Jones shuts out Northside
in coaching friendly
4-0 win gives Bylsma upper hand fover former teammate Albritton
By Michael Wojtychiw
CHICAGO -- Derek Bylsma and Robert Albritton have been lifelong friends. The two grew up together in the Ann Arbor (Mich.) area, played club soccer together and competed on the same school teams. In college they became friendly rivals when Bylsma enrolled at the University of Wisconsin and Albritton went to the University of Michigan.
Now the two find themselves coaching at two of the city's premier selective enrollment schools -- Bylsma leads Jones, and Albritton pilots Northside.
"We've stayed friends,” said Bylsma. “He was the best man at my wedding; our families are friends. It's really great.
"We talk and text; so, there's always a little bit of a rivalry between us."
"It's a lot of fun,” Northside’s Albritton said. “When we play against each other, usually we have our families out here too.
“We played together since seventh grade, went to high school together, played against each other in college. Now coaching against each other, it's always fun.
"At this point, it's more about us helping each other out."
The two have such a great relationship that not even wind chills in the 20-degree range could stop their teams from facing off at Jones' field in the Chinatown neighborhood Saturday morning.
And as it has been the last three times the teams met, the Eagles pulled away for a 4-0 win. It was their first victory of the season.
"He's an excellent coach," the Northside manager said of Bylsma. "What he's done with this program is remarkable. We used to beat them by a lot of goals, but that was before he came here. That's not the case anymore, and it's because he's turned the program around."
Bylsma started his Jones club off this season with games against Lyons and Hinsdale Central in the City-Suburbs Connect Invitational and then met St. Ignatius in a nonconference game. The matches didn’t yield wins but gave the team a bit of perspective on what they need to do to be successful.
The goal-less prequels to the Northside victory frustrated the Eagles.
Junior Carolina Rondelli, a member of Chicagoland Soccer's All-State Watch List in 2021, did something about it. She was named Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match after scoring a brace.
"We learned that we have to fight and work harder than everyone. We are a team that if we work hard, we play well," the midfielder said. "We wanted to attack right away today.
“We hadn't scored before, and we knew if we played together we can score. Once you get there, it gets a lot easier for you; and the pressure is off."
"Our first three games were the hardest three games we've played to start the season," said Bylsma. "We played a higher level, because I wanted to prepare us for later in the season. With the injuries we've encountered it kind of backfired, but we'll be ok.
"The transition of incorporating the new players has been a little challenging. It takes a little bit of time, and the girls have been thrown into the fire.
“We have a culture where we're a hardworking, intense team. Some of the newer players weren't used to the intensity and physicality of the varsity game. They're now getting used to that."
Neither team started off doing much at the beginning of the game until Jones rattled off three quick corners and a couple shots that went just wide.
The Eagles converted their fourth corner when defender Patricia Felder knocked in a Mia McRoberts delivery. The shot from just in front of the goal came in the 25th minute.
"I usually position myself farther back so I can make a curved run in," Felder said. "The ball went over Carolina's head, and I was able to put it right in."
Less than 10 minutes later, Jones added another when Maia Lane put a shot toward goal that looked as if it hit off of a Northside defender before going in.
Jones continued to put pressure on the Northside defense early in the second half. Rondelli tallied her first in the 54th minute and then ended the scoring in the closing minutes of the match.
"We play three in the back, and we got lucky that they were only playing one forward. So, we played two in the back," Felder said. "Our outside backs were able to play up. So, we had players to step up in the middle and take those opportunities away, but they could also drop back if needed as well."
The score would have been much more decisive if it hadn't been for the play of Northside keeper Angelina Vazquez. The rookie had seven saves on the day.
"She's a freshman and, especially at a selective enrollment school, when a player like her shows up at your door, it's like Christmas," Albritton said. "She was outstanding today. Playing in goal in a game like this weather-wise is terrible and to be able to rise to the occasion like this, it's really impressive."
