Close-knit Hersey wins
close one at Hoffman Estates
Huskies edge Hawks 2-1 on 87th-minute goal in 2 OT thriller
By Bill McLean
HOFFMAN ESTATES — It might be a first in Mid-Suburban League history.
Or in any conference, for that matter.
Moments after Hersey’s Huskies edged host Hoffman Estates 2-1 in double overtime in the mid evening Monday, they had an unusual question for coach Michael Rusniak.
“They asked me, ‘Could we go on a team jog tomorrow?’” a smiling, head-shaking Rusniak recounted after the MSL clash in gorgeous, near-balmy conditions at Garber Stadium.
“They all love doing things together,” he added. “They want to be around each other at all times. Even off the bus today, they moved together as one as they entered the stadium. Close group. Cohesive group. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of my players by herself.”
But significant distance separated Hersey sophomore forward/center-midfielder Faith Sena from Hersey junior midfielder Ava Cismoski at one point Monday.
Uh-oh, a sudden fracture in the Huskies’ unity?
No.
Sena had to be all by herself to boot a pivotal corner kick in the 87th minute. Cismoski barely had to move to head it past Hawks sophomore goalkeeper Karla Castillo for what turned out to be the game-winner in the first of two 10-minute OT sessions.
“It was right in front of my face,” said Cismoski, who authored one of the assists on freshman midfielder Gretchen Chianelli’s game-tying goal in the seventh minute and earned clear-cut Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors.
You couldn’t help but be thrilled for Cismoski, an “old” rookie. The pandemic wiped out her freshman soccer season. A torn ACL erased her sophomore season.
Her one-goal, one-assist game Monday helped Hersey improve to 5-4-1 overall and 3-1-0 in the MSL.
Hoffman Estates slipped to 2-6-0, 0-4-0.
“Hoffman played a gritty, tough game,” Rusniak said. “Today you saw another indication of how competitive our conference is. Every game is so important. You want to pick up a win anyway you can in order to stay up there in the MSL table.”
The Hawks struck first on Monday, getting a goal from freshman forward Bella Wehrle in the third minute. She worked hard and under pressure, deep in the box, to record her first varsity tally.
“My volley attempt went too far up (and hit a player), and I thought, ‘OK, let’s redeem myself,’ ” Wehrle recalled.
She did just that seconds later, poking a five-yard shot past Huskies junior keeper Alli Paulson (four saves).
“Look for many more goals to come from her,” Hoffman coach Mary Dansdill said. “I love Bella’s intensity and work ethic. What I noticed today, probably more than anything else, was her toughness against a very good Hersey team.”
Hersey notched the equalizer three minutes later. Sophomore forward Abi Beck fed a sharp, left-footed cross to Cismoski, whose ensuing shot deflected off the left hand of keeper Castillo (12 saves).
Ready to pounce on the free ball, and then score, was Chianelli.
“We’d been working on responding well to early goals against us,” said Sena, whose shot — from about 15 yads with only two ticks left in regulation — banged off the crossbar, an attempt she called “a shank.”
Added Rusniak: “I liked how little time it took for us to bounce back from adversity.”
Dansdill admired her club’s ability to withstand constant heat from Hersey’s formidable threats. Several times senior defender and tri-captain Cassie Caruso (an outside midfielder in her previous soccer life) thwarted a rush one minute and delivered a lengthy, dangerous service to a forward or midfielder the next.
Senior midfielder Becca Caliendo, another Huskies tri-captain, flung more throw-ins Monday than a pitcher hurls a baseball in a complete game. Or so it seemed.
A Caliendo restart from a sideline is never a routine thing. A Caliendo throw-in is the equivalent of a highly effective corner kick — minus the “thump.”
“Her throw-ins,” Rusniak said, “are monstrous.”
Castillo smothered a Caliendo throw-in in the vicinity of a pair of Huskies in the eighth minute.
Hoffman also received fine defensive efforts from sophomore Izzy Troyer and junior Maya Schmidt.
A corner from Hawks reserve sophomore forward/midfielder Natasha Navarro set up a near-goal in the final minute of the first half. The ball pinballed inside a crowded box a couple times (maybe more) before Paulson collected her best save of the game.
“We're a hardworking team,” Dansdill said. “And we showed discipline today, much more than we had in recent games.”
Hersey ramped up its urgency in the final minute of regulation, creating an impressive scoring chance, and it did so without the help of regular helpers—ball kids.
