St. Francis attack tops Lemont
Spartans earn title shot with 2-0 win over Indians
By Mike Garofola
NAPERVILLE -- Caroline Zimmer and Hannah Rittenhouse had the look of predators. And by the time the dynamic duo finished an extraordinary days work, the St. Francis title chase had gotten to the final step of its trophy hunt.
The juniors got the Spartans off to a perfect start Friday afternoon -- working together to bag the opener in the 68th minute before Jill Ditusa applied the dagger with a wonderous free kick in the Spartans 2-0 Class AA state semifinal win over Lemont on Friday at North Central College.
The Spartans (17-4-3) advanced to the championshp game to meet Saint Viator (18-5-2), who sent off Normal West 1-0.
The second half attack of St. Francis was another exceptional demonstration of the damage that can be inflicted on opponents by Rittenhouse, Zimmer, Kendra Pasquale, Erin Peck and others, who left little doubt that once up and running, the club is tough to stop.
"It took us a little while to get going and to find our game. (Some) of that was due to Lemont, and some to a case of nerves on our behalf," began Spartans manager Jim Winslow, whose program earned a state championship game berth for the first time since 2012.
"But the last 15 minutes of the first half, I saw us coming into the game. And our start after the break told me we were ready to roll. If not for (Lemont's Mairead) Ruane in the back, we could have put more into the net than we did."
Ruane is Lemont's superb two-time all-state forward, whom Indians manager Rick Prangen deployed as his center back following an injury to his terrific defender, Katrina Retzke, who was lost for the season in the sectional final against Providence.
"Mairead is a great player, but one that we had to move into the back in order to solidify things there for us," offered Lemont manager Rick Prangen. "When you make a move like that, you lose a lot on the other side of the ball. So then you hold on and hope for some good luck along the way."
It was clear from the beginning that both sides were not in sync as the ball spent more time either sprayed off in several directions, over the touchline or in the air -- making for some less than aesthetic soccer.
"Kind of ugly," admitted both Rittenhouse and Zimmer of the first quarter hour or so, in which the Spartans struggled to get out of their own end. Lemont senior Jacqueline Aleman had plenty to do with the Spartans disjointed play.
"Aleman is a very good player, but knowing that Lemont had pretty much committed her to man-mark Pasquale, it opened up opportunities for others who have the ability to take advantage of those situations," said Winslow.
All attempts to counter or to get forward by the Spartans were stymied by their lack of efficiency, until Pasquale, in full gallop, corkscrewd a Indians defender to get to the endline, before whipping a ball to Claire Hensley, who went wide at 14 minutes.
The bit of quality began to awaken the Spartans from their quarter-hour snooze. Soon thereafter, a handful of chances began to show promise for the club, including its best when an interception from Rittenhouse saw the 21-goal scorer play a lovely ball wide to Pasquale.
With one of her patented moves, Pasquale darted to the end line. Once there, she curled an inch-perfect ball to the spot where Hensley and Lemont keeper Michelle Jerantowski met.
The 50-50 challenge sent the ball out to the edge, where Rittenhouse unloaded her attempt just over the bar.
From there, Lemont created a pair of deep throws, both of which were defended with confidence out of the area. A free kick from Aleman was easily pulled in by keeper Courtney Kozak, who had a rather easy time of it between the sticks.
This sequence ended without anything of quality for the Indians. lemont closed out the final 12 minutes before the intermission defending against a now, rampant Spartans attack which began to find its way clear and into another gear.
"On the bus ride over we had the music pumping, and our mojo going, (it) just took us awhile to find that in the game," said Rittenhouse. "But once we did, our possession was really going, and we created chances and opportunities and really forced them to defend
When the half hour struck, Zimmer had a pair of point-blank shots blocked. The first came after Mickey Corrigan dispossessed an Indians defender and quickly connected with her teammate, followed by Peck striking wide, Hensley forcing Jerantowski to punch her corner out of harm's way, and another corner parried out of the area to end the first period.
"To get to the half and not concede a goal against a team with some very special players said a lot about the way we defended and played with so much heart and energy," Prangen said. "But to do sthat again for another 40 minutes was asking a lot of this team."
Even with the odds stacked against them, Lemont, with Ruane in charge, defended with all its heart after the intermission as the Spartans poured forward in its quest for the opener, then hopefully another one or two more.
"St. Francis eventually wore us down in the midfield, and their two goals were well deserved. (They) were just better than us today," said Ruane, showing the class befitting a brilliant player, who wears the captain's armband with pride for her club.
"Mairead is such a great offensive player, so to have her in their backline helped them stay in the game," offered Winslow. "It weakened their attack but made them stronger in the back.
