Evanston rallies past Loyola
2nd half goals in 3-minute span fuel 2-1 win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
EVANSTON -- Youth and excitement are the dominant early emblems of the Evanston program. That is a natural and inevitable response considering the Wildkits have five freshmen starters.
Youth has run amok but in all the best ways.
“They bring such a fresh vibe to the program,” junior midfielder Callista O’Connor said of the program’s first-year players.
The Wildkits are a team shaped by extremes, raw and still learning but with a rapid access to improvement and a very high ceiling on how far the team could go.
The combination of youth and maturity played out. The freshmen helped restore some balance, and the cagey veterans helped pull the game away.
O’Connor caught a pass inside the box and wheeled and fired in the game-winner from about six yards in the 68th minute as unbeaten and 12th-ranked Evanston rallied past no. 19 Loyola 2-1 Friday night.
Sophomore midfielder Eloise Gilbert Bartell delivered the ball to O’Connor.
Senior Evanston forward Keara Kerr created the equalizer moments earlier by smashing home a rebound ball off a play that originated as a corner in the 65th minute for the Wildkits (3-0-0).
“The first goal definitely gave us the confidence boost that we needed,” O’Connor said. “I thought in the second half we settled down and played our game more. In the first half we were a bit frantic.
“We had a really good talk at halftime that puts us in a good headspace, so the second half Keara got the goal, and I think that just encouraged us even more to push through for the win.”
For her accomplishments, O’Connor earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honor.
Freshman defender Carly Menocal, the team’s corner specialist, not only played a huge part in the first goal. She helped preserve the win with two standout clearances in the last two minutes, depriving the Ramblers of any late-game heroics.
Even in defeat, the short-handed Ramblers showed considerable promise and encouragement moving forward.
Senior forward Maggie Brett, a two-time Chicagoland Soccer all-state player, is recovering from an injury and has not played in Loyola’s first three games.
The Ramblers unveiled a fantastic freshman of their own in standout forward Molly Sipe. She demonstrated grace, toughness and a high skill level. Her play enabled Loyola to hold the lead for nearly one hour of game time.
In the sixth minute, Sipe caught the Wildkits off guard. Faking out keeper Sylvi Imrem, Sipe forced a turnover deep inside the Wildkits’ territory, stole the attempted clearance and drilled a rocket ball from about 14 yards for her first high school goal.
“Everyone did a great job of pressuring up, and I felt there was a lot of support, everyone helped, and that was really good,” Sipe said.
“I kind of got lucky, I guess.”
She proved repeatedly throughout the first half that the goal was no fluke -- she created extraordinary pressure for the Ramblers. A Sipe free kick from about 40 yards forced Imrem into making a great stop.
Sipe also drilled a shot from the right wing that grazed off the near post.
“Everyone had a lot of energy, and everyone really gave their best effort,” she said. “I thought it was a good game.”
Under first-year coach Shannon Hartinger, the Ramblers are a team in transition. Like Evanston, Loyola started five freshmen. Sipe and Grace Ehlert exhibited cool and tenacity as the attacking pieces at the top of the formation.
Defender Maya Basan showed great promise as a disruptive and heady player in the back.
“I think, for us, early in the season, there have been a lot of positives that come out of our first three matches,” Hartinger said. “The girls have been working very hard in training to come together as a team. Obviously we have integrated a lot of young players with our strong core of upperclassmen.
“We are trying to develop our identity as a group on the field.”
Senior Katherine Jaros replaces the graduated Maggie Avery at keeper. Like Brett, Avery was a two-time Chicagoland Soccer all-state performer. Jaros proved up to the task and helped nullify the Wildkits’ dangerous attack throughout much of the game.
If the Evanston freshmen brought high energy and nonstop motor, the experienced players like O’Connor, Kerr and senior midfielder Hadley Bushala brought a calming presence that stabilized the attack.
“I thought from the first half to the second, we came out a lot more calm and relaxed,” Evanston coach Stacy Salgado said.
“We attacked a lot better, and we had a lot fewer unforced errors, which was key. We switched our formation a bit to put more pressure on them, so I think that helped our mentality more than anything and helped us become more aggressive.”
Evanston’s Brealyn Viamille, a freshman forward, showed off her exceptional quickness and first step explosiveness. Her speed definitely helped break down the Ramblers in the second half.
Her jet movements at the Loyola goal created space on the outside for the Wildkits to either switch the ball or hit the Ramblers with quick whip crosses into dangerous parts of the box.
That pressure developed and set up the crucial corner that yielded the first goal as Bushala and O’Connor played the initial shots inside the box that hit off the post.
Kerr put on the finishing touch with her first goal of the year.
