Morton finds its footing vs. Hinsdale South
GK Rodriguez shines early, let's offense ease into 4-0 win
By Gary Larsen
BERWYN — The timing of quality saves by a goalkeeper can mean everything. Diving stops and sliding kick-saves keep a team chasing a goal deficit within striking distance, or preserve a one-goal lead, or win a shootout.
On Tuesday, the flurry of quality early saves that Krystal Rodriguez made gave Morton time to locate its attack, keeping the slate clean as the Mustangs worked to find feet and scoring chances.
Morton’s 4-0 win over visiting Hinsdale South was ultimately built on converted chances, but it was Rodriguez who poured the foundation in the first 15 minutes of their West Suburban Conference Gold Division game.
“Krystal made some big saves for us and kept us out of danger. We were a little flat, and she came up big in the first 10 or 15 minutes,” Bageanis said.
Rodriguez made a fine diving stop at the post at nine minutes, then stopped the Hornets’ Grace Cvengros in a 1-v-1 situation four minutes later before Morton began getting its attack in gear.
Rodriguez also made a third quality save to leave Hinsdale South high and dry.
“We have to take advantage of our opportunities, and we didn’t do that today,” Hinsdale South coach Jen Belmonte said. “If we scored the first couple chances we had, it's a completely different game. That's kind of been how our season has been. We just haven't been the aggressor when we’ve needed to be.”
After Morton’s Vicki Ferrer scored the opener at 27 minutes, Rodriguez let herself breathe a little easier.
“The wind made it difficult to defend, at least for me, and probably for my defenders as well,” Rodriguez said. “But we handled it. It's my first time playing with the team, so it took me a little while to get used to them. But I think we’re getting there.”
Rodriguez and Fernanda Sanchez Duran have been splitting time in net and the juniors have both been solid for the Mustangs.
The win couldn’t have come at a better time for Morton (8-4-1, 8-3-0). The Mustangs started the season at 6-1-1 but went 1-3-0 in the four games leading into Tuesday’s tilt. Their final regular-season game is Thursday at Proviso East before the Mustangs open postseason play against Jones in a Clas 3A regional semifinal June 2.
Morton forward Aaliyah Leanos, who scored the final goal Tuesday, believes the Mustangs have righted the ship in time for the postseason.
“We were used to winning, and I think we let our guard down,” Leanos said. “We lost in overtime to DGS (3-2 on May 13) and it was a rough game. We had a little bit of a meltdown after that game, I guess. But we’re getting back to where we need to be.
“I liked how we played more on the ground today. That’s been our issue, and we need to connect passes and talk to each other. So that was our main focus tonight.”
Bageanis liked what his girls showed him Tuesday.
“I liked the effort much better tonight,” Bageanis said. “We started out slow in the first 10 minutes, and I was a little nervous. But as the game picked up, we started playing better. Then in the second half I thought we came out the way we should.”
After Rodriguez’s early stops, Morton threatened at 21 minutes when Leanos streaked behind the defense and ran down a through-ball. South keeper Elena Mazurek charged out to the 18 to break up the play.
Mazurek is a field player by trade.
“Madison (Arflack) couldn’t play in goal tonight because of a red card, and she’s been awesome all year for us,” Belmonte said. “Elena Mazurek is a senior, and she stepped up tonight. Our seniors have done everything they could for us this year.”
Morton midfielder Carisma Rosales sent a shot just wide at 26 minutes, but one minute later, Morton broke the ice. Xochilt Flores tapped a pass from the middle of the box to the left side, where Ferrer did something that made her coach particularly happy.
Her goal from 8 yards wasn’t set up for a shot with her dominant foot so Ferrer played it calm and smart.
“We’ve been working on our weak foot in practice,” Bageanis said. “Vicki didn’t panic, she came in and hit the ball with her weak foot. We’ve been talking about how you just have to place it, you don’t have to rip the back of the net on every shot. We just talked about that. They’re listening, and that’s all we can ask for.”
Morton’s 1-0 lead held to halftime.
Adriana Moreno and Rosales combined to score Morton’s next two goals. Moreno found Rosales for a goal at 43 minutes, then sent a ball ahead at 52 minutes that allowed Rosales to show her speed and strength.
Rosales took Moreno’s pass and streaked up the right side into the box with a defender on her left hip. One final touch and one blistering strike later, Morton had a 3-0 lead.
“Carisma was banged up so we moved her up-top in the second half,” Bageanis said. “Normally she’s our attacking center mid, and she’s all over the field. We wanted to limit her running. After she scored her second goal, we sat her down.”
