Metea Valley reloads,
bests Deerfield for Kickoff title
By Gary Larsen
Metea Valley graduated an entire brigade of players from a team that went 16-4-4 and reached a Class 3A sectional title game last season. Still, “rebuilding” is not a word found in the Mustangs’ vocabulary in 2018.
“We did lose a lot of starting players,” senior Sophia Senese said, “but the Metea Valley soccer program is full of girls who want to work hard. That shows on the field, and that’s how we’ll get wins.”
Currently ranked eighth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, Metea Valley worked hard and smart against Deerfield on Wednesday, particularly in the first half, and it brought them the championship of Wheaton North Kickoff Tournament.
The Mustangs struck twice before the break and hung on for a 2-1 win to improve to 3-0-0 in the process.
Senese scored both goals during a dominant first half before Deerfield (3-1-0) came alive in the second half and got a goal from Malori Killoren.
A frigid day in Deerfield saw the Mustangs use their speed and skill to great effect throughout the first half. Led by Senese, Chesney Wargo, and Maeve Riordan, Metea Valley’s attack had the Warriors backing up for the first 40 minutes.
A Deerfield backline featuring senior central defenders Ashley Morgan and Sydney Fleishman, and senior keeper Karley Morris stayed under pressure as the Mustangs earned a 9-0 edge in shots on net in the first half.
“They’re the best team we’ve faced this year,” Morgan said. “Their forwards are really talented, and they gave me and Sydney a lot of work back there. They were moving left and right the whole game. They’re good.”
It was Wargo who set up the game’s first goal. Her through-ball into the box skipped off a Deerfield defender and squirted behind the Warriors’ defense. From there Senese took one touch and found herself alone against Morris on the right side.
“I just happened to be in the right place, right time, and I just placed it to the left side,” said Senese, the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match.
The Mustangs continued to flood the Warriors’ half of midfield and got a second goal on a nifty give-and-go between Senese and Riordan in the 23rd minute. Senese went far post from 12 yards from the right side to complete her brace and collect her fourth of the season.
“(Senese) always plays hard and because of it, she finds the back of the net,” Metea Valley coach Chris Whaley said. “She’s gritty, and she likes to score. But at the same time, she and Chesney (Wargo) do a great job of controlling the ball. We’ve also got Maeve with some speed and ability to finish, and we’ve got some good, strong defenders who are young, but they can defend well.”
Down 2-0 at halftime, Deerfield needed a change. And for coach Rich Grady, the first order of business for the second half was slowing down Riordan.
“They were playing to (Riordan) on the outside, and she was just running by everybody and that was killing us. We had to take that away,” Grady said. “So we put Samantha Linn at outside back.
“(Linn) is a forward for us, but we moved her back and told her ‘Your job is (Riordan)’. (Linn) is our fastest player, and that’s why we made the move.”
In the second half, the Warriors (3-1-0) showed why they’re ranked 15th in the Top 25. Deerfield brought more urgency and physicality to the pitch after halftime. But momentum didn’t truly swing the Warriors’ way until a key exchange at the 50-minute mark.
Less than a minute after Morgan cleared a shot off the line, Deerfield cut the Mustangs’ lead in half when Killoren got behind the defense and ran down a through-ball as Metea Valley keeper Myah Schoolman charged out at her.
Killoren got a piece of the ball first and ran it down near the end line on the left side as Schoolman raced back to her line and the Mustangs defenders backtracked. Killoren quickly cut back to her right and fired inside the far post at 51 minutes.
From there, Deerfield earned a 4-2 edge in shots on net with Schoolman handling a Killoren free kick and later a Killoren one-hopper fired from 18 yards.
“They scored that first goal, got some momentum, and they really wanted it,” Senese said. “You could see it in their play.”
For Morgan, it was soccer’s great intangible that lifted her Warriors.
“It was our intensity. We definitely picked it up,” Morgan said. “Once we got one play moving forward, we figured it out and then everybody got on the same page. We figured out our seams from the back to the midfielders and the forwards, and we started to put on some pressure.
