Barrington advances after substitute
keeper Trapp stops Loyola
Junior enters game for shootout, makes winning stop
By Mike Garofola
BARRINGTON -- On the first warm day of the spring soccer season, the matchup between no. 7 Loyola and no. 8 Barrington had a little bit of everything.
Two red cards, several yellow card bookings, box-to-box action, ferocious challenges, and action influenced by gusting winds that seemed strong enough to blow a thousand ships out to sea.
Oh yes, and the Naperville Invitational Group E finale had one more thing – a sudden-death shootout to decide who would earn a quarterfinal berth.
But wait! There’s more! Barrington brought a keeper off the bench to defend its goal in the game-deciding showdown.
Substituting goalkeepers before a shootout is not a prevailing strategy used by managers, especially after the starter has turned in a wonderful performance.
But sub Avery Trapp got plenty of worthy praise from her teammates and starter Abby Raynor after the game. The junior, who readily admitted she had no idea why Fillies manager Ryan Stengren installed her between the sticks in such a tense situation, made the move pay off.
Stengren felt his tactical move might be the right one.
"No doubt Abby Raynor had a great game for us. One thing that Avery has that she doesn't is height, length. She is an imposing figure between the sticks. In the high school game, sometimes, that can be the difference.”
Trapp had little chance to stop the Ramblers (10-3-1) first five kicks. Nor did her counterpart Ellie Bradley stop Barrington.
Nicole Gwiasda’s conversion continued the trend for Barrington and gave the Fillies a 6-5 lead.
That’s when Trapp used countless hours of training with former DePaul star, all-state prep keeper and Fillies keeper coach Brian Allen to perfection. She moved quickly to her left and used her length to full extension and effect when she turned a near-perfect Isabella Guzman spot-kick around the post to send her teammates rushing out to congratulate her and celebrate the Fillies (11-1-0) win.
"Abby was great for us today,” said Trapp. “(Loyola) was such a great team, and she had to battle the windy conditions and pressure inside the box to help this game go straight into kicks.
"We always are training for shootouts, and we did yesterday. Never figured I was going to go in for this one, but (Stengren) told me to warmup right after the final whistle. So I knew (then), for sure."
"Nobody likes to see a game ever decided in kicks, but it is what it is," said Kurtz, who will play next fall at Wisconsin-LaCrosse. “(Both) teams had chances; both teams played really hard.
“I know all of us were looking forward to playing Barrington. It's too bad the wind played a huge factor in how both teams played. Unfortunately, it ended the way it did for us.”
The classy senior paired with fellow Chicagoland Soccer all-stater Grace Ehlert to run the Ramblers attack. Kurtz then became more of a six playing into the wind after the break and ran with her engine at full blast. She correctly read nearly every situation and won 90 percent of the first, and second balls that came her way.
"We were without a few players due to injuries, but the great thing about this team is our tremendous depth. It really showed out there today," said Kurtz. “Coach (Shannon Hartinger) brought on players to fill in here and there.”
While both sides figured on a way to manage a wild wind which never stopped. It made for fractured play as the ball seemed to be more of a hot potato than a regulation game-ball at times.
Stengren wanted no part of any long-range Ramblers service off the powerful foot of Ava Pattison. An early free kick showed why he and his staff wanted to limit restarts and unsupervised movements for the talented Ramblers’ central defender.
Pattison's well-driven and wind-aided long range free kick caused Raynor into a difficult save. The ball spilled free, but alert freshman Piper Lucier quickly parried the ball out of danger in the 11th minute.
The visiting Ramblers smartly pushed numbers forward whenever the Fillies had a deep throw. The visitors hoped that the extra pressure might provide a quality opportunity.
"We had to defend so much in the first half because of the speed and quickness of Loyola," said Barrington’s fine outside back Ellie Sanchez. The gritty, hard-playing defender helps anchor a stout backline with her relentless ball-winning capabilities, work rate, desire and ability to join the attack whenever possible. “Obviously, the strong winds did not allow us to play our usual possession game.
"We all looked forward to playing a team as good as Loyola. I am sure both teams would have liked to play without dealing with the conditions we had, but we played hard in a game we were really tested. We found a way to get the result."
