St. Francis stuck
in the mud against Timothy
Spartans stymied in 2-0 loss on boggy grass field
By Matt Le Cren
ELMHURST – St. Francis sophomore Sophia Roszkowski and her teammates found it hard to gain any traction on Saturday.
There were a couple of reasons for that.
The biggest one was the condition of Timothy’s grass field, which was so soggy after Friday’s storms that the start of the nonconference match between Metro Suburban Conference teams was pushed back three hours while the host Trojans used wet-dry vacuums and sand to try to get it playable.
Whether that worked depended on whom you asked.
The other factor was the defensive tenacity of the Trojans, who thwarted every foray by Roszkowski and her fellow attackers.
“Their defense was definitely tough,” Roszkowski said. “I feel like we were trying to connect passes and then we just didn’t really have the wind on our side. We were still trying to do our best, but it was difficult.”
The Spartans’ best fell short. Ella VanderMolen and Angie Tornabene scored four minutes apart while going against the wind and goalkeeper Corinne Myket made nine saves in Timothy’s 2-0 victory.
It was an impressive win for the Trojans (7-4-0), who reached the Class A state championship game last season. St. Francis (2-7-1) is the third Class AA team Timothy has beaten this spring.
“Winning this game has been one of our main goals this season,” said Timothy star Maddie Drye, who assisted on VanderMolen’s game-winner. “We wrote down goals at the beginning of the year, and this was definitely one of them. We had two losses in the regular-season last year, and they were one of them.
“So coming into it, our mindset was really to leave it all out there, do whatever it takes to win.”
The Trojans did that, taking the fight to the Spartans, who play their home games on turf. Despite going against the wind in the first half. St. Francis coach Jim Winslow wasn’t surprised.
“The field is a predictor of the game and they’re used to playing on it,’ God bless them,” Winslow said. “Credit to them, and it absolutely kills us.”
VanderMolen gave the Trojans the lead when she received a pass from Drye in the middle of the box and crisply finished past diving St. Francis goalkeeper Kennedy Karl at the 18:53 mark of the first half.
Tornabene doubled the cushion with 14:47 to go. After a scramble in front, she thwarted a clearing attempt in the left side of the box and then fired a shot from a tough angle off the inside of the right post and in.
Just like that, a St. Francis team that regularly got the ball near the penalty area but rarely within it was in a muddy hole. Myket made eight of her saves before intermission, including a great leaping effort to deflect Ellie Bielenda’s 25-yard drive over the crossbar.
“The first 20 minutes, their keeper was fantastic,” Winslow said. “She made a couple big saves. The kid up-top (Drye) is a nice player, but we’ve got to respond.
“They scored one goal, OK. Second goal, we watch it happen; and then we just go flat for periods of time.”
Timothy had something to do with that. St. Francis got the ball up-front to Roszkowski and Lauren Bruce fairly frequently, but their efforts to break into the box were consistently thwarted.
Timothy right back Sophia Biscan was particularly tough-nosed, taking the ball away
“She was really quick,” Roszkowski said. “She was really good at shielding the ball and tracking back with the rest of her team and covering their space, which made it really difficult for our team to attack.”
Attacking has been a problem for the Spartans, who have now been shut out six times. This is the first time a Class A opponent has blanked them.
“We knock down one of those shots early, it’s a different game,” Winslow said. “I kind of had the feeling once there were one or two, ‘Oh, here we go again.’
“We played (Class 3A) Riverside-Brookfield the same way. At the end of the day, you’ve just got to take care of business.”
The Spartans didn’t do it this time, but Roszkowski isn’t discouraged. She feels the tough competition, including losses to five large-school teams, has steeled them for a late-season run.
“After those games I feel we’ve been able to help each other a lot more, and it’s been a lot easier for our team,” Roszkowski said. “We have a lot of young kids on our team, so we’ve been trying to get the chemistry going and working better together.
“I feel like everything is starting to finally click, and we’re going to have a much better time.”
As for playing in the mud, it was enjoyable, up to a point.
“I think it’s fun,” Roszkowski said. “But it’s definitely a lot more difficult, and I felt the outcome could have been a little different if it was on turf.”
Starting lineups
St. Francis
GK Kennedy Karl
D Shannon Brown
D Ada Suriano
D Alyssa Suriano
D Elle Wainscott
M Claire Reinke
M Sara Dziengel
M Ellie Bielenda
M Sophia Roszkowski
F Ella Wozniak
F Lauren Bruce
Timothy
GK Corinne Myket
D Sophia Biscan
D Mia Cittadine
D Marta Veenstra
D Chloe Leppink
M Hope Huizenga
M Miliana Martens
M Lauren Wiegers
M Angie Tornabene
F Maddie Drye
F Ella VanderMolen
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Corinne Myket, sr., GK, Timothy
Scoring summary
First half
Timothy: Ella VanderMolen (Maddie Drye) 18:53 remaining
Timothy: Angie Tornabene 14:47 remaining
Second half
No scoring
in the mud against Timothy
Spartans stymied in 2-0 loss on boggy grass field
By Matt Le Cren
ELMHURST – St. Francis sophomore Sophia Roszkowski and her teammates found it hard to gain any traction on Saturday.
