Loyola sinks St. Francis, takes league title
Ramblers are GCAC Red Division champs again after 2-0 win
By Mike Garofola
WHEATON -- Loyola is the winner of the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Red Division after a tough, hard-fought game with host St. Francis. After plenty of intensity and quality, the Ramblers prevailed 2-0 with goals on either side of the half from Sammie Holton and Emily Chrisman.
This annual soccer match has become a major attraction to fans in what has become the GCAC's verson of an EPL Derby, or Italy's Derby della Madonnina -- pitting two rivals against each other.
"This was a big win for us tonight," said Riley Burns with a big smile.
The Loyola senior, in addition to junior Sophie Doerr, were named co-MVPs of the Match. And each got the seal of approval from coach Craig Snower following this entertaining contest at Kuhn Memorial Stadium.
"That was vintage Riley Burns out there tonight, a level in which we haven't seen her at this year. (And) Doerr, she was just magnficent," Snower said.
Doerr, who was just activated over the weekend after missing several weeks with a broken toe, was a key figure in the Loyola midfield, replacing Vanessa Murray, who was away at a family funeral in Canada.
Doerr played a role in the Ramblers' stunning early goal that put the home side on their heels for the first half of the opening period.
"Sometimes life takes precedence over soccer, so with Vanessa being gone, it was Doerr stepping in for us tonight," said Snower.
"She played 40 minutes on Saturday during our 4-1 win over Verona (Wis.), and I asked her tonight if she could go a full 80. And she didn't bat an eye, just going box-to-box, winning first and second balls, tackling, defending, and helping us get the lead before 10 minutes."
"Sophie is in pain every time she puts her foot down to push off, but it didn't effect her play," said Burns with her teammate alongside her. "She was just amazing.
"St. Francis has so many weapons in their attack, especially with their three forwards. So each of us had to defend and deny, and not let (St. Francis) find their players up-top."
This promised to be a game in which two high-octane attacks would go toe-to-toe: Loyola with its frontline dynamic duo of Maggie Brett and Stephanie Ramsay; and the Spartans' tremendous trio of Kendra Pasquale, Erin Peck and Hannah Rittenhouse.
The host's offense was quite capable of stretching and attacking Loyola at a moment's notice, but it was the Ramblers who were overwhelming with an absolutely electic start on the night that produced a free kick opportunity in the 6th minute that led to the opener.
"We were lethargic, and maybe playing with a little bit of nervousness. So that first goal we conceded was a bad one," said Spartans manager Jim Winslow.
Emily Chrisman pulled the trigger on a deadly ball into the box. Doerr twisted and redirected with her header that spilled freely onto the foot of an opportunistic Sammie Holton, who found a way to slot into the back of the net in a crowd.
"We didn't react well at all on the dead ball," began Winslow.
"Courtney (Kozak) should have come out (off) of her line with more conviction, and her teammates let her down by not clearing that ball out of the area.
"After that, we were on our back foot for the next 20 minutes or so."
The home side countered immediately after the goal with an angled shot from Caroline Zimmer that Pasquale ran onto to force a corner. But after that, Loyola enjoyed a lot of one-way traffic.
Much of this had to do with the backline play of Burns, and her mates, Faith Craddock, Kiersten Kerrane, Chrisman, and outside midfielder Lauren Daffada, whose pace and ability to disrupt play did not go unnoticed.
"We didn't man-mark, but we took turns with Kendra, who is so dangerous when she turns, and Rittenhouse, who could hold the ball so well," offered Burns. "And as the game went on, and we added another goal, I sat a little deeper and defended more, instead of getting forward."
Chrisman kept St. Francis on edge with her service off of corners or free kicks. One caused trouble in the box for the home side until Jill DiTusa parried the ball out and over the touchline.
Later, Pasquale sent in a snap-shot off a clever free kick play that was collected with confidence Loyola goalkeeper Maggie Avery, who enjoyed a strong night between the sticks.