Jones loss of several key players from last year's squad has meant that it is still looking for the right combinations and some players to step up into different roles. That's one reason Bylsma set up the early part of the nonconference schedule the way he did.
And it doesn't get easier for Jones.
After opening Premier Division play with a 6-2 win Monday against Hancock, the Eagles (2-2-1, 1-0-0) face Young (Wednesday) and 13th-ranked Lane (April 4) in huge back-to-back conference matches. The Eagles will definitely know where they stand three games into league competition.
"Lane is always good and Whitney Young too, and they're especially great this year,” said Bylsma. “We'll see what we're made of right away.
“Our goal is to make it in the top four, and I think we'll be a much better team at the end of the year. We just want to set ourselves up for the opportunity to be a great team at the end of the year."
"We learned a lot from the first couple games,” Felder said. “Especially positioning because this was the first time we were playing three in the back.
"We didn't get the runs we wanted in the first couple games, but they also helped us figure out what we need to do to be successful, especially with conference coming up."
Starting lineups
Northside
GK: Angelina Vazquez
D: Allie Roubik
D: Rachel Yosowitz
D: Erika Sanchez
D: Rosie Palacios
MF: Madeline Reed-Horn
MF: Sofia Migon
MF: Greta Grecious
W: Vanessa Skipper
W: Giselle Figueroa
S: Grace Monago
Jones
GK: Nicole Leon
D: Ari Lopez
D: Patricia Felder
D: Maia Lane
D: Mari Hamada
MF: Olivia Bahrmasel
MF: Carolina Rondelli
MF: Claire Wennink
MF: Morgan Scott
F: Mia McRoberts
F: Sanai Wright
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Carolina Rondelli, jr., MF, Jones
Scoring summary
First half
Jones - Patricia Felder (Mia McRoberts corner kick), 25th minute
Jones - Maia Lane (unassisted), 34th minute
Second half
Jones - Carolina Rondelli (Morgan Scott), 54th minute
Jones - Rondelli (Eleanor Ceraso), 78th minute
in coaching friendly
4-0 win gives Bylsma upper hand fover former teammate Albritton
By Michael Wojtychiw
CHICAGO -- Derek Bylsma and Robert Albritton have been lifelong friends. The two grew up together in the Ann Arbor (Mich.) area, played club soccer together and competed on the same school teams. In college they became friendly rivals when Bylsma enrolled at the University of Wisconsin and Albritton went to the University of Michigan.
Now the two find themselves coaching at two of the city's premier selective enrollment schools -- Bylsma leads Jones, and Albritton pilots Northside.
"We've stayed friends,” said Bylsma. “He was the best man at my wedding; our families are friends. It's really great.
"We talk and text; so, there's always a little bit of a rivalry between us."
"It's a lot of fun,” Northside’s Albritton said. “When we play against each other, usually we have our families out here too.
“We played together since seventh grade, went to high school together, played against each other in college. Now coaching against each other, it's always fun.
"At this point, it's more about us helping each other out."
The two have such a great relationship that not even wind chills in the 20-degree range could stop their teams from facing off at Jones' field in the Chinatown neighborhood Saturday morning.
And as it has been the last three times the teams met, the Eagles pulled away for a 4-0 win. It was their first victory of the season.
"He's an excellent coach," the Northside manager said of Bylsma. "What he's done with this program is remarkable. We used to beat them by a lot of goals, but that was before he came here. That's not the case anymore, and it's because he's turned the program around."
Bylsma started his Jones club off this season with games against Lyons and Hinsdale Central in the City-Suburbs Connect Invitational and then met St. Ignatius in a nonconference game. The matches didn’t yield wins but gave the team a bit of perspective on what they need to do to be successful.
The goal-less prequels to the Northside victory frustrated the Eagles.
Junior Carolina Rondelli, a member of Chicagoland Soccer's All-State Watch List in 2021, did something about it. She was named Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match after scoring a brace.
