SCN continues to vex SCE
No. 2 North rallies past no. 6 East, again
By Steve Nemeth
ST. CHARLES --- Much to St. Charles East’s chagrin, St. Charles North did it again.
The North Stars, ranked no. 2 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, came from behind for a 2-1 victory Tuesday over the no. 6-rated Saints --- just like on April 6 when the two battled for the championship of the 30th annual St. Charles Augsburg-Drach Invitational.
It’s a deja blues-type nightmare for the “fleur-de-lis” logoed Saints program -- it's as if North has a New Orleans-style curse going.
Aside from a 2-1 sectional semifinal triumph in 2014, the previous Saints win happened way back in the 2005 regular season.
“Yeah we know all about the last-time thing. It’s the elephant in the room,” East coach Vince DiNuzzo acknowledged. “The only good thing about this loss, like the previous one, is that it’s in the regular season. So you approach each loss as an opportunity to get better. Even if we meet again, all that matters in the end is a win or loss in the postseason.”
Meeting again is a question of “what does fate have in store?” On Thursday both teams have quarterfinal matches in the Naperville Invitational; victories followed by success in Friday semifinal contests could lead to the two rivals facing off for that event’s Saturday championship. That would be a third meeting in a 22-day span.
And, regardless of the seeding that will be announced Friday (April 26), the two programs could also be considered potential finalists for the Class 3A Schaumburg Sectional.
But for now it’s another feather in St. Charles North's cap, as in remaining undefeated at 11-0-1 and also staying in the thick of the DuKane Conference race at 3-0-0; just behind Batavia which improved to 4-0-0 via a 2-1 home win over Geneva. East’s ledgers dipped to 12-4-0 and 1-1-0.
Back on the first weekend of the month, East got on the scoreboard thanks to a Hannah Miller goal from an Emma Blankenship assist. Eight minutes later Cece Wahlberg tied the contest and 10 minutes after halftime Sami Rydberg scored to lift the North Stars to that win.
In this meeting, Miller once again gave the Saints an initial advantage on a beautiful sequence of touches. Alondra Carranza lofted a free kick 46 yards toward the North goal where Elle McCaslin toe-poked the ball toward Miller. The sophomore slotted a 10-yarder just inside the left post.
“When Elle redirected the ball to me I saw the keeper was out of position enough to leave me an open lane to the near post,” Miller said in regard to her 13th goal of the season. “Any time you score in a match it’s an awesome feeling. Unfortunately we weren’t able to add to it, and they rallied. We know we worked hard for this one, and it was a good fight. It just didn’t end like we wanted.”
Unlike that first meeting, East played without Blankenship, who is sidelined by an ACL injury, North regained the services of Sarah Andrey. The junior forward missed the earlier match due to a concussion, but was a big plus for the North Stars and ultimately accounted for the game-winner that left Saints all-state defender Carranza discouraged.
“It’s super frustrating to lose again,” admitted Carranza, who notched a sixth assist for the season. “It seems like it’s always a combination of little things, a mistake here or there, an unconnected pass or a near miss. Tonight it came down to finishing, they finished the opportunities they needed, and we didn’t.”
Just like the breeze noticeably picked up for the second half, North’s offense also got much more active after halftime.
East goalie Grace Griffin had to haul in a 43-yard bomb just a minute into the second half and shortly after that, Saints defender Jessica Stepien had to make a defensive clear just ahead of the goal line. At the opposite end of the field, North keeper Sara Maleski rushed out of the box to thwart a breakaway chance for Miller less than five minutes in.
A North Stars corner kick led to back-to-back headers with the second going over the goal. Then Claudia Najera blasted a shot off the crossbar, before North teammate Maddie Rossi’s follow-up went wide right. East’s Miller had a try from the right wing saved by Maleski.
“We went out with the intent of scoring more knowing that one goal likely wouldn’t be enough,” DiNuzzo said. “Unfortunately they played better than us in the second half, specifically in the midfield. Our defense really limited their chances in the first half, but then two dead ball opportunities killed us. I’m not sure we’ve conceded a dead ball goal prior to tonight.
“We make two errors at the wrong time. First we give up a corner kick opportunity, and they’re able to change the whole momentum of the game,” DiNuzzo noted. “Then we commit a foul and give them another chance to capitalize on.”
With 17:37 left in regulation, Rydberg’s in-swinger corner kick got an assist from the breeze and found its way into the net for the equalizer.
“Since corners are one of my specialties, I’ve practiced some more on bending it in and in this case the wind helped push it home,” Rydberg said in regard to her team-best ninth goal.
