St. Charles North scores early, tops East
to continue Tri-Cities Night perfection
North Stars take sole possession of DuKane lead with 2-0 victory
By Dave Owen
GENEVA -- Opportunistic bounces of different kinds helped St. Charles North maintain its run of perfection at Tri-Cities Night on Tuesday.
In the latest in a long series of typically well-played battles between St, Charles North and cross-town rival St. Charles East, the North Stars (11-2-0, 4-0-0 in the DuKane Conference) struck for two goals in a seven-minute span of the first half to decide a 2-0 win over the Saints (13-3-0, 3-1-0).
The two teams had met already this year, a 2-1 Stars win in the Rose Augsburg-Drach Invitational final at St. Charles East.
But this neutral site rematch had the added elements of a conference game and a large crowd for the first Tri-Cities Night doubleheader among four neighboring Fox River squads (with Geneva and Batavia).
And for the North Stars, the win added to a remarkable run of success: in an ultra-competitive soccer area, North now has a perfect 6-0-0 all-time record in Tri-Cities Night games. East is next among the four schools with three wins.
“It's a really good feeling,” St. Charles North senior Sophia Hein said. “The last time we played them (April 2) was really a tough game. It was in the cold, a hard game for everyone. So, it was great to come out here and have good weather and show what we can do against a really good team like East.”
St. Charles East entered the game on an eight-game win streak that told only part of a dominant story. Over those contests, the Saints outscored foes by an overwhelming 34-1 margin.
However in this game, things started to turn St. Charles North’s way in the 14th minute. Hein’s extra effort after an initial shot block by a Saints defender put the Saints in the unusual recent position of trailing 1-0.
“I play winger,” Hein said, “and our coaches preach every single practice just to get to the end line. That's what I did.
“I crossed it in, it deflected off of their player, and I got lucky that it came right back to me. I was able to stay composed and have a shot in the low corner (of the net for a goal).
“Sometimes it gets frantic, because you're not ready for the ball to come out (for a rebound). I was able to stay composed, get good contact with the ball and get a good shot and score off a good keeper (East’s Sidney Lazenby).”
If that ricochet play didn’t shake up St. Charles East, the second Stars goal 19:37 before halftime literally had that effect.
Hein was again the initiator with a cross toward senior Leah Bellock in front, and this Hein send had another unusual impact.
“Pretty much I was on the left side, and Hein went to cross it in,” Bellock said. “Three East players, the goalie and two others went head-on (colliding in front), the ball went out. I was right in front of the net but couldn't just boot it. So, I (shot) to the corner (lower right of the net), and that's how it went.”
Bellock’s good fortune on that play was the antithesis of her recent battles with a hip injury.
“For a week and a half, it’s been really hurting me,” she said, “but when I play I can't really feel it. And I wasn’t going to miss this game.”
Suddenly, the North Stars’ hustle and persistence and a fair element of luck had put them up 2-0 over a strong and defensively elite foe.
“I think the first half came down to capitalizing on opportunities,” St. Charles North coach Brian Harks said. “St Charles East is such a strong defensive team so you know you don't get many chances, and we were able to make the most of it when they came along.”
St. Charles East senior Libby Thomas offered her take on the decisive first 20-plus minutes of the game.
“They came out with more motivation than we had,” she said. “We were kind of tired and dull in the first half.
“It's frustrating they got two (goals) in when I don't think we were ready. But the second half we came out and were more encouraging for each other and excited to play. I think we outplayed them in the second half, but the first half was frustrating.”
Saints coach Vince DiNuzzo echoed Thomas’ sentiments.
“I thought we responded well in the second half,” he said. “The first half obviously was uncharacteristic. Low energy, low effort. And they made us pay. Credit to them. A good team will find a way to win, and they did it.”
It was an especially emotional Tri-Cities Night for the Saints.
The annual cause chosen among the four schools for this year was the family of former St. Charles East players Margaret Harper (now playing college at Texas-Dallas, where she started four games as a sophomore last year) and her sister Amy.
Their mother Linda passed away in 2021 after a battle with cancer.
“I played with Margaret a few years ago,” Thomas said. “She was super sweet. I'm glad we were able to come out here for that cause.
“It is cool to have the big crowd and be here for a good cause for the Harper family. But it’s obviously not the result we were hoping for.”
The Saints began their bid to rally with an early second half chance by Anna Champine (a 25-yard free kick cleared by the Stars), followed with 27:10 left by an attack led by Thomas and Mia Raschke that ended with a defensive deflection away and an 18-yard rebound wide left.
