Compisi, Deerfield roll on
with win over Highland Park
3-goal 2nd half delivers league-opening win in District 113 battle
By Matt Misiek
DEERFIELD -- Coming into Tuesday evening’s Central Suburban League North Division opener against Highland Park, Deerfield’s offense was already in midseason form. The Warriors had notched seven combined goals in victories over Grayslake North and Lane last week.
However, as the match at Adams Field started and continued throughout the first half, the visiting Giants kept pace with the host Warriors and trailed only 1-0 at the halftime whistle.
But Deerfield, ranked no. 15 for the past two weeks in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, found its groove with a three-goal second half surge that fueled a 4-1 win that not only got the Warriors off to a great conference start, but wiped out a bad taste that lingered from last year.
“Especially since coming off of a upsetting loss last year against Highland Park (a 1-0 defeat April 20), we were ready to go today,” said Warrior goalkeeper Karley Morris. “I’m really proud of my team. We exceeded my expectations, and we played really well.”
Morris was definitely ready to go from the start, making two saves in the first 10 minutes of action. After grabbing a low free kick off the foot of Highland Park midfielder Sarah Stahlberger in the fifth minute, Morris loomed large four minutes later, making a sprawling save to her right on a low drive from Giants forward Kirby Bartelstein, who was sprung free through the middle on a terrific through-ball from senior midfielder Nancy Iden.
It was a critical save, considering Deerfield (6-1-0, 1-0-0 CSL North) broke the deadlock at the 7:39 mark. Warrior midfielder Callie Birtman broke free down the left wing, cut back toward the edge of the 18 and struck a low drive that was initially stopped by Giants freshman keeper Morgan Cohen. However, the rebound found forward Malori Killoren, who made no mistake in finding the open net for her sixth goal in seven games.
“I was at the edge of the box,” said Killoren, who scored last weekend in the win over Lane. “There were no opposing players around me, so I just passed it into the goal. We were all so excited; it was big for us to get that momentum.”
That goal spelled relief for Killoren, who had been battling stomach-flu symptoms over the past few days. In order to save her energy, she spent an extended amount of time on the bench in the first half.
Cohen kept Highland Park (1-3-1, 0-1-0) within striking distance with some top-notch saves in the first half. The highlight reel save came in the 30th minute, when Cohen stoned a point-blank attempt from Chloe Cappas inside the six after a beautiful cross across goal from fellow forward Samantha Linn.
“Morgan is coming off of a really strong goalie tradition here at Highland Park,” said Giants head coach Kate Straka. “We have had two Division I keepers preceed her. For Morgan to step in between the pipes as a freshman, she has some really big shoes to fill. She’s done a really great job of stepping in. She is really strong on the line, and we are impressed by her commitment.”
However, Deerfield kept pressing. Four minutes into the second half, the Warriors doubled their lead off of a set piece. Senior midfielder Devyn Compisi stood over a free kick from the left edge of the 18, swung the ball back post and found the head of Cappas who beat Cohen to her left to notch her second goal of the season.
Compisi wasn’t finished. At the 66-minute mark, she stood over a 32-yard free kick on the left football hash. There was no inswing this time. The Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match struck a powerful free kick that grazed out of Cohen’s fingers and found the back of the net.
“A couple of my free kicks in the first half were a little iffy,” said Compisi on her first goal of the season. “I was just sitting there waiting for the whistle and saying ‘Devyn, this is going in.’ I struck the ball, and it went right through the goalie’s fingers.”
Just a few short minutes later, Deerfield notched a fourth behind a Cappas through-ball to the right that found Linn, who struck from the right edge of the 18 into the top far corner for her third goal of the year.
Highland Park did not walk away empty-handed. Junior forward Jolie Carl had a free-kick opportunity similar to Compisi’s. Carl, who has verbally committed to play at Washington University in St. Louis, launched a 32-yard free kick that Morris got a glove on but went behind her into the net.
Carl’s overall play certainly earned the attention not only of coach Straka, but also of Deerfield coach Rich Grady.
