Fenwick, St. Francis grind out league tie
Pasquale scores 2 for St. Francis, Fredian header nets 2-2 draw
By Gary Larsen
Grabbing a tie instead of a victory from the jaws of defeat isn’t quite as glamorous but then the tying goal that Fenwick’s Kaylie Fredian scored against St. Francis had no glamor attached to it.
In fact, Wednesday’s entire Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Red Division showdown between host Fenwick and St. Francis was a physically intense, tooth-and-nail affair. So when Fredian won a head ball in a crowd and scored, with assorted defenders and teammates also rising to challenge for it, it was simply a rugged goal scored in a rugged game.
“It just comes down to who wants it,” Fredian said. “You’ve got to put your body on the line and just go for it. You have to risk your body. Our keeper (McKenzie Blaze) does it every game back there, so why shouldn't we do it up here?"
Fredian’s tying goal came at 56 minutes, after St. Francis (11-3-2, 4-0-1) had fought back from a 1-0 deficit to take the lead on a pair of Kendra Pasquale goals.
Fenwick (10-2-4, 2-0-4) took its lone lead at nine minutes on a goal from Regan Hulmquist.
The Friars came out hard at home in Oak Park and had things going their way until the 14th minute, when the game was stopped due to the inclement weather that swept through the area on Wednesday.
When play resumed roughly 15 minutes later, the St. Francis was a different team.
An intense weekend schedule where they won a consolation title at the Tournament of Champions in Iowa brought a somewhat weary Spartans team to Wednesday’s game. But they managed to find their step after the rain delay.
“It took us a while to find a rhythm,” St. Francis midfielder Claire Hensley said. “Obviously the start of the game was super fast, and we just came back from playing three games in Iowa. So I think collectively, we’re a little beat down. It’s not an excuse, but that’s kind of how we came out today. We were kind of lackadaisical.”
Lackadaisical is never a word you’re likely to apply to St. Francis senior forward Kendra Pasquale, who quickly established her presence when play resumed. She worked hard to receive every pass and take on defenders on all over the final third.
Pasquale tied the game at 34 minutes when she dribbled up and blistered a shot from 25 yards. Fenwick keeper McKenzie Blaze slid to the right post and hit the turf, but Pasquale’s shot skipped with pace and got past her.
Nine minutes into the second half, Pasquale struck again. A Fenwick defender attempted to pass a ball back but Pasquale got to it first and sent it past a charging Blaze.
“I took a touch, it kind of bounced, and I managed to get a toe on it,” Pasquale said. “I just kind of poked it, and it just split through.
“To bounce back the way we did, that’s the positive, and how to keep our cool when adversity comes. We got very frantic and panicked so I think today was just learning to stay calm and stay positive when we get down like that, and coming back from it.”
Fredian’s tying goal was set up on a free kick taken from the left side by Lauren Stibich. Stibich’s serve was headed up by a defender at the 18 and lofted over to the middle of the penalty area, where Fredian negotiated a mass convergence of players to earn the tying goal.
For their vital roles in the tie, Fredian and Pasquale were named Chicagoland Soccer’s co-MVPs of the Match.
Fredian, a senior, has a running mate at midfield in junior Regan Hulmquist that she was quick to applaud after the game.
“I love playing with Regan, and I think it’s more about heart and wanting it than anything,” Fredian said. “Regan does that well. She makes it easy playing in the middle. She does everything. She’s the hardest-working player on our team, I believe.”
Watson hopes people notice the hard work being put forth by the midfield tandem.
“They’re the glue. They do all the work you don’t recognize unless you’re a coach or a soccer player,” Watson said. “You know those pedometers you put on kids? They’re going eight miles a game. They go from box to box and they don’t come off the field.
“It’s nice to have girls like Anissa (Nourse) and girls that score a lot of goals, and a defender like Stibich, but you also have to recognize players like that.”
The game’s final 20 minutes saw St. Francis hit a crossbar and a post in search of a lead. The Spartans are currently ranked sixth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 and coach Jim Winslow was happy to see his girls fight through a stretch of physical and mental weariness.
“The big difference between this year and last year is they will compete and get back into it,” Winslow said. “We got behind today and ended up going ahead, and that I liked. They’re getting a day off tomorrow, because they need it. So do I.”
Players like Hensley, Pasquale, Hannah Rittenhouse, Erin Peck, and Caroline Zimmer took turns in key attacking moments for the Spartans. Fredian, Hulmquist, Nourse and Morgan Hosty did the same for Fenwick, which also tied GCAC rival and eighth-ranked Loyola 2-2 on April 24.