“I've been really happy with our backline,” Harks said. “I think our center backs do a good job controlling all the players around them and communicating. Our outside backs have done a fantastic job of locking down their marks as well as getting forward and bringing some offensive power. So, the backline I'm continually impressed with.
“Our midfield played well too, winning balls in the air, especially Kayla Floyd and (Bella) Najera. There's a variety of players out there who did really well tonight. I could go down a long list.”
Up 2-0 but facing a growing test from the Saints, the Stars nonetheless came within inches from adding to their lead with 25 minutes left.
This time it was Juliana Park generating a chance, as she launched a left-footed corner kick across the crease and off the back post.
North had another near miss with 6:40 to go, a Hein drive that deflected off an East defender and then skimmed the crossbar as it sailed over for a corner kick.
But an Abby Vicich 28-yarder just wide right with 18:25 left was the only other decent chance of the second half, while the St. Charles East offense continued to up the heat.
A counterattack with 17 minutes forced St. Charles North into a deflection that rolled just wide right of the net. The ensuing Kara Machala corner kick produced two Saints header tries, but neither got through the defense.
The final minutes produced a particularly relentless chance for the Saints. Off another Machala corner, East kept the ball deep in the box for nearly 30 seconds. But multiple bids to finish (including Stars blocks of two header attempts and at least one shot) in that frenetic sequence ended with the score still 2-0.
“It’s so frustrating,” Thomas said. “We had like five people in the box and couldn't put it in. The ball just kept bouncing back and forth. We should have ended the ball and got it into the net.”
Senior Sidney Timms was one key St. Charles North defender in the middle of many denied opportunities.
“Sidney Timms is an amazing player and a great teammate,” Bellock said. “She holds that backline really well, especially on her side. She goes right in there.”
A combined clear upfield by Martina Nava and Vichich in the final seconds put the final touches on the 2-0 Stars win.
“It really shows what we're capable of because East is always so strong,” Hein said. “It's always the most fun our team has during the season to play them, and it's so competitive.
“To get a solid 2-0 win and have a shutout against them, it gives our defense confidence and also gives our offense confidence being able to finish against the strong defense East has.”
Except for a few rough first half moments, St. Charles East continued its excellent April play.
“I think our defense has been what's really helping us,” Thomas said. “Champine in the back is obviously a rock, and up-top I think Mia (Raschke), Ella (Stehman) and Grace (Williams) have been doing a really good job finishing. Honestly all the players have really helped our team be successful.”
DiNuzzo noted another contributor to the Saints’ success.
“Mackenzie Loomis, she's doing everything we ask,” he said. “We ask her to play outside back, center back, and today she played some center mid. She's stepped up as a sophomore and really been a physical presence in the middle of the field. That's been nice.”
The final part of the game produced good signs.
“We responded in the second half, created some opportunities and had a little bit more of the run of play in the second half,” DiNuzzo said. “That gives us some optimism going forward.
“They had much more desire and it was more entertaining. It was more of our brand of soccer in the second half.”
But the Stars continued their Tri-Cities Night perfection, and for the first time exited the field with a win in the series over their cross-town foes.
“Anytime you get two fantastic programs playing each other you're going to get a good game,” Harks said. “It was a great challenge for us, and I was really happy with the way the girls played.”
The players were just as excited over the latest showdown for bragging rights.
“It's always good to win against your rivals,” Bellock said, “especially with friends on the other side. That's one thing super fun about this type of game.”
And with just three DuKane Conference games left (two at home), Hein noted the massive added significance of her side's win in Tuesday’s first place showdown.
“It's really good,” she said. “It's a conference win: the last time we beat East (April 2) was in a tournament. Now we have a great lead in the conference, and it's really good for us going into the postseason seeding to have this win.”
Starting lineups
St. Charles North
GK Kara Claussner
D Martina Nava
D Lauren Balster
D Sidney Timms
D Abby Vichich
M Bella Najera
M Julianna Park
M Sophie Kirsten
M Kayla Floyd
F Sophie Sutherland
F Sophia Hein
St. Charles East
GK Sidney Lazenby
D Lauren Silvestri
D Anna Champine
D Madison Flanders
D Alexandra Saviano
M Kara Machala
M Mackenzie Loomis
M Libby Thomas
F Grace Williams
F Ella Stehman
F Mia Raschke
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match:
Sophia Hein, sr., MF, St. Charles North
Scoring summary
First half
SCN- Hein, 14’
SCN- Leah Bellock, 21’
Second half
No scoring
to continue Tri-Cities Night perfection
North Stars take sole possession of DuKane lead with 2-0 victory
By Dave Owen
GENEVA -- Opportunistic bounces of different kinds helped St. Charles North maintain its run of perfection at Tri-Cities Night on Tuesday.