“In the second half we started really going into tackles. (Grady) told us at halftime that we had to step it up and everybody really did.”
Grady applauded Morris’ aggressive play off her line in the second half and liked what he got from his girls on Wednesday.
“We played much better,” Grady said. “We started the game a little intimidated, or on the back foot or whatever, but they’re learning right now that if we put two halves like that together it might be a different story. So it’s a good learning experience.”
In the face of Deerfield’s more prominent attack in the second half, Metea Valley showed that it’s more than the sum total of its attack. While upperclassmen make up most of the Mustangs’ offense, the defense features a core of young players with varsity experience who were able to limit clean looks on net against Deerfield’s increased pressure in the second half.
Sophomore keeper Schoolman took over in the second half for classmate and starter Nikki Coryell. Sophomores Paige Buranosky and Nicole Dawson started as central defenders with freshman Katy Flanders on the outside.
The veteran of Wednesday’s starting backline, junior outside defender Kaiya Hansen, twice broke up deep, dangerous runs by Deerfield’s Riley Halpern.
“A lot of them were big contributors, and we have young girls that are hungry to carry on the tradition,” Whaley said of his young players in back. “We’re excited, and these girls are excited to play. And you know you’re going to get a good effort out of these girls in every game.”
Starting lineups
Metea Valley
GK Nikki Coryell
D Katy Flanders
D Paige Buranosky
D Nicole Dawson
D Kaiya Hansen
M Chesney Wargo
M Sophia Senese
M Lauryn Wesoloski
M Charlotte Ives
F Maeve Riordan
F Kayla Hurst
Deerfield
GK Karley Morris
D Ashley Morgan
D Sydney Fleishman
D Emma Pelz
D Shayna Wood
M Haley Emory
M Malori Killoren
M Devyn Compisi
M Riley Halpern
F Samantha Linn
F Chloe Cappas
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Sophia Senese, sr., MF, Metea Valley
Scoring summary
First half
Metea Valley -- Senese (Wargo); Senese (Riordan)
Second half
Deerfield: Killoren (UA)
bests Deerfield for Kickoff title
By Gary Larsen
Metea Valley graduated an entire brigade of players from a team that went 16-4-4 and reached a Class 3A sectional title game last season. Still, “rebuilding” is not a word found in the Mustangs’ vocabulary in 2018.
“We did lose a lot of starting players,” senior Sophia Senese said, “but the Metea Valley soccer program is full of girls who want to work hard. That shows on the field, and that’s how we’ll get wins.”
Currently ranked eighth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, Metea Valley worked hard and smart against Deerfield on Wednesday, particularly in the first half, and it brought them the championship of Wheaton North Kickoff Tournament.
The Mustangs struck twice before the break and hung on for a 2-1 win to improve to 3-0-0 in the process.
Senese scored both goals during a dominant first half before Deerfield (3-1-0) came alive in the second half and got a goal from Malori Killoren.
A frigid day in Deerfield saw the Mustangs use their speed and skill to great effect throughout the first half. Led by Senese, Chesney Wargo, and Maeve Riordan, Metea Valley’s attack had the Warriors backing up for the first 40 minutes.
A Deerfield backline featuring senior central defenders Ashley Morgan and Sydney Fleishman, and senior keeper Karley Morris stayed under pressure as the Mustangs earned a 9-0 edge in shots on net in the first half.
“They’re the best team we’ve faced this year,” Morgan said. “Their forwards are really talented, and they gave me and Sydney a lot of work back there. They were moving left and right the whole game. They’re good.”
It was Wargo who set up the game’s first goal. Her through-ball into the box skipped off a Deerfield defender and squirted behind the Warriors’ defense. From there Senese took one touch and found herself alone against Morris on the right side.
“I just happened to be in the right place, right time, and I just placed it to the left side,” said Senese, the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match.
The Mustangs continued to flood the Warriors’ half of midfield and got a second goal on a nifty give-and-go between Senese and Riordan in the 23rd minute. Senese went far post from 12 yards from the right side to complete her brace and collect her fourth of the season.
