Weaver wonderful in New Trier win
2nd half brace delivers share of CSL lead, hands Titans 1st loss
By Mike Garofola
GLENVIEW -- New Trier showed renewed life in its quest to reach the last weekend of the soccer season.
Emma Weaver was on target twice in the second half as the Trevians handed Glenbrook South (8-1-3, 2-1-0) its first loss of the season in a 3-0 road win at John Davis Stadium. The result created a tie atop Central Suburban League South Division table, but the Trevians (6-0-2, 2-0-0) have a game in hand.
The build-up to Tuesday's contest started with Glenbrook South, which is ranked third in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, lifting the championship trophy of the Lou Malanti's Deep Dish Classic last Saturday in New Trier's home park. The win helped the Titans leapfrog over the previously second ranked and currently no. 4 Trevians.
It was there in Northfield where Weaver, Lily Conley and several of their teammates could only watch from the stands as the Glenbrook South battled fellow league rival and eighth-ranked Evanston. Glenbrook South took the title with a 1-0 win.
"All of us feel like it should have been (us) in that final, especially when it was being played at our own place. So that was all the motivation we needed coming out here today," said Weaver.
The sophomore was an easy choice as Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match, not only for her second half double, but also with the way she brought pace and persistence on the flank, particularly in the first half where she gave the Trevians another dimension in their attack.
"We came to play tonight. And when we do, we can play with anybody," Weaver said.
Conley exhibited a great sense of timing. She sped up the transition from defending to attacking with composure and patience, which was a key ingredient in the middle of the park for the Trevians. It helped the visitors bring this game under control.
"We had a great start tonight, and scoring that first goal of the game really helped us get going for the rest of the game," said the softspoken Conley.
Glenbrook South manager Seong Ha, who knew his club was in for a tough test, got an early taste of what was in store when the Trevians broke out on their front feet. Titan's star keeper Libbie Vanderveen was tested on a point-blank effort from Nell Martin sixty seconds into the match.
"We played some of our best soccer against several quality opponents leading up to this game, but none of them present the type of problems that New Trier brings," said Ha, who opened with a 5-4-1 formation with the hope that sitting deep and dropping numbers from his midfield would make it difficult for the Trevians to unlock his club's defense.
New Trier was ready.
"We learned a lot by watching them in their final last Saturday against Evanston, so we weren't really surprised with the way they came out with five along the back," said Weaver.
Glenbrook South's Makayla Stadler, a wonderfully gifted player who possesses all of the traits of a deadly, first class scorer, nimble playmaker and box-to-box machine, was at the heart of a potentially dangerous opportunity for the Titans when she connected with Julia DeSano, who in turn put Katie Weiss through and into the box.
New Trier junior keeper Megan Dwyer would have none of that in her area and asserted herself nicely with a strong challenge off her line to smother the attempt by Weiss, who scored the game-winner in the Malnati's final.
Moments later, Whitney Hoban gave New Trier the lead.
Victoria Flannagan initiated the Hoban strike at eight minutes with a long throw to Nicole Kaspi, who found her unmarked teammate far away from the top of the box.
Hoban had enough time to tee up her attempt, a blistering 30-yard blast that flew by the outstretched gloves of Vanderveen.
"You never want to concede an early goal and begin to chase the game, especially against a team like New Trier," began Ha.
"But I liked the way we battled back and got ourselves back into the game. And that desire and overall effort the girls put forth is something I was most proud of."
Glenbrook South tried to answer immediately. A terrific early ball from Weiss to Ellie Flowers was stopped cold by the Trevians backline. A corner created by the trio of Stadler, Lauren Meier and DiSano followed.
Stadler forced Dwyer into action with a shot on frame. It signaled the start of an intense, pulsating final 25 minutes of first half action, much to the delight of the many fans who braved yet another bone-chilling April evening.
There was plenty of up-and-down action. The game came to life with crafty and creative play, plus several quality runs, which were a joy to watch.
New Trier attacked the home side with conviction and tactical purpose, taking advantage of the Titans desire to clog the middle with numbers. The Trevians played wide, mostly to Weaver, who went about disrupting the Glenbrook South midfield with enterprising runs and carries.