"We learned that we have to fight and work harder than everyone. We are a team that if we work hard, we play well," the midfielder said. "We wanted to attack right away today.
“We hadn't scored before, and we knew if we played together we can score. Once you get there, it gets a lot easier for you; and the pressure is off."
"Our first three games were the hardest three games we've played to start the season," said Bylsma. "We played a higher level, because I wanted to prepare us for later in the season. With the injuries we've encountered it kind of backfired, but we'll be ok.
"The transition of incorporating the new players has been a little challenging. It takes a little bit of time, and the girls have been thrown into the fire.
“We have a culture where we're a hardworking, intense team. Some of the newer players weren't used to the intensity and physicality of the varsity game. They're now getting used to that."
Neither team started off doing much at the beginning of the game until Jones rattled off three quick corners and a couple shots that went just wide.
The Eagles converted their fourth corner when defender Patricia Felder knocked in a Mia McRoberts delivery. The shot from just in front of the goal came in the 25th minute.
"I usually position myself farther back so I can make a curved run in," Felder said. "The ball went over Carolina's head, and I was able to put it right in."
Less than 10 minutes later, Jones added another when Maia Lane put a shot toward goal that looked as if it hit off of a Northside defender before going in.
Jones continued to put pressure on the Northside defense early in the second half. Rondelli tallied her first in the 54th minute and then ended the scoring in the closing minutes of the match.
"We play three in the back, and we got lucky that they were only playing one forward. So, we played two in the back," Felder said. "Our outside backs were able to play up. So, we had players to step up in the middle and take those opportunities away, but they could also drop back if needed as well."
The score would have been much more decisive if it hadn't been for the play of Northside keeper Angelina Vazquez. The rookie had seven saves on the day.
"She's a freshman and, especially at a selective enrollment school, when a player like her shows up at your door, it's like Christmas," Albritton said. "She was outstanding today. Playing in goal in a game like this weather-wise is terrible and to be able to rise to the occasion like this, it's really impressive."
Jones loss of several key players from last year's squad has meant that it is still looking for the right combinations and some players to step up into different roles. That's one reason Bylsma set up the early part of the nonconference schedule the way he did.
And it doesn't get easier for Jones.
After opening Premier Division play with a 6-2 win Monday against Hancock, the Eagles (2-2-1, 1-0-0) face Young (Wednesday) and 13th-ranked Lane (April 4) in huge back-to-back conference matches. The Eagles will definitely know where they stand three games into league competition.
"Lane is always good and Whitney Young too, and they're especially great this year,” said Bylsma. “We'll see what we're made of right away.
“Our goal is to make it in the top four, and I think we'll be a much better team at the end of the year. We just want to set ourselves up for the opportunity to be a great team at the end of the year."
"We learned a lot from the first couple games,” Felder said. “Especially positioning because this was the first time we were playing three in the back.
"We didn't get the runs we wanted in the first couple games, but they also helped us figure out what we need to do to be successful, especially with conference coming up."
Starting lineups
Northside
GK: Angelina Vazquez
D: Allie Roubik
D: Rachel Yosowitz
D: Erika Sanchez
D: Rosie Palacios
MF: Madeline Reed-Horn
MF: Sofia Migon
MF: Greta Grecious
W: Vanessa Skipper
W: Giselle Figueroa
S: Grace Monago
Jones
GK: Nicole Leon
D: Ari Lopez
D: Patricia Felder
D: Maia Lane
D: Mari Hamada
MF: Olivia Bahrmasel
MF: Carolina Rondelli
MF: Claire Wennink
MF: Morgan Scott
F: Mia McRoberts
F: Sanai Wright
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Carolina Rondelli, jr., MF, Jones
Scoring summary
First half
Jones - Patricia Felder (Mia McRoberts corner kick), 25th minute
Jones - Maia Lane (unassisted), 34th minute
Second half
Jones - Carolina Rondelli (Morgan Scott), 54th minute
Jones - Rondelli (Eleanor Ceraso), 78th minute