Then with 13:57 remaining, Rydberg sent a free kick toward the middle that ricocheted among players from both sides before Bridget Wolf nudged the ball into place for Sarah Andrey.
“I saw the service into what became a big scramble that felt like they had all 10 in the box,” Andrey said. “Bridget tried to finish but really set me up since I knew their goalie was near post, and I could go far post. It’s an unbelievably great feeling to score, especially in a tie game and against a rival. Did that make it sweeter for me? Yes and no. It doesn’t matter to me who we’re playing, I just want to help the team win.”
That marked Andrey’s sixth goal of the season and a second assist for Wolf.
“I thought the team did a real nice job staying positive and motivated,” North coach Brian Harks said. “With East you’re facing a really structured defense, and the key for us was to keep playing and believing it’ll come.”
However the flip side is North’s incredible defensive prowess. The Saints entered averaging 4.27 goals per game (64 in the previous 15). Although it may be true that East has managed to account for one third of the (six) goals the North Stars have allowed, half of the Saints losses belong to North.
Whether it was sticking a foot in a passing lane or denying chances for Miller or East scoring leader Elle McCaslin, sophomore defender Makenna Collins was omnipresent. The performance earned her Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match acclaim.
“Our entire back line (Collins, Grace Barresi, Ali Wessel, and Wolf) had a tremendous game and Sara (Maleski) was outstanding in goal,” Harks said. “Makenna’s composure in particular was a big difference. (McCaslin) is an outstanding player, but Makenna was always there either to limit or contain her as a threat. We also like to think of our defensive backline as the first line of attack. She often initiated things for us from in back.”
“Keeping them from what they average is nice not so much because they’re a rival, but as a conference opponent. Really we always try to give up zero goals,” Collins said. “I believe our backline is so well organized because of how we focus on limiting Sara’s touches. As a unit, we talk about that before each half.”
As a contributor and beneficiary of that philosophy, Maleski views the North Stars’ stinginess as a result of trust.
“Communication with the whole backline is really good, plus we know everyone will help each other out,” Maleski noted. “Trust means (success on defense) is definitely not a one-person job.”
For the North Stars, Thursday brings a 7 p.m. Naperville Invitational quarterfinal match with no. 9-ranked Benet at Naperville Central’s field. A win advances North to a Friday 7 p.m. semifinal against either no. 4 New Trier or no. 7 Naperville North.
For East, Thursday is a 7 p.m. tangle with no. 10 Neuqua Valley with a victory moving the Saints into Friday’s 5 p.m. semifinal against either no. 1 Barrington or no. 20 Loyola.
After the Naperville Invitational, the North Stars finish the regular season with four-straight DuKane Conference matches, only the last of which is at home. Meanwhile the Saints have one last nonconference outing at Oswego before finishing with five-consecutive DKC affairs, four of which are at home.
Starting lineups
St. Charles East
GK Grace Griffin
D Lindsey Rzeszutko
D Alondra Carranza
D Jessica Stepien
M Ashley D’Orio
M Kayla Villa
M Renee Unterberg
M Margaret Harper
M Lindsey Rzeszutko
F Jenna Sitta
F Elle McCaslin
St. Charles North
GK Sara Maleski
D Ali Wessel
D Makenna Collins
D Grace Barresi
D Bridget Wolf
M Alyssa Kraft
M Cece Wahlberg
M Sami Rydberg
M Maddie Rossi
F Claudia Najera
F Sarah Andrey
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Makenna Collins, so. D, St. Charles North
Referees: Justin O’Bryan (center), Dana Joras, Mario McNeill
Game summary
St. Charles North 2, St. Charles East 1
St. Charles East 1 0 --- 1 (12-4-0 / DKC: 1-1-0)
St. Charles North 0 2 --- 2 (11-0-1 / DKC: 3-0-0)
Scoring
First half
SCE --- Miller 10-yard finish inside left post off combination (Carranza, McCaslin assists), 26:45 gone
Second half
SCN --- Rydberg left of net wind-aided corner kick curved into goal (unassisted), 62:23 gone
SCN --- Andrey 8-yard follow-up to scramble (Wolf assist), 66:03 gone
Shots
SCE 4 – 5 --- 9
SCN 4 – 9 --- 13
Shots on goal
SCE 2 – 3 --- 5
SCN 1 – 5 --- 7
Saves (goalie):
SCE (Griffin) 1 – 4 --- 5
SCN (Maleski) 1 – 3 --- 4
Corner kicks
SCE 1 – 0 --- 1
SCN 1 – 2 --- 3
Offsides
SCE 0 – 0 --- 0
SCN 2 – 1 --- 3
No. 2 North rallies past no. 6 East, again
By Steve Nemeth
ST. CHARLES --- Much to St. Charles East’s chagrin, St. Charles North did it again.
