Patient Loyola takes fight to Lane
Host Ramblers post 3-0 win in early battle of ranked teams
By Patrick Z. McGavin
WILMETTE -- As a measure of its high-end offensive thrust, Loyola generated in rapid succession four corner kicks in the first half against city power Lane. Midfielder Emily Chrisman was the server each time. Every moment carried its own variation, short corners, quick passes to the middle and traditional balls played into the box.
None resulted in a score, but a tone was established. “We were a little nervous, and they capitalized on that,” Lane coach Michelle Vale said. “They got all of those corners right at the start.” A subtle point was driven home. Loyola knew the build-up had larger consequences. Patience was a virtue.
“We just knew we had to be patient,” Loyola junior forward Maggie Brett said. “We knew we were playing a really good team, and the opportunities were going to be there. We had to wait for our moment and make it good. We remember what happened last year and how we started the season, and it was important for us to get off to the right start.”
Brett confirmed her status as an elite junior by scoring a goal and recording an assist and senior midfielder Cate Shellenback scored two goals as the no. 6 Ramblers posted the deeply impressive 3-0 victory over no. 19 Lane at their campus stadium Thursday.
The game had deep significance on both sides. Three-time defending city champion Lane returns 10 starters and eight additional rotation players from a 16-3-3 team. The Indians also have several very promising freshmen and newcomers to bolster a deep and versatile roster. Lane’s otherwise sublime year came to a shocking and premature end with a first-round upset in the Class 3A regional semifinals.
Lane was motivated to show it could play with an elite suburban program.
“We were looking at this game to gauge where we are as a team,” star junior forward Grace Dunaway said. She earned Chicagoland Soccer all-state recognition with her team-best 19 goals last year. “We will take what we learned from this game and apply it to practice tomorrow and come back for our next game.”
The Indians (0-1-0) never unleashed their offensive attack as Loyola dictated tempo, rhythm and possession time.
As Brett alluded, Loyola also had tough memories to play off and eviscerate. Devastated by a season-ending injury to all-purpose star Riley Burns on the eve of the season opener, the Ramblers suffered three shutout losses to start last year.
“We remembered that, and we did not want to repeat that same start,” Brett said. She scored 23 goals and recorded nine assists in earning Chicagoland Soccer all-state distinction last year. Stephanie Ramsay, her collaborator up-top in the Ramblers’ formation, scored 15 goals and added 13 assists in achieving Chicagoland Soccer all-state honors. They are the principal reason 95 percent of the Ramblers’ goal-scoring from a year ago is back.
As intoxicating a combination as Brett and Ramsay are to have, coach Craig Snower wants to see greater scoring balance generated from the middle of his attack. “We are trying to target 20 goals from our six or seven primary midfielders,” he said. “We don’t want to be over reliant on Steph, Maggie and Ellie (Zern) for all of our scoring. Cate Shellenback has probably been our best player in training, so to have two goals and an assist from our midfielders is a great start.”
Brett earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the match for her superlative play. She created the conditions for the rest of the team to follow. Lane is a solid defensive team, and they absorbed the Ramblers’ pressure through much of the first half. “They were doing a really good job of marking me, and not really letting me touch the ball in space,” Brett said.
In the 29th minute, Brett seized her opportunity. Vanessa Murray, an electric sophomore in her own right, was stationed with the ball just inside the midfield mark when she played a beautiful through-ball down the right flank that Brett turned into a dance on the edge with Lane’s superb keeper Maggie Grossman. One of the city’s best keepers, Grossman registered 16 shutouts last year. She is an aggressive player who is not afraid to move quickly off her line.
Grossman dueled Brett to be the first player at the ball. “I saw her over my shoulder and fortunately I was able to get there and get a touch,” Brett said. She eased past Grossman and finished with a quick one-touch for the opening score.
Loyola’s hard work in the first half paid dividends. The game remained an open affair. As much as Loyola controlled the game, it remained just a one-score differential. The Ramblers effectively put the game away with the two goals by Shellenback, six minutes apart, at the beginning of the second half.
The first Shellenback goal was wondrously synchronized, the ball moving quickly from side to side and then Brett getting the ball in the middle, making her run before slotting the final pass to Shellenback on the left wing. She blasted the ball from about 10 yards inside the far post. According to Snower, six different passes were involved in the scoring sequence.
“It was tough to play our style,” Snower said. “It was a cold day, hard surface and the ball was moving pretty fast to play our style of possession, but we still got it done.” Loyola’s closing goal was its most aesthetically pleasing. Defender Faith Craddock had the ball on the right edge and alertly played a ball toward a streaking Shellenback into the box. Reacting sharply, Shellenback made a quick half volley in the 51st minute.