“(St. Francis) is a really great team, and I think we stuck with them,” Hulmquist said. “We should all be proud of ourselves.”
Watson is pleased with the way his girls are playing with the postseason looming.
“We’re right where we want to be. We still need to clean some mistakes up, and then these ties are wins,” he said. “Today was the same as the Loyola game — they had more of the ball, but the goals they got, they shouldn’t have had.”
Fenwick completed is conference without a loss, but tied with St. Ignatius for third with 10 points.
Winslow had a similar view of the two goals his side conceded.
“At the end of the day it was one bad pass, a second bad pass, and a third bad pass by us. We were sloppy all day,” he said. “(Fenwick) came out with a ton of energy, but the kids were good about getting themselves going. We’re very much a rhythm team, and the last 20 minutes we were hitting posts and crossbars.”
With the tie, St. Francis set itself up for a grand league finale. The Spartans will host Loyola, which has an identical 4-0-1 mark, for the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Red Division title at 7 p.m. May 7
Click here for GCAC Red Division standings
Starting lineups
St. Francis
GK Courtney Kozak
D Alex Preusser
D Emma Armbrust
D Jill DiTusa
D Christine Fasana
M Mickey Corrigan
M Claire Hensley
M Caroline Zimmer
F Kendra Pasquale
F Hannah Rittenhouse
F Erin Peck
Fenwick
GK: McKenzie Blaze
D: Shannon Ehrhardt
D: Lauren Miller
D: Tess Shannon
D: Lauren Stibich
MF: Kaylie Fredian
MF: Margaux Shearer
MF: Anissa Nourse
MF: Anna Waring
MF: Regan Hulmquist
F: Morgan Hosty
Chicagoland Soccer co-MVPs of the Match: Kaylie Fredian, sr., M, Fenwick
Kendra Pasquale, sr., F, St. Francis
Scoring summary
First half
Fenwick — Hulmquist (UA) 9th minute
St. Francis — Pasquale (UA) 34th minute
Second half
St. Francis — Pasquale (UA) 48th minute
Fenwick — Fredian (Stibich) 56th minute
Pasquale scores 2 for St. Francis, Fredian header nets 2-2 draw
By Gary Larsen
Grabbing a tie instead of a victory from the jaws of defeat isn’t quite as glamorous but then the tying goal that Fenwick’s Kaylie Fredian scored against St. Francis had no glamor attached to it.
In fact, Wednesday’s entire Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Red Division showdown between host Fenwick and St. Francis was a physically intense, tooth-and-nail affair. So when Fredian won a head ball in a crowd and scored, with assorted defenders and teammates also rising to challenge for it, it was simply a rugged goal scored in a rugged game.
“It just comes down to who wants it,” Fredian said. “You’ve got to put your body on the line and just go for it. You have to risk your body. Our keeper (McKenzie Blaze) does it every game back there, so why shouldn't we do it up here?"
Fredian’s tying goal came at 56 minutes, after St. Francis (11-3-2, 4-0-1) had fought back from a 1-0 deficit to take the lead on a pair of Kendra Pasquale goals.
Fenwick (10-2-4, 2-0-4) took its lone lead at nine minutes on a goal from Regan Hulmquist.
The Friars came out hard at home in Oak Park and had things going their way until the 14th minute, when the game was stopped due to the inclement weather that swept through the area on Wednesday.
When play resumed roughly 15 minutes later, the St. Francis was a different team.
An intense weekend schedule where they won a consolation title at the Tournament of Champions in Iowa brought a somewhat weary Spartans team to Wednesday’s game. But they managed to find their step after the rain delay.
“It took us a while to find a rhythm,” St. Francis midfielder Claire Hensley said. “Obviously the start of the game was super fast, and we just came back from playing three games in Iowa. So I think collectively, we’re a little beat down. It’s not an excuse, but that’s kind of how we came out today. We were kind of lackadaisical.”
Lackadaisical is never a word you’re likely to apply to St. Francis senior forward Kendra Pasquale, who quickly established her presence when play resumed. She worked hard to receive every pass and take on defenders on all over the final third.
Pasquale tied the game at 34 minutes when she dribbled up and blistered a shot from 25 yards. Fenwick keeper McKenzie Blaze slid to the right post and hit the turf, but Pasquale’s shot skipped with pace and got past her.
