Barrington toughs out win over Loyola
Kilayko's 64th-minute goal is game-winner
By Patrick Z. McGavin
BARRINGTON -- For a game so beautiful, soccer is awful cruel and unforgiving. Such was the example of Loyola trying to pull off a massive upset.
Catching a wounded, though dangerous, Barrington team the night after the Fililes suffered their first loss of the season, the Ramblers fought off an early goal and showed terrific pace, rhythm and energy to control the game.
Breakout freshman forward Molly Sipe scored a beautiful free kick in the 38th minute to set the stage for a wide open second half.
Claire Kelly appeared to have delivered the advantage when her ball from just outside the top of the box was beautifully placed to elude the grasp of Fillies’ keeper Leah Eisenbarth. The ball hit the underside of the bar and danced on the line just as Eisenbarth cleared the shot.
“I think at halftime we knew what we had to do coming in,” Kelly said. “We knew they were super good, and we came out really strong. That shot was a good showing of we were in the game.
“It was unfortunate it did not go in.”
Christine Batliner made the most of the reprieve. The Fillies’ superb defender worked her magic down the right edge and served a beautiful cross into the box that junior forward Caroline Kilayko got just enough of a touch on off her upper torso to direct the ball inside the near post.
Loyola sophomore keeper Maddie Kenny, in her first start, made a diving stop only to have the official rule her body crossed the line, and the goal stood up in top-ranked Barrington’s 2-1 victory in the quarterfinals of the Naperville Invitational on Thursday night.
“It was a great cross by Christine,” said Kilayko of the start of her seventh goal of the year. “We were able to build it up from the back. Christine dribbled out, and Jen Devona played it out wide. The cross was right in front of the goal, and I just had to get my body on the ball.”
For the game-winning assist and several crucial late defensive plays, Christine Batliner earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match distinction.
Barrington advances to play no. 6 St. Charles North in the first semifinal at 5 p.m. Friday at Naperville Central.
No. 20 moves into the consolation ranks and faces no. 10 Neuqua Valley at 5 p.m. at Naperville North.
“Unfortunately it is a game of inches, and the inches did not go our way tonight,” Loyola coach Shannon Hartinger said.
Both teams demonstrated exceptional toughness and resolve to grit through the game. Barrington was playing its third game in four nights. Loyola was regrouping from its spring break and rejiggered its normal starting lineup.
Complicating matters for the Fillies, star junior Tina Teik was on the sidelines with her left foot in a walking boot after she suffered an injury in the 2-1 loss against Fremd on Wednesday night.
“This game was tough both emotionally and physically,” Batliner said. “Obviously to come from a very tough game last night, I thought we showed a lot of resilience. We had a lot of heart today, but we are doing our best to maintain our fitness.”
Batliner was superb for the Fillies (12-1-1), She is a skilled hybrid, a defender with an offensive grasp whose ability to generate opportunities through her free kicks is a central facet of the Barrington attack.
Even before her game-winning assist, she made an earlier cross from a virtually identical spot that junior Alexis Armando smashed with a header just over the bar.
“I just think we knew we had to play our game and go back to our hard pressure and play our style,” Batliner said. “We also wanted to redeem ourselves after yesterday. We knew we had to create opportunities coming out of the half since the game was tied. We had a lot of great runs up-top and pressure, which helped us get space, and we were able to move around.”
Barrington vaporized the sting of the Fremd loss with a convincing goal in the ninth minute. Freshman forward Riley Raynor pushed the ball up, and junior forward Ashley Armando smashed home the rebound for the 1-0 advantage.
“I was able to move from the midfield all the way up, and Riley made a great shot, and I just followed it,” Ashley Armando said. “Getting that goal there was very important. I thought it gave us some energy, and we knew we had to continue to push to try to continue to score and also get us back up emotionally after our loss last night.”
Loyola strutted its own stuff and made a quality stand. Rather than wilt, Loyola responded with sharper focus and greater resolve. Senior Maggie Brett, a two-time Chicagoland Soccer all-state talent, showed great zip and quickness to the ball in her most sustained action since her return from knee surgery.
Loyola has seven freshmen on the roster, and the two most impressive have been Sipe and midfielder Grace Ehlert. Those two were again active and dangerous. Despite her youth, Sipe is the go-to player on free kicks.
She delivered in the 38th minute with a beautiful ball.
“I played against older players when I was younger, and watching them step up and take those shots really had an impact on me,” Sipe said. “This talent is just a kind of thing I have developed from watching other people.”
The action also illustrated how rapidly the team has grown since a slow start with first-year coach Hartinger and a deep turnover of personnel. The freshmen brought hope, the seniors stability.