Just before the intermission, Brett showed just how quick she is on the ball when a single step allowed the junior to burst past two defenders. That forced DiTusa to make a sharp tackle on her opponent to stop a potential 1-v.-1 inside the box.
"We weathered that first half storm fairly well, and came out and played the way we should have at the start which was encouraging," said Winslow. "But it didn't have us get back even when we had the chances to do so."
Play began to open up delightfully with both sides racing up and down the pitch trying to gain an advantage of their archrival.
Brett's mazy run with speed nearly pried open the Spartans along the back. St. Francis answered when Emma Armbrust connected from out of the back with Zimmer. She found Pasquale who then watched Rittenhouse force a save from Avery.
It was a breathtaking two-minute sequence. Winslow pointed to it afterward as perhaps the best chance of the opening 15-minute spell from the Spartans.
Next, Pasquale unloaded what looked like an unstoppable strike that nearly pulled the post out of the ground in the 52nd minute. Then, just as quickly on the other end, Holton was pulled down inside the box.
Before Chrisman converted her 52nd-minute spot kick, Snower argued for a last man red card as the officials met to discuss their next move.
After a lengthy meeting, DiTusa was booked with a yellow card in advance of Chrisman's finish that doubled the Ramblers' advantage.
"That was quite a momentum swing with Kendra rattling the bar, and Loyola coming right back down to create that PK. How many times do you see that happen?" asked Winslow.
Later St. Francis was tossed a lifeline when Pasquale was sent to the spot in the 58th minute.
"Tough call for Loyola, because I really didn't see anthing that warranted a PK," said Winslow. He watched in disbelief as Avery made a superb save on Pasquale.
"Avery was very good tonight," said Winslow. "She had command in the box and made a couple of terrific saves while making sure there wasn't a troublesome ball in her area that stayed unclaimed."
An offsides call canceled a Ramsay conversion at 61 minutes and left the Ramblers in search of a third goal.
St. Francis kept up its fight to get on the scoreboard. Rittenhouse played a lovely ball into the six-yard box, but teammate Claire Hensley was unable to catch up to it with Daffada there defending. Hensley kept up the attack when she sent an inch-perfect early ball to Katherine Lemke that took the freshman to the endline/ From there, she created a corner.
Still pressing forward, the Spartans generated a handful of other chances with some half-chances as well.
Lemke went wide at 70 minutes before a quick restart from Christine Fasana and Peck resulted in a corner. That spilled free to the active Lemke but to no avail. In all, three-straight corners from St. Francis were all cleanly defended.
Peck forced Avery into one final save two minutes from time.
"It was a real battle out there tonight," Snower said. "We had a little bit more of the play. St. Francis was a dangerous team, but we did a really good job on its best attacking players."
"As I said before, Burns enjoyed a great game, as did many others, who helped set the tone with that early goal which gave us so much confidence and momentum going foward."
Added Winslow: "Our inability to finish our chances and a lack of composure at the start did us no favors, because we played so well in the second half."
Starting lineups
Loyola (4-4-2)
GK- Maggie Avery
D- Emily Chrisman
D- Kiersten Kerrane
D- Riley Burns
D- Faith Craddock
M- Lauren Daffada
M- Cate Shellenback
M- Sophie Doerr
M- Sammie Holton
F- Maggie Brett
F- Stephanie Ramsey
St. Francis (4-3-3)
GK- Courtney Kozak
D- Alex Preusser
D- Jill DiTusa
D- Emma Armbrust
D- Christine Fasana
M- Mickey Corrigan
M- Claire Hensley
M- Caroline Zimmer
F- Kendra Pasquale
F- Hannah Rittenhouse
F- Erin Peck
Chicagoland Soccer co-MVPs of the Match: Riley Burns, sr., D, Loyola
Sophie Doerr, jr., M, Loyola
Referee: Richard Andrews
Scoring summary
First half
Loyola: Holton (Doerr, Chrisman) 6'
Second half
Loyola: Chrisman (PK) 52'
Ramblers are GCAC Red Division champs again after 2-0 win
By Mike Garofola
WHEATON -- Loyola is the winner of the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Red Division after a tough, hard-fought game with host St. Francis. After plenty of intensity and quality, the Ramblers prevailed 2-0 with goals on either side of the half from Sammie Holton and Emily Chrisman.