Her presence would eventually be negated when the Spartans dominated the middle of the park with 50-50 and second-ball victories, possession, distribution, and far too much pace that forced Lemont to defend and drop numbers in order to stave off St. Francis.
They did so for awhile, despite several Spartans taking turns as they looked to expose the Lemont backline and its fine keeper, but it wasn't until Rittenhouse put the ball onto the foot of Zimmer that something of true value occurred.
Zimmer's 25-yard guided missile bent the net out of shape, and the Spartans had the lead for good in the 68th minute.
"We were creating chances and things were going our way," said Zimmer. "So when I had the chance, I just took it, and it went in for us," said a humble Zimmer, who made her spectacular finish sound as if it were nothing at all.
"We felt something coming after finishing strong in that first half, then opening up the same way after the break. But Caroline was the catalyst for us in the second half, and that goal of hers was something else," said a proud Winslow.
The St. Francis lead would get an exclamation point when Lemont conceded what looked like an innocent free kick 40 yards away from its keeper at 72 minutes. That was until Jill DiTusa stepped up.
"Claire (Hensley) normally takes free kicks from 30 yards and beyond. (She) took one earlier, and it went wide, so when this one came up, I said let me take this one," recounted the junior.
Once over the ball, the star center back scalded her attempt, up and over Jerantowski to all but end the hopes of the Indians.
"My grandparents were here, and I looked up into the stands for them after the goal," smiled DiTusa.
At the final whistle, the Spartans raced out to meet and celebrate their victory which sent them through, while Prangen took his club off the pitch and into the shade for its customary cool down before heading home.
"We played our hearts out, but St. Francis was the better team today, and they deserved the result," began Prangen.
"Could I have moved Mairead up-top? Sure, but then maybe it's 3-0 or 4-0. She gave us the best chance to stay in the game as long as we could.
"They have a lot of weapons to keep an eye on and playing on the turf, instead of grass as we do for 90% of our games took its toll on us. That's just the way this game goes."
Lemont faced Normal West in the third place game Saturday and looks to improve on its fourth place finish a year ago, while already being assured of its sixth state trophy in program history.
It's on to the final for St. Francis.
"This is the game we've been wanting to get into from the start of the year for ourselves and especially the seniors," echoed both Zimmer and Rittenhouse, who had visions of lifting the big trophy in their eyes.
Starting lineups
Lemont (3-1-5-1)
GK- Michelle Jerantowski
D- Danielle Irwin
D- Mairead Ruane
D- Sarah Knoepfle
M- Michaela Egan
M- Lily Hinkle
M- Erin Crispo
M- Katie Knutte
M- Adriana Patino
M- Jacqueline Aleman
F- Niamh Hehir
St. Francis (4-3-3)
GK- Courtney Kozak
D- Alex Preusser
D- Jill DiTusa
D- Emma Armbrust
D- Christine Fasana
M- Kaitlin Joniak
M- Claire Hensley
M- Caroline Zimmer
F- Kendra Pasquale
F- Hannah Rittenhouse
F- Erin Peck
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Caroline Zimmer, jr., M, St. Francis
Referee: John Bouc; assistants Rick Geati, Richard Goldberg; fourth Miguel Chavez.
Scoring summary
Second half
St. Francis: Zimmer (Rittenhouse) 68'
St. Francis: DiTusa (FK) 72'
Spartans earn title shot with 2-0 win over Indians
By Mike Garofola
NAPERVILLE -- Caroline Zimmer and Hannah Rittenhouse had the look of predators. And by the time the dynamic duo finished an extraordinary days work, the St. Francis title chase had gotten to the final step of its trophy hunt.
The juniors got the Spartans off to a perfect start Friday afternoon -- working together to bag the opener in the 68th minute before Jill Ditusa applied the dagger with a wonderous free kick in the Spartans 2-0 Class AA state semifinal win over Lemont on Friday at North Central College.
The Spartans (17-4-3) advanced to the championshp game to meet Saint Viator (18-5-2), who sent off Normal West 1-0.
The second half attack of St. Francis was another exceptional demonstration of the damage that can be inflicted on opponents by Rittenhouse, Zimmer, Kendra Pasquale, Erin Peck and others, who left little doubt that once up and running, the club is tough to stop.
"It took us a little while to get going and to find our game. (Some) of that was due to Lemont, and some to a case of nerves on our behalf," began Spartans manager Jim Winslow, whose program earned a state championship game berth for the first time since 2012.
"But the last 15 minutes of the first half, I saw us coming into the game. And our start after the break told me we were ready to roll. If not for (Lemont's Mairead) Ruane in the back, we could have put more into the net than we did."