The North Stars, ranked no. 2 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, came from behind for a 2-1 victory Tuesday over the no. 6-rated Saints --- just like on April 6 when the two battled for the championship of the 30th annual St. Charles Augsburg-Drach Invitational.
It’s a deja blues-type nightmare for the “fleur-de-lis” logoed Saints program -- it's as if North has a New Orleans-style curse going.
Aside from a 2-1 sectional semifinal triumph in 2014, the previous Saints win happened way back in the 2005 regular season.
“Yeah we know all about the last-time thing. It’s the elephant in the room,” East coach Vince DiNuzzo acknowledged. “The only good thing about this loss, like the previous one, is that it’s in the regular season. So you approach each loss as an opportunity to get better. Even if we meet again, all that matters in the end is a win or loss in the postseason.”
Meeting again is a question of “what does fate have in store?” On Thursday both teams have quarterfinal matches in the Naperville Invitational; victories followed by success in Friday semifinal contests could lead to the two rivals facing off for that event’s Saturday championship. That would be a third meeting in a 22-day span.
And, regardless of the seeding that will be announced Friday (April 26), the two programs could also be considered potential finalists for the Class 3A Schaumburg Sectional.
But for now it’s another feather in St. Charles North's cap, as in remaining undefeated at 11-0-1 and also staying in the thick of the DuKane Conference race at 3-0-0; just behind Batavia which improved to 4-0-0 via a 2-1 home win over Geneva. East’s ledgers dipped to 12-4-0 and 1-1-0.
Back on the first weekend of the month, East got on the scoreboard thanks to a Hannah Miller goal from an Emma Blankenship assist. Eight minutes later Cece Wahlberg tied the contest and 10 minutes after halftime Sami Rydberg scored to lift the North Stars to that win.
In this meeting, Miller once again gave the Saints an initial advantage on a beautiful sequence of touches. Alondra Carranza lofted a free kick 46 yards toward the North goal where Elle McCaslin toe-poked the ball toward Miller. The sophomore slotted a 10-yarder just inside the left post.
“When Elle redirected the ball to me I saw the keeper was out of position enough to leave me an open lane to the near post,” Miller said in regard to her 13th goal of the season. “Any time you score in a match it’s an awesome feeling. Unfortunately we weren’t able to add to it, and they rallied. We know we worked hard for this one, and it was a good fight. It just didn’t end like we wanted.”
Unlike that first meeting, East played without Blankenship, who is sidelined by an ACL injury, North regained the services of Sarah Andrey. The junior forward missed the earlier match due to a concussion, but was a big plus for the North Stars and ultimately accounted for the game-winner that left Saints all-state defender Carranza discouraged.
“It’s super frustrating to lose again,” admitted Carranza, who notched a sixth assist for the season. “It seems like it’s always a combination of little things, a mistake here or there, an unconnected pass or a near miss. Tonight it came down to finishing, they finished the opportunities they needed, and we didn’t.”
Just like the breeze noticeably picked up for the second half, North’s offense also got much more active after halftime.
East goalie Grace Griffin had to haul in a 43-yard bomb just a minute into the second half and shortly after that, Saints defender Jessica Stepien had to make a defensive clear just ahead of the goal line. At the opposite end of the field, North keeper Sara Maleski rushed out of the box to thwart a breakaway chance for Miller less than five minutes in.
A North Stars corner kick led to back-to-back headers with the second going over the goal. Then Claudia Najera blasted a shot off the crossbar, before North teammate Maddie Rossi’s follow-up went wide right. East’s Miller had a try from the right wing saved by Maleski.
“We went out with the intent of scoring more knowing that one goal likely wouldn’t be enough,” DiNuzzo said. “Unfortunately they played better than us in the second half, specifically in the midfield. Our defense really limited their chances in the first half, but then two dead ball opportunities killed us. I’m not sure we’ve conceded a dead ball goal prior to tonight.
“We make two errors at the wrong time. First we give up a corner kick opportunity, and they’re able to change the whole momentum of the game,” DiNuzzo noted. “Then we commit a foul and give them another chance to capitalize on.”
With 17:37 left in regulation, Rydberg’s in-swinger corner kick got an assist from the breeze and found its way into the net for the equalizer.
“Since corners are one of my specialties, I’ve practiced some more on bending it in and in this case the wind helped push it home,” Rydberg said in regard to her team-best ninth goal.
