It's Szumski to the rescue for Wheaton N.
Junior's late goal spurs Falcons' shootout win vs. Glenbard South
By Gary Larsen
WHEATON -- After she cut left around one defender, and then cut left again past a second, Wheaton North outside defender Kristen Szumski suddenly found herself at the top of Glenbard South’s penalty area with a shot at her feet but a tough decision on her hands.
Szumski is right-footed but that wasn't the shot she had. With her Falcons trailing 1-0 and only three minutes remaining in the game, Szumski really had no choice at all.
“The ball was on my left foot, and I just thought ‘Let’s try it’,” she said. “My dad always says if you don’t shoot, you don’t score. He also says God gave you two feet for a reason. So I kind of heard him talking in the back of my head.”
Szumski’s first career varsity goal curled inside the right post past diving South keeper Emily Villasenor, tying the game and effectively sending it to penalty kicks. Wheaton North earned a 4-3 edge in the shootout to advance in the Marine Corps Bracket of the PepsiCo Showdown.
Up until Szumski scored, Villasenor’s performance had her perched three short minutes away from arguably being named player of the game. Instead, Szumski’s late, heroic tying goal earned her Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match honors.
When Wheaton North coach Tim McEvilly saw Szumski take off with the ball from midfield, at first urged her to do something she did in the Falcons’ season opener.
“On our first goal of the year against Benet (on March 14), she cut in and slid the ball across to somebody,” McEvilly said. “So I was screaming at her to play the ball wide. But she came in on the angle and found a shot out of it.
“I’m very happy for her, because she works really hard. We’re trying to get our outside backs to have more offensive presence, and that one was as good as you can get.”
In the shootout, Falcons keeper Ava Lynch and midfielder Stacie Galo took their turns on center stage. Lynch saved two penalty kicks and Galo buried the final shot of the round to give the Falcons the win.
Kate McKee, Jaden Trometer, and Kate Kortenhoeven also converted their kicks in the shootout.
Wheaton North (2-6-0) spent much of the game pressuring Villasenor and Glenbard South’s backline. But on another brisk spring night, the danger that Lynch might not be as warmed up as Villasenor for the shootout was a non-factor, as she saved the Raiders’ third and fourth kicks.
“We ended our last game tied and then went into PKs, so I kind of had the same mentality going into it,” Lynch said.“The previous two (PKs) had gone in to my right so I started that way, figuring that’s where the next one was going, too. We’ve won our last two games so now we just want to keep rolling with the wins.”
The Falcons also beat Young in a shootout Saturday in the first round of the tournament.
For most of Tuesday’s game, Wheaton North won the midfield, kept the attacking pressure on, and forced Villasenor into a busy night of goalkeeping.
For 80 minutes, outside midfielder Kortenhoeven did everything she could to set up a goal. The senior reached the endline on the right side consistently all night, serving balls that her teammates sent just high or wide of frame, or Villasenor cut off.
Galo, McKee, and Jackie Bienduga each found a dangerous shot on the end of a serve from Kortenhoeven. Kortenhoeven also sprang Bienduga on a through-ball in the second half, with Bienduga forcing Villasenor to make a diving save at the post.
McKee put in a solid day’s work against the Raiders and likes the direction North’s attack is headed.
“We’ve had to do a better job of getting numbers up, and today I thought we came out and really showed that,” McKee said. “We’ve been working hard at that.”
A scoreless first half saw Lynch make the early save of the game at eight minutes, when she slapped away a quality shot from eight yards from the Raiders’ Sam Schutte.
Wheaton North forward Sammie Schomig sent a few shots on Villasenor in the 20th minute, and at 28 minutes a Raider defender thwarted a good scoring chance at the post taken by Falcons forward Leila Parente.
North midfielder Anna Warfield headed a shot wide at 31 minutes, and Kortenhoeven busted in on the right side with a defender on her hip and went wide at 38 minutes.
The final quality chance of the first half came one minute later when McKee ripped a shot just high on a Kortenhoeven cross.
“That does frustrate me,” McKee said. “(McEvilly) told me before the game to keep my composure when I’m shooting, to look up and find a spot on the goal. When things are happening so fast, sometimes it’s hard to think about that. I got unlucky a few times tonight, but I’ll get there.”
Glenbard South forward Erin Haslett scored her side’s goal three minutes into the second half on a quick counter from midfield. Haslett ran onto a through-ball on the left side and went in alone on Lynch.
“Ava didn't have a chance on that goal,” McEvilly said. “We’re getting scored on sometimes by giving up a few shots, and it was a mistake in the back to kind of put her in a bad situation. But that’s kind of the way the season started for us. We’d give up a couple chances, and they all go in, and then we’d miss on the chances we had. It’s just been a fight.”