Ruane is Lemont's superb two-time all-state forward, whom Indians manager Rick Prangen deployed as his center back following an injury to his terrific defender, Katrina Retzke, who was lost for the season in the sectional final against Providence.
"Mairead is a great player, but one that we had to move into the back in order to solidify things there for us," offered Lemont manager Rick Prangen. "When you make a move like that, you lose a lot on the other side of the ball. So then you hold on and hope for some good luck along the way."
It was clear from the beginning that both sides were not in sync as the ball spent more time either sprayed off in several directions, over the touchline or in the air -- making for some less than aesthetic soccer.
"Kind of ugly," admitted both Rittenhouse and Zimmer of the first quarter hour or so, in which the Spartans struggled to get out of their own end. Lemont senior Jacqueline Aleman had plenty to do with the Spartans disjointed play.
"Aleman is a very good player, but knowing that Lemont had pretty much committed her to man-mark Pasquale, it opened up opportunities for others who have the ability to take advantage of those situations," said Winslow.
All attempts to counter or to get forward by the Spartans were stymied by their lack of efficiency, until Pasquale, in full gallop, corkscrewd a Indians defender to get to the endline, before whipping a ball to Claire Hensley, who went wide at 14 minutes.
The bit of quality began to awaken the Spartans from their quarter-hour snooze. Soon thereafter, a handful of chances began to show promise for the club, including its best when an interception from Rittenhouse saw the 21-goal scorer play a lovely ball wide to Pasquale.
With one of her patented moves, Pasquale darted to the end line. Once there, she curled an inch-perfect ball to the spot where Hensley and Lemont keeper Michelle Jerantowski met.
The 50-50 challenge sent the ball out to the edge, where Rittenhouse unloaded her attempt just over the bar.
From there, Lemont created a pair of deep throws, both of which were defended with confidence out of the area. A free kick from Aleman was easily pulled in by keeper Courtney Kozak, who had a rather easy time of it between the sticks.
This sequence ended without anything of quality for the Indians. lemont closed out the final 12 minutes before the intermission defending against a now, rampant Spartans attack which began to find its way clear and into another gear.
"On the bus ride over we had the music pumping, and our mojo going, (it) just took us awhile to find that in the game," said Rittenhouse. "But once we did, our possession was really going, and we created chances and opportunities and really forced them to defend
When the half hour struck, Zimmer had a pair of point-blank shots blocked. The first came after Mickey Corrigan dispossessed an Indians defender and quickly connected with her teammate, followed by Peck striking wide, Hensley forcing Jerantowski to punch her corner out of harm's way, and another corner parried out of the area to end the first period.
"To get to the half and not concede a goal against a team with some very special players said a lot about the way we defended and played with so much heart and energy," Prangen said. "But to do sthat again for another 40 minutes was asking a lot of this team."
Even with the odds stacked against them, Lemont, with Ruane in charge, defended with all its heart after the intermission as the Spartans poured forward in its quest for the opener, then hopefully another one or two more.
"St. Francis eventually wore us down in the midfield, and their two goals were well deserved. (They) were just better than us today," said Ruane, showing the class befitting a brilliant player, who wears the captain's armband with pride for her club.
"Mairead is such a great offensive player, so to have her in their backline helped them stay in the game," offered Winslow. "It weakened their attack but made them stronger in the back.
Her presence would eventually be negated when the Spartans dominated the middle of the park with 50-50 and second-ball victories, possession, distribution, and far too much pace that forced Lemont to defend and drop numbers in order to stave off St. Francis.
They did so for awhile, despite several Spartans taking turns as they looked to expose the Lemont backline and its fine keeper, but it wasn't until Rittenhouse put the ball onto the foot of Zimmer that something of true value occurred.
Zimmer's 25-yard guided missile bent the net out of shape, and the Spartans had the lead for good in the 68th minute.
"We were creating chances and things were going our way," said Zimmer. "So when I had the chance, I just took it, and it went in for us," said a humble Zimmer, who made her spectacular finish sound as if it were nothing at all.
"We felt something coming after finishing strong in that first half, then opening up the same way after the break. But Caroline was the catalyst for us in the second half, and that goal of hers was something else," said a proud Winslow.
The St. Francis lead would get an exclamation point when Lemont conceded what looked like an innocent free kick 40 yards away from its keeper at 72 minutes. That was until Jill DiTusa stepped up.
"Claire (Hensley) normally takes free kicks from 30 yards and beyond. (She) took one earlier, and it went wide, so when this one came up, I said let me take this one," recounted the junior.
Once over the ball, the star center back scalded her attempt, up and over Jerantowski to all but end the hopes of the Indians.
"My grandparents were here, and I looked up into the stands for them after the goal