Lane played hard until the end. Samantha Sorich, a lanky junior defender, had a few dangerous free kicks. Zehra Halilie, who saw limited action as a freshman defender last year, impressed with her physical and rangy play. She was a one-woman wrecking crew at times, destabilizing the Ramblers’ attack. Lane’s normally fluid, quick-play offense never took hold. The Indians failed to get a shot off in the first half.
“I think it’s the beginning of the season and we are working out the kinks,” Vale said. “I think (Loyola) prepared for this game in a way, and that showed. This was definitely a team ready to play, and we might have been a little less prepared than what we hoped for.
“I believe today was useful because it helped us to see what we need to be working on in the next couple of weeks.”
Even if their play did not convert into tangible numbers, like goals or assists, Lane showcased some skilled young players, like midfielders Johanna Bozic and Sydney Varga. Their speed on the outside definitely challenged the Ramblers’ defense. Lane was knocked off Thursday, but not out.
“Definitely this is not the way we wanted to start our season,” Dunaway said. “We definitely wanted to start with a win. But I feel like this loss is going to fire us up a little bit, and we will come back next time even stronger. We have added some new great players to the mix.
“I am really excited where the new talent brings us. I know we were strong last year, but they put us in position to be even stronger.”
Starting lineups
Lane
GK: Maggie Grossman
D: Leah Finkielsztein
D: Alan Coffman
D: Zehra Halilie
D: Carlye Makuch
MF: Johanna Bozic
MF: Sydney Varga
MF: Jazzmin Jordan
F: Grace Dunaway
F: Ayla Guvener
F: Ayser Guvener
Loyola
GK: Maggie Avery
D: Lauren Daffada
D: Faith Craddock
D: Riley Burns
M: Emily Chrisman
M: Cate Shellenback
M: Vanessa Murray
M: Sophie Doerr
F: Megan Kurtz
F: Stephanie Ramsay
F: Maggie Brett
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Maggie Brett, jr., F, Loyola
Scoring summary
First half
Loyola—Maggie Brett (Vanessa Murray), 29th minute
Second half
Loyola—Cate Shellenback (Brett), 45th minute
Loyola—Shellenback (Faith Craddock), 51st minute
Host Ramblers post 3-0 win in early battle of ranked teams
By Patrick Z. McGavin
WILMETTE -- As a measure of its high-end offensive thrust, Loyola generated in rapid succession four corner kicks in the first half against city power Lane. Midfielder Emily Chrisman was the server each time. Every moment carried its own variation, short corners, quick passes to the middle and traditional balls played into the box.
None resulted in a score, but a tone was established. “We were a little nervous, and they capitalized on that,” Lane coach Michelle Vale said. “They got all of those corners right at the start.” A subtle point was driven home. Loyola knew the build-up had larger consequences. Patience was a virtue.
“We just knew we had to be patient,” Loyola junior forward Maggie Brett said. “We knew we were playing a really good team, and the opportunities were going to be there. We had to wait for our moment and make it good. We remember what happened last year and how we started the season, and it was important for us to get off to the right start.”
Brett confirmed her status as an elite junior by scoring a goal and recording an assist and senior midfielder Cate Shellenback scored two goals as the no. 6 Ramblers posted the deeply impressive 3-0 victory over no. 19 Lane at their campus stadium Thursday.
The game had deep significance on both sides. Three-time defending city champion Lane returns 10 starters and eight additional rotation players from a 16-3-3 team. The Indians also have several very promising freshmen and newcomers to bolster a deep and versatile roster. Lane’s otherwise sublime year came to a shocking and premature end with a first-round upset in the Class 3A regional semifinals.
Lane was motivated to show it could play with an elite suburban program.
“We were looking at this game to gauge where we are as a team,” star junior forward Grace Dunaway said. She earned Chicagoland Soccer all-state recognition with her team-best 19 goals last year. “We will take what we learned from this game and apply it to practice tomorrow and come back for our next game.”
The Indians (0-1-0) never unleashed their offensive attack as Loyola dictated tempo, rhythm and possession time.
As Brett alluded, Loyola also had tough memories to play off and eviscerate. Devastated by a season-ending injury to all-purpose star Riley Burns on the eve of the season opener, the Ramblers suffered three shutout losses to start last year.
