Hinsdale C., Evanston play to tactical tie
Late Red Devils' save causes stalemate
By Patrick Z. McGavin
EVANSTON -- It is an axiom of soccer the most dangerous and vulnerable moments for defenses are the endpoints -- the final minutes of the halves. The moment is especially tense and acute in tied games, with offenses determined to find a way and defenses naturally scattered.
Hinsdale Central goalkeeper Fiona Fitzsimons is just a sophomore. She has enough experience to know the drill. Part of it is ingrained and part is the natural order. The situation creates its own heightened sense of urgency.
Sure enough, the moment was upon her. Evanston was bringing the heat. Fitzsimons was tasked with extinguishing their hope.
In the 77th minute, Wildkits’ gifted junior midfielder Keara Kerr broke free on the right side and had a clean angle. She hammered a rocket ball from about 14 yards. The window was tight, but there. Fitzsimons had just one opportunity.
“It was frantic in the field, and I don’t even know what happened there,” Fitzsimons said. “It was crazy. It was a good shot.”
She broke instinctively to her left for the game-saving block as the Red Devils and host Wildkits played to a 0-0 draw in the second stage of play at Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish Classic on Monday night.
Evanston (4-3-2) has been involved in back-to-back scoreless draws in Group B. They have generated two points. On the basis of its victory over Carmel on Saturday, Hinsdale Central controls its own destiny. The Red Devils (2-4-1) have secured four points -- equaling the total of no. 7 Naperville North, which beat Carmel 3-0. Hinsdale Central hosts Naperville North on Wednesday for the right to advance to Friday’s semifinal round.
Naperville North beat Hinsdale Central 2-0 on March 17th.
“Because we lost to them that is going to make us more eager to win and to possibly win the tournament,” sophomore midfielder Haley Arnold said. “We just have to work really hard.”
Arnold was the revelation for the Red Devils and embodies their rapid improvement from their 0-4-1 start. Explosive and creative with the ball, Arnold showed tremendous poise and speed in breaking down the Wildkits’ defensive interior. Her athleticism was also distinguished by a secondary weapon she brought -- the flip throw in.
“My club coach played professionally, and she taught me how to do it,” Arnold said. “I was interested in it, and I have been doing it since I was in fifth grade.”
The Red Devils had the better run of play in the first half. Arnold’s speed and ability in space forced Evanston into a reactive mode. The Wildkits rarely got into their normal pace and space game.
“I thought in the first half we were very sluggish,” Evanston coach Stacy Salgado said. “We did not create opportunities. We were slow, and we were reacting. That’s not how we like to play. It was a lot more kick ball than what we try to do. The girls were not connecting, and they were getting tired from chasing balls down.
“It definitely took us out of our game.”
The offensive emergence of Arnold and the development of players like Samantha Guido, who scored the game-winner against Carmel on Saturday, illustrates the depth of the Red Devils’ improvement. As the offense has gained greater shape and diversity, the defense has been less taxed and responded in kind. After conceding 16 goals in the first five games, Hinsdale Central has allowed one in its last three games, including the back-to-back tournament shutouts.
“Haley had a great game,” Hinsdale Central coach Bryan Ciesiulka said. “Fiona had a great game. I think across the board we are doing a better job of competing. You can see the effort the girls are putting in, which is what I am pleased with. That’s a very good soccer team. We came on the road, we worked hard, and that’s the most important thing.”
Soccer is predicated on familiarity, and that part of the team is just clicking, according to Arnold.
“At first it was different playing on a high school and club level,” Arnold said. “Everyone was getting used to each other. It’s hard playing with people you’ve never played with before. We’ve had to get a couple of games under our belt. Now we are ... really good friends and teammates, and that really helps on the field.”
Arnold and her counterpart, Evanston star forward Vanessa Eljaiek, shared Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors.
Eljaiek instigated a more fluid and precise second half attack. Annika DeStefano, a big and physical target, was dangerous on corner kicks and nearly headed home a ball. Both teams played ostensibly close to the vest, producing a tactical game where each side waited out to pounce on a mistake.
“We did create a little in the second half, better chances, when we finally put that high pressure on,” Salgado said. “We were stepping up as a unit. I don’t think we are getting frustrated. The chances are there, so I think the scoring is going to happen. It’s a matter of being patient and not force it, which is hard as a player. You’re out there, and you just want to score and get on the board.”