"We wanted to use width to stretch Glenbrook South," said Trevians manager Jim Burnside. "When we got the ball to Emma (Weaver), we were able to do that, which in turn really helped us attack and put them under pressure.
"Emma is such a dynamic player, and one who is like a sponge because she always want to learn and improve. And tonight she found out why we want her playing wide when she's an outside (mid) and how much she means to our attack."
Burnside and his staff held its collective breathe when the Titans produced a sensational Stadler-led counter up the left side. She played a brilliant inch-perfect ball to Weiss on the tail-end of her center channel run.
The helper exposed an open net at the back post, but Weiss steered her six-yard strike over the bar.
This 29th-minute miss cost the Titans the chance to equalize and allowed the Trevians faithful to exhale.
"If we get back even, maybe it's a different game. Who knows?" Ha said as his voice trailed off.
Before and after the chance, New Trier heaped pressure on its hosts and created a handful of deep throws and corners to create conditions in which the Trevians thrive.
Still the game went to half at 1-0.
"It was a great first half of soccer, but New Trier really tightened things up against us, not only in the midfield, but also in the back where they really got themselves organized to make it difficult for us to create much at all," said Ha.
New Trier presents a physical presence on both sides of the ball and rarely backs off from challenges in 50-50, first- and second-ball, or in the air situations.
One such exchange came nine minutes into the second half when Nicole Kaspi sent a well-aimed ball into the box with the hope of finding Grace Walker.
Vanderveen got to the ball first, but Walker and her mark, Glenbrook South backline star Katie Sullivan, didn't give up on the play and ran her over at the spot, leaving the fearless keeper, worse-for-wear but still in possession of the ball.
The Trevians back four of Caroline Iserloth, Martin, Meredith Nassar and Sydney Parker has the speed and strength to unsettle anyone, with veterans Iserloth and Parker capable of sending accurate balls out of the back to add that something extra into the attack.
This quartet conceded very little after the intermission, except for the Titans best chance of the half. Once again it was Flowers, who just missed catching up to a superb pass from Dana Steffen at the back post.
Weaver followed with the first of her insurance policies.
She drifted to her right before driving a 22-yarder the other way to find a small opening inside the far post that doubled the advantage at 68 minutes.
Less than a minute later, Weaver disposed of the hopes of the Titans. After a failure to clear, she finished through a congested area and past a helpless Vanderveen, who had no chance to stop the close-range shot.
"This was a typical New Trier-GBS game," said Burnside. "(We) know each other; we've played each other so many times. And it's never easy against a team coached by Seong.
"This spring has been so fractured because of the weather and cancellations, but tonight we began to see us get into a bit of a nice rhythm.
"I thought we did last week against St. Francis at the tournament, but tonight, we played like we know we can play. And if we continue that way, we'll be ready when the playoffs get going."
The Trevians have a busy stretch ahead of them. It begins with group play in the Naperville Invitational with games against site host Oak Park and River Forest on Friday, and versus Palatine on Saturday at Metea Valley. After a nonconference contest at home with no. 12 Libertyville on Monday, New Trier travels to Niles North for a league match Tuesday. The Trevians hope to conclude next week with quarterfinal, semifinal and championship berths April 26-28 in the Naperville Invitational.
Starting lineups
New Trier (4-5-1)
GK- Megan Dwyer
D- Nell Martin
D- Meredith Nassar
D- Sydney Parker
D- Caroline Iserloth
M- Whitney Hoban
M- Emma Weaver
M- Victoria Flannagan
M- Lily Conley
M- Grace Walker
F- Nicole Kaspi
Glenbrook South (5-4-1)
GK- Libbie Vanderveen
D- Jessica Peters
D- Challen Flaws
D- Christie Chrones
D- Katie Sullivan
D- Grace O'Brien
M- Julia DiSano
M- Lauren Meier
M- Makayla Stadler
M- Ellie Flowers
F- Katie Weiss
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Emma Weaver, so., M, New Trier
Referee: John Martlein
Scoring summary
First half
New Trier: Hoban (Kaspi) 8'
Second half
New Trier: Weaver (Kaspi) 68'
New Trier: Weaver (Hoban) 69'
2nd half brace delivers share of CSL lead, hands Titans 1st loss
By Mike Garofola
GLENVIEW -- New Trier showed renewed life in its quest to reach the last weekend of the soccer season.