“Jolie was running everywhere around the midfield,” Grady said. “An adjustment we made was to have Haley Emory mark Jolie and to shut her down, and Haley did a great job of that.”
“She is so fun to have around and I am so glad that she is a part of the program,” said Straka of Carl. "She makes everyone on the team better.”
Despite the end result, senior midfielder Allie Pine had some positive takeaways for Highland Park to build on heading into April.
“It’s good to know that we have the skill,” Pine said. “We just have to finish it off and get some goals. This was my last Highland Park-Deerfield matchup, and I’m looking forward to the result of next year’s matchup.”
Grady praised his team's overall effort and is pleased at where the Warriors sit after the first seven games.
“If we mapped out the season, based on the teams we play, I would definitely take 6-1-0 at this point,” said Grady. “I’m happy with the way we are playing. We just need to tighten up a little bit defensively, which is a little weird.
“The team we had two years ago (Class AA state runnerup) played a lot of low-scoring games and shut teams out. This year, we are winning and having a lot of high-scoring games. It’s entertaining to watch, but we still have a few things to work on.”
Starting lineups
Deerfield
GK: Karley Morris
D: Sydney Fleishman
D: Riley Halpern
D: Ashley Morgan
D: Shayna Wood
MF: Haley Emory
MF: Devyn Compisi
MF: Callie Birtman
F: Chloe Cappas
F: Malori Killoren
F: Samantha Linn
Highland Park
GK: Morgan Cohen
D: Ryan Cary
D: Eva Hanson
D: Sydney Cohen
MF: Allie Pine
MF: Nancy Iden
MF: Sarah Stahlberger
MF: Jamie Stern
F: Jolie Carl
F: Kirby Bartlestein
F: Mave Ohlwein
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Devyn Compisi, sr., MF, Deerfield
Referees: Ninos Alexander (center); Rafal Zielinski; Ed Joras
Scoring summary
1st half
Deerfield: Killoren (Birtman): 7:39
2nd half
Deerfield: Cappas (Compisi) 43:50
Deerfield: Compisi 66:00
Deerfield: Linn (Cappas) 69:08
HP: Carl 72:24
with win over Highland Park
3-goal 2nd half delivers league-opening win in District 113 battle
By Matt Misiek
DEERFIELD -- Coming into Tuesday evening’s Central Suburban League North Division opener against Highland Park, Deerfield’s offense was already in midseason form. The Warriors had notched seven combined goals in victories over Grayslake North and Lane last week.
However, as the match at Adams Field started and continued throughout the first half, the visiting Giants kept pace with the host Warriors and trailed only 1-0 at the halftime whistle.
But Deerfield, ranked no. 15 for the past two weeks in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, found its groove with a three-goal second half surge that fueled a 4-1 win that not only got the Warriors off to a great conference start, but wiped out a bad taste that lingered from last year.
“Especially since coming off of a upsetting loss last year against Highland Park (a 1-0 defeat April 20), we were ready to go today,” said Warrior goalkeeper Karley Morris. “I’m really proud of my team. We exceeded my expectations, and we played really well.”
Morris was definitely ready to go from the start, making two saves in the first 10 minutes of action. After grabbing a low free kick off the foot of Highland Park midfielder Sarah Stahlberger in the fifth minute, Morris loomed large four minutes later, making a sprawling save to her right on a low drive from Giants forward Kirby Bartelstein, who was sprung free through the middle on a terrific through-ball from senior midfielder Nancy Iden.
It was a critical save, considering Deerfield (6-1-0, 1-0-0 CSL North) broke the deadlock at the 7:39 mark. Warrior midfielder Callie Birtman broke free down the left wing, cut back toward the edge of the 18 and struck a low drive that was initially stopped by Giants freshman keeper Morgan Cohen. However, the rebound found forward Malori Killoren, who made no mistake in finding the open net for her sixth goal in seven games.
“I was at the edge of the box,” said Killoren, who scored last weekend in the win over Lane. “There were no opposing players around me, so I just passed it into the goal. We were all so excited; it was big for us to get that momentum.”
That goal spelled relief for Killoren, who had been battling stomach-flu symptoms over the past few days. In order to save her energy, she spent an extended amount of time on the bench in the first half.
