Fenwick 'family' celebrates
Senior Day vs. Providence
Friars’ 5-0 win over Celtics a team-wide affair
By Gary Larsen
OAK PARK — Ask a girl how many goals she has scored at any point during the season and odds are she won’t have a clue. Statistics never seem to mean much to girls, who tend to focus more on the team than on the individual.
Case in point: Fenwick’s Julianna Giuffre, who — after she struck twice in Thursday’s 5-0 win over visiting Providence — was asked if she knew what her season tally was.
Giuffre squinted her eyes in thought for a second. Then she answered. “I have no idea,” she said.
But ask her what she likes about this year’s Friars and Giuffre's answer comes easy and unconnected to their play on the field. Team unity is king among girls, and this year’s Friars have it.
“I just love how close we are,” she said. “We've done a lot of bonding and gotten really close this year.”
At 6-2-1 overall and 6-2-0 in the Red Division of the the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference, Fenwick has two games remaining against St. Ignatius and a nonconference match against Marist in its truncated, 12-game regular-season.
Game no. 9 brought Senior Day at Fenwick's home soccer pitch at Priory Park in River Forest into focus. Coach Craig Blazer started all nine of his seniors, who were honored at halftime.
Blazer is proud of what his seniors have done in a year marked by COVID-19.
“It’s so much fun for the group of nine student-athletes who have done a great job in what is just a challenging time for them and their friends,” Blazer said. “They also had AP exams today, so they’ve just got a lot on their minds. So every time we come out on the field we just want them to enjoy their time on the field.”
Senior captain Grace McGann has done exactly that.
“These are literally the best people I've ever met, and it's the smartest, friendliest group of girls you could have on one roster and all in the same grade,” McGann said. “I'm just so lucky to play with all of them.”
Giuffre got all of her scoring for the day done in the first half. She streaked up the right side to score the game’s first goal at 14 minutes on a feed from Courtney Yungman, and scored her second at 29 minutes on a cross from the left side sent by Kate Henige.
Julia Cianci scored at 31 minutes on Henige's second assist to make it 3-0 in a game the Friars maintained control of from start to finish.
Second half goals came from Henige at 54 minutes on a feed from Linden Gierstorf, and then from Lauren Hall off an Audrey Hinrichs assist at 63 minutes. A goal-and-two-assist performance earned Henige the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honor.
Blazer played his bench for much of a second half that remained spirited to the final buzzer.
Providence (1-11-0, 1-7-0) has struggled with injuries and absences this season. The Celtics only brought a handful of bench players to Thursday's game. But coach Chris Reed has never seen her girls hang their heads and stop fighting.
“We have a lot of hard-working girls,” Reed said. “I've never seen them quit in a game. We might be losing 5-0, but they won't quit. They all have great attitudes.”
Reed lauded junior Ryan Egofske and freshman Natalie DeMoor for their central defensive play, “and (defender) Hailey Wagner stepped up to play goalie when our goalie got 17 stitches in her face,” Reed said. “Our center mids, Grace Spesia and Brooke Geary play 80 minutes every game. They’re the heart and soul of the midfield.
“We've come a long way, and we've had a couple tough injuries. We've had two center back injuries so our defense has kind of struggled this year, but we've had a couple girls step up playing out of position that have really helped us on the backline.”
The home-and-away format played in the GCAC this year has been good to Fenwick. The Friars have swept three out of four of those series with two Red Division games remaining against St. Ignatius. The first is Friday in River Forest.
If it’s true that a team generally learns more about itself in a loss than it does in a win, then Fenwick gained valuable insight in two recent games against GCAC rival Loyola.
The Friars’ lone conference losses have come in 2-0 and 1-0 games against a Loyola team ranked no. 7 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. Fenwick is currently listed among 15 honorable mention teams.
Fenwick senior defender Courtney Yungerman — described as the toughest player on Fenwick’s backline during the halftime ceremony — saw team toughness gained from her side’s games against Loyola.
