Young overcomes early deficit, tops Jones
Ella Koleno's 2nd half goal puts damper on Jones' delayed opener
By Michael Wojtychiw
CHICAGO - Young came into its key conference matchup against Jones with one decisively large advantage: numbers of games played and days on the pitch.
The Dolphins already had five games under their belt, including matchups against ranked Loyola, Warren and St. Ignatius. Jones, on the other hand, played its first match of the season after a team shutdown due to coronavirus protocols.
Jones started the right way, but the visitors eventually ruined their opening day with an Ella Koleno goal in the 64th minute that pulled out the 2-1 win.
"It can be so disheartening getting down so early," said Chicagoland Soccer all-stater Koleno. "But knowing we have the entire game ahead of us, one goal in the beginning, we have a whole game to score two goals.
"It's almost better that it was early. They got their goal out of the way, now let's get some momentum, get some fire in us."
"The conditions were poor initially," Young manager Ross LeBeaux said. “To bounce back, finding a way to get goals, getting down like that originally...it can go either way, but the girls found a way to dig deep and score two good goals."
Jones celebrated early after sophomore midfielder Carolina Rondelli finished off a beautiful play thanks to a set-up from Olivia Rodriguez. The goal in a driving rain put the Eagles up 1-0 just six minutes into their season.
For a team that hadn't played in well over 700 days, the confidence boost from getting on the board first was impactful.
"Getting a goal like that was good and bad," Jones manager Derek Bylsma said. "It was good because if you notice the way we were playing in the beginning, I think we were playing pretty calm. When you get that goal you're thinking 'Oh we're up by a goal, we need to protect this,' instead of going after it more.
"I thought it was important from the standpoint of it was good for our confidence though. That's the type of play we can score goals on, but toward the end of the game, we went away from that."
As the rain started to dissipate, Young’s play improved.
Slowly but surely, the Dolphins (3-3-0, 2-0-0 Premier Division) started to gain their footing and put pressure on Jones keeper Nicole Leon.
The attack broke through in the 36th minute when junior forward Maisy Connolly slotted a ball past Leon for the halftime tie.
"We realized both teams are fighting through the same conditions, but you have to focus on your first touch and if everyone puts in 100 percent effort, then you can play through anything," she said.
From then on the Dolphins took control of the game, often controlling possession and limiting second half opportunities for Jones (0-1-0, 0-1-0).
One reason for the change came from halftime instruction from the coaching staff.
"We told the girls it seemed like they were rushed and weren't using the width of the field," LeBeaux said. "We just told them 'Go forward; go forward; go forward.' I think we're a better team when the ball is moving left-to-right-, off Ella's feet, on a combination play because then it overwhelms other teams.
"Once we were able to do that, it was good."
Young came out of the gate as the aggressors and put a couple shots on goal, including one that hit the crossbar after a Leon save.
The Dolphins connected for the game-winner when Koleno stole the ball, drove to the goal and lofted a shot at Leon. The junior keeper got to it, but the ball deflected high off her hands and into the goal in the 64th minute.
"It's really important getting out to a fast start in conference play," Koleno said. "We started the year with nonconference games against super-talented teams. We were getting the parts together, figuring things out.
"I think this game will be the turning point for us. We've got things settled now, like how we're playing and can definitely use this as a confidence boost going forward."
Despite the setback start to the season, the Jones coaches are happy with what they've seen from their squad.
"I liked our effort, thought we fought hard and did all the little things," Bylsma said. "With these games, especially the first game, you're probably not going to look as good as you want. You're hoping to make up for that in effort, and I think we did that.
"The things you expect to be rusty on were the things we were rusty on. I'm excited. If we're going to lose one to them (Young), let it be this one.”
Carmen Marshall, a senior forward, made last year's Chicagoland Soccer All-State team. She is poised for a big year.
She will lead a squad with a good mixture of sophomores, juniors and seniors.
"We've got a handful of sophomores in the starting lineup, and I think they were scared, they were a little nervous," Bylsma said. "We'll get there.