“We have basically a whole new squad coming into this year,” Brett said. “To see our freshmen stepping up and scoring these huge goals really means a lot to us. That is really cool and really inspiring for the seniors to see. Here we are in our last year, and we are able to see what we have to look forward to.”
Junior Leah Eisenbarth replaced starter Coast Liapis at keeper in the second half for the Fillies. Sipe, Brett and Kelly had her under attack. She made five saves, the most crucial another high free kick from Sipe.
Loyola had five corners or free kicks in the second half. The ability to generate them was impressive. Hartinger said the team now has to move to the next stage and finish those chances.
“I think we are pleased with the progress we have seen in the girls,” she said. “It has been talked about how we are performing each game and going out and competing and battling. We are starting to generate more chances when we are attacking in the flow of play.
“We are creating a lot of set pieces. I think tonight we could have been a little better at executing our set pieces.”
Barrington coach Ryan Stengren was elated by his team’s ability to fight through the emotional peaks and valleys of an incredibly difficult stretch of the schedule.
“Winning like this felt great especially after coming back from a very emotional game last night,” he said. “Emotionally, you can see it, everything just wears on the kids. You could see tonight our emotional level really was not there.
“I am very proud of the heart they showed.”
The victory marks the fifth-consecutive year the Fillies have qualified for the semifinals. It only gets more difficult from here.
“Every day is a new day, and we are just excited to play a high-level team and hopefully do everything we can to get a result,” Batliner said.
Starting lineups
Loyola
GK: Maddie Kenny
D: Grace Cutler
D: Madeline Prassas
D: Meredith Phillips
MF: Claire Kelly
MF: Kaitlyn Kurtz
MF: Kate Murtagh
MF: Grace Ehlert
F: Megan Kurtz
F: Molly Sipe
F: Maggie Brett
Barrington
GK: Coast Liapis
D: Christine Batliner
D: Juliana Moreno
D: Kate McGreevy
D: Madi Rosen
MF: Ashley Rocco
MF: Ellie McAuley
MF: Rebecca Shumaker
MF: Jen Devona
F: Ashley Armando
F: Riley Raynor
Chicagoland MVP of the Match: Christine Batliner, sr., D, Barrington
Scoring summary
First half
Barrington: Ashley Armando (Riley Raynor), ninth minute
Loyola: Molly Sipe (free kick), 38th minute
Second half
Barrington: Caroline Kilayko (Christine Batliner), 64th minute
Kilayko's 64th-minute goal is game-winner
By Patrick Z. McGavin
BARRINGTON -- For a game so beautiful, soccer is awful cruel and unforgiving. Such was the example of Loyola trying to pull off a massive upset.
Catching a wounded, though dangerous, Barrington team the night after the Fililes suffered their first loss of the season, the Ramblers fought off an early goal and showed terrific pace, rhythm and energy to control the game.
Breakout freshman forward Molly Sipe scored a beautiful free kick in the 38th minute to set the stage for a wide open second half.
Claire Kelly appeared to have delivered the advantage when her ball from just outside the top of the box was beautifully placed to elude the grasp of Fillies’ keeper Leah Eisenbarth. The ball hit the underside of the bar and danced on the line just as Eisenbarth cleared the shot.
“I think at halftime we knew what we had to do coming in,” Kelly said. “We knew they were super good, and we came out really strong. That shot was a good showing of we were in the game.
“It was unfortunate it did not go in.”
Christine Batliner made the most of the reprieve. The Fillies’ superb defender worked her magic down the right edge and served a beautiful cross into the box that junior forward Caroline Kilayko got just enough of a touch on off her upper torso to direct the ball inside the near post.
Loyola sophomore keeper Maddie Kenny, in her first start, made a diving stop only to have the official rule her body crossed the line, and the goal stood up in top-ranked Barrington’s 2-1 victory in the quarterfinals of the Naperville Invitational on Thursday night.
“It was a great cross by Christine,” said Kilayko of the start of her seventh goal of the year. “We were able to build it up from the back. Christine dribbled out, and Jen Devona played it out wide. The cross was right in front of the goal, and I just had to get my body on the ball.”
For the game-winning assist and several crucial late defensive plays, Christine Batliner earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match distinction.
Barrington advances to play no. 6 St. Charles North in the first semifinal at 5 p.m. Friday at Naperville Central.
No. 20 moves into the consolation ranks and faces no. 10 Neuqua Valley at 5 p.m. at Naperville North.
“Unfortunately it is a game of inches, and the inches did not go our way tonight,” Loyola coach Shannon Hartinger said.
Both teams demonstrated exceptional toughness and resolve to grit through the game. Barrington was playing its third game in four nights. Loyola was regrouping from its spring break and rejiggered its normal starting lineup.