Wheaton North’s pressure found a new gear after Glenbard South’s goal. Galo hit a great chance high from 10 yards on a Kortenhoeven cross at 48 minutes, and Villasenor saved a shot by midfielder Katie Goebel on a Schomig cross at 54 minutes.
Bienduga collided with Villasenor at the goalmouth on a Kortenhoeven cross at 59 minutes, and at 63 minutes the two teamed up on a through-ball that Bienduga fired from 10 yards that Villasenor saved to a corner kick.
The Falcons continued to attack until Szumski’s pivotal play, which began on the right side in front of the Wheaton North bench.
Szumski may be a defender but she displayed an undeniable smoothness as she moved the ball to easily get past two defenders on a diagonal run to the top of the penalty area.
“It felt so fluid and natural. I was kind of shocked,” Szumski said. “You can’t get that feeling from anything else. Once I got around the first (defender) I was like ‘Yeah! Let’s go!’ And once I got around the second I was like ‘This is all me. Just do it!’”
McEvilly liked what he got from McKee, Warfield, and Trometer in Tuesday’s win. After a winless stretch to start the season, Wheaton North has won two-straight games and shown its coach that the building blocks are there for this year’s Falcons.
“We’re not exactly a goal-scoring machine, but we’re creating chances,” he said. “If we can get a little more composure in our offensive opportunities, we can be there by the end. So our goal is just to get them a little more confident each night.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton North
GK Ava Lynch
D Jaden Trometer
D Hannah Swider
D Kristen Szumski
D Micaela Van Meter
M Anna Warfield
M Abby Atkinson
M Kate Kortenhoeven
M Stacie Galo
F Kate McKee
F Leila Parente
Glenbard South
GK Emily Villasenor
D Emma Johnson
D Sarah Cohen
D Danielle Palmieri
M Sydney Hazelrigg
M Kelly Lupa
M Clare Willis
M Abby Showalter
M Kate Winkler
F Sam Schutte
F Erin Haslett
Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match: Kristen Szumski, jr., D, Wheaton North
Scoring summary
Second half
Glenbard South — Haslett (UA) 43rd minute
Wheaton North — Szumski (UA) 77th minute
Shootout
Penalty kicks converted
Wheaton North — Galo, Kortenhoeven, Trometer, McKee
Glenbard South — Schutte, Haslett, Willis
Junior's late goal spurs Falcons' shootout win vs. Glenbard South
By Gary Larsen
WHEATON -- After she cut left around one defender, and then cut left again past a second, Wheaton North outside defender Kristen Szumski suddenly found herself at the top of Glenbard South’s penalty area with a shot at her feet but a tough decision on her hands.
Szumski is right-footed but that wasn't the shot she had. With her Falcons trailing 1-0 and only three minutes remaining in the game, Szumski really had no choice at all.
“The ball was on my left foot, and I just thought ‘Let’s try it’,” she said. “My dad always says if you don’t shoot, you don’t score. He also says God gave you two feet for a reason. So I kind of heard him talking in the back of my head.”
Szumski’s first career varsity goal curled inside the right post past diving South keeper Emily Villasenor, tying the game and effectively sending it to penalty kicks. Wheaton North earned a 4-3 edge in the shootout to advance in the Marine Corps Bracket of the PepsiCo Showdown.
Up until Szumski scored, Villasenor’s performance had her perched three short minutes away from arguably being named player of the game. Instead, Szumski’s late, heroic tying goal earned her Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match honors.
When Wheaton North coach Tim McEvilly saw Szumski take off with the ball from midfield, at first urged her to do something she did in the Falcons’ season opener.
“On our first goal of the year against Benet (on March 14), she cut in and slid the ball across to somebody,” McEvilly said. “So I was screaming at her to play the ball wide. But she came in on the angle and found a shot out of it.
“I’m very happy for her, because she works really hard. We’re trying to get our outside backs to have more offensive presence, and that one was as good as you can get.”
In the shootout, Falcons keeper Ava Lynch and midfielder Stacie Galo took their turns on center stage. Lynch saved two penalty kicks and Galo buried the final shot of the round to give the Falcons the win.
Kate McKee, Jaden Trometer, and Kate Kortenhoeven also converted their kicks in the shootout.
Wheaton North (2-6-0) spent much of the game pressuring Villasenor and Glenbard South’s backline. But on another brisk spring night, the danger that Lynch might not be as warmed up as Villasenor for the shootout was a non-factor, as she saved the Raiders’ third and fourth kicks.
“We ended our last game tied and then went into PKs, so I kind of had the same mentality going into it,” Lynch said.“The previous two (PKs) had gone in to my right so I started that way, figuring that’s where the next one was going, too. We’ve won our last two games so now we just want to keep rolling with the wins.”