The game’s final goal was set up by a sweet free kick from distance taken by Lorena Jaimes. She launched her kick from roughly midfield toward the goalmouth, where Leanos got on the end of it and scored from point-blank range in the 57th minute.
The final 20 minutes were hard-fought but scoreless.
Hinsdale South (5-8-0, 5-6-0) plays its final regular-season game Thursday at Leyden before the Hornets open the Class AA postseason with a regional match against Hancock on June 1.
“I’m really happy with the way they came out and were the aggressor,” Belmonte said of her girls. “They looked good and did a lot nice things, but we just didn’t have 80 minutes of it.”
The coach got several quality contributions Tuesday.
“Ellie Urbanski coming back to play center back for us was solid. She’s an offensive center mid, but we had to move her back (due to injury),” Belmonte said. “And Grace Raatz has been scoring goals recently for us. We moved her up-front from an outside position, and she has surprised us with a knack to finish. She has speed and confidence in front of the net.”
Morton also got good performances from up and down its lineup.
“Mayte Góngora is our defensive mid, and she does all the little things for us,” Bageanis said. “You don’t see her on the stat sheet as much, but she controls that middle and breaks up the attack for a lot of teams.
“Lorena Jaimes is our sweeper and she keeps everyone organized. She’s had a real good year. She’s been banged up a little, but she is just solid and confident back there.”
Starting lineups
Hinsdale South
GK Elena Mazurek
D Belle Camacho
D Ellie Urbanski
D Olivia Fulton
D Tessa Frank
MF Deirdre Cranley
MF Mia Yen
MF Makena Camden
MF Sarah Tauber
F Grace Raatz
F Grace Cvengros
Morton
GK Krystal Rodriguez
D Lorena Jaimes
D Natalie Valadez
D Mya Hernandez
D Adriana Moreno
MF Carisma Rosales
MF Mayte Gongora
MF Jacquelin Mara
MF Vicki Ferrer
F Xochilt Flores
F Laura Mora
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match — Krystal Rodriguez, jr., GK, Morton
Scoring summary
First half
Morton — Ferrer (Flores) 27 minutes
Second half
Morton — Rosales (Moreno) 43 minutes
Morton — Rosales (Moreno) 53 minutes
Morton — Leanos (Jaimes) 57 minutes
GK Rodriguez shines early, let's offense ease into 4-0 win
By Gary Larsen
BERWYN — The timing of quality saves by a goalkeeper can mean everything. Diving stops and sliding kick-saves keep a team chasing a goal deficit within striking distance, or preserve a one-goal lead, or win a shootout.
On Tuesday, the flurry of quality early saves that Krystal Rodriguez made gave Morton time to locate its attack, keeping the slate clean as the Mustangs worked to find feet and scoring chances.
Morton’s 4-0 win over visiting Hinsdale South was ultimately built on converted chances, but it was Rodriguez who poured the foundation in the first 15 minutes of their West Suburban Conference Gold Division game.
“Krystal made some big saves for us and kept us out of danger. We were a little flat, and she came up big in the first 10 or 15 minutes,” Bageanis said.
Rodriguez made a fine diving stop at the post at nine minutes, then stopped the Hornets’ Grace Cvengros in a 1-v-1 situation four minutes later before Morton began getting its attack in gear.
Rodriguez also made a third quality save to leave Hinsdale South high and dry.
“We have to take advantage of our opportunities, and we didn’t do that today,” Hinsdale South coach Jen Belmonte said. “If we scored the first couple chances we had, it's a completely different game. That's kind of been how our season has been. We just haven't been the aggressor when we’ve needed to be.”
After Morton’s Vicki Ferrer scored the opener at 27 minutes, Rodriguez let herself breathe a little easier.
“The wind made it difficult to defend, at least for me, and probably for my defenders as well,” Rodriguez said. “But we handled it. It's my first time playing with the team, so it took me a little while to get used to them. But I think we’re getting there.”
Rodriguez and Fernanda Sanchez Duran have been splitting time in net and the juniors have both been solid for the Mustangs.
The win couldn’t have come at a better time for Morton (8-4-1, 8-3-0). The Mustangs started the season at 6-1-1 but went 1-3-0 in the four games leading into Tuesday’s tilt. Their final regular-season game is Thursday at Proviso East before the Mustangs open postseason play against Jones in a Clas 3A regional semifinal June 2.
Morton forward Aaliyah Leanos, who scored the final goal Tuesday, believes the Mustangs have righted the ship in time for the postseason.