If Hinsdale Central sustained its improved play, the other significant story was the astonishing tale of Evanston emergency keeper Ruby Siegel. Again pressed into service with the injuries to the two regular keepers, Siegel had four saves for the Wildkits.
“I think I am just making the best of the opportunity,” Siegel said. “I have to do what I can to help this team. Having been a defender, I understand the mentality of the keeper. It’s the same as a defender, you don’t want the ball in the back of the net.”
Salgado said the availability of normal starter, freshman Caitlyn Fitzpatrick and her backup, sophomore Sylvi Imrem, remains uncertain. Siegel’s superb play, she has yet to yield a goal in three games, is the good kind of complication for a coach to have.
“She’s a true leader on our field,” Salgado said of Siegel. “She’s been a leader since her freshman year. She knows the game, and reads that game and that’s why we put her in that spot.”
Evanston is on the outside looking in as far as securing a direct route to the championship bracket. The Wildkits face a must-win situation when they travel to Carmel on Wednesday.
“The door’s not closed,” Salgado said. “There is still hope for that. Obviously it is out of our control knowing what is going on with the other games. This is our go time, and we have a lot of games that are back to back.”
Hinsdale Central just wants to maintain its momentum.
“I think we are blending together as a team a lot better, on and off the field,” Fitzsimons said. “We are putting in a good team effort all over the field. We know we can beat (Naperville North). We have to come out ready to play on Wednesday.”
Starting lineups
Evanston
GK: Ruby Siegel
D: Ruby Rogers
D: Annika DeStefano
D: Katy Donati
D: Ryann Lucas
M: Callista O’Connor
M: Hadley Bushala
M: Kat Sehgal
F: Alexa Michel
F: Keara Kerr
F: Vanessa Eljaiek
Hinsdale Central
GK: Fiona Fitzsimons
D: Samantha Moriarty
D: Olivia Rayis
D: Sophie Simmons
D: Madeline Swade
MF: Jane Cole
MF: Elle Jenkins
MF: Haley Arnold
F: Camille Lubic
F: Kate Shroyer
F: Samantha Guido
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match: Vanessa Eljaiek, sr., F, Evanston
Haley Arnold, so., MF, Hinsdale Central
Scoring
None
Late Red Devils' save causes stalemate
By Patrick Z. McGavin
EVANSTON -- It is an axiom of soccer the most dangerous and vulnerable moments for defenses are the endpoints -- the final minutes of the halves. The moment is especially tense and acute in tied games, with offenses determined to find a way and defenses naturally scattered.
Hinsdale Central goalkeeper Fiona Fitzsimons is just a sophomore. She has enough experience to know the drill. Part of it is ingrained and part is the natural order. The situation creates its own heightened sense of urgency.
Sure enough, the moment was upon her. Evanston was bringing the heat. Fitzsimons was tasked with extinguishing their hope.
In the 77th minute, Wildkits’ gifted junior midfielder Keara Kerr broke free on the right side and had a clean angle. She hammered a rocket ball from about 14 yards. The window was tight, but there. Fitzsimons had just one opportunity.
“It was frantic in the field, and I don’t even know what happened there,” Fitzsimons said. “It was crazy. It was a good shot.”
She broke instinctively to her left for the game-saving block as the Red Devils and host Wildkits played to a 0-0 draw in the second stage of play at Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish Classic on Monday night.
Evanston (4-3-2) has been involved in back-to-back scoreless draws in Group B. They have generated two points. On the basis of its victory over Carmel on Saturday, Hinsdale Central controls its own destiny. The Red Devils (2-4-1) have secured four points -- equaling the total of no. 7 Naperville North, which beat Carmel 3-0. Hinsdale Central hosts Naperville North on Wednesday for the right to advance to Friday’s semifinal round.
Naperville North beat Hinsdale Central 2-0 on March 17th.
“Because we lost to them that is going to make us more eager to win and to possibly win the tournament,” sophomore midfielder Haley Arnold said. “We just have to work really hard.”
Arnold was the revelation for the Red Devils and embodies their rapid improvement from their 0-4-1 start. Explosive and creative with the ball, Arnold showed tremendous poise and speed in breaking down the Wildkits’ defensive interior. Her athleticism was also distinguished by a secondary weapon she brought -- the flip throw in.
“My club coach played professionally, and she taught me how to do it,” Arnold said. “I was interested in it, and I have been doing it since I was in fifth grade.”