Cohen kept Highland Park (1-3-1, 0-1-0) within striking distance with some top-notch saves in the first half. The highlight reel save came in the 30th minute, when Cohen stoned a point-blank attempt from Chloe Cappas inside the six after a beautiful cross across goal from fellow forward Samantha Linn.
“Morgan is coming off of a really strong goalie tradition here at Highland Park,” said Giants head coach Kate Straka. “We have had two Division I keepers preceed her. For Morgan to step in between the pipes as a freshman, she has some really big shoes to fill. She’s done a really great job of stepping in. She is really strong on the line, and we are impressed by her commitment.”
However, Deerfield kept pressing. Four minutes into the second half, the Warriors doubled their lead off of a set piece. Senior midfielder Devyn Compisi stood over a free kick from the left edge of the 18, swung the ball back post and found the head of Cappas who beat Cohen to her left to notch her second goal of the season.
Compisi wasn’t finished. At the 66-minute mark, she stood over a 32-yard free kick on the left football hash. There was no inswing this time. The Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match struck a powerful free kick that grazed out of Cohen’s fingers and found the back of the net.
“A couple of my free kicks in the first half were a little iffy,” said Compisi on her first goal of the season. “I was just sitting there waiting for the whistle and saying ‘Devyn, this is going in.’ I struck the ball, and it went right through the goalie’s fingers.”
Just a few short minutes later, Deerfield notched a fourth behind a Cappas through-ball to the right that found Linn, who struck from the right edge of the 18 into the top far corner for her third goal of the year.
Highland Park did not walk away empty-handed. Junior forward Jolie Carl had a free-kick opportunity similar to Compisi’s. Carl, who has verbally committed to play at Washington University in St. Louis, launched a 32-yard free kick that Morris got a glove on but went behind her into the net.
Carl’s overall play certainly earned the attention not only of coach Straka, but also of Deerfield coach Rich Grady.
“Jolie was running everywhere around the midfield,” Grady said. “An adjustment we made was to have Haley Emory mark Jolie and to shut her down, and Haley did a great job of that.”
“She is so fun to have around and I am so glad that she is a part of the program,” said Straka of Carl. "She makes everyone on the team better.”
Despite the end result, senior midfielder Allie Pine had some positive takeaways for Highland Park to build on heading into April.
“It’s good to know that we have the skill,” Pine said. “We just have to finish it off and get some goals. This was my last Highland Park-Deerfield matchup, and I’m looking forward to the result of next year’s matchup.”
Grady praised his team's overall effort and is pleased at where the Warriors sit after the first seven games.
“If we mapped out the season, based on the teams we play, I would definitely take 6-1-0 at this point,” said Grady. “I’m happy with the way we are playing. We just need to tighten up a little bit defensively, which is a little weird.
“The team we had two years ago (Class AA state runnerup) played a lot of low-scoring games and shut teams out. This year, we are winning and having a lot of high-scoring games. It’s entertaining to watch, but we still have a few things to work on.”
Starting lineups
Deerfield
GK: Karley Morris
D: Sydney Fleishman
D: Riley Halpern
D: Ashley Morgan
D: Shayna Wood
MF: Haley Emory
MF: Devyn Compisi
MF: Callie Birtman
F: Chloe Cappas
F: Malori Killoren
F: Samantha Linn
Highland Park
GK: Morgan Cohen
D: Ryan Cary
D: Eva Hanson
D: Sydney Cohen
MF: Allie Pine
MF: Nancy Iden
MF: Sarah Stahlberger
MF: Jamie Stern
F: Jolie Carl
F: Kirby Bartlestein
F: Mave Ohlwein
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Devyn Compisi, sr., MF, Deerfield
Referees: Ninos Alexander (center); Rafal Zielinski; Ed Joras
Scoring summary
1st half
Deerfield: Killoren (Birtman): 7:39
2nd half
Deerfield: Cappas (Compisi) 43:50
Deerfield: Compisi 66:00
Deerfield: Linn (Cappas) 69:08
HP: Carl 72:24