North continues St. Charles
dominance over East
North Stars rally past Saints for tourney title
By Chris Walker
ST. CHARLES – It’s tough enough to lose a championship soccer match. It’s even more difficult to stomach when it comes against your crosstown rival. And it has to feel even worse, when you’re hurting physically as well.
St. Charles East senior Kayla Villa lay sprawled out on the Norris Stadium artificial turf after the Saints dropped a physical, hard-fought 2-1 game to St. Charles North in the St. Charles Augsburg-Drach Invitational on Saturday.
Villa took a blow but will be ok. Earlier in the game, the Saints lost senior forward Emma Blankenship to an injury. She has an MRI scheduled for Tuesday, but there is no bone damage according to Saints coach Vince DiNuzzo.
“It definitely was a physical game, and it was pretty rough with the ref calling a lot,” North Stars junior midfielder Sami Rydberg said. “We had to adapt to that from the start being a championship game with all the fans out here, and we hadn’t had an away game in a while. There were a lot of factors, and I think we just wanted to come out strong and do what we needed to and get it done.”
The North Stars (6-0-1) have dominated the series for 15 years, tying or winning every match-up since 2005 except when the Saints won 2-1 in a Conant Sectional semifinal in 2014. This was the same year that the Saints were the state runnerup in Class 3A.
It looked like the Saints, ranked No. 7 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, could beat the no. 2 North Stars for just the second time in 14 years as they jumped in front on Hannah Miller’s goal with 18:52 left in the opening half.
That lead would be short-lived as the North Stars knotted things up at 1-1 after a questionable call awarded the North Stars a free kick that CeCe Wahlberg buried from 25 yards.
“It was just a moment when you have to clear your head and not get all worked up,” Wahlberg said. “The ability to stay calm in that moment won us that goal, so I think it’s more of a team effort, and they were looking at me and saying I can do this, stay calm and do it.”
DiNuzzo was disappointed that the Saints defended Wahlberg’s shot poorly.
“We didn’t defend the free kick properly, but we learned from it just like we learn from every goal we concede,” he said. “It’s kind of rare for us to give up two goals in a game so credit to them. I think they had six shots on goal, that in my opinion were shots, but they were effective. We didn’t create enough of that in the second half. They did more to win the game.”
It was the first time this season that the North Stars had to come back from a deficit. Even when they tied Conant 2-2 in their season opener, the North Stars had scored first.
“Part of the reason we want to play hard games early on is to learn what we can take away from it,” North Stars coach Brian Harks said, “This was an opportunity to start down a goal, but once we got that first goal we took a deep breath and hit the reset button and came out a little bit calmer.”
Through seven games, the North Stars have still only allowed four goals, a pair from Conant’s Stephanie Mazurek, one from Cary-Grove’s Jordan Dale and now one from Martin.
Making that especially impressive Saturday was the fact that the North Stars were facing a Saints offensive juggernaut that has now scored 53 goals, already eclipsing the 48 they scored a season ago.
“We saw it at tryouts where we knew we’d be a lot different from last year,” DiNuzzo said. “Hayley Popiel (2018 graduate) was here yesterday and was saying, ‘DiNuzzo, where were all these goals last year?,’” he said. “We’re happy with our group. We like where we’re at, and we’re still learning and trying to get better. When you’re packing up and the season is over we hope we’re not the one walking off the field kind of depressed.”
Rydberg’s sixth goal of the spring came with 29:36 still to play in the game but held up to be the difference.
“I had one that was a lot like that in our last game,” Rydberg said. “From the start I knew that it was going to be a tough game, so I knew we needed to put our chances away. Once we went down by one, I knew it would be even more important. When I saw the shot, we had the wind, so I had to take it. It felt really good to get that one in.”
She praised the assist from Alyssa Kraft who was able to possess before distributing to Rydberg.
"We noticed at half that whenever we were dribbling toward them, their defenders were kind of leaving the center mid open," Rydberg said. "If one person dribbles, the drop pass is always on. I think Alyssa did a really good job noticing that."
The Saints (9-2-0) didn’t go away easily and continued to piece together scoring chances, but anything they sent toward North Stars goalkeeper Sara Maleski was denied. Maleski was named the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match for her prowess in net.
“She came up big today for whenever we needed her,” Harks said. “I think she is very confident, and that’s what you ask of your goalkeeper.”
Said Wahlberg, “She came up with some really big saves. I’m really proud of her.”
Rather than get caught up in the magnitude of the game and the opponent, Maleski simplified her approach, viewing it as nothing out of the ordinary.