In the latest in a long series of typically well-played battles between St, Charles North and cross-town rival St. Charles East, the North Stars (11-2-0, 4-0-0 in the DuKane Conference) struck for two goals in a seven-minute span of the first half to decide a 2-0 win over the Saints (13-3-0, 3-1-0).
The two teams had met already this year, a 2-1 Stars win in the Rose Augsburg-Drach Invitational final at St. Charles East.
But this neutral site rematch had the added elements of a conference game and a large crowd for the first Tri-Cities Night doubleheader among four neighboring Fox River squads (with Geneva and Batavia).
And for the North Stars, the win added to a remarkable run of success: in an ultra-competitive soccer area, North now has a perfect 6-0-0 all-time record in Tri-Cities Night games. East is next among the four schools with three wins.
“It's a really good feeling,” St. Charles North senior Sophia Hein said. “The last time we played them (April 2) was really a tough game. It was in the cold, a hard game for everyone. So, it was great to come out here and have good weather and show what we can do against a really good team like East.”
St. Charles East entered the game on an eight-game win streak that told only part of a dominant story. Over those contests, the Saints outscored foes by an overwhelming 34-1 margin.
However in this game, things started to turn St. Charles North’s way in the 14th minute. Hein’s extra effort after an initial shot block by a Saints defender put the Saints in the unusual recent position of trailing 1-0.
“I play winger,” Hein said, “and our coaches preach every single practice just to get to the end line. That's what I did.
“I crossed it in, it deflected off of their player, and I got lucky that it came right back to me. I was able to stay composed and have a shot in the low corner (of the net for a goal).
“Sometimes it gets frantic, because you're not ready for the ball to come out (for a rebound). I was able to stay composed, get good contact with the ball and get a good shot and score off a good keeper (East’s Sidney Lazenby).”
If that ricochet play didn’t shake up St. Charles East, the second Stars goal 19:37 before halftime literally had that effect.
Hein was again the initiator with a cross toward senior Leah Bellock in front, and this Hein send had another unusual impact.
“Pretty much I was on the left side, and Hein went to cross it in,” Bellock said. “Three East players, the goalie and two others went head-on (colliding in front), the ball went out. I was right in front of the net but couldn't just boot it. So, I (shot) to the corner (lower right of the net), and that's how it went.”
Bellock’s good fortune on that play was the antithesis of her recent battles with a hip injury.
“For a week and a half, it’s been really hurting me,” she said, “but when I play I can't really feel it. And I wasn’t going to miss this game.”
Suddenly, the North Stars’ hustle and persistence and a fair element of luck had put them up 2-0 over a strong and defensively elite foe.
“I think the first half came down to capitalizing on opportunities,” St. Charles North coach Brian Harks said. “St Charles East is such a strong defensive team so you know you don't get many chances, and we were able to make the most of it when they came along.”
St. Charles East senior Libby Thomas offered her take on the decisive first 20-plus minutes of the game.
“They came out with more motivation than we had,” she said. “We were kind of tired and dull in the first half.
“It's frustrating they got two (goals) in when I don't think we were ready. But the second half we came out and were more encouraging for each other and excited to play. I think we outplayed them in the second half, but the first half was frustrating.”
Saints coach Vince DiNuzzo echoed Thomas’ sentiments.
“I thought we responded well in the second half,” he said. “The first half obviously was uncharacteristic. Low energy, low effort. And they made us pay. Credit to them. A good team will find a way to win, and they did it.”
It was an especially emotional Tri-Cities Night for the Saints.
The annual cause chosen among the four schools for this year was the family of former St. Charles East players Margaret Harper (now playing college at Texas-Dallas, where she started four games as a sophomore last year) and her sister Amy.
Their mother Linda passed away in 2021 after a battle with cancer.
“I played with Margaret a few years ago,” Thomas said. “She was super sweet. I'm glad we were able to come out here for that cause.
“It is cool to have the big crowd and be here for a good cause for the Harper family. But it’s obviously not the result we were hoping for.”
The Saints began their bid to rally with an early second half chance by Anna Champine (a 25-yard free kick cleared by the Stars), followed with 27:10 left by an attack led by Thomas and Mia Raschke that ended with a defensive deflection away and an 18-yard rebound wide left.