Kathleen Baker, Caitlin Paul, Gracie Stagnito and Sanchez had cause to put in for overtime pay in the first half as Loyola threw numbers forward to take advantage of the wind.
Stagnito did well taking all of the Fillies goal kicks in the first half. She sent all of them at least 40 yards to help her club get organized and find breathing room in the middle of the park.
The Fillies had their best early chance in the 15th minute when Brooke Brown went just wide.
Barrington senior Gwiasda was locked in a terrific man-marking battle with Ehlert during the first 20 minutes. However, when Ehlert began to push forward more or drift wide, the Fillies as a group began to lose site of the brilliant Ramblers star. That led to a handful of quality chances on frame.
Gwiasda and Kaitlin Taylor worked together to block a close-range effort from Ehlert, who moments later, on the turn, forced Abby Raynor into action in the 28th minute.
Ehlert beat two challenges to the top of the box before unloading a well-struck attempt in the 32nd minute that Raynor turned away for a corner.
Sisters Lauri and Ella Couri created a corner just afterward that the Fillies defended smartly. A 35-yard free kick from Pattison just before the intermission raised the hopes of the Ramblers faithful, while causing the Fillies crowd to close its eyes and look away, when her long-range missile skimmed the bar.
"We did pretty well to limit no. 28 (Pattison) in the first half, but it was close right there before the end of the half," said Stengren.
"Loyola has a lot of talented players and does a lot of good things."
Loyola hoped to break the scoring seal.
"We really wanted to put at least one in during the first half, (knowing) we would be playing into the wind after the break," opined Hartinger. “Even though we didn't, I felt like we came out strong and played even better once we were able to settle in and get organized after that red card.”
After the break, Raynor made a terrific save on Kathryn Diblik. Loyola’s Bradley followed with a fearless challenge off her line to stop Riley Raynor.
Referee Dylan Kramer followed the plays with a straight red card after a hard, but clean tackle at the midline by Loyola’s Kendall Bell
Hartinger and the Ramblers bench saw red and howled their disapproval at the call. It meant her club would now play a man down for the next 19 minutes against a Barrington team with the wind at its back.
"None of us agreed with the red card, but we had to pull ourselves together," said Kurtz. “After a few minutes, I really thought we did well."
Loyola dropped one of its three forwards back to play with four in the middle of the park. After Brown went wide once again, a quick read of potential trouble saw keeper Bradley react bravely to intercept a lovely try from Sanchez that targeted Brown as the final 10 minutes turned into a wild, all-action thriller.
"We did all we could in the first half to keep them out of our net, and we were hoping to find a way into their net with the wind at our backs," began Sanchez.
"We had some great chances but couldn't put them away."
"We need to be better, and more clinical in the final third," said Stengren. “You do not get many good looks against good teams like Loyola. That's something we'll need to continue to work on.”
Each side was booked as the intensity increased. When Barrington’s Lucier ran into Bradley on a 50/50 challenge, the referee had no other recourse but to send off the talented striker with a red card.
Both sides played a man short for the last five minutes. The final stretch saw a pair of deep throws from the Fillies plus a free kick.
Another Pattison free kick from the midline went wide for Loyola 60 seconds from time.
During the shootout, Riley Raynor, Stagnito, Brown, and Baker were perfect in the first four spot-kicks for the Fillies. So too were Ehlert, Pattison, Lauren Couri and Kurtz for Loyola.
Kate Lubinsky started Round 5 when she stung the gloves of Bradley before finding the back of the net.
Diblik’s effort went just under the gloves of Trapp, who guessed correctly but was unable to stop the well-paced attempt.
In sudden-death, Gwiasda calmly went just inside the far post to make it 6-5 to set up the dramatic ending in which Avery Trapp would become the Fillies heroine for the day.
"(Coach) Allen has taught me so much during our training sessions, in particular what to watch for in PKs, like the approach and hip placement of the shooter," said Trapp. “I used what I learned on that final kick and was lucky enough to get (there) to make the save.”
Both teams were proud of their performance.