"I just think of it as another game," Maleski said. "I didn't really focus on if it was East or that it was a huge rivalry. I go into every game with the same attitude. Either way, the goal is to get a shutout, which didn't happen this game, but one with them putting so many goals in the back of the net, we'll take that."
Grace Griffin was equally impressive in the net for the Saints.
“We have a lot of faith in Grace and (defender) Alondra (Carranza),” DiNuzzo said. “Everyone is kind of at ease knowing Grace is back there, and we’re able to push forward a little bit and have more of an attacking mindset, but we didn’t do enough of that today. We had a couple early chances, where the ball was crossed across the box, and we kind of misplayed it and had to make some adjustments on (Wahlberg). We didn’t make the proper adjustments and we’ll learn from it and play better.”
Elle McCaslin had a decent attempt for the equalizer in the 76th minute, and Alondra Carranza had one as well a minute later, but neither could pull the Saints even and they were once again left looking up at their rivals.
Now, they’ll have to look forward to a chance at redemption as the two squads will meet in a DuKane Conference match in April.
“St. Charles soccer is St. Charles soccer,” Harks said. “It’s the St. Charles tournament and you just know the quality out on the field is there. We were excited about this, just as we’ll be excited a couple of week from now.”
The North Stars beat the Saints twice last year while shutting them out in 2017 and 2016. The teams last tied in 2015.
The rematch will be back at Norris Stadium at 7 p.m. on April 23. Mark it on the calendar if you haven’t already.
Starting lineups
St. Charles North
GK Sara Maleski
D Sydney Stitz
D Grace Barresi
D Makenna Collins
D Alyssa Kraft
D Bridget Wolf
MF Samantha Rydberg
MF Celeste Wahlberg
F Kellie Callaghan
F Talia Pellegrini
F Madison Rossi
St. Charles East
GK Grace Griffin
D Alondra Carranza
D Lindsey Rzeszutko
D Jessica Stepien
MF Margaret Harper
MF Hannah Miller
MF Renee Unterberg
MF Kayla Villa
MF Christina Hull
F Emma Blankenship
F Elle McCaslin
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Sara Maleski, sr., GK, St. Charles North
Scoring summary
First half
St. Charles East – Hannah Miller (Emma Blankenship) 18:52
St. Charles North – CeCe Wahlberg (Alyssa Kraft) 10:36
Second half
St. Charles North – Hailey Rydberg (u/a) 29:36
dominance over East
North Stars rally past Saints for tourney title
By Chris Walker
ST. CHARLES – It’s tough enough to lose a championship soccer match. It’s even more difficult to stomach when it comes against your crosstown rival. And it has to feel even worse, when you’re hurting physically as well.
St. Charles East senior Kayla Villa lay sprawled out on the Norris Stadium artificial turf after the Saints dropped a physical, hard-fought 2-1 game to St. Charles North in the St. Charles Augsburg-Drach Invitational on Saturday.
Villa took a blow but will be ok. Earlier in the game, the Saints lost senior forward Emma Blankenship to an injury. She has an MRI scheduled for Tuesday, but there is no bone damage according to Saints coach Vince DiNuzzo.
“It definitely was a physical game, and it was pretty rough with the ref calling a lot,” North Stars junior midfielder Sami Rydberg said. “We had to adapt to that from the start being a championship game with all the fans out here, and we hadn’t had an away game in a while. There were a lot of factors, and I think we just wanted to come out strong and do what we needed to and get it done.”
The North Stars (6-0-1) have dominated the series for 15 years, tying or winning every match-up since 2005 except when the Saints won 2-1 in a Conant Sectional semifinal in 2014. This was the same year that the Saints were the state runnerup in Class 3A.
It looked like the Saints, ranked No. 7 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, could beat the no. 2 North Stars for just the second time in 14 years as they jumped in front on Hannah Miller’s goal with 18:52 left in the opening half.
That lead would be short-lived as the North Stars knotted things up at 1-1 after a questionable call awarded the North Stars a free kick that CeCe Wahlberg buried from 25 yards.
“It was just a moment when you have to clear your head and not get all worked up,” Wahlberg said. “The ability to stay calm in that moment won us that goal, so I think it’s more of a team effort, and they were looking at me and saying I can do this, stay calm and do it.”
DiNuzzo was disappointed that the Saints defended Wahlberg’s shot poorly.
“We didn’t defend the free kick properly, but we learned from it just like we learn from every goal we concede,” he said. “It’s kind of rare for us to give up two goals in a game so credit to them. I think they had six shots on goal, that in my opinion were shots, but they were effective. We didn’t create enough of that in the second half. They did more to win the game.”
It was the first time this season that the North Stars had to come back from a deficit. Even when they tied Conant 2-2 in their season opener, the North Stars had scored first.