"If I had the outlook on how we're going to be this year, I'm more confident than I was going into this year. I think we can make a run at city, a run in the state playoffs. If we stay healthy and play with this effort, we'll be ok."
Young’s early schedule has prepared the squad for tough conference games like this and that's exactly why LeBeaux schedules some of the toughest teams in the area.
The Dolphins feel that the better competition you play early, the better you'll be at the end of the year when the matches are at their most important.
"One thing we learned from playing those talented teams was that even if we get down a goal or things aren't going well for us at the beginning of the game, to keep pushing, keep working hard like we did today," Koleno said.
"I'm consistently pushing the girls," LaBeaux said. "I don't want them to be surprised come late in the season with some adversity if we play an easier schedule. I want them to learn from when we play those teams that come down the stretch. We've played up, we've played down. There are scenarios we can build off of."
Thanks to the late start to the year, there's not much down time for the Eagles, who play five times between May 1-8, including a tough makeup game against Lane.
Young's schedule doesn't give it any breathers either. The Dolphins face University (Chicago) on Friday in nonconference play, before battling Solorio, Lane and Glenbrook South next week.
Starting lineups
Jones
GK: Nicole Leon
D: Olivia Rodriguez
D: Patricia Felder
D: Shayna Ellis
D: Parker Ellis
MF: Elena Eisenberg
MF: Laura Rios
MF: Carolina Rondelli
F: Giselle McPhilliamy
F: Carmen Marshall
F: Morgan Scott
Young
GK: Zoe Adelstein
D: Stella Ljung
D: Celeste Garton
D: Chloe Garton
D: Elizabeth Martinez
MF: Alexis Sassower
MF: Annelise Kelner
MF: Maisy Connolly
F: Ella Koleno
F: Katie Sweitzer
F: Lauren Roche
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Ella Koleno, jr., F, Young
Scoring summary
First half
Jones - Carolina Rondelli (Olivia Rodriguez), sixth minute
Young - Maisy Connolly (Lauren Roche), 35th minute
Second half
Young - Ella Koleno (unassisted), 64th minute
Ella Koleno's 2nd half goal puts damper on Jones' delayed opener
By Michael Wojtychiw
CHICAGO - Young came into its key conference matchup against Jones with one decisively large advantage: numbers of games played and days on the pitch.
The Dolphins already had five games under their belt, including matchups against ranked Loyola, Warren and St. Ignatius. Jones, on the other hand, played its first match of the season after a team shutdown due to coronavirus protocols.
Jones started the right way, but the visitors eventually ruined their opening day with an Ella Koleno goal in the 64th minute that pulled out the 2-1 win.
"It can be so disheartening getting down so early," said Chicagoland Soccer all-stater Koleno. "But knowing we have the entire game ahead of us, one goal in the beginning, we have a whole game to score two goals.
"It's almost better that it was early. They got their goal out of the way, now let's get some momentum, get some fire in us."
"The conditions were poor initially," Young manager Ross LeBeaux said. “To bounce back, finding a way to get goals, getting down like that originally...it can go either way, but the girls found a way to dig deep and score two good goals."
Jones celebrated early after sophomore midfielder Carolina Rondelli finished off a beautiful play thanks to a set-up from Olivia Rodriguez. The goal in a driving rain put the Eagles up 1-0 just six minutes into their season.
For a team that hadn't played in well over 700 days, the confidence boost from getting on the board first was impactful.
"Getting a goal like that was good and bad," Jones manager Derek Bylsma said. "It was good because if you notice the way we were playing in the beginning, I think we were playing pretty calm. When you get that goal you're thinking 'Oh we're up by a goal, we need to protect this,' instead of going after it more.
"I thought it was important from the standpoint of it was good for our confidence though. That's the type of play we can score goals on, but toward the end of the game, we went away from that."
As the rain started to dissipate, Young’s play improved.
Slowly but surely, the Dolphins (3-3-0, 2-0-0 Premier Division) started to gain their footing and put pressure on Jones keeper Nicole Leon.