"Ellie (Bradley) and Kaitlyn Kurtz were terrific today,” said Hartinger, whose club missed gifted outside back Emily Pikarski. “Our roster was able to experience playing against a quality opponent.
"Maya (Basan) was just great filling in along the back. Eva (Pattison) is just Eva. She does so much for us so well, and I really felt like we fought hard for the entire 80 minutes. That's what we'll take from this game."
The Ramblers will train up to their next Naperville Invitational match. The consolation game will be no walk in the park against no. 14 Warren at 5 p.m. Thursday in Barrington.
Next up for Barrington is Mid-Suburban League foe Schaumburg on Wednesday, before its Thursday semifinal with longtime postseason rival St. Charles East (13-2-0) at 7 p.m. at home.
The game is a rematch of the 2021 supersectional, played in Barrington last June, when the Fillies upset the no. 1 Fighting Saints to advance to the Class 3A Final Four.
Starting lineups
Loyola (4-3-3)
G- Ellie Bradley
D- Maya Basan
D- Eva Pattison
D- Ellianna Seeley
D- Maria Nikas
M- Emma Shaffer
M- Grace Ehlert
M- Kaitlyn Kurtz
F- Ella Couri
F- Kathryn Diblik
F- Lauren Couri
Barrington (4-4-2)
G- Abby Raynor
D- Ellie Sanchez
D- Gracie Stagnito
D- Caitlin Paul
D- Kathleen Baker
M- Kaitlin Taylor
M- Nicole Gwiasda
M- Brooke Brown
M- Kate Lubinsky
F- Piper Lucier
F- Riley Raynor
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match:
Ellie Bradley, jr., GK, Loyola; Kaitlin Kurtz, sr., MF, Loyola
Referee: Dylan Kramer
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring
Shootout
Barrington: Riley Raynor (goal), Stagnito (goal), Brown (goal), Baker (goal), Lubinsky (goal); Gwiasda (goal).
Loyola: Ehlert (goal), Pattison (goal), Lauren Couri (goal), Kurtz (goal), Diblik (goal), Guzman (save).
keeper Trapp stops Loyola
Junior enters game for shootout, makes winning stop
By Mike Garofola
BARRINGTON -- On the first warm day of the spring soccer season, the matchup between no. 7 Loyola and no. 8 Barrington had a little bit of everything.
Two red cards, several yellow card bookings, box-to-box action, ferocious challenges, and action influenced by gusting winds that seemed strong enough to blow a thousand ships out to sea.
Oh yes, and the Naperville Invitational Group E finale had one more thing – a sudden-death shootout to decide who would earn a quarterfinal berth.
But wait! There’s more! Barrington brought a keeper off the bench to defend its goal in the game-deciding showdown.
Substituting goalkeepers before a shootout is not a prevailing strategy used by managers, especially after the starter has turned in a wonderful performance.
But sub Avery Trapp got plenty of worthy praise from her teammates and starter Abby Raynor after the game. The junior, who readily admitted she had no idea why Fillies manager Ryan Stengren installed her between the sticks in such a tense situation, made the move pay off.
Stengren felt his tactical move might be the right one.
"No doubt Abby Raynor had a great game for us. One thing that Avery has that she doesn't is height, length. She is an imposing figure between the sticks. In the high school game, sometimes, that can be the difference.”
Trapp had little chance to stop the Ramblers (10-3-1) first five kicks. Nor did her counterpart Ellie Bradley stop Barrington.
Nicole Gwiasda’s conversion continued the trend for Barrington and gave the Fillies a 6-5 lead.
That’s when Trapp used countless hours of training with former DePaul star, all-state prep keeper and Fillies keeper coach Brian Allen to perfection. She moved quickly to her left and used her length to full extension and effect when she turned a near-perfect Isabella Guzman spot-kick around the post to send her teammates rushing out to congratulate her and celebrate the Fillies (11-1-0) win.
"Abby was great for us today,” said Trapp. “(Loyola) was such a great team, and she had to battle the windy conditions and pressure inside the box to help this game go straight into kicks.