The Red Devils had the better run of play in the first half. Arnold’s speed and ability in space forced Evanston into a reactive mode. The Wildkits rarely got into their normal pace and space game.
“I thought in the first half we were very sluggish,” Evanston coach Stacy Salgado said. “We did not create opportunities. We were slow, and we were reacting. That’s not how we like to play. It was a lot more kick ball than what we try to do. The girls were not connecting, and they were getting tired from chasing balls down.
“It definitely took us out of our game.”
The offensive emergence of Arnold and the development of players like Samantha Guido, who scored the game-winner against Carmel on Saturday, illustrates the depth of the Red Devils’ improvement. As the offense has gained greater shape and diversity, the defense has been less taxed and responded in kind. After conceding 16 goals in the first five games, Hinsdale Central has allowed one in its last three games, including the back-to-back tournament shutouts.
“Haley had a great game,” Hinsdale Central coach Bryan Ciesiulka said. “Fiona had a great game. I think across the board we are doing a better job of competing. You can see the effort the girls are putting in, which is what I am pleased with. That’s a very good soccer team. We came on the road, we worked hard, and that’s the most important thing.”
Soccer is predicated on familiarity, and that part of the team is just clicking, according to Arnold.
“At first it was different playing on a high school and club level,” Arnold said. “Everyone was getting used to each other. It’s hard playing with people you’ve never played with before. We’ve had to get a couple of games under our belt. Now we are ... really good friends and teammates, and that really helps on the field.”
Arnold and her counterpart, Evanston star forward Vanessa Eljaiek, shared Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors.
Eljaiek instigated a more fluid and precise second half attack. Annika DeStefano, a big and physical target, was dangerous on corner kicks and nearly headed home a ball. Both teams played ostensibly close to the vest, producing a tactical game where each side waited out to pounce on a mistake.
“We did create a little in the second half, better chances, when we finally put that high pressure on,” Salgado said. “We were stepping up as a unit. I don’t think we are getting frustrated. The chances are there, so I think the scoring is going to happen. It’s a matter of being patient and not force it, which is hard as a player. You’re out there, and you just want to score and get on the board.”
If Hinsdale Central sustained its improved play, the other significant story was the astonishing tale of Evanston emergency keeper Ruby Siegel. Again pressed into service with the injuries to the two regular keepers, Siegel had four saves for the Wildkits.
“I think I am just making the best of the opportunity,” Siegel said. “I have to do what I can to help this team. Having been a defender, I understand the mentality of the keeper. It’s the same as a defender, you don’t want the ball in the back of the net.”
Salgado said the availability of normal starter, freshman Caitlyn Fitzpatrick and her backup, sophomore Sylvi Imrem, remains uncertain. Siegel’s superb play, she has yet to yield a goal in three games, is the good kind of complication for a coach to have.
“She’s a true leader on our field,” Salgado said of Siegel. “She’s been a leader since her freshman year. She knows the game, and reads that game and that’s why we put her in that spot.”
Evanston is on the outside looking in as far as securing a direct route to the championship bracket. The Wildkits face a must-win situation when they travel to Carmel on Wednesday.
“The door’s not closed,” Salgado said. “There is still hope for that. Obviously it is out of our control knowing what is going on with the other games. This is our go time, and we have a lot of games that are back to back.”
Hinsdale Central just wants to maintain its momentum.
“I think we are blending together as a team a lot better, on and off the field,” Fitzsimons said. “We are putting in a good team effort all over the field. We know we can beat (Naperville North). We have to come out ready to play on Wednesday.”
Starting lineups
Evanston
GK: Ruby Siegel
D: Ruby Rogers
D: Annika DeStefano
D: Katy Donati
D: Ryann Lucas
M: Callista O’Connor
M: Hadley Bushala
M: Kat Sehgal
F: Alexa Michel
F: Keara Kerr
F: Vanessa Eljaiek
Hinsdale Central
GK: Fiona Fitzsimons
D: Samantha Moriarty
D: Olivia Rayis
D: Sophie Simmons
D: Madeline Swade
MF: Jane Cole
MF: Elle Jenkins
MF: Haley Arnold
F: Camille Lubic
F: Kate Shroyer
F: Samantha Guido
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match: Vanessa Eljaiek, sr., F, Evanston
Haley Arnold, so., MF, Hinsdale Central
Scoring
None