Then with 13:57 remaining, Rydberg sent a free kick toward the middle that ricocheted among players from both sides before Bridget Wolf nudged the ball into place for Sarah Andrey.
“I saw the service into what became a big scramble that felt like they had all 10 in the box,” Andrey said. “Bridget tried to finish but really set me up since I knew their goalie was near post, and I could go far post. It’s an unbelievably great feeling to score, especially in a tie game and against a rival. Did that make it sweeter for me? Yes and no. It doesn’t matter to me who we’re playing, I just want to help the team win.”
That marked Andrey’s sixth goal of the season and a second assist for Wolf.
“I thought the team did a real nice job staying positive and motivated,” North coach Brian Harks said. “With East you’re facing a really structured defense, and the key for us was to keep playing and believing it’ll come.”
However the flip side is North’s incredible defensive prowess. The Saints entered averaging 4.27 goals per game (64 in the previous 15). Although it may be true that East has managed to account for one third of the (six) goals the North Stars have allowed, half of the Saints losses belong to North.
Whether it was sticking a foot in a passing lane or denying chances for Miller or East scoring leader Elle McCaslin, sophomore defender Makenna Collins was omnipresent. The performance earned her Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match acclaim.
“Our entire back line (Collins, Grace Barresi, Ali Wessel, and Wolf) had a tremendous game and Sara (Maleski) was outstanding in goal,” Harks said. “Makenna’s composure in particular was a big difference. (McCaslin) is an outstanding player, but Makenna was always there either to limit or contain her as a threat. We also like to think of our defensive backline as the first line of attack. She often initiated things for us from in back.”
“Keeping them from what they average is nice not so much because they’re a rival, but as a conference opponent. Really we always try to give up zero goals,” Collins said. “I believe our backline is so well organized because of how we focus on limiting Sara’s touches. As a unit, we talk about that before each half.”
As a contributor and beneficiary of that philosophy, Maleski views the North Stars’ stinginess as a result of trust.
“Communication with the whole backline is really good, plus we know everyone will help each other out,” Maleski noted. “Trust means (success on defense) is definitely not a one-person job.”
For the North Stars, Thursday brings a 7 p.m. Naperville Invitational quarterfinal match with no. 9-ranked Benet at Naperville Central’s field. A win advances North to a Friday 7 p.m. semifinal against either no. 4 New Trier or no. 7 Naperville North.
For East, Thursday is a 7 p.m. tangle with no. 10 Neuqua Valley with a victory moving the Saints into Friday’s 5 p.m. semifinal against either no. 1 Barrington or no. 20 Loyola.
After the Naperville Invitational, the North Stars finish the regular season with four-straight DuKane Conference matches, only the last of which is at home. Meanwhile the Saints have one last nonconference outing at Oswego before finishing with five-consecutive DKC affairs, four of which are at home.
Starting lineups
St. Charles East
GK Grace Griffin
D Lindsey Rzeszutko
D Alondra Carranza
D Jessica Stepien
M Ashley D’Orio
M Kayla Villa
M Renee Unterberg
M Margaret Harper
M Lindsey Rzeszutko
F Jenna Sitta
F Elle McCaslin
St. Charles North
GK Sara Maleski
D Ali Wessel
D Makenna Collins
D Grace Barresi
D Bridget Wolf
M Alyssa Kraft
M Cece Wahlberg
M Sami Rydberg
M Maddie Rossi
F Claudia Najera
F Sarah Andrey
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Makenna Collins, so. D, St. Charles North
Referees: Justin O’Bryan (center), Dana Joras, Mario McNeill
Game summary
St. Charles North 2, St. Charles East 1
St. Charles East 1 0 --- 1 (12-4-0 / DKC: 1-1-0)
St. Charles North 0 2 --- 2 (11-0-1 / DKC: 3-0-0)
Scoring
First half
SCE --- Miller 10-yard finish inside left post off combination (Carranza, McCaslin assists), 26:45 gone
Second half
SCN --- Rydberg left of net wind-aided corner kick curved into goal (unassisted), 62:23 gone
SCN --- Andrey 8-yard follow-up to scramble (Wolf assist), 66:03 gone
Shots
SCE 4 – 5 --- 9
SCN 4 – 9 --- 13
Shots on goal
SCE 2 – 3 --- 5
SCN 1 – 5 --- 7
Saves (goalie):
SCE (Griffin) 1 – 4 --- 5
SCN (Maleski) 1 – 3 --- 4
Corner kicks
SCE 1 – 0 --- 1
SCN 1 – 2 --- 3
Offsides
SCE 0 – 0 --- 0
SCN 2 – 1 --- 3