SCN stays in a groove, tops Wheaton North
North Stars win 4th-straight league match with 2-1 road victory
By Curt Herron
WHEATON --- When a team sees its win total grow from two to six in the course of just eight days, there's obviously going to be a lot of excitement.
And that's what happened to St. Charles North following Tuesday's 2-1 DuKane Conference victory over Wheaton North at Rexilius Field in a rematch of an April 22 match in St. Charles that ended in a 2-2 draw.
After getting a goal from Sophia Sutherland in the 60th minute to break a 1-1 tie with the Falcons and holding on, the North Stars improved to 6-3-2 overall and 6-2-1 in league play heading into Thursday's home match with Geneva, which they lost to 2-1 on April 27.
Considering that their only other defeats came against unbeaten rival St. Charles East and to once-beaten Barrington, things definitely seem to be coming together at the right time for coach Brian Harks' squad, which is ranked 25th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
"We started off a little bit slower, and it took a little bit of time to figure out who plays where, but I've been really impressed with how the girls have clicked in recent games," Harks said. "I was really impressed with the way that our backline stayed composed and that our midfield really took control of their game.
“I was impressed with the way that our keeper stepped up when asked. And it seems like a different player steps up every game, which is great for us, it's a real team.
"The DuKane Conference is a great conference to be a part of. I was a little bit leary of the format that they chose this year with the double-round robin, but the deeper that we get into this season, the more that I'm starting to appreciate it. It's a good opportunity to see a team twice, both home and away, and to see how much you've grown."
Meanwhile, illness, injuries and inexperience have hampered coach Tim McEvilly's Falcons (6-4-1, 4-4-1), who started their season with a 5-0-1 mark but have gone 1-4-0 since, with all of those conference setbacks by one just goal.
"No matter how talented you are, in this conference you're running into teams that can compete with anyone in the state on a nightly basis," McEvilly said. "We've ran into that over the last 7- 10 days, and it's just kind of happened to correspond with some health-related issues and some injuries. So, we were down a number of starters tonight, including our starting goalie, but I was really proud.
"In the first five minutes, I think some of the kids who hadn't gotten the minutes recently, they were a little timid, and we gave up a goal early. The main reason was that there was too much caution with what they were doing, but after that, they stepped up.
“We played with the same level of aggression in the second half, but we weren't able to distribute as effectively, so we were turning the ball over too much and giving St. Charles North a chance to build up their attack."
St. Charles North got off to a great start in the match, connecting on the first strong scoring opportunity of the game. Bella Najera got free in front of the Falcons' net and connected on a shot from about 10 yards in the second minute.
"We knew that it was going to be a tough game, so our coaches told us to start strong right away, so that was important to get out to a lead," Najera said. "I think that we held the ball a lot, and that was good for possession and our front three connected way better. And I think that we had really good energy throughout the game, and especially at the end.
"I think that we just bring a lot of energy and positivity and that we bring each other up. We talk about it and if we make a mistake, we just lift each other up and get through it. And we work really hard with each other."
Shortly after Olivia Moreno had a shot halted by North Stars keeper Kara Claussner, the Falcons scored their lone goal in the 16th minute. Ella Kocher launched a long free kick that was headed off a defender and then went to Julia Simon, who put in an attempt from about 10 yards.
Throughout the rest of the opening half, Falcons keeper Olivia Iberle came up with stops on tries from Makenna Collins, Grace Barresi and Najera. North nearly connected in the 23rd minute when Talia Pellegrini sent in a corner kick. Sutherland got to the loose ball but her shot bounced off of the post.
In the 38th minute, the Falcons threatened as Simon got off an attempt that was halted by Claussner, who was injured on the play and had to leave the field for the rest of the half. Hannah Lehmann stepped into that role and came up big by punching away a corner kick that was sent in by Kayla Shebar with 10 seconds left before the break.
To start the second half, Najera had a couple of good chances and Barresi also had a shot on goal before the North Stars took the lead for good in the 60th minute. Najera sent a pass to Sutherland, who connected on an attempt from about 25 yards.
Both teams had good opportunities after that but Claussner stopped several attempts from Simon while Iberle denied tries by Sutherland, Pellegrini and Najera. The latter did a good job of helping to keep the ball away from the Falcons during the closing minutes of the match.
The efforts of St. Charles North defenders such as Bridget Wolf, Madison Rossi, Sidney Timms and Martina Nava helped to keep the Falcons from getting the equalizer down the stretch.