“I've been really happy with our backline,” Harks said. “I think our center backs do a good job controlling all the players around them and communicating. Our outside backs have done a fantastic job of locking down their marks as well as getting forward and bringing some offensive power. So, the backline I'm continually impressed with.
“Our midfield played well too, winning balls in the air, especially Kayla Floyd and (Bella) Najera. There's a variety of players out there who did really well tonight. I could go down a long list.”
Up 2-0 but facing a growing test from the Saints, the Stars nonetheless came within inches from adding to their lead with 25 minutes left.
This time it was Juliana Park generating a chance, as she launched a left-footed corner kick across the crease and off the back post.
North had another near miss with 6:40 to go, a Hein drive that deflected off an East defender and then skimmed the crossbar as it sailed over for a corner kick.
But an Abby Vicich 28-yarder just wide right with 18:25 left was the only other decent chance of the second half, while the St. Charles East offense continued to up the heat.
A counterattack with 17 minutes forced St. Charles North into a deflection that rolled just wide right of the net. The ensuing Kara Machala corner kick produced two Saints header tries, but neither got through the defense.
The final minutes produced a particularly relentless chance for the Saints. Off another Machala corner, East kept the ball deep in the box for nearly 30 seconds. But multiple bids to finish (including Stars blocks of two header attempts and at least one shot) in that frenetic sequence ended with the score still 2-0.
“It’s so frustrating,” Thomas said. “We had like five people in the box and couldn't put it in. The ball just kept bouncing back and forth. We should have ended the ball and got it into the net.”
Senior Sidney Timms was one key St. Charles North defender in the middle of many denied opportunities.
“Sidney Timms is an amazing player and a great teammate,” Bellock said. “She holds that backline really well, especially on her side. She goes right in there.”
A combined clear upfield by Martina Nava and Vichich in the final seconds put the final touches on the 2-0 Stars win.
“It really shows what we're capable of because East is always so strong,” Hein said. “It's always the most fun our team has during the season to play them, and it's so competitive.
“To get a solid 2-0 win and have a shutout against them, it gives our defense confidence and also gives our offense confidence being able to finish against the strong defense East has.”
Except for a few rough first half moments, St. Charles East continued its excellent April play.
“I think our defense has been what's really helping us,” Thomas said. “Champine in the back is obviously a rock, and up-top I think Mia (Raschke), Ella (Stehman) and Grace (Williams) have been doing a really good job finishing. Honestly all the players have really helped our team be successful.”
DiNuzzo noted another contributor to the Saints’ success.
“Mackenzie Loomis, she's doing everything we ask,” he said. “We ask her to play outside back, center back, and today she played some center mid. She's stepped up as a sophomore and really been a physical presence in the middle of the field. That's been nice.”
The final part of the game produced good signs.
“We responded in the second half, created some opportunities and had a little bit more of the run of play in the second half,” DiNuzzo said. “That gives us some optimism going forward.
“They had much more desire and it was more entertaining. It was more of our brand of soccer in the second half.”
But the Stars continued their Tri-Cities Night perfection, and for the first time exited the field with a win in the series over their cross-town foes.
“Anytime you get two fantastic programs playing each other you're going to get a good game,” Harks said. “It was a great challenge for us, and I was really happy with the way the girls played.”
The players were just as excited over the latest showdown for bragging rights.
“It's always good to win against your rivals,” Bellock said, “especially with friends on the other side. That's one thing super fun about this type of game.”
And with just three DuKane Conference games left (two at home), Hein noted the massive added significance of her side's win in Tuesday’s first place showdown.
“It's really good,” she said. “It's a conference win: the last time we beat East (April 2) was in a tournament. Now we have a great lead in the conference, and it's really good for us going into the postseason seeding to have this win.”
Starting lineups
St. Charles North
GK Kara Claussner
D Martina Nava
D Lauren Balster
D Sidney Timms
D Abby Vichich
M Bella Najera
M Julianna Park
M Sophie Kirsten
M Kayla Floyd
F Sophie Sutherland
F Sophia Hein
St. Charles East
GK Sidney Lazenby
D Lauren Silvestri
D Anna Champine
D Madison Flanders
D Alexandra Saviano
M Kara Machala
M Mackenzie Loomis
M Libby Thomas
F Grace Williams
F Ella Stehman
F Mia Raschke
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match:
Sophia Hein, sr., MF, St. Charles North
Scoring summary
First half
SCN- Hein, 14’
SCN- Leah Bellock, 21’
Second half
No scoring