Complicating matters for the Fillies, star junior Tina Teik was on the sidelines with her left foot in a walking boot after she suffered an injury in the 2-1 loss against Fremd on Wednesday night.
“This game was tough both emotionally and physically,” Batliner said. “Obviously to come from a very tough game last night, I thought we showed a lot of resilience. We had a lot of heart today, but we are doing our best to maintain our fitness.”
Batliner was superb for the Fillies (12-1-1), She is a skilled hybrid, a defender with an offensive grasp whose ability to generate opportunities through her free kicks is a central facet of the Barrington attack.
Even before her game-winning assist, she made an earlier cross from a virtually identical spot that junior Alexis Armando smashed with a header just over the bar.
“I just think we knew we had to play our game and go back to our hard pressure and play our style,” Batliner said. “We also wanted to redeem ourselves after yesterday. We knew we had to create opportunities coming out of the half since the game was tied. We had a lot of great runs up-top and pressure, which helped us get space, and we were able to move around.”
Barrington vaporized the sting of the Fremd loss with a convincing goal in the ninth minute. Freshman forward Riley Raynor pushed the ball up, and junior forward Ashley Armando smashed home the rebound for the 1-0 advantage.
“I was able to move from the midfield all the way up, and Riley made a great shot, and I just followed it,” Ashley Armando said. “Getting that goal there was very important. I thought it gave us some energy, and we knew we had to continue to push to try to continue to score and also get us back up emotionally after our loss last night.”
Loyola strutted its own stuff and made a quality stand. Rather than wilt, Loyola responded with sharper focus and greater resolve. Senior Maggie Brett, a two-time Chicagoland Soccer all-state talent, showed great zip and quickness to the ball in her most sustained action since her return from knee surgery.
Loyola has seven freshmen on the roster, and the two most impressive have been Sipe and midfielder Grace Ehlert. Those two were again active and dangerous. Despite her youth, Sipe is the go-to player on free kicks.
She delivered in the 38th minute with a beautiful ball.
“I played against older players when I was younger, and watching them step up and take those shots really had an impact on me,” Sipe said. “This talent is just a kind of thing I have developed from watching other people.”
The action also illustrated how rapidly the team has grown since a slow start with first-year coach Hartinger and a deep turnover of personnel. The freshmen brought hope, the seniors stability.
“We have basically a whole new squad coming into this year,” Brett said. “To see our freshmen stepping up and scoring these huge goals really means a lot to us. That is really cool and really inspiring for the seniors to see. Here we are in our last year, and we are able to see what we have to look forward to.”
Junior Leah Eisenbarth replaced starter Coast Liapis at keeper in the second half for the Fillies. Sipe, Brett and Kelly had her under attack. She made five saves, the most crucial another high free kick from Sipe.
Loyola had five corners or free kicks in the second half. The ability to generate them was impressive. Hartinger said the team now has to move to the next stage and finish those chances.
“I think we are pleased with the progress we have seen in the girls,” she said. “It has been talked about how we are performing each game and going out and competing and battling. We are starting to generate more chances when we are attacking in the flow of play.
“We are creating a lot of set pieces. I think tonight we could have been a little better at executing our set pieces.”
Barrington coach Ryan Stengren was elated by his team’s ability to fight through the emotional peaks and valleys of an incredibly difficult stretch of the schedule.
“Winning like this felt great especially after coming back from a very emotional game last night,” he said. “Emotionally, you can see it, everything just wears on the kids. You could see tonight our emotional level really was not there.
“I am very proud of the heart they showed.”
The victory marks the fifth-consecutive year the Fillies have qualified for the semifinals. It only gets more difficult from here.
“Every day is a new day, and we are just excited to play a high-level team and hopefully do everything we can to get a result,” Batliner said.
Starting lineups
Loyola
GK: Maddie Kenny
D: Grace Cutler
D: Madeline Prassas
D: Meredith Phillips
MF: Claire Kelly
MF: Kaitlyn Kurtz
MF: Kate Murtagh
MF: Grace Ehlert
F: Megan Kurtz
F: Molly Sipe
F: Maggie Brett
Barrington
GK: Coast Liapis
D: Christine Batliner
D: Juliana Moreno
D: Kate McGreevy
D: Madi Rosen
MF: Ashley Rocco
MF: Ellie McAuley
MF: Rebecca Shumaker
MF: Jen Devona
F: Ashley Armando
F: Riley Raynor
Chicagoland MVP of the Match: Christine Batliner, sr., D, Barrington
Scoring summary
First half
Barrington: Ashley Armando (Riley Raynor), ninth minute
Loyola: Molly Sipe (free kick), 38th minute
Second half
Barrington: Caroline Kilayko (Christine Batliner), 64th minute