The Falcons also beat Young in a shootout Saturday in the first round of the tournament.
For most of Tuesday’s game, Wheaton North won the midfield, kept the attacking pressure on, and forced Villasenor into a busy night of goalkeeping.
For 80 minutes, outside midfielder Kortenhoeven did everything she could to set up a goal. The senior reached the endline on the right side consistently all night, serving balls that her teammates sent just high or wide of frame, or Villasenor cut off.
Galo, McKee, and Jackie Bienduga each found a dangerous shot on the end of a serve from Kortenhoeven. Kortenhoeven also sprang Bienduga on a through-ball in the second half, with Bienduga forcing Villasenor to make a diving save at the post.
McKee put in a solid day’s work against the Raiders and likes the direction North’s attack is headed.
“We’ve had to do a better job of getting numbers up, and today I thought we came out and really showed that,” McKee said. “We’ve been working hard at that.”
A scoreless first half saw Lynch make the early save of the game at eight minutes, when she slapped away a quality shot from eight yards from the Raiders’ Sam Schutte.
Wheaton North forward Sammie Schomig sent a few shots on Villasenor in the 20th minute, and at 28 minutes a Raider defender thwarted a good scoring chance at the post taken by Falcons forward Leila Parente.
North midfielder Anna Warfield headed a shot wide at 31 minutes, and Kortenhoeven busted in on the right side with a defender on her hip and went wide at 38 minutes.
The final quality chance of the first half came one minute later when McKee ripped a shot just high on a Kortenhoeven cross.
“That does frustrate me,” McKee said. “(McEvilly) told me before the game to keep my composure when I’m shooting, to look up and find a spot on the goal. When things are happening so fast, sometimes it’s hard to think about that. I got unlucky a few times tonight, but I’ll get there.”
Glenbard South forward Erin Haslett scored her side’s goal three minutes into the second half on a quick counter from midfield. Haslett ran onto a through-ball on the left side and went in alone on Lynch.
“Ava didn't have a chance on that goal,” McEvilly said. “We’re getting scored on sometimes by giving up a few shots, and it was a mistake in the back to kind of put her in a bad situation. But that’s kind of the way the season started for us. We’d give up a couple chances, and they all go in, and then we’d miss on the chances we had. It’s just been a fight.”
Wheaton North’s pressure found a new gear after Glenbard South’s goal. Galo hit a great chance high from 10 yards on a Kortenhoeven cross at 48 minutes, and Villasenor saved a shot by midfielder Katie Goebel on a Schomig cross at 54 minutes.
Bienduga collided with Villasenor at the goalmouth on a Kortenhoeven cross at 59 minutes, and at 63 minutes the two teamed up on a through-ball that Bienduga fired from 10 yards that Villasenor saved to a corner kick.
The Falcons continued to attack until Szumski’s pivotal play, which began on the right side in front of the Wheaton North bench.
Szumski may be a defender but she displayed an undeniable smoothness as she moved the ball to easily get past two defenders on a diagonal run to the top of the penalty area.
“It felt so fluid and natural. I was kind of shocked,” Szumski said. “You can’t get that feeling from anything else. Once I got around the first (defender) I was like ‘Yeah! Let’s go!’ And once I got around the second I was like ‘This is all me. Just do it!’”
McEvilly liked what he got from McKee, Warfield, and Trometer in Tuesday’s win. After a winless stretch to start the season, Wheaton North has won two-straight games and shown its coach that the building blocks are there for this year’s Falcons.
“We’re not exactly a goal-scoring machine, but we’re creating chances,” he said. “If we can get a little more composure in our offensive opportunities, we can be there by the end. So our goal is just to get them a little more confident each night.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton North
GK Ava Lynch
D Jaden Trometer
D Hannah Swider
D Kristen Szumski
D Micaela Van Meter
M Anna Warfield
M Abby Atkinson
M Kate Kortenhoeven
M Stacie Galo
F Kate McKee
F Leila Parente
Glenbard South
GK Emily Villasenor
D Emma Johnson
D Sarah Cohen
D Danielle Palmieri
M Sydney Hazelrigg
M Kelly Lupa
M Clare Willis
M Abby Showalter
M Kate Winkler
F Sam Schutte
F Erin Haslett
Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match: Kristen Szumski, jr., D, Wheaton North
Scoring summary
Second half
Glenbard South — Haslett (UA) 43rd minute
Wheaton North — Szumski (UA) 77th minute
Shootout
Penalty kicks converted
Wheaton North — Galo, Kortenhoeven, Trometer, McKee
Glenbard South — Schutte, Haslett, Willis