“We were used to winning, and I think we let our guard down,” Leanos said. “We lost in overtime to DGS (3-2 on May 13) and it was a rough game. We had a little bit of a meltdown after that game, I guess. But we’re getting back to where we need to be.
“I liked how we played more on the ground today. That’s been our issue, and we need to connect passes and talk to each other. So that was our main focus tonight.”
Bageanis liked what his girls showed him Tuesday.
“I liked the effort much better tonight,” Bageanis said. “We started out slow in the first 10 minutes, and I was a little nervous. But as the game picked up, we started playing better. Then in the second half I thought we came out the way we should.”
After Rodriguez’s early stops, Morton threatened at 21 minutes when Leanos streaked behind the defense and ran down a through-ball. South keeper Elena Mazurek charged out to the 18 to break up the play.
Mazurek is a field player by trade.
“Madison (Arflack) couldn’t play in goal tonight because of a red card, and she’s been awesome all year for us,” Belmonte said. “Elena Mazurek is a senior, and she stepped up tonight. Our seniors have done everything they could for us this year.”
Morton midfielder Carisma Rosales sent a shot just wide at 26 minutes, but one minute later, Morton broke the ice. Xochilt Flores tapped a pass from the middle of the box to the left side, where Ferrer did something that made her coach particularly happy.
Her goal from 8 yards wasn’t set up for a shot with her dominant foot so Ferrer played it calm and smart.
“We’ve been working on our weak foot in practice,” Bageanis said. “Vicki didn’t panic, she came in and hit the ball with her weak foot. We’ve been talking about how you just have to place it, you don’t have to rip the back of the net on every shot. We just talked about that. They’re listening, and that’s all we can ask for.”
Morton’s 1-0 lead held to halftime.
Adriana Moreno and Rosales combined to score Morton’s next two goals. Moreno found Rosales for a goal at 43 minutes, then sent a ball ahead at 52 minutes that allowed Rosales to show her speed and strength.
Rosales took Moreno’s pass and streaked up the right side into the box with a defender on her left hip. One final touch and one blistering strike later, Morton had a 3-0 lead.
“Carisma was banged up so we moved her up-top in the second half,” Bageanis said. “Normally she’s our attacking center mid, and she’s all over the field. We wanted to limit her running. After she scored her second goal, we sat her down.”
The game’s final goal was set up by a sweet free kick from distance taken by Lorena Jaimes. She launched her kick from roughly midfield toward the goalmouth, where Leanos got on the end of it and scored from point-blank range in the 57th minute.
The final 20 minutes were hard-fought but scoreless.
Hinsdale South (5-8-0, 5-6-0) plays its final regular-season game Thursday at Leyden before the Hornets open the Class AA postseason with a regional match against Hancock on June 1.
“I’m really happy with the way they came out and were the aggressor,” Belmonte said of her girls. “They looked good and did a lot nice things, but we just didn’t have 80 minutes of it.”
The coach got several quality contributions Tuesday.
“Ellie Urbanski coming back to play center back for us was solid. She’s an offensive center mid, but we had to move her back (due to injury),” Belmonte said. “And Grace Raatz has been scoring goals recently for us. We moved her up-front from an outside position, and she has surprised us with a knack to finish. She has speed and confidence in front of the net.”
Morton also got good performances from up and down its lineup.
“Mayte Góngora is our defensive mid, and she does all the little things for us,” Bageanis said. “You don’t see her on the stat sheet as much, but she controls that middle and breaks up the attack for a lot of teams.
“Lorena Jaimes is our sweeper and she keeps everyone organized. She’s had a real good year. She’s been banged up a little, but she is just solid and confident back there.”
Starting lineups
Hinsdale South
GK Elena Mazurek
D Belle Camacho
D Ellie Urbanski
D Olivia Fulton
D Tessa Frank
MF Deirdre Cranley
MF Mia Yen
MF Makena Camden
MF Sarah Tauber
F Grace Raatz
F Grace Cvengros
Morton
GK Krystal Rodriguez
D Lorena Jaimes
D Natalie Valadez
D Mya Hernandez
D Adriana Moreno
MF Carisma Rosales
MF Mayte Gongora
MF Jacquelin Mara
MF Vicki Ferrer
F Xochilt Flores
F Laura Mora
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match — Krystal Rodriguez, jr., GK, Morton
Scoring summary
First half
Morton — Ferrer (Flores) 27 minutes
Second half
Morton — Rosales (Moreno) 43 minutes
Morton — Rosales (Moreno) 53 minutes
Morton — Leanos (Jaimes) 57 minutes