“The thing our coaches really talk about is that we are a disciplined team, and we fight through the whole game,” Kerr said. “We fight until the end. I think our mentality, especially in the second half, was let’s go and put pressure on them, go as fast as we can and try and get the goals there.
“We had a number of corners throughout the game. Apparently I nodded at Carly, so I knew subconsciously I wanted the ball there, and the whole team made the run.”
Now the Wildkits are taking a two-day excursion during their spring break to play two of the best teams from Wisconsin in Madison and Milwaukee.
“The teams we play in Wisconsin are really awesome, and we are very excited about it to go on a trip together,” Kerr said. “I think that trip, playing good teams, spending time in the hotel together, is going to thrust us forward through the rest of the season.”
With several other players unavailable, Loyola appeared exhausted. The Ramblers never wilted and mounted several credible scoring threats in the final minutes.
If the ending was bittersweet, Loyola has now played sharp in consecutive games, coming off a draw against undefeated conference rival St. Ignatius.
The return of Brett brings a go-to scorer to a program teeming with possibility.
“I think our focus is the development of our student athletes as a whole,” Hartinger said. “The focus has been coming together as a team and implementing the tactics I like to employ, which is more attacking minded.”
The two freshmen, Sipe and Ehlert, showed moxie.
“We definitely improved from our first game,” Sipe said. “Everybody is ready to step up. The upperclassmen have helped us learn the tactics of the game and they have definitely given us a good vision of high school soccer.”
Starting lineups
Loyola
GK: Katherine Jaros
D: Claire Kenny
D: Lauren Daffada
D: Megan Kurtz
D: Maya Basan
MF: Kate Murtagh
MF: Meredith Phillips
MF: Isabella Guzman
F: Molly Sipe
F: Grace Ehlert
F: Kathryn Diblik
Evanston
GK: Sylvi Imrem
D: Lucinda Lindland
D: Carly Menocal
D: Sarah Sollinger
D: Nadia Van Den Berg
MF: Hadley Bushala
MF: Callista O’Connor
MF: Katarina Sehgal
MF: Ryann Lucas
F: Brealyn Viamille
F: Keara Kerr
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Callista O’Connor, jr., MF, Evanston
Scoring summary
First half
Loyola—Molly Sipe (unassisted), sixth minute
Second half
Evanston—Keara Kerr (unassisted), 65th minute
Evanston—Callista O’Connor (Eloise Gilbert Bartell), 68th minute
2nd half goals in 3-minute span fuel 2-1 win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
EVANSTON -- Youth and excitement are the dominant early emblems of the Evanston program. That is a natural and inevitable response considering the Wildkits have five freshmen starters.
Youth has run amok but in all the best ways.
“They bring such a fresh vibe to the program,” junior midfielder Callista O’Connor said of the program’s first-year players.
The Wildkits are a team shaped by extremes, raw and still learning but with a rapid access to improvement and a very high ceiling on how far the team could go.
The combination of youth and maturity played out. The freshmen helped restore some balance, and the cagey veterans helped pull the game away.
O’Connor caught a pass inside the box and wheeled and fired in the game-winner from about six yards in the 68th minute as unbeaten and 12th-ranked Evanston rallied past no. 19 Loyola 2-1 Friday night.
Sophomore midfielder Eloise Gilbert Bartell delivered the ball to O’Connor.
Senior Evanston forward Keara Kerr created the equalizer moments earlier by smashing home a rebound ball off a play that originated as a corner in the 65th minute for the Wildkits (3-0-0).
“The first goal definitely gave us the confidence boost that we needed,” O’Connor said. “I thought in the second half we settled down and played our game more. In the first half we were a bit frantic.
“We had a really good talk at halftime that puts us in a good headspace, so the second half Keara got the goal, and I think that just encouraged us even more to push through for the win.”
For her accomplishments, O’Connor earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honor.
Freshman defender Carly Menocal, the team’s corner specialist, not only played a huge part in the first goal. She helped preserve the win with two standout clearances in the last two minutes, depriving the Ramblers of any late-game heroics.
Even in defeat, the short-handed Ramblers showed considerable promise and encouragement moving forward.
Senior forward Maggie Brett, a two-time Chicagoland Soccer all-state player, is recovering from an injury and has not played in Loyola’s first three games.
The Ramblers unveiled a fantastic freshman of their own in standout forward Molly Sipe. She demonstrated grace, toughness and a high skill level. Her play enabled Loyola to hold the lead for nearly one hour of game time.
In the sixth minute, Sipe caught the Wildkits off guard. Faking out keeper Sylvi Imrem, Sipe forced a turnover deep inside the Wildkits’ territory, stole the attempted clearance and drilled a rocket ball from about 14 yards for her first high school goal.