“We remembered that, and we did not want to repeat that same start,” Brett said. She scored 23 goals and recorded nine assists in earning Chicagoland Soccer all-state distinction last year. Stephanie Ramsay, her collaborator up-top in the Ramblers’ formation, scored 15 goals and added 13 assists in achieving Chicagoland Soccer all-state honors. They are the principal reason 95 percent of the Ramblers’ goal-scoring from a year ago is back.
As intoxicating a combination as Brett and Ramsay are to have, coach Craig Snower wants to see greater scoring balance generated from the middle of his attack. “We are trying to target 20 goals from our six or seven primary midfielders,” he said. “We don’t want to be over reliant on Steph, Maggie and Ellie (Zern) for all of our scoring. Cate Shellenback has probably been our best player in training, so to have two goals and an assist from our midfielders is a great start.”
Brett earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the match for her superlative play. She created the conditions for the rest of the team to follow. Lane is a solid defensive team, and they absorbed the Ramblers’ pressure through much of the first half. “They were doing a really good job of marking me, and not really letting me touch the ball in space,” Brett said.
In the 29th minute, Brett seized her opportunity. Vanessa Murray, an electric sophomore in her own right, was stationed with the ball just inside the midfield mark when she played a beautiful through-ball down the right flank that Brett turned into a dance on the edge with Lane’s superb keeper Maggie Grossman. One of the city’s best keepers, Grossman registered 16 shutouts last year. She is an aggressive player who is not afraid to move quickly off her line.
Grossman dueled Brett to be the first player at the ball. “I saw her over my shoulder and fortunately I was able to get there and get a touch,” Brett said. She eased past Grossman and finished with a quick one-touch for the opening score.
Loyola’s hard work in the first half paid dividends. The game remained an open affair. As much as Loyola controlled the game, it remained just a one-score differential. The Ramblers effectively put the game away with the two goals by Shellenback, six minutes apart, at the beginning of the second half.
The first Shellenback goal was wondrously synchronized, the ball moving quickly from side to side and then Brett getting the ball in the middle, making her run before slotting the final pass to Shellenback on the left wing. She blasted the ball from about 10 yards inside the far post. According to Snower, six different passes were involved in the scoring sequence.
“It was tough to play our style,” Snower said. “It was a cold day, hard surface and the ball was moving pretty fast to play our style of possession, but we still got it done.” Loyola’s closing goal was its most aesthetically pleasing. Defender Faith Craddock had the ball on the right edge and alertly played a ball toward a streaking Shellenback into the box. Reacting sharply, Shellenback made a quick half volley in the 51st minute.
Lane played hard until the end. Samantha Sorich, a lanky junior defender, had a few dangerous free kicks. Zehra Halilie, who saw limited action as a freshman defender last year, impressed with her physical and rangy play. She was a one-woman wrecking crew at times, destabilizing the Ramblers’ attack. Lane’s normally fluid, quick-play offense never took hold. The Indians failed to get a shot off in the first half.
“I think it’s the beginning of the season and we are working out the kinks,” Vale said. “I think (Loyola) prepared for this game in a way, and that showed. This was definitely a team ready to play, and we might have been a little less prepared than what we hoped for.
“I believe today was useful because it helped us to see what we need to be working on in the next couple of weeks.”
Even if their play did not convert into tangible numbers, like goals or assists, Lane showcased some skilled young players, like midfielders Johanna Bozic and Sydney Varga. Their speed on the outside definitely challenged the Ramblers’ defense. Lane was knocked off Thursday, but not out.
“Definitely this is not the way we wanted to start our season,” Dunaway said. “We definitely wanted to start with a win. But I feel like this loss is going to fire us up a little bit, and we will come back next time even stronger. We have added some new great players to the mix.
“I am really excited where the new talent brings us. I know we were strong last year, but they put us in position to be even stronger.”
Starting lineups
Lane
GK: Maggie Grossman
D: Leah Finkielsztein
D: Alan Coffman
D: Zehra Halilie
D: Carlye Makuch
MF: Johanna Bozic
MF: Sydney Varga
MF: Jazzmin Jordan
F: Grace Dunaway
F: Ayla Guvener
F: Ayser Guvener
Loyola
GK: Maggie Avery
D: Lauren Daffada
D: Faith Craddock
D: Riley Burns
M: Emily Chrisman
M: Cate Shellenback
M: Vanessa Murray
M: Sophie Doerr
F: Megan Kurtz
F: Stephanie Ramsay
F: Maggie Brett
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Maggie Brett, jr., F, Loyola
Scoring summary
First half
Loyola—Maggie Brett (Vanessa Murray), 29th minute
Second half
Loyola—Cate Shellenback (Brett), 45th minute
Loyola—Shellenback (Faith Craddock), 51st minute