Glenbrook South sequence
dooms Niles West
Noe’s second half goal gives Titans 1-0 CSL South win
By Gary Larsen
GLENVIEW — The anatomy of the game’s lone goal in Glenbrook South’s 1-0 win over Niles West on Monday fit neatly into a 10-second sequence: Elaina to Audrey to Lilly to Meghan.
Senior captain Elaina Maris started things off, four minutes into the second half of a scoreless game. She fought her way through and around a handful of defenders with the ball at her feet, before reaching the top of the box and laying it off to her right.
For the game’s first 40 minutes, Maris had helped key a first half that saw Glenbrook South dominate in possession and shots but fail to score. The Titans found feet and moved the ball well but couldn’t find a quality look on net due to Niles West's solidly played defensive third.
Still, it was South’s ability to work the ball up the field and find dangerous crosses and serves that stood out.
“This is our first year playing together and a lot of us are new to varsity, but we’re finally learning to play with each other and trust each other when we’re making passes,” Maris said. “That’s definitely starting to improve our style of play.
“We had possession of the ball for the majority of the game, and we’ve improved on our ability to pass it around. We were able to make a lot of connections throughout the game.”
The second player in the game's pivotal scoring sequence was Audrey Langenbach. When she received the ball from Maris deep on the right side, Langenbach had already established herself as one of the most dangerous players on the field.
The sophomore outside midfielder reached the end line consistently throughout the contest, sending a good handful of quality serves to the goalmouth and to the far post.
“Audrey is definitely the fastest one on the team and can just blow by people,” junior Lilly O’Rourke said. “She’s really nice to have as an outlet on the outside, and she makes good through-balls in. And that’s how we got our opportunity.”
Langenbach jab-stepped toward the end line and then cut it back to her left foot before sending a low serve towards a crowd at the near post.
Langenbach's serve reached O’Rourke, six yards off the post with her back to the goal for the third stop along the way to the game's lone goal. O'Rourke could have tried to turn on the ball and take a shot but instead, she made the most important decision of the game.
“I knew I wasn’t going to be able to turn the (defender), so I gave it to Meghan, who was wide open,” O’Rourke said. “I was glad to get it off my foot, because there were a couple girls on me. They kind of left Meghan open.”
O'Rourke's two-yard touch pass set up the fourth and final step of the scoring sequence. Meghan Noe teed up O'Rourke's touch-pass, calmly took a swipe at it, and buried the shot to the back of the net. O’Rourke’s wise, split-second decision earned her Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors.
South coach Mark Daniels approved.
“It doesn’t have to be a rocket to the upper 90. Just get it in front of the goalmouth and if you don’t have a good shot, lay it off to someone else just like Lilly did,” Daniels said.
“After that goal, we just had to watch for the counter. It was ‘Don’t dive in; don’t foul; keep them in front of you, and we’ll be fine.’”
A goal can often wake up the team that concedes that goal, and the Titans' tally certainly roused Niles West (3-9-0, 0-7-0).
Niles West’s Maja Applequist proved dangerous deep up the left side, and it was her serve to the goalmouth that provided the Wolves with a monumental scoring chance.
Applequist’s cross at 66 minutes found the turf in front of teammate Julia Crete, about eight yards from keeper Bella Crist. Luckily for Glenbrook South, senior Olivia DeMattia was on the spot to break up the play and clear the ball away.
Niles West sent a few free kicks in from within 40 yards in its search for the equalizer and showed well in chasing a one-goal deficit.
The Wolves start five freshmen and a sophomore, so the learning curve has been steep, but head coach Milo Cejovic was pleased with his girls’ response to their 1-0 deficit.
“They’re starting to have some belief in themselves, and they’re taking more of what we’re coaching to heart,” Cejovic said. “They turned it up today when that goal happened. It’s unfortunate we waited until that goal was scored, but that’s how it goes sometimes.”
Another bright spot for Niles West was senior central defender Danielle Boudakh, who played well in the face of Glenbrook South’s pressure.
“Danielle Boudakh has been really good. She usually plays defensive mid, but she can play center back, and that’s something we’ve been missing,” Cejovic said. “She’s done a real good job organizing back there, and she’s been our standout player.