Nine minutes into the second half, Pasquale struck again. A Fenwick defender attempted to pass a ball back but Pasquale got to it first and sent it past a charging Blaze.
“I took a touch, it kind of bounced, and I managed to get a toe on it,” Pasquale said. “I just kind of poked it, and it just split through.
“To bounce back the way we did, that’s the positive, and how to keep our cool when adversity comes. We got very frantic and panicked so I think today was just learning to stay calm and stay positive when we get down like that, and coming back from it.”
Fredian’s tying goal was set up on a free kick taken from the left side by Lauren Stibich. Stibich’s serve was headed up by a defender at the 18 and lofted over to the middle of the penalty area, where Fredian negotiated a mass convergence of players to earn the tying goal.
For their vital roles in the tie, Fredian and Pasquale were named Chicagoland Soccer’s co-MVPs of the Match.
Fredian, a senior, has a running mate at midfield in junior Regan Hulmquist that she was quick to applaud after the game.
“I love playing with Regan, and I think it’s more about heart and wanting it than anything,” Fredian said. “Regan does that well. She makes it easy playing in the middle. She does everything. She’s the hardest-working player on our team, I believe.”
Watson hopes people notice the hard work being put forth by the midfield tandem.
“They’re the glue. They do all the work you don’t recognize unless you’re a coach or a soccer player,” Watson said. “You know those pedometers you put on kids? They’re going eight miles a game. They go from box to box and they don’t come off the field.
“It’s nice to have girls like Anissa (Nourse) and girls that score a lot of goals, and a defender like Stibich, but you also have to recognize players like that.”
The game’s final 20 minutes saw St. Francis hit a crossbar and a post in search of a lead. The Spartans are currently ranked sixth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 and coach Jim Winslow was happy to see his girls fight through a stretch of physical and mental weariness.
“The big difference between this year and last year is they will compete and get back into it,” Winslow said. “We got behind today and ended up going ahead, and that I liked. They’re getting a day off tomorrow, because they need it. So do I.”
Players like Hensley, Pasquale, Hannah Rittenhouse, Erin Peck, and Caroline Zimmer took turns in key attacking moments for the Spartans. Fredian, Hulmquist, Nourse and Morgan Hosty did the same for Fenwick, which also tied GCAC rival and eighth-ranked Loyola 2-2 on April 24.
“(St. Francis) is a really great team, and I think we stuck with them,” Hulmquist said. “We should all be proud of ourselves.”
Watson is pleased with the way his girls are playing with the postseason looming.
“We’re right where we want to be. We still need to clean some mistakes up, and then these ties are wins,” he said. “Today was the same as the Loyola game — they had more of the ball, but the goals they got, they shouldn’t have had.”
Fenwick completed is conference without a loss, but tied with St. Ignatius for third with 10 points.
Winslow had a similar view of the two goals his side conceded.
“At the end of the day it was one bad pass, a second bad pass, and a third bad pass by us. We were sloppy all day,” he said. “(Fenwick) came out with a ton of energy, but the kids were good about getting themselves going. We’re very much a rhythm team, and the last 20 minutes we were hitting posts and crossbars.”
With the tie, St. Francis set itself up for a grand league finale. The Spartans will host Loyola, which has an identical 4-0-1 mark, for the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Red Division title at 7 p.m. May 7
Click here for GCAC Red Division standings
Starting lineups
St. Francis
GK Courtney Kozak
D Alex Preusser
D Emma Armbrust
D Jill DiTusa
D Christine Fasana
M Mickey Corrigan
M Claire Hensley
M Caroline Zimmer
F Kendra Pasquale
F Hannah Rittenhouse
F Erin Peck
Fenwick
GK: McKenzie Blaze
D: Shannon Ehrhardt
D: Lauren Miller
D: Tess Shannon
D: Lauren Stibich
MF: Kaylie Fredian
MF: Margaux Shearer
MF: Anissa Nourse
MF: Anna Waring
MF: Regan Hulmquist
F: Morgan Hosty
Chicagoland Soccer co-MVPs of the Match: Kaylie Fredian, sr., M, Fenwick
Kendra Pasquale, sr., F, St. Francis
Scoring summary
First half
Fenwick — Hulmquist (UA) 9th minute
St. Francis — Pasquale (UA) 34th minute
Second half
St. Francis — Pasquale (UA) 48th minute
Fenwick — Fredian (Stibich) 56th minute