“(Senese) always plays hard and because of it, she finds the back of the net,” Metea Valley coach Chris Whaley said. “She’s gritty, and she likes to score. But at the same time, she and Chesney (Wargo) do a great job of controlling the ball. We’ve also got Maeve with some speed and ability to finish, and we’ve got some good, strong defenders who are young, but they can defend well.”
Down 2-0 at halftime, Deerfield needed a change. And for coach Rich Grady, the first order of business for the second half was slowing down Riordan.
“They were playing to (Riordan) on the outside, and she was just running by everybody and that was killing us. We had to take that away,” Grady said. “So we put Samantha Linn at outside back.
“(Linn) is a forward for us, but we moved her back and told her ‘Your job is (Riordan)’. (Linn) is our fastest player, and that’s why we made the move.”
In the second half, the Warriors (3-1-0) showed why they’re ranked 15th in the Top 25. Deerfield brought more urgency and physicality to the pitch after halftime. But momentum didn’t truly swing the Warriors’ way until a key exchange at the 50-minute mark.
Less than a minute after Morgan cleared a shot off the line, Deerfield cut the Mustangs’ lead in half when Killoren got behind the defense and ran down a through-ball as Metea Valley keeper Myah Schoolman charged out at her.
Killoren got a piece of the ball first and ran it down near the end line on the left side as Schoolman raced back to her line and the Mustangs defenders backtracked. Killoren quickly cut back to her right and fired inside the far post at 51 minutes.
From there, Deerfield earned a 4-2 edge in shots on net with Schoolman handling a Killoren free kick and later a Killoren one-hopper fired from 18 yards.
“They scored that first goal, got some momentum, and they really wanted it,” Senese said. “You could see it in their play.”
For Morgan, it was soccer’s great intangible that lifted her Warriors.
“It was our intensity. We definitely picked it up,” Morgan said. “Once we got one play moving forward, we figured it out and then everybody got on the same page. We figured out our seams from the back to the midfielders and the forwards, and we started to put on some pressure.
“In the second half we started really going into tackles. (Grady) told us at halftime that we had to step it up and everybody really did.”
Grady applauded Morris’ aggressive play off her line in the second half and liked what he got from his girls on Wednesday.
“We played much better,” Grady said. “We started the game a little intimidated, or on the back foot or whatever, but they’re learning right now that if we put two halves like that together it might be a different story. So it’s a good learning experience.”
In the face of Deerfield’s more prominent attack in the second half, Metea Valley showed that it’s more than the sum total of its attack. While upperclassmen make up most of the Mustangs’ offense, the defense features a core of young players with varsity experience who were able to limit clean looks on net against Deerfield’s increased pressure in the second half.
Sophomore keeper Schoolman took over in the second half for classmate and starter Nikki Coryell. Sophomores Paige Buranosky and Nicole Dawson started as central defenders with freshman Katy Flanders on the outside.
The veteran of Wednesday’s starting backline, junior outside defender Kaiya Hansen, twice broke up deep, dangerous runs by Deerfield’s Riley Halpern.
“A lot of them were big contributors, and we have young girls that are hungry to carry on the tradition,” Whaley said of his young players in back. “We’re excited, and these girls are excited to play. And you know you’re going to get a good effort out of these girls in every game.”
Starting lineups
Metea Valley
GK Nikki Coryell
D Katy Flanders
D Paige Buranosky
D Nicole Dawson
D Kaiya Hansen
M Chesney Wargo
M Sophia Senese
M Lauryn Wesoloski
M Charlotte Ives
F Maeve Riordan
F Kayla Hurst
Deerfield
GK Karley Morris
D Ashley Morgan
D Sydney Fleishman
D Emma Pelz
D Shayna Wood
M Haley Emory
M Malori Killoren
M Devyn Compisi
M Riley Halpern
F Samantha Linn
F Chloe Cappas
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Sophia Senese, sr., MF, Metea Valley
Scoring summary
First half
Metea Valley -- Senese (Wargo); Senese (Riordan)
Second half
Deerfield: Killoren (UA)