“Today Maja Applequist played well in the second half. Against Maine South Mia Cejovic played well, but our one real stalwart player this year has been Danielle Boudakh.”
Glenbrook South's O’Rourke, Langenbach, Maris, Noe, Bella Gemignani, DeMattia, Dani Stadler all contributed to the sustained pressure applied to the Wolves’ defense.
The Titans backline of Kaley Flentye, Heather Sunderstrom, Ashley Criss and Anna Durow kept the slate clean in front of keeper Crist. Monday’s win marked South’s first shutout of the season.
“Anna Durow and Ashley Ciss have been real solid in back, and they’re basically playing out of position,” Daniels said. “They’re really center mids, but we need them back there. They can challenge the ball, read the play and react, and they’re smart and able to cover. We can count on them back there.”
With a large core of first-year varsity juniors who were freshmen during the last girls’ soccer season played in 2019, senior captains Stadler, Maris, Anya Gupta and goalkeeper Maggie Ryan have done a quality job of leading a young team through a difficult season.
“We’re trying to stay positive so I think having fun has been one of the biggest components this year,” Maris said. “Today we could have finished a lot more, because we had a lot of opportunities. But overall, I thought we played strong.”
Glenbrook South (3-10-3, 3-3-2) followed Monday’s win with a come-from-behind 3-2 win at Maine South on Tuesday. South goals came from Noe, DeMattia and Ashley Kay, with Maris and Durow notching assists in the win.
Starting lineups
Niles West
GK Marina Stellatos
D Mia Koebert
D Delaney Gin
D Danielle Boudakh
D Tina Sajic
MF Maja Applequist
MF Ela Kinaci
MF Jillian Rudin
MF Megan Gartner
MF Julia Cretu
F Mia Cejovic
Glenbrook South
GK Bella Crist
D Ashley Ciss
D Kaley Flentye
D Anna Durow
D Heather Sundstrom
MF Dani Stadler
MF Audrey Langenbach
MF Elaina Maris
MF Lilly O’Rourke
F Bella Gemignani
F Meghan Noe
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match — Lilly O’Rourke, jr., MF, Glenbrook South
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Glenbrook South — Noe (O’Rourke), 44 minutes
dooms Niles West
Noe’s second half goal gives Titans 1-0 CSL South win
By Gary Larsen
GLENVIEW — The anatomy of the game’s lone goal in Glenbrook South’s 1-0 win over Niles West on Monday fit neatly into a 10-second sequence: Elaina to Audrey to Lilly to Meghan.
Senior captain Elaina Maris started things off, four minutes into the second half of a scoreless game. She fought her way through and around a handful of defenders with the ball at her feet, before reaching the top of the box and laying it off to her right.
For the game’s first 40 minutes, Maris had helped key a first half that saw Glenbrook South dominate in possession and shots but fail to score. The Titans found feet and moved the ball well but couldn’t find a quality look on net due to Niles West's solidly played defensive third.
Still, it was South’s ability to work the ball up the field and find dangerous crosses and serves that stood out.
“This is our first year playing together and a lot of us are new to varsity, but we’re finally learning to play with each other and trust each other when we’re making passes,” Maris said. “That’s definitely starting to improve our style of play.
“We had possession of the ball for the majority of the game, and we’ve improved on our ability to pass it around. We were able to make a lot of connections throughout the game.”
The second player in the game's pivotal scoring sequence was Audrey Langenbach. When she received the ball from Maris deep on the right side, Langenbach had already established herself as one of the most dangerous players on the field.
The sophomore outside midfielder reached the end line consistently throughout the contest, sending a good handful of quality serves to the goalmouth and to the far post.
“Audrey is definitely the fastest one on the team and can just blow by people,” junior Lilly O’Rourke said. “She’s really nice to have as an outlet on the outside, and she makes good through-balls in. And that’s how we got our opportunity.”
Langenbach jab-stepped toward the end line and then cut it back to her left foot before sending a low serve towards a crowd at the near post.
Langenbach's serve reached O’Rourke, six yards off the post with her back to the goal for the third stop along the way to the game's lone goal. O'Rourke could have tried to turn on the ball and take a shot but instead, she made the most important decision of the game.
“I knew I wasn’t going to be able to turn the (defender), so I gave it to Meghan, who was wide open,” O’Rourke said. “I was glad to get it off my foot, because there were a couple girls on me. They kind of left Meghan open.”