This annual soccer match has become a major attraction to fans in what has become the GCAC's verson of an EPL Derby, or Italy's Derby della Madonnina -- pitting two rivals against each other.
"This was a big win for us tonight," said Riley Burns with a big smile.
The Loyola senior, in addition to junior Sophie Doerr, were named co-MVPs of the Match. And each got the seal of approval from coach Craig Snower following this entertaining contest at Kuhn Memorial Stadium.
"That was vintage Riley Burns out there tonight, a level in which we haven't seen her at this year. (And) Doerr, she was just magnficent," Snower said.
Doerr, who was just activated over the weekend after missing several weeks with a broken toe, was a key figure in the Loyola midfield, replacing Vanessa Murray, who was away at a family funeral in Canada.
Doerr played a role in the Ramblers' stunning early goal that put the home side on their heels for the first half of the opening period.
"Sometimes life takes precedence over soccer, so with Vanessa being gone, it was Doerr stepping in for us tonight," said Snower.
"She played 40 minutes on Saturday during our 4-1 win over Verona (Wis.), and I asked her tonight if she could go a full 80. And she didn't bat an eye, just going box-to-box, winning first and second balls, tackling, defending, and helping us get the lead before 10 minutes."
"Sophie is in pain every time she puts her foot down to push off, but it didn't effect her play," said Burns with her teammate alongside her. "She was just amazing.
"St. Francis has so many weapons in their attack, especially with their three forwards. So each of us had to defend and deny, and not let (St. Francis) find their players up-top."
This promised to be a game in which two high-octane attacks would go toe-to-toe: Loyola with its frontline dynamic duo of Maggie Brett and Stephanie Ramsay; and the Spartans' tremendous trio of Kendra Pasquale, Erin Peck and Hannah Rittenhouse.
The host's offense was quite capable of stretching and attacking Loyola at a moment's notice, but it was the Ramblers who were overwhelming with an absolutely electic start on the night that produced a free kick opportunity in the 6th minute that led to the opener.
"We were lethargic, and maybe playing with a little bit of nervousness. So that first goal we conceded was a bad one," said Spartans manager Jim Winslow.
Emily Chrisman pulled the trigger on a deadly ball into the box. Doerr twisted and redirected with her header that spilled freely onto the foot of an opportunistic Sammie Holton, who found a way to slot into the back of the net in a crowd.
"We didn't react well at all on the dead ball," began Winslow.
"Courtney (Kozak) should have come out (off) of her line with more conviction, and her teammates let her down by not clearing that ball out of the area.
"After that, we were on our back foot for the next 20 minutes or so."
The home side countered immediately after the goal with an angled shot from Caroline Zimmer that Pasquale ran onto to force a corner. But after that, Loyola enjoyed a lot of one-way traffic.
Much of this had to do with the backline play of Burns, and her mates, Faith Craddock, Kiersten Kerrane, Chrisman, and outside midfielder Lauren Daffada, whose pace and ability to disrupt play did not go unnoticed.
"We didn't man-mark, but we took turns with Kendra, who is so dangerous when she turns, and Rittenhouse, who could hold the ball so well," offered Burns. "And as the game went on, and we added another goal, I sat a little deeper and defended more, instead of getting forward."
Chrisman kept St. Francis on edge with her service off of corners or free kicks. One caused trouble in the box for the home side until Jill DiTusa parried the ball out and over the touchline.
Later, Pasquale sent in a snap-shot off a clever free kick play that was collected with confidence Loyola goalkeeper Maggie Avery, who enjoyed a strong night between the sticks.