"I think that we've been working a lot the whole season on coming together and playing as one team, and one thing that we've focused on big is defending as one team, as well," Wolf said. "Our pressure really starts from the front line, but then it's the midfield, and it's all of us working together. It's a team effort.
"We were talking about how far we've come in a short amount of time, and that took a lot of figuring out where each person fit. Our coach always says that it's a puzzle so people have to fill in the gaps. We've had some people go down, but we've had a lot of underclassmen who've stepped up for the team, and that's been great to see us progress."
While disappointed about seeing his 15th-ranked team drop its fourth match in the last five league games, all by a single goal, the veteran Falcons coach focuses on the bigger picture when it comes to his players.
"They've been extraordinarily fun to watch," McEvilly said. "They're competitive. They play with speed and play to win, and they're not intimidated. I have some awfully talented players, and I also have some who don't have a ton of high-level club experience, but they're playing at a high level and aren't backing down from the challenge. They're making things very difficult for the opposition.
"As to the idea of what's important, coach (Erin) Moodie ended the discussion tonight recognizing the reality. As disappointed as we might be in regards to a single-event loss, where we put our entire heart out on the field against adversity, that we really should feel grateful for just having the opportunity to be on the soccer field with each other.
"We talk all of the time about how these are the best minutes of our day. Having the opportunity to spend a couple hours a day with these extraordinary young women that are challenging themselves and trying to take the program to a new level and compete against these teams. That's what brings joy to our lives, and we hope it brings the same level of joy and gratitude to the girls on a nightly basis."
Starting lineups
St. Charles North
G - Kara Claussner
D - Bridget Wolf
D - Madison Rossi
D - Martina Nava
D - Sidney Timms
M - Grace Barresi
M - Makenna Collins
M - Talia Pellegrini
F - Bella Najera
F - Juliana Park
F - Rian Spaulding
Wheaton North
G - Olivia Iberle
D - Sara Chojnacki
D - Addison Henninger
D - Maria Haworth
D - Anna Roe
M - Ella Kocher
M - Abby Gosling
M - Macy Hutchinson
F - Julia Simon
F - Kayla Shebar
F - Olivia Moreno
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match:
Bella Najera, so., F, St. Charles North
Scoring summary
First half
SCN - Najera, 2
WN - Simon (Kocher), 16
Second half
SCN - Sutherland (Najera), 60
North Stars win 4th-straight league match with 2-1 road victory
By Curt Herron
WHEATON --- When a team sees its win total grow from two to six in the course of just eight days, there's obviously going to be a lot of excitement.
And that's what happened to St. Charles North following Tuesday's 2-1 DuKane Conference victory over Wheaton North at Rexilius Field in a rematch of an April 22 match in St. Charles that ended in a 2-2 draw.
After getting a goal from Sophia Sutherland in the 60th minute to break a 1-1 tie with the Falcons and holding on, the North Stars improved to 6-3-2 overall and 6-2-1 in league play heading into Thursday's home match with Geneva, which they lost to 2-1 on April 27.
Considering that their only other defeats came against unbeaten rival St. Charles East and to once-beaten Barrington, things definitely seem to be coming together at the right time for coach Brian Harks' squad, which is ranked 25th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
"We started off a little bit slower, and it took a little bit of time to figure out who plays where, but I've been really impressed with how the girls have clicked in recent games," Harks said. "I was really impressed with the way that our backline stayed composed and that our midfield really took control of their game.
“I was impressed with the way that our keeper stepped up when asked. And it seems like a different player steps up every game, which is great for us, it's a real team.
"The DuKane Conference is a great conference to be a part of. I was a little bit leary of the format that they chose this year with the double-round robin, but the deeper that we get into this season, the more that I'm starting to appreciate it. It's a good opportunity to see a team twice, both home and away, and to see how much you've grown."
Meanwhile, illness, injuries and inexperience have hampered coach Tim McEvilly's Falcons (6-4-1, 4-4-1), who started their season with a 5-0-1 mark but have gone 1-4-0 since, with all of those conference setbacks by one just goal.
"No matter how talented you are, in this conference you're running into teams that can compete with anyone in the state on a nightly basis," McEvilly said. "We've ran into that over the last 7- 10 days, and it's just kind of happened to correspond with some health-related issues and some injuries. So, we were down a number of starters tonight, including our starting goalie, but I was really proud.
"In the first five minutes, I think some of the kids who hadn't gotten the minutes recently, they were a little timid, and we gave up a goal early. The main reason was that there was too much caution with what they were doing, but after that, they stepped up.