“Everyone did a great job of pressuring up, and I felt there was a lot of support, everyone helped, and that was really good,” Sipe said.
“I kind of got lucky, I guess.”
She proved repeatedly throughout the first half that the goal was no fluke -- she created extraordinary pressure for the Ramblers. A Sipe free kick from about 40 yards forced Imrem into making a great stop.
Sipe also drilled a shot from the right wing that grazed off the near post.
“Everyone had a lot of energy, and everyone really gave their best effort,” she said. “I thought it was a good game.”
Under first-year coach Shannon Hartinger, the Ramblers are a team in transition. Like Evanston, Loyola started five freshmen. Sipe and Grace Ehlert exhibited cool and tenacity as the attacking pieces at the top of the formation.
Defender Maya Basan showed great promise as a disruptive and heady player in the back.
“I think, for us, early in the season, there have been a lot of positives that come out of our first three matches,” Hartinger said. “The girls have been working very hard in training to come together as a team. Obviously we have integrated a lot of young players with our strong core of upperclassmen.
“We are trying to develop our identity as a group on the field.”
Senior Katherine Jaros replaces the graduated Maggie Avery at keeper. Like Brett, Avery was a two-time Chicagoland Soccer all-state performer. Jaros proved up to the task and helped nullify the Wildkits’ dangerous attack throughout much of the game.
If the Evanston freshmen brought high energy and nonstop motor, the experienced players like O’Connor, Kerr and senior midfielder Hadley Bushala brought a calming presence that stabilized the attack.
“I thought from the first half to the second, we came out a lot more calm and relaxed,” Evanston coach Stacy Salgado said.
“We attacked a lot better, and we had a lot fewer unforced errors, which was key. We switched our formation a bit to put more pressure on them, so I think that helped our mentality more than anything and helped us become more aggressive.”
Evanston’s Brealyn Viamille, a freshman forward, showed off her exceptional quickness and first step explosiveness. Her speed definitely helped break down the Ramblers in the second half.
Her jet movements at the Loyola goal created space on the outside for the Wildkits to either switch the ball or hit the Ramblers with quick whip crosses into dangerous parts of the box.
That pressure developed and set up the crucial corner that yielded the first goal as Bushala and O’Connor played the initial shots inside the box that hit off the post.
Kerr put on the finishing touch with her first goal of the year.
“The thing our coaches really talk about is that we are a disciplined team, and we fight through the whole game,” Kerr said. “We fight until the end. I think our mentality, especially in the second half, was let’s go and put pressure on them, go as fast as we can and try and get the goals there.
“We had a number of corners throughout the game. Apparently I nodded at Carly, so I knew subconsciously I wanted the ball there, and the whole team made the run.”
Now the Wildkits are taking a two-day excursion during their spring break to play two of the best teams from Wisconsin in Madison and Milwaukee.
“The teams we play in Wisconsin are really awesome, and we are very excited about it to go on a trip together,” Kerr said. “I think that trip, playing good teams, spending time in the hotel together, is going to thrust us forward through the rest of the season.”
With several other players unavailable, Loyola appeared exhausted. The Ramblers never wilted and mounted several credible scoring threats in the final minutes.
If the ending was bittersweet, Loyola has now played sharp in consecutive games, coming off a draw against undefeated conference rival St. Ignatius.
The return of Brett brings a go-to scorer to a program teeming with possibility.
“I think our focus is the development of our student athletes as a whole,” Hartinger said. “The focus has been coming together as a team and implementing the tactics I like to employ, which is more attacking minded.”
The two freshmen, Sipe and Ehlert, showed moxie.
“We definitely improved from our first game,” Sipe said. “Everybody is ready to step up. The upperclassmen have helped us learn the tactics of the game and they have definitely given us a good vision of high school soccer.”
Starting lineups
Loyola
GK: Katherine Jaros
D: Claire Kenny
D: Lauren Daffada
D: Megan Kurtz
D: Maya Basan
MF: Kate Murtagh
MF: Meredith Phillips
MF: Isabella Guzman
F: Molly Sipe
F: Grace Ehlert
F: Kathryn Diblik
Evanston
GK: Sylvi Imrem
D: Lucinda Lindland
D: Carly Menocal
D: Sarah Sollinger
D: Nadia Van Den Berg
MF: Hadley Bushala
MF: Callista O’Connor
MF: Katarina Sehgal
MF: Ryann Lucas
F: Brealyn Viamille
F: Keara Kerr
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Callista O’Connor, jr., MF, Evanston
Scoring summary
First half
Loyola—Molly Sipe (unassisted), sixth minute
Second half
Evanston—Keara Kerr (unassisted), 65th minute
Evanston—Callista O’Connor (Eloise Gilbert Bartell), 68th minute