Just before the intermission, Brett showed just how quick she is on the ball when a single step allowed the junior to burst past two defenders. That forced DiTusa to make a sharp tackle on her opponent to stop a potential 1-v.-1 inside the box.
"We weathered that first half storm fairly well, and came out and played the way we should have at the start which was encouraging," said Winslow. "But it didn't have us get back even when we had the chances to do so."
Play began to open up delightfully with both sides racing up and down the pitch trying to gain an advantage of their archrival.
Brett's mazy run with speed nearly pried open the Spartans along the back. St. Francis answered when Emma Armbrust connected from out of the back with Zimmer. She found Pasquale who then watched Rittenhouse force a save from Avery.
It was a breathtaking two-minute sequence. Winslow pointed to it afterward as perhaps the best chance of the opening 15-minute spell from the Spartans.
Next, Pasquale unloaded what looked like an unstoppable strike that nearly pulled the post out of the ground in the 52nd minute. Then, just as quickly on the other end, Holton was pulled down inside the box.
Before Chrisman converted her 52nd-minute spot kick, Snower argued for a last man red card as the officials met to discuss their next move.
After a lengthy meeting, DiTusa was booked with a yellow card in advance of Chrisman's finish that doubled the Ramblers' advantage.
"That was quite a momentum swing with Kendra rattling the bar, and Loyola coming right back down to create that PK. How many times do you see that happen?" asked Winslow.
Later St. Francis was tossed a lifeline when Pasquale was sent to the spot in the 58th minute.
"Tough call for Loyola, because I really didn't see anthing that warranted a PK," said Winslow. He watched in disbelief as Avery made a superb save on Pasquale.
"Avery was very good tonight," said Winslow. "She had command in the box and made a couple of terrific saves while making sure there wasn't a troublesome ball in her area that stayed unclaimed."
An offsides call canceled a Ramsay conversion at 61 minutes and left the Ramblers in search of a third goal.
St. Francis kept up its fight to get on the scoreboard. Rittenhouse played a lovely ball into the six-yard box, but teammate Claire Hensley was unable to catch up to it with Daffada there defending. Hensley kept up the attack when she sent an inch-perfect early ball to Katherine Lemke that took the freshman to the endline/ From there, she created a corner.
Still pressing forward, the Spartans generated a handful of other chances with some half-chances as well.
Lemke went wide at 70 minutes before a quick restart from Christine Fasana and Peck resulted in a corner. That spilled free to the active Lemke but to no avail. In all, three-straight corners from St. Francis were all cleanly defended.
Peck forced Avery into one final save two minutes from time.
"It was a real battle out there tonight," Snower said. "We had a little bit more of the play. St. Francis was a dangerous team, but we did a really good job on its best attacking players."
"As I said before, Burns enjoyed a great game, as did many others, who helped set the tone with that early goal which gave us so much confidence and momentum going foward."
Added Winslow: "Our inability to finish our chances and a lack of composure at the start did us no favors, because we played so well in the second half."
Starting lineups
Loyola (4-4-2)
GK- Maggie Avery
D- Emily Chrisman
D- Kiersten Kerrane
D- Riley Burns
D- Faith Craddock
M- Lauren Daffada
M- Cate Shellenback
M- Sophie Doerr
M- Sammie Holton
F- Maggie Brett
F- Stephanie Ramsey
St. Francis (4-3-3)
GK- Courtney Kozak
D- Alex Preusser
D- Jill DiTusa
D- Emma Armbrust
D- Christine Fasana
M- Mickey Corrigan
M- Claire Hensley
M- Caroline Zimmer
F- Kendra Pasquale
F- Hannah Rittenhouse
F- Erin Peck
Chicagoland Soccer co-MVPs of the Match: Riley Burns, sr., D, Loyola
Sophie Doerr, jr., M, Loyola
Referee: Richard Andrews
Scoring summary
First half
Loyola: Holton (Doerr, Chrisman) 6'
Second half
Loyola: Chrisman (PK) 52'