Emma Weaver was on target twice in the second half as the Trevians handed Glenbrook South (8-1-3, 2-1-0) its first loss of the season in a 3-0 road win at John Davis Stadium. The result created a tie atop Central Suburban League South Division table, but the Trevians (6-0-2, 2-0-0) have a game in hand.
The build-up to Tuesday's contest started with Glenbrook South, which is ranked third in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, lifting the championship trophy of the Lou Malanti's Deep Dish Classic last Saturday in New Trier's home park. The win helped the Titans leapfrog over the previously second ranked and currently no. 4 Trevians.
It was there in Northfield where Weaver, Lily Conley and several of their teammates could only watch from the stands as the Glenbrook South battled fellow league rival and eighth-ranked Evanston. Glenbrook South took the title with a 1-0 win.
"All of us feel like it should have been (us) in that final, especially when it was being played at our own place. So that was all the motivation we needed coming out here today," said Weaver.
The sophomore was an easy choice as Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match, not only for her second half double, but also with the way she brought pace and persistence on the flank, particularly in the first half where she gave the Trevians another dimension in their attack.
"We came to play tonight. And when we do, we can play with anybody," Weaver said.
Conley exhibited a great sense of timing. She sped up the transition from defending to attacking with composure and patience, which was a key ingredient in the middle of the park for the Trevians. It helped the visitors bring this game under control.
"We had a great start tonight, and scoring that first goal of the game really helped us get going for the rest of the game," said the softspoken Conley.
Glenbrook South manager Seong Ha, who knew his club was in for a tough test, got an early taste of what was in store when the Trevians broke out on their front feet. Titan's star keeper Libbie Vanderveen was tested on a point-blank effort from Nell Martin sixty seconds into the match.
"We played some of our best soccer against several quality opponents leading up to this game, but none of them present the type of problems that New Trier brings," said Ha, who opened with a 5-4-1 formation with the hope that sitting deep and dropping numbers from his midfield would make it difficult for the Trevians to unlock his club's defense.
New Trier was ready.
"We learned a lot by watching them in their final last Saturday against Evanston, so we weren't really surprised with the way they came out with five along the back," said Weaver.
Glenbrook South's Makayla Stadler, a wonderfully gifted player who possesses all of the traits of a deadly, first class scorer, nimble playmaker and box-to-box machine, was at the heart of a potentially dangerous opportunity for the Titans when she connected with Julia DeSano, who in turn put Katie Weiss through and into the box.
New Trier junior keeper Megan Dwyer would have none of that in her area and asserted herself nicely with a strong challenge off her line to smother the attempt by Weiss, who scored the game-winner in the Malnati's final.
Moments later, Whitney Hoban gave New Trier the lead.
Victoria Flannagan initiated the Hoban strike at eight minutes with a long throw to Nicole Kaspi, who found her unmarked teammate far away from the top of the box.
Hoban had enough time to tee up her attempt, a blistering 30-yard blast that flew by the outstretched gloves of Vanderveen.
"You never want to concede an early goal and begin to chase the game, especially against a team like New Trier," began Ha.
"But I liked the way we battled back and got ourselves back into the game. And that desire and overall effort the girls put forth is something I was most proud of."
Glenbrook South tried to answer immediately. A terrific early ball from Weiss to Ellie Flowers was stopped cold by the Trevians backline. A corner created by the trio of Stadler, Lauren Meier and DiSano followed.
Stadler forced Dwyer into action with a shot on frame. It signaled the start of an intense, pulsating final 25 minutes of first half action, much to the delight of the many fans who braved yet another bone-chilling April evening.
There was plenty of up-and-down action. The game came to life with crafty and creative play, plus several quality runs, which were a joy to watch.
New Trier attacked the home side with conviction and tactical purpose, taking advantage of the Titans desire to clog the middle with numbers. The Trevians played wide, mostly to Weaver, who went about disrupting the Glenbrook South midfield with enterprising runs and carries.