“Our defense really grew from that just because they were pressing so much, and our defense hasn't been tested as much,” Yungerman said. “And our offense learned that if it's a very defensive-heavy game that they have to shift back, too. Playing a team like Loyola exposes your cracks, and we've really been working on those.”
McGann — an inexhaustible outside mid — was pleased with the way her Friars played against Loyola.
“Loyola is an amazing team, and it was great to have that competition,” McGann said. “It was a great challenge to put what we've been working on with this new system to the test.
"The results didn't show it, but the fact that we were able to hold them to (one goal) in the second game, where their goal was off of a set piece, I was so proud of our team and everything that we did.”
Blazer started all nine of his seniors on Senior Day: McGann, Giuffre, Yungerman, Hall, Anna Bjorson, Emily Kapusta, Anna Mulcahy, Anna Dray, and Liz Blum. He has enjoyed watching this year’s Friars develop since the season began.
“We’re getting better every day,” Blazer said. “Just in the idea that there's one person on the ball, so what is everyone else doing? Get your team shape, get to your spots. They’re thinking in threes, they're dropping back and defending, and applying some big concepts like that.”
Starting lineups
Providence
GK Hailey Wagner
D Jenna Oldendorf
D Natalie DeMoor
D Nell McCabe
D Ryan Egofske
MF Maura Houlihan
MF Emma Kulpinski
MF Grace Spesia
MF Brooke Geary
F Mia Bilinski
F Kailey Wolniakowski
Fenwick
GK Lauren Hall
D Courtney Yungerman
D Abbie Rogowski
D Anna Bjorson
D Grace Kapsch
MF Emily Kapusta
MF Anna Dray
MF Liz Blum
MF Grace McGann
F Anna Mulcahy
F Julianna Giuffre
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Kate Henige, jr., MF, Fenwick
Scoring summary
First half
Fenwick — Giuffre (McGann) 14 minutes
Fenwick — Giuffre (K. Henige) 29 minutes
Fenwick — Julia Cianci (K. Henige) 31 minutes
Second half
Fenwick — K. Henige (Gierstorf) 54 minutes
Fenwick — Hall (Hinrichs) 63 minutes
Senior Day vs. Providence
Friars’ 5-0 win over Celtics a team-wide affair
By Gary Larsen
OAK PARK — Ask a girl how many goals she has scored at any point during the season and odds are she won’t have a clue. Statistics never seem to mean much to girls, who tend to focus more on the team than on the individual.
Case in point: Fenwick’s Julianna Giuffre, who — after she struck twice in Thursday’s 5-0 win over visiting Providence — was asked if she knew what her season tally was.
Giuffre squinted her eyes in thought for a second. Then she answered. “I have no idea,” she said.
But ask her what she likes about this year’s Friars and Giuffre's answer comes easy and unconnected to their play on the field. Team unity is king among girls, and this year’s Friars have it.
“I just love how close we are,” she said. “We've done a lot of bonding and gotten really close this year.”
At 6-2-1 overall and 6-2-0 in the Red Division of the the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference, Fenwick has two games remaining against St. Ignatius and a nonconference match against Marist in its truncated, 12-game regular-season.
Game no. 9 brought Senior Day at Fenwick's home soccer pitch at Priory Park in River Forest into focus. Coach Craig Blazer started all nine of his seniors, who were honored at halftime.
Blazer is proud of what his seniors have done in a year marked by COVID-19.
“It’s so much fun for the group of nine student-athletes who have done a great job in what is just a challenging time for them and their friends,” Blazer said. “They also had AP exams today, so they’ve just got a lot on their minds. So every time we come out on the field we just want them to enjoy their time on the field.”
Senior captain Grace McGann has done exactly that.
“These are literally the best people I've ever met, and it's the smartest, friendliest group of girls you could have on one roster and all in the same grade,” McGann said. “I'm just so lucky to play with all of them.”
Giuffre got all of her scoring for the day done in the first half. She streaked up the right side to score the game’s first goal at 14 minutes on a feed from Courtney Yungman, and scored her second at 29 minutes on a cross from the left side sent by Kate Henige.