"We always are training for shootouts, and we did yesterday. Never figured I was going to go in for this one, but (Stengren) told me to warmup right after the final whistle. So I knew (then), for sure."
"Nobody likes to see a game ever decided in kicks, but it is what it is," said Kurtz, who will play next fall at Wisconsin-LaCrosse. “(Both) teams had chances; both teams played really hard.
“I know all of us were looking forward to playing Barrington. It's too bad the wind played a huge factor in how both teams played. Unfortunately, it ended the way it did for us.”
The classy senior paired with fellow Chicagoland Soccer all-stater Grace Ehlert to run the Ramblers attack. Kurtz then became more of a six playing into the wind after the break and ran with her engine at full blast. She correctly read nearly every situation and won 90 percent of the first, and second balls that came her way.
"We were without a few players due to injuries, but the great thing about this team is our tremendous depth. It really showed out there today," said Kurtz. “Coach (Shannon Hartinger) brought on players to fill in here and there.”
While both sides figured on a way to manage a wild wind which never stopped. It made for fractured play as the ball seemed to be more of a hot potato than a regulation game-ball at times.
Stengren wanted no part of any long-range Ramblers service off the powerful foot of Ava Pattison. An early free kick showed why he and his staff wanted to limit restarts and unsupervised movements for the talented Ramblers’ central defender.
Pattison's well-driven and wind-aided long range free kick caused Raynor into a difficult save. The ball spilled free, but alert freshman Piper Lucier quickly parried the ball out of danger in the 11th minute.
The visiting Ramblers smartly pushed numbers forward whenever the Fillies had a deep throw. The visitors hoped that the extra pressure might provide a quality opportunity.
"We had to defend so much in the first half because of the speed and quickness of Loyola," said Barrington’s fine outside back Ellie Sanchez. The gritty, hard-playing defender helps anchor a stout backline with her relentless ball-winning capabilities, work rate, desire and ability to join the attack whenever possible. “Obviously, the strong winds did not allow us to play our usual possession game.
"We all looked forward to playing a team as good as Loyola. I am sure both teams would have liked to play without dealing with the conditions we had, but we played hard in a game we were really tested. We found a way to get the result."
Kathleen Baker, Caitlin Paul, Gracie Stagnito and Sanchez had cause to put in for overtime pay in the first half as Loyola threw numbers forward to take advantage of the wind.
Stagnito did well taking all of the Fillies goal kicks in the first half. She sent all of them at least 40 yards to help her club get organized and find breathing room in the middle of the park.
The Fillies had their best early chance in the 15th minute when Brooke Brown went just wide.
Barrington senior Gwiasda was locked in a terrific man-marking battle with Ehlert during the first 20 minutes. However, when Ehlert began to push forward more or drift wide, the Fillies as a group began to lose site of the brilliant Ramblers star. That led to a handful of quality chances on frame.
Gwiasda and Kaitlin Taylor worked together to block a close-range effort from Ehlert, who moments later, on the turn, forced Abby Raynor into action in the 28th minute.
Ehlert beat two challenges to the top of the box before unloading a well-struck attempt in the 32nd minute that Raynor turned away for a corner.
Sisters Lauri and Ella Couri created a corner just afterward that the Fillies defended smartly. A 35-yard free kick from Pattison just before the intermission raised the hopes of the Ramblers faithful, while causing the Fillies crowd to close its eyes and look away, when her long-range missile skimmed the bar.
"We did pretty well to limit no. 28 (Pattison) in the first half, but it was close right there before the end of the half," said Stengren.
"Loyola has a lot of talented players and does a lot of good things."
Loyola hoped to break the scoring seal.
"We really wanted to put at least one in during the first half, (knowing) we would be playing into the wind after the break," opined Hartinger. “Even though we didn't, I felt like we came out strong and played even better once we were able to settle in and get organized after that red card.”
After the break, Raynor made a terrific save on Kathryn Diblik. Loyola’s Bradley followed with a fearless challenge off her line to stop Riley Raynor.
Referee Dylan Kramer followed the plays with a straight red card after a hard, but clean tackle at the midline by Loyola’s Kendall Bell
Hartinger and the Ramblers bench saw red and howled their disapproval at the call. It meant her club would now play a man down for the next 19 minutes against a Barrington team with the wind at its back.