“Part of the reason we want to play hard games early on is to learn what we can take away from it,” North Stars coach Brian Harks said, “This was an opportunity to start down a goal, but once we got that first goal we took a deep breath and hit the reset button and came out a little bit calmer.”
Through seven games, the North Stars have still only allowed four goals, a pair from Conant’s Stephanie Mazurek, one from Cary-Grove’s Jordan Dale and now one from Martin.
Making that especially impressive Saturday was the fact that the North Stars were facing a Saints offensive juggernaut that has now scored 53 goals, already eclipsing the 48 they scored a season ago.
“We saw it at tryouts where we knew we’d be a lot different from last year,” DiNuzzo said. “Hayley Popiel (2018 graduate) was here yesterday and was saying, ‘DiNuzzo, where were all these goals last year?,’” he said. “We’re happy with our group. We like where we’re at, and we’re still learning and trying to get better. When you’re packing up and the season is over we hope we’re not the one walking off the field kind of depressed.”
Rydberg’s sixth goal of the spring came with 29:36 still to play in the game but held up to be the difference.
“I had one that was a lot like that in our last game,” Rydberg said. “From the start I knew that it was going to be a tough game, so I knew we needed to put our chances away. Once we went down by one, I knew it would be even more important. When I saw the shot, we had the wind, so I had to take it. It felt really good to get that one in.”
She praised the assist from Alyssa Kraft who was able to possess before distributing to Rydberg.
"We noticed at half that whenever we were dribbling toward them, their defenders were kind of leaving the center mid open," Rydberg said. "If one person dribbles, the drop pass is always on. I think Alyssa did a really good job noticing that."
The Saints (9-2-0) didn’t go away easily and continued to piece together scoring chances, but anything they sent toward North Stars goalkeeper Sara Maleski was denied. Maleski was named the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match for her prowess in net.
“She came up big today for whenever we needed her,” Harks said. “I think she is very confident, and that’s what you ask of your goalkeeper.”
Said Wahlberg, “She came up with some really big saves. I’m really proud of her.”
Rather than get caught up in the magnitude of the game and the opponent, Maleski simplified her approach, viewing it as nothing out of the ordinary.
"I just think of it as another game," Maleski said. "I didn't really focus on if it was East or that it was a huge rivalry. I go into every game with the same attitude. Either way, the goal is to get a shutout, which didn't happen this game, but one with them putting so many goals in the back of the net, we'll take that."
Grace Griffin was equally impressive in the net for the Saints.
“We have a lot of faith in Grace and (defender) Alondra (Carranza),” DiNuzzo said. “Everyone is kind of at ease knowing Grace is back there, and we’re able to push forward a little bit and have more of an attacking mindset, but we didn’t do enough of that today. We had a couple early chances, where the ball was crossed across the box, and we kind of misplayed it and had to make some adjustments on (Wahlberg). We didn’t make the proper adjustments and we’ll learn from it and play better.”
Elle McCaslin had a decent attempt for the equalizer in the 76th minute, and Alondra Carranza had one as well a minute later, but neither could pull the Saints even and they were once again left looking up at their rivals.
Now, they’ll have to look forward to a chance at redemption as the two squads will meet in a DuKane Conference match in April.
“St. Charles soccer is St. Charles soccer,” Harks said. “It’s the St. Charles tournament and you just know the quality out on the field is there. We were excited about this, just as we’ll be excited a couple of week from now.”
The North Stars beat the Saints twice last year while shutting them out in 2017 and 2016. The teams last tied in 2015.
The rematch will be back at Norris Stadium at 7 p.m. on April 23. Mark it on the calendar if you haven’t already.
Starting lineups
St. Charles North
GK Sara Maleski
D Sydney Stitz
D Grace Barresi
D Makenna Collins
D Alyssa Kraft
D Bridget Wolf
MF Samantha Rydberg
MF Celeste Wahlberg
F Kellie Callaghan
F Talia Pellegrini
F Madison Rossi
St. Charles East
GK Grace Griffin
D Alondra Carranza
D Lindsey Rzeszutko
D Jessica Stepien
MF Margaret Harper
MF Hannah Miller
MF Renee Unterberg
MF Kayla Villa
MF Christina Hull
F Emma Blankenship
F Elle McCaslin
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Sara Maleski, sr., GK, St. Charles North
Scoring summary
First half
St. Charles East – Hannah Miller (Emma Blankenship) 18:52
St. Charles North – CeCe Wahlberg (Alyssa Kraft) 10:36
Second half
St. Charles North – Hailey Rydberg (u/a) 29:36