O'Rourke's two-yard touch pass set up the fourth and final step of the scoring sequence. Meghan Noe teed up O'Rourke's touch-pass, calmly took a swipe at it, and buried the shot to the back of the net. O’Rourke’s wise, split-second decision earned her Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors.
South coach Mark Daniels approved.
“It doesn’t have to be a rocket to the upper 90. Just get it in front of the goalmouth and if you don’t have a good shot, lay it off to someone else just like Lilly did,” Daniels said.
“After that goal, we just had to watch for the counter. It was ‘Don’t dive in; don’t foul; keep them in front of you, and we’ll be fine.’”
A goal can often wake up the team that concedes that goal, and the Titans' tally certainly roused Niles West (3-9-0, 0-7-0).
Niles West’s Maja Applequist proved dangerous deep up the left side, and it was her serve to the goalmouth that provided the Wolves with a monumental scoring chance.
Applequist’s cross at 66 minutes found the turf in front of teammate Julia Crete, about eight yards from keeper Bella Crist. Luckily for Glenbrook South, senior Olivia DeMattia was on the spot to break up the play and clear the ball away.
Niles West sent a few free kicks in from within 40 yards in its search for the equalizer and showed well in chasing a one-goal deficit.
The Wolves start five freshmen and a sophomore, so the learning curve has been steep, but head coach Milo Cejovic was pleased with his girls’ response to their 1-0 deficit.
“They’re starting to have some belief in themselves, and they’re taking more of what we’re coaching to heart,” Cejovic said. “They turned it up today when that goal happened. It’s unfortunate we waited until that goal was scored, but that’s how it goes sometimes.”
Another bright spot for Niles West was senior central defender Danielle Boudakh, who played well in the face of Glenbrook South’s pressure.
“Danielle Boudakh has been really good. She usually plays defensive mid, but she can play center back, and that’s something we’ve been missing,” Cejovic said. “She’s done a real good job organizing back there, and she’s been our standout player.
“Today Maja Applequist played well in the second half. Against Maine South Mia Cejovic played well, but our one real stalwart player this year has been Danielle Boudakh.”
Glenbrook South's O’Rourke, Langenbach, Maris, Noe, Bella Gemignani, DeMattia, Dani Stadler all contributed to the sustained pressure applied to the Wolves’ defense.
The Titans backline of Kaley Flentye, Heather Sunderstrom, Ashley Criss and Anna Durow kept the slate clean in front of keeper Crist. Monday’s win marked South’s first shutout of the season.
“Anna Durow and Ashley Ciss have been real solid in back, and they’re basically playing out of position,” Daniels said. “They’re really center mids, but we need them back there. They can challenge the ball, read the play and react, and they’re smart and able to cover. We can count on them back there.”
With a large core of first-year varsity juniors who were freshmen during the last girls’ soccer season played in 2019, senior captains Stadler, Maris, Anya Gupta and goalkeeper Maggie Ryan have done a quality job of leading a young team through a difficult season.
“We’re trying to stay positive so I think having fun has been one of the biggest components this year,” Maris said. “Today we could have finished a lot more, because we had a lot of opportunities. But overall, I thought we played strong.”
Glenbrook South (3-10-3, 3-3-2) followed Monday’s win with a come-from-behind 3-2 win at Maine South on Tuesday. South goals came from Noe, DeMattia and Ashley Kay, with Maris and Durow notching assists in the win.
Starting lineups
Niles West
GK Marina Stellatos
D Mia Koebert
D Delaney Gin
D Danielle Boudakh
D Tina Sajic
MF Maja Applequist
MF Ela Kinaci
MF Jillian Rudin
MF Megan Gartner
MF Julia Cretu
F Mia Cejovic
Glenbrook South
GK Bella Crist
D Ashley Ciss
D Kaley Flentye
D Anna Durow
D Heather Sundstrom
MF Dani Stadler
MF Audrey Langenbach
MF Elaina Maris
MF Lilly O’Rourke
F Bella Gemignani
F Meghan Noe
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match — Lilly O’Rourke, jr., MF, Glenbrook South
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Glenbrook South — Noe (O’Rourke), 44 minutes