The attack broke through in the 36th minute when junior forward Maisy Connolly slotted a ball past Leon for the halftime tie.
"We realized both teams are fighting through the same conditions, but you have to focus on your first touch and if everyone puts in 100 percent effort, then you can play through anything," she said.
From then on the Dolphins took control of the game, often controlling possession and limiting second half opportunities for Jones (0-1-0, 0-1-0).
One reason for the change came from halftime instruction from the coaching staff.
"We told the girls it seemed like they were rushed and weren't using the width of the field," LeBeaux said. "We just told them 'Go forward; go forward; go forward.' I think we're a better team when the ball is moving left-to-right-, off Ella's feet, on a combination play because then it overwhelms other teams.
"Once we were able to do that, it was good."
Young came out of the gate as the aggressors and put a couple shots on goal, including one that hit the crossbar after a Leon save.
The Dolphins connected for the game-winner when Koleno stole the ball, drove to the goal and lofted a shot at Leon. The junior keeper got to it, but the ball deflected high off her hands and into the goal in the 64th minute.
"It's really important getting out to a fast start in conference play," Koleno said. "We started the year with nonconference games against super-talented teams. We were getting the parts together, figuring things out.
"I think this game will be the turning point for us. We've got things settled now, like how we're playing and can definitely use this as a confidence boost going forward."
Despite the setback start to the season, the Jones coaches are happy with what they've seen from their squad.
"I liked our effort, thought we fought hard and did all the little things," Bylsma said. "With these games, especially the first game, you're probably not going to look as good as you want. You're hoping to make up for that in effort, and I think we did that.
"The things you expect to be rusty on were the things we were rusty on. I'm excited. If we're going to lose one to them (Young), let it be this one.”
Carmen Marshall, a senior forward, made last year's Chicagoland Soccer All-State team. She is poised for a big year.
She will lead a squad with a good mixture of sophomores, juniors and seniors.
"We've got a handful of sophomores in the starting lineup, and I think they were scared, they were a little nervous," Bylsma said. "We'll get there.
"If I had the outlook on how we're going to be this year, I'm more confident than I was going into this year. I think we can make a run at city, a run in the state playoffs. If we stay healthy and play with this effort, we'll be ok."
Young’s early schedule has prepared the squad for tough conference games like this and that's exactly why LeBeaux schedules some of the toughest teams in the area.
The Dolphins feel that the better competition you play early, the better you'll be at the end of the year when the matches are at their most important.
"One thing we learned from playing those talented teams was that even if we get down a goal or things aren't going well for us at the beginning of the game, to keep pushing, keep working hard like we did today," Koleno said.
"I'm consistently pushing the girls," LaBeaux said. "I don't want them to be surprised come late in the season with some adversity if we play an easier schedule. I want them to learn from when we play those teams that come down the stretch. We've played up, we've played down. There are scenarios we can build off of."
Thanks to the late start to the year, there's not much down time for the Eagles, who play five times between May 1-8, including a tough makeup game against Lane.
Young's schedule doesn't give it any breathers either. The Dolphins face University (Chicago) on Friday in nonconference play, before battling Solorio, Lane and Glenbrook South next week.
Starting lineups
Jones
GK: Nicole Leon
D: Olivia Rodriguez
D: Patricia Felder
D: Shayna Ellis
D: Parker Ellis
MF: Elena Eisenberg
MF: Laura Rios
MF: Carolina Rondelli
F: Giselle McPhilliamy
F: Carmen Marshall
F: Morgan Scott
Young
GK: Zoe Adelstein
D: Stella Ljung
D: Celeste Garton
D: Chloe Garton
D: Elizabeth Martinez
MF: Alexis Sassower
MF: Annelise Kelner
MF: Maisy Connolly
F: Ella Koleno
F: Katie Sweitzer
F: Lauren Roche
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Ella Koleno, jr., F, Young
Scoring summary
First half
Jones - Carolina Rondelli (Olivia Rodriguez), sixth minute
Young - Maisy Connolly (Lauren Roche), 35th minute
Second half
Young - Ella Koleno (unassisted), 64th minute