"None of us agreed with the red card, but we had to pull ourselves together," said Kurtz. “After a few minutes, I really thought we did well."
Loyola dropped one of its three forwards back to play with four in the middle of the park. After Brown went wide once again, a quick read of potential trouble saw keeper Bradley react bravely to intercept a lovely try from Sanchez that targeted Brown as the final 10 minutes turned into a wild, all-action thriller.
"We did all we could in the first half to keep them out of our net, and we were hoping to find a way into their net with the wind at our backs," began Sanchez.
"We had some great chances but couldn't put them away."
"We need to be better, and more clinical in the final third," said Stengren. “You do not get many good looks against good teams like Loyola. That's something we'll need to continue to work on.”
Each side was booked as the intensity increased. When Barrington’s Lucier ran into Bradley on a 50/50 challenge, the referee had no other recourse but to send off the talented striker with a red card.
Both sides played a man short for the last five minutes. The final stretch saw a pair of deep throws from the Fillies plus a free kick.
Another Pattison free kick from the midline went wide for Loyola 60 seconds from time.
During the shootout, Riley Raynor, Stagnito, Brown, and Baker were perfect in the first four spot-kicks for the Fillies. So too were Ehlert, Pattison, Lauren Couri and Kurtz for Loyola.
Kate Lubinsky started Round 5 when she stung the gloves of Bradley before finding the back of the net.
Diblik’s effort went just under the gloves of Trapp, who guessed correctly but was unable to stop the well-paced attempt.
In sudden-death, Gwiasda calmly went just inside the far post to make it 6-5 to set up the dramatic ending in which Avery Trapp would become the Fillies heroine for the day.
"(Coach) Allen has taught me so much during our training sessions, in particular what to watch for in PKs, like the approach and hip placement of the shooter," said Trapp. “I used what I learned on that final kick and was lucky enough to get (there) to make the save.”
Both teams were proud of their performance.
"Ellie (Bradley) and Kaitlyn Kurtz were terrific today,” said Hartinger, whose club missed gifted outside back Emily Pikarski. “Our roster was able to experience playing against a quality opponent.
"Maya (Basan) was just great filling in along the back. Eva (Pattison) is just Eva. She does so much for us so well, and I really felt like we fought hard for the entire 80 minutes. That's what we'll take from this game."
The Ramblers will train up to their next Naperville Invitational match. The consolation game will be no walk in the park against no. 14 Warren at 5 p.m. Thursday in Barrington.
Next up for Barrington is Mid-Suburban League foe Schaumburg on Wednesday, before its Thursday semifinal with longtime postseason rival St. Charles East (13-2-0) at 7 p.m. at home.
The game is a rematch of the 2021 supersectional, played in Barrington last June, when the Fillies upset the no. 1 Fighting Saints to advance to the Class 3A Final Four.
Starting lineups
Loyola (4-3-3)
G- Ellie Bradley
D- Maya Basan
D- Eva Pattison
D- Ellianna Seeley
D- Maria Nikas
M- Emma Shaffer
M- Grace Ehlert
M- Kaitlyn Kurtz
F- Ella Couri
F- Kathryn Diblik
F- Lauren Couri
Barrington (4-4-2)
G- Abby Raynor
D- Ellie Sanchez
D- Gracie Stagnito
D- Caitlin Paul
D- Kathleen Baker
M- Kaitlin Taylor
M- Nicole Gwiasda
M- Brooke Brown
M- Kate Lubinsky
F- Piper Lucier
F- Riley Raynor
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match:
Ellie Bradley, jr., GK, Loyola; Kaitlin Kurtz, sr., MF, Loyola
Referee: Dylan Kramer
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring
Shootout
Barrington: Riley Raynor (goal), Stagnito (goal), Brown (goal), Baker (goal), Lubinsky (goal); Gwiasda (goal).
Loyola: Ehlert (goal), Pattison (goal), Lauren Couri (goal), Kurtz (goal), Diblik (goal), Guzman (save).