring
First half
Carmel — Emily Fix (unassisted), 4th minute
Carmel —Emily Fix (Anna Hartman), 14th minute
Carmel — Anna Hartman (Emily Fix), 20th minute
Carmel — Emily Fix (unassisted), 29th minute
Second half
Grayslake North — Arissa Vettraino (Micaela Acuna Saenz), 68th minute
Carmel — Anna Hartman (unassisted), 79th minute
powers win over Grayslake North
Fix, Hartman combine for each goal, assist in 5-1 victory
By Bobby Narang
MUNDELEIN — Anna Hartman and Emily Fix are starting to click.
A continuance of this trend spells bad news for Carmel’s upcoming opponents. It certainly did for nonconference foe Grayslake North on Monday night.
After Hartman’s performance as a starting guard for Carmel’s Class 3A state championship basketball team, she got a late start to the soccer season.
Meanwhile, Fix’s move from playing club soccer to high school also required time on the field for adjustments.
“We understand how each other plays better,” Fix said of playing with the uber-talented Hartman. “As the season has gone on, I’ve gotten used to playing with Anna.
“It’s not like I played with her last year. It’s our first year playing. The first game of the season, our (connection) was really good, but then we had to kind of figure each other out, which included a lot of formation changes.
“We’ve now gotten more comfortable with each other and with our formations. That’s really helped us.
“Also, in the beginning of the season, I was struggling a bit to get goals. I don’t normally play a center-forward position. I think getting my confidence throughout the season has really helped me.
“It’s really exciting. In club, I don’t score very much. I’m so glad I’m playing for my school. Scoring is so much different here.”
Hartman agreed with Fix’s assessment.
“Off the field, I think our team has gotten a lot closer, and now Emily is on a roll,” Hartman said. “We’re starting to do really good as a team.”
The no. 25 Corsairs are definitely on a roll, partly thanks to the Hartman-Fix duo.
On a windy evening, Fix scored three goals with an assist, and Hartman added two goals and an assist to power Carmel to the dominating 5-1 win at Baker Field.
Carmel (10-5-1) built off Saturday’s 8-1 rout over Marian by netting four balls in the north goal, which had 20 mile-per-hour winds whipping in its direction.
Carmel coach Stephanie Kile said she’s happy to see Hartman and Fix meshing well together on the pitch. Fix leads the team with 16 goals and seven assists; Hartman has 12 goals and a team-high 19 assists.
“They’ve both playing great,” Kile said. “Emily has scored nine goals in the last four games. She’s really created a spark for our offense. Anna has 19 assists and been playing great. It’s been a lot of fun watching them.”
The Class AA Corsairs hope to continue their roll Thursday, when they face Stevenson in Lincolnshire for a nonconference game between two of the top teams in Lake County. The Patriots (14-1-1) defeated the Corsairs 2-0 in group play at the 4th annual Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish Classic on April 13.
“That’s going to be a huge game and help us with momentum if we can win on Thursday night,” Kile said. “That’s a big one, but we’re also looking forward to the playoffs. I truly think we have a good chance.”
Carmel senior defender Zkylah Barnes said the backline is ready for the challenge of playing the highly ranked Patriots.
Class 3A Stevenson, which defeated Libertyville 1-0 on Monday to claim the North Suburban Conference title, has outscoring its opponents 28-3 in the last seven games.
Grayslake North (6-5-7) scored its lone goal with 12:20 remaining in the second half on junior forward Arissa Vettraino’s powerful shot from 27 yards. Carmel’s goalie Lisete Astudillo tallied five saves, including four in the second half.
“We had the wind in the first half, which was a great advantage for us, and we took advantage of that,” Barnes said. “The defense played well. I’m proud of our effort. We did really good overall.
“(Stevenson) is going to be a good game. We’re all working hard and have everything in mind for that game coming up.
“It’s a great time. I’m pleased with how our team is doing and how everything is going. Communication and keeping our heads high are important, just to keep going and pushing.”
Fix said she’s motivated to knock off the Patriots.
“I’m very excited for Stevenson,” Fix said. “I know a lot of girls on that team. It’s always a really competitive match, and it’s going to be fun playing against a talented team.”
Hartman said the Corsairs are excited to see how much they’ve improved since the last meeting with the Patriots. One thing that will definitely improve is the temperature. It’s slated to be 86 degrees in Lincolnshire.
“The last game we played them I think we could’ve won that game,” Hartman said. “We played pretty good. It would be nice to beat them going into the playoffs.”
Fix notched a hat-trick for the second time this season. She scored four goals in a 5-1 win over Marist on May 4. She said she tried to take advantage of the strong wind, which forced the referee to fix the goalposts in the 11th minute. Fix notched her first goal in the fourth minute.
“The first goal was my favorite, just to start the game and get some momentum,” Fix said. “The second goal I was running and trying to get Anna the assist, but she played a nice ball back to me.
“When we had the wind, it was so much easier. We weren’t fighting those backward-turning balls and it was much easier to get behind the defense. Starting off with that wind really helped us.”
Hartman tallied two goals, one in each half. She scored her first goal off a corner kick and a deflection off her stomach. Fix blasted the shot that hit Hartman in the gut and managed to find the back of the net.
Hartman added her second goal with 65 seconds remaining in the match.
“The first goal knocked the wind out of me,” Hartman said. “It also happened to me two games ago off an assist from Emily. It was frustrating at times with the wind. When we got a chance, we responded.”
Kile said the Corsairs are looking to continue their recent surge into the playoffs. As the no. 2 seed in the Wauconda Sectional, the Corsairs start the playoffs against no. 14-seed and regional host Ridgewood on May 17.
“The wind was certainly a factor, so we knew we had to come out strong and capitalize. We also knew it was going to be a factor in the second half limiting our chances,” Kile said. “I’m happy with the first half, to give us momentum moving forward, especially against a team in our sectional. It’s always nice to get a win like that.”
Starting lineups
Grayslake North
GK Anneke Holm
D Ashley Plant
D Isabel Ceaser
D Olivia Tabbert
MF Ashley Hernandez
MF Elle Doninger
MF Emily Hanse
MF Makayla Campbell
MF Isabella Moran
F Micaela Acuna Saenz
F Arissa Vettraino
Carmel
GK Lisete Astudillo
D Zkylah Barnes
D Peyton Carney
D Grace Harvey
D Mila Schachelmayer
MF Bella D’Amore
MF Maddie Nikolai
MF Jillian Miller
MF Kate Jones
F Anna Hartman
F Emily Fix
Chicagoland MVP of the Match: Emily Fix, jr. F, Carmel.
Scoring
First half
Carmel — Emily Fix (unassisted), 4th minute
Carmel —Emily Fix (Anna Hartman), 14th minute
Carmel — Anna Hartman (Emily Fix), 20th minute
Carmel — Emily Fix (unassisted), 29th minute
Second half
Grayslake North — Arissa Vettraino (Micaela Acuna Saenz), 68th minute
Carmel — Anna Hartman (unassisted), 79th minute