“We played with the same level of aggression in the second half, but we weren't able to distribute as effectively, so we were turning the ball over too much and giving St. Charles North a chance to build up their attack."
St. Charles North got off to a great start in the match, connecting on the first strong scoring opportunity of the game. Bella Najera got free in front of the Falcons' net and connected on a shot from about 10 yards in the second minute.
"We knew that it was going to be a tough game, so our coaches told us to start strong right away, so that was important to get out to a lead," Najera said. "I think that we held the ball a lot, and that was good for possession and our front three connected way better. And I think that we had really good energy throughout the game, and especially at the end.
"I think that we just bring a lot of energy and positivity and that we bring each other up. We talk about it and if we make a mistake, we just lift each other up and get through it. And we work really hard with each other."
Shortly after Olivia Moreno had a shot halted by North Stars keeper Kara Claussner, the Falcons scored their lone goal in the 16th minute. Ella Kocher launched a long free kick that was headed off a defender and then went to Julia Simon, who put in an attempt from about 10 yards.
Throughout the rest of the opening half, Falcons keeper Olivia Iberle came up with stops on tries from Makenna Collins, Grace Barresi and Najera. North nearly connected in the 23rd minute when Talia Pellegrini sent in a corner kick. Sutherland got to the loose ball but her shot bounced off of the post.
In the 38th minute, the Falcons threatened as Simon got off an attempt that was halted by Claussner, who was injured on the play and had to leave the field for the rest of the half. Hannah Lehmann stepped into that role and came up big by punching away a corner kick that was sent in by Kayla Shebar with 10 seconds left before the break.
To start the second half, Najera had a couple of good chances and Barresi also had a shot on goal before the North Stars took the lead for good in the 60th minute. Najera sent a pass to Sutherland, who connected on an attempt from about 25 yards.
Both teams had good opportunities after that but Claussner stopped several attempts from Simon while Iberle denied tries by Sutherland, Pellegrini and Najera. The latter did a good job of helping to keep the ball away from the Falcons during the closing minutes of the match.
The efforts of St. Charles North defenders such as Bridget Wolf, Madison Rossi, Sidney Timms and Martina Nava helped to keep the Falcons from getting the equalizer down the stretch.
"I think that we've been working a lot the whole season on coming together and playing as one team, and one thing that we've focused on big is defending as one team, as well," Wolf said. "Our pressure really starts from the front line, but then it's the midfield, and it's all of us working together. It's a team effort.
"We were talking about how far we've come in a short amount of time, and that took a lot of figuring out where each person fit. Our coach always says that it's a puzzle so people have to fill in the gaps. We've had some people go down, but we've had a lot of underclassmen who've stepped up for the team, and that's been great to see us progress."
While disappointed about seeing his 15th-ranked team drop its fourth match in the last five league games, all by a single goal, the veteran Falcons coach focuses on the bigger picture when it comes to his players.
"They've been extraordinarily fun to watch," McEvilly said. "They're competitive. They play with speed and play to win, and they're not intimidated. I have some awfully talented players, and I also have some who don't have a ton of high-level club experience, but they're playing at a high level and aren't backing down from the challenge. They're making things very difficult for the opposition.
"As to the idea of what's important, coach (Erin) Moodie ended the discussion tonight recognizing the reality. As disappointed as we might be in regards to a single-event loss, where we put our entire heart out on the field against adversity, that we really should feel grateful for just having the opportunity to be on the soccer field with each other.
"We talk all of the time about how these are the best minutes of our day. Having the opportunity to spend a couple hours a day with these extraordinary young women that are challenging themselves and trying to take the program to a new level and compete against these teams. That's what brings joy to our lives, and we hope it brings the same level of joy and gratitude to the girls on a nightly basis."
Starting lineups
St. Charles North
G - Kara Claussner
D - Bridget Wolf
D - Madison Rossi
D - Martina Nava
D - Sidney Timms
M - Grace Barresi
M - Makenna Collins
M - Talia Pellegrini
F - Bella Najera
F - Juliana Park
F - Rian Spaulding
Wheaton North
G - Olivia Iberle
D - Sara Chojnacki
D - Addison Henninger
D - Maria Haworth
D - Anna Roe
M - Ella Kocher
M - Abby Gosling
M - Macy Hutchinson
F - Julia Simon
F - Kayla Shebar
F - Olivia Moreno
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match:
Bella Najera, so., F, St. Charles North
Scoring summary
First half
SCN - Najera, 2
WN - Simon (Kocher), 16
Second half
SCN - Sutherland (Najera), 60