There were a couple of reasons for that.
The biggest one was the condition of Timothy’s grass field, which was so soggy after Friday’s storms that the start of the nonconference match between Metro Suburban Conference teams was pushed back three hours while the host Trojans used wet-dry vacuums and sand to try to get it playable.
Whether that worked depended on whom you asked.
The other factor was the defensive tenacity of the Trojans, who thwarted every foray by Roszkowski and her fellow attackers.
“Their defense was definitely tough,” Roszkowski said. “I feel like we were trying to connect passes and then we just didn’t really have the wind on our side. We were still trying to do our best, but it was difficult.”
The Spartans’ best fell short. Ella VanderMolen and Angie Tornabene scored four minutes apart while going against the wind and goalkeeper Corinne Myket made nine saves in Timothy’s 2-0 victory.
It was an impressive win for the Trojans (7-4-0), who reached the Class A state championship game last season. St. Francis (2-7-1) is the third Class AA team Timothy has beaten this spring.
“Winning this game has been one of our main goals this season,” said Timothy star Maddie Drye, who assisted on VanderMolen’s game-winner. “We wrote down goals at the beginning of the year, and this was definitely one of them. We had two losses in the regular-season last year, and they were one of them.
“So coming into it, our mindset was really to leave it all out there, do whatever it takes to win.”
The Trojans did that, taking the fight to the Spartans, who play their home games on turf. Despite going against the wind in the first half. St. Francis coach Jim Winslow wasn’t surprised.
“The field is a predictor of the game and they’re used to playing on it,’ God bless them,” Winslow said. “Credit to them, and it absolutely kills us.”
VanderMolen gave the Trojans the lead when she received a pass from Drye in the middle of the box and crisply finished past diving St. Francis goalkeeper Kennedy Karl at the 18:53 mark of the first half.
Tornabene doubled the cushion with 14:47 to go. After a scramble in front, she thwarted a clearing attempt in the left side of the box and then fired a shot from a tough angle off the inside of the right post and in.
Just like that, a St. Francis team that regularly got the ball near the penalty area but rarely within it was in a muddy hole. Myket made eight of her saves before intermission, including a great leaping effort to deflect Ellie Bielenda’s 25-yard drive over the crossbar.
“The first 20 minutes, their keeper was fantastic,” Winslow said. “She made a couple big saves. The kid up-top (Drye) is a nice player, but we’ve got to respond.
“They scored one goal, OK. Second goal, we watch it happen; and then we just go flat for periods of time.”
Timothy had something to do with that. St. Francis got the ball up-front to Roszkowski and Lauren Bruce fairly frequently, but their efforts to break into the box were consistently thwarted.
Timothy right back Sophia Biscan was particularly tough-nosed, taking the ball away
“She was really quick,” Roszkowski said. “She was really good at shielding the ball and tracking back with the rest of her team and covering their space, which made it really difficult for our team to attack.”
Attacking has been a problem for the Spartans, who have now been shut out six times. This is the first time a Class A opponent has blanked them.
“We knock down one of those shots early, it’s a different game,” Winslow said. “I kind of had the feeling once there were one or two, ‘Oh, here we go again.’
“We played (Class 3A) Riverside-Brookfield the same way. At the end of the day, you’ve just got to take care of business.”
The Spartans didn’t do it this time, but Roszkowski isn’t discouraged. She feels the tough competition, including losses to five large-school teams, has steeled them for a late-season run.
“After those games I feel we’ve been able to help each other a lot more, and it’s been a lot easier for our team,” Roszkowski said. “We have a lot of young kids on our team, so we’ve been trying to get the chemistry going and working better together.
“I feel like everything is starting to finally click, and we’re going to have a much better time.”
As for playing in the mud, it was enjoyable, up to a point.
“I think it’s fun,” Roszkowski said. “But it’s definitely a lot more difficult, and I felt the outcome could have been a little different if it was on turf.”
Starting lineups
St. Francis
GK Kennedy Karl
D Shannon Brown
D Ada Suriano
D Alyssa Suriano
D Elle Wainscott
M Claire Reinke
M Sara Dziengel
M Ellie Bielenda
M Sophia Roszkowski
F Ella Wozniak
F Lauren Bruce
Timothy
GK Corinne Myket
D Sophia Biscan
D Mia Cittadine
D Marta Veenstra
D Chloe Leppink
M Hope Huizenga
M Miliana Martens
M Lauren Wiegers
M Angie Tornabene
F Maddie Drye
F Ella VanderMolen
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Corinne Myket, sr., GK, Timothy
Scoring summary
First half
Timothy: Ella VanderMolen (Maddie Drye) 18:53 remaining
Timothy: Angie Tornabene 14:47 remaining
Second half
No scoring