Julia Cianci scored at 31 minutes on Henige's second assist to make it 3-0 in a game the Friars maintained control of from start to finish.
Second half goals came from Henige at 54 minutes on a feed from Linden Gierstorf, and then from Lauren Hall off an Audrey Hinrichs assist at 63 minutes. A goal-and-two-assist performance earned Henige the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honor.
Blazer played his bench for much of a second half that remained spirited to the final buzzer.
Providence (1-11-0, 1-7-0) has struggled with injuries and absences this season. The Celtics only brought a handful of bench players to Thursday's game. But coach Chris Reed has never seen her girls hang their heads and stop fighting.
“We have a lot of hard-working girls,” Reed said. “I've never seen them quit in a game. We might be losing 5-0, but they won't quit. They all have great attitudes.”
Reed lauded junior Ryan Egofske and freshman Natalie DeMoor for their central defensive play, “and (defender) Hailey Wagner stepped up to play goalie when our goalie got 17 stitches in her face,” Reed said. “Our center mids, Grace Spesia and Brooke Geary play 80 minutes every game. They’re the heart and soul of the midfield.
“We've come a long way, and we've had a couple tough injuries. We've had two center back injuries so our defense has kind of struggled this year, but we've had a couple girls step up playing out of position that have really helped us on the backline.”
The home-and-away format played in the GCAC this year has been good to Fenwick. The Friars have swept three out of four of those series with two Red Division games remaining against St. Ignatius. The first is Friday in River Forest.
If it’s true that a team generally learns more about itself in a loss than it does in a win, then Fenwick gained valuable insight in two recent games against GCAC rival Loyola.
The Friars’ lone conference losses have come in 2-0 and 1-0 games against a Loyola team ranked no. 7 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. Fenwick is currently listed among 15 honorable mention teams.
Fenwick senior defender Courtney Yungerman — described as the toughest player on Fenwick’s backline during the halftime ceremony — saw team toughness gained from her side’s games against Loyola.
“Our defense really grew from that just because they were pressing so much, and our defense hasn't been tested as much,” Yungerman said. “And our offense learned that if it's a very defensive-heavy game that they have to shift back, too. Playing a team like Loyola exposes your cracks, and we've really been working on those.”
McGann — an inexhaustible outside mid — was pleased with the way her Friars played against Loyola.
“Loyola is an amazing team, and it was great to have that competition,” McGann said. “It was a great challenge to put what we've been working on with this new system to the test.
"The results didn't show it, but the fact that we were able to hold them to (one goal) in the second game, where their goal was off of a set piece, I was so proud of our team and everything that we did.”
Blazer started all nine of his seniors on Senior Day: McGann, Giuffre, Yungerman, Hall, Anna Bjorson, Emily Kapusta, Anna Mulcahy, Anna Dray, and Liz Blum. He has enjoyed watching this year’s Friars develop since the season began.
“We’re getting better every day,” Blazer said. “Just in the idea that there's one person on the ball, so what is everyone else doing? Get your team shape, get to your spots. They’re thinking in threes, they're dropping back and defending, and applying some big concepts like that.”
Starting lineups
Providence
GK Hailey Wagner
D Jenna Oldendorf
D Natalie DeMoor
D Nell McCabe
D Ryan Egofske
MF Maura Houlihan
MF Emma Kulpinski
MF Grace Spesia
MF Brooke Geary
F Mia Bilinski
F Kailey Wolniakowski
Fenwick
GK Lauren Hall
D Courtney Yungerman
D Abbie Rogowski
D Anna Bjorson
D Grace Kapsch
MF Emily Kapusta
MF Anna Dray
MF Liz Blum
MF Grace McGann
F Anna Mulcahy
F Julianna Giuffre
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Kate Henige, jr., MF, Fenwick
Scoring summary
First half
Fenwick — Giuffre (McGann) 14 minutes
Fenwick — Giuffre (K. Henige) 29 minutes
Fenwick — Julia Cianci (K. Henige) 31 minutes
Second half
Fenwick — K. Henige (Gierstorf) 54 minutes
Fenwick — Hall (Hinrichs) 63 minutes