"We wanted to use width to stretch Glenbrook South," said Trevians manager Jim Burnside. "When we got the ball to Emma (Weaver), we were able to do that, which in turn really helped us attack and put them under pressure.
"Emma is such a dynamic player, and one who is like a sponge because she always want to learn and improve. And tonight she found out why we want her playing wide when she's an outside (mid) and how much she means to our attack."
Burnside and his staff held its collective breathe when the Titans produced a sensational Stadler-led counter up the left side. She played a brilliant inch-perfect ball to Weiss on the tail-end of her center channel run.
The helper exposed an open net at the back post, but Weiss steered her six-yard strike over the bar.
This 29th-minute miss cost the Titans the chance to equalize and allowed the Trevians faithful to exhale.
"If we get back even, maybe it's a different game. Who knows?" Ha said as his voice trailed off.
Before and after the chance, New Trier heaped pressure on its hosts and created a handful of deep throws and corners to create conditions in which the Trevians thrive.
Still the game went to half at 1-0.
"It was a great first half of soccer, but New Trier really tightened things up against us, not only in the midfield, but also in the back where they really got themselves organized to make it difficult for us to create much at all," said Ha.
New Trier presents a physical presence on both sides of the ball and rarely backs off from challenges in 50-50, first- and second-ball, or in the air situations.
One such exchange came nine minutes into the second half when Nicole Kaspi sent a well-aimed ball into the box with the hope of finding Grace Walker.
Vanderveen got to the ball first, but Walker and her mark, Glenbrook South backline star Katie Sullivan, didn't give up on the play and ran her over at the spot, leaving the fearless keeper, worse-for-wear but still in possession of the ball.
The Trevians back four of Caroline Iserloth, Martin, Meredith Nassar and Sydney Parker has the speed and strength to unsettle anyone, with veterans Iserloth and Parker capable of sending accurate balls out of the back to add that something extra into the attack.
This quartet conceded very little after the intermission, except for the Titans best chance of the half. Once again it was Flowers, who just missed catching up to a superb pass from Dana Steffen at the back post.
Weaver followed with the first of her insurance policies.
She drifted to her right before driving a 22-yarder the other way to find a small opening inside the far post that doubled the advantage at 68 minutes.
Less than a minute later, Weaver disposed of the hopes of the Titans. After a failure to clear, she finished through a congested area and past a helpless Vanderveen, who had no chance to stop the close-range shot.
"This was a typical New Trier-GBS game," said Burnside. "(We) know each other; we've played each other so many times. And it's never easy against a team coached by Seong.
"This spring has been so fractured because of the weather and cancellations, but tonight we began to see us get into a bit of a nice rhythm.
"I thought we did last week against St. Francis at the tournament, but tonight, we played like we know we can play. And if we continue that way, we'll be ready when the playoffs get going."
The Trevians have a busy stretch ahead of them. It begins with group play in the Naperville Invitational with games against site host Oak Park and River Forest on Friday, and versus Palatine on Saturday at Metea Valley. After a nonconference contest at home with no. 12 Libertyville on Monday, New Trier travels to Niles North for a league match Tuesday. The Trevians hope to conclude next week with quarterfinal, semifinal and championship berths April 26-28 in the Naperville Invitational.
Starting lineups
New Trier (4-5-1)
GK- Megan Dwyer
D- Nell Martin
D- Meredith Nassar
D- Sydney Parker
D- Caroline Iserloth
M- Whitney Hoban
M- Emma Weaver
M- Victoria Flannagan
M- Lily Conley
M- Grace Walker
F- Nicole Kaspi
Glenbrook South (5-4-1)
GK- Libbie Vanderveen
D- Jessica Peters
D- Challen Flaws
D- Christie Chrones
D- Katie Sullivan
D- Grace O'Brien
M- Julia DiSano
M- Lauren Meier
M- Makayla Stadler
M- Ellie Flowers
F- Katie Weiss
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Emma Weaver, so., M, New Trier
Referee: John Martlein
Scoring summary
First half
New Trier: Hoban (Kaspi) 8'
Second half
New Trier: Weaver (Kaspi) 68'
New Trier: Weaver (Hoban) 69'