Hersey players—bench players and active players—scrambled, scrambled, scrambled to retrieve each out-of-bounds ball and deliver it to a thrower. Even coaches, from both sides, turned into impromptu Fidos and fetched across portions of the stadium’s track lanes.
Caliendo’s final throw-in in the second half initiated the sequence that almost resulted in a Sena goal.
Both clubs return to action against MSL foes on Wednesday. Hoffman Estates visits Schaumburg at 4:45 p.m.; Hersey hosts Palatine at 6:45 p.m.
Footnotes
Hoffman Estates’ PA announcer let everybody know before the start of Monday afternoon’s game that Hawks assistant coach Jay Colloton became a grandfather of twins earlier in the day. … Dansdill, on the stunningly pleasant weather conditions on Monday after weeks of November-like temps: “Finally, finally.” … Senior defender Ali Beck also serves as a Hersey tri-captain. … Rusniak, on Abi Beck’s transition from midfielder to forward: “She’s making strides.” … The face of Hoffman Estate’s Wehrle absorbed a well-struck ball from close range near the end of the second OT, prompting a collective “Whoa!” from Hoffman Estates boys lacrosse players, who were standing near an end zone at Garber Stadium before the start of their practice. Wehrle continued playing as if nothing serious had happened. “My face?” the rookie booter said while shrugging during a postgame interview. “It’s still tingling.”
Starting lineups
Hersey
GK Alli Paulson
D Finley Wilcox
D Cassie Caruso
D Natalie Suto
D Ali Beck
M Asha Bontje
M Gretchen Chianelli
M Ava Cismoski
M Becca Caliendo
F Faith Sena
F Abi Beck
Hoffman Estates
GK Karla Schneider
D Emily Rios-Palacios
D Izzy Troyer
D Katie Paszkiewicz
M Maya Schmidt
M Kelly Pekovitch
M Madison Garcia
F Bella Wehrle
F Stephanie De La Torre
F Karina Niemet
F Sam Roberts
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Ava Cismoski, jr., MF, Hersey
Scoring summary
First half
Hoffman Estates — Wehrle (UA), 4’
Hersey — Chianelli (Cismoski, Abi Beck), 7’
Second half
No scoring
First overtime
Hersey — Cismoski (Sena), 87’
Second overtime
No scoring
close one at Hoffman Estates
Huskies edge Hawks 2-1 on 87th-minute goal in 2 OT thriller
By Bill McLean
HOFFMAN ESTATES — It might be a first in Mid-Suburban League history.
Or in any conference, for that matter.
Moments after Hersey’s Huskies edged host Hoffman Estates 2-1 in double overtime in the mid evening Monday, they had an unusual question for coach Michael Rusniak.
“They asked me, ‘Could we go on a team jog tomorrow?’” a smiling, head-shaking Rusniak recounted after the MSL clash in gorgeous, near-balmy conditions at Garber Stadium.
“They all love doing things together,” he added. “They want to be around each other at all times. Even off the bus today, they moved together as one as they entered the stadium. Close group. Cohesive group. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of my players by herself.”
But significant distance separated Hersey sophomore forward/center-midfielder Faith Sena from Hersey junior midfielder Ava Cismoski at one point Monday.
Uh-oh, a sudden fracture in the Huskies’ unity?
No.
Sena had to be all by herself to boot a pivotal corner kick in the 87th minute. Cismoski barely had to move to head it past Hawks sophomore goalkeeper Karla Castillo for what turned out to be the game-winner in the first of two 10-minute OT sessions.
“It was right in front of my face,” said Cismoski, who authored one of the assists on freshman midfielder Gretchen Chianelli’s game-tying goal in the seventh minute and earned clear-cut Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors.
You couldn’t help but be thrilled for Cismoski, an “old” rookie. The pandemic wiped out her freshman soccer season. A torn ACL erased her sophomore season.
Her one-goal, one-assist game Monday helped Hersey improve to 5-4-1 overall and 3-1-0 in the MSL.
Hoffman Estates slipped to 2-6-0, 0-4-0.
“Hoffman played a gritty, tough game,” Rusniak said. “Today you saw another indication of how competitive our conference is. Every game is so important. You want to pick up a win anyway you can in order to stay up there in the MSL table.”
The Hawks struck first on Monday, getting a goal from freshman forward Bella Wehrle in the third minute. She worked hard and under pressure, deep in the box, to record her first varsity tally.
“My volley attempt went too far up (and hit a player), and I thought, ‘OK, let’s redeem myself,’ ” Wehrle recalled.
She did just that seconds later, poking a five-yard shot past Huskies junior keeper Alli Paulson (four saves).
“Look for many more goals to come from her,” Hoffman coach Mary Dansdill said. “I love Bella’s intensity and work ethic. What I noticed today, probably more than anything else, was her toughness against a very good Hersey team.”
Hersey notched the equalizer three minutes later. Sophomore forward Abi Beck fed a sharp, left-footed cross to Cismoski, whose ensuing shot deflected off the left hand of keeper Castillo (12 saves).
Ready to pounce on the free ball, and then score, was Chianelli.
“We’d been working on responding well to early goals against us,” said Sena, whose shot — from about 15 yads with only two ticks left in regulation — banged off the crossbar, an attempt she called “a shank.”
Added Rusniak: “I liked how little time it took for us to bounce back from adversity.”
Dansdill admired her club’s ability to withstand constant heat from Hersey’s formidable threats. Several times senior defender and tri-captain Cassie Caruso (an outside midfielder in her previous soccer life) thwarted a rush one minute and delivered a lengthy, dangerous service to a forward or midfielder the next.
Senior midfielder Becca Caliendo, another Huskies tri-captain, flung more throw-ins Monday than a pitcher hurls a baseball in a complete game. Or so it seemed.
A Caliendo restart from a sideline is never a routine thing. A Caliendo throw-in is the equivalent of a highly effective corner kick — minus the “thump.”
“Her throw-ins,” Rusniak said, “are monstrous.”
Castillo smothered a Caliendo throw-in in the vicinity of a pair of Huskies in the eighth minute.
Hoffman also received fine defensive efforts from sophomore Izzy Troyer and junior Maya Schmidt.
A corner from Hawks reserve sophomore forward/midfielder Natasha Navarro set up a near-goal in the final minute of the first half. The ball pinballed inside a crowded box a couple times (maybe more) before Paulson collected her best save of the game.
“We're a hardworking team,” Dansdill said. “And we showed discipline today, much more than we had in recent games.”
Hersey ramped up its urgency in the final minute of regulation, creating an impressive scoring chance, and it did so without the help of regular helpers—ball kids.
Hersey players—bench players and active players—scrambled, scrambled, scrambled to retrieve each out-of-bounds ball and deliver it to a thrower. Even coaches, from both sides, turned into impromptu Fidos and fetched across portions of the stadium’s track lanes.
Caliendo’s final throw-in in the second half initiated the sequence that almost resulted in a Sena goal.
Both clubs return to action against MSL foes on Wednesday. Hoffman Estates visits Schaumburg at 4:45 p.m.; Hersey hosts Palatine at 6:45 p.m.
Footnotes
Hoffman Estates’ PA announcer let everybody know before the start of Monday afternoon’s game that Hawks assistant coach Jay Colloton became a grandfather of twins earlier in the day. … Dansdill, on the stunningly pleasant weather conditions on Monday after weeks of November-like temps: “Finally, finally.” … Senior defender Ali Beck also serves as a Hersey tri-captain. … Rusniak, on Abi Beck’s transition from midfielder to forward: “She’s making strides.” … The face of Hoffman Estate’s Wehrle absorbed a well-struck ball from close range near the end of the second OT, prompting a collective “Whoa!” from Hoffman Estates boys lacrosse players, who were standing near an end zone at Garber Stadium before the start of their practice. Wehrle continued playing as if nothing serious had happened. “My face?” the rookie booter said while shrugging during a postgame interview. “It’s still tingling.”
Starting lineups
Hersey
GK Alli Paulson
D Finley Wilcox
D Cassie Caruso
D Natalie Suto
D Ali Beck
M Asha Bontje
M Gretchen Chianelli
M Ava Cismoski
M Becca Caliendo
F Faith Sena
F Abi Beck
Hoffman Estates
GK Karla Schneider
D Emily Rios-Palacios
D Izzy Troyer
D Katie Paszkiewicz
M Maya Schmidt
M Kelly Pekovitch
M Madison Garcia
F Bella Wehrle
F Stephanie De La Torre
F Karina Niemet
F Sam Roberts
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Ava Cismoski, jr., MF, Hersey
Scoring summary
First half
Hoffman Estates — Wehrle (UA), 4’
Hersey — Chianelli (Cismoski, Abi Beck), 7’
Second half
No scoring
First overtime
Hersey — Cismoski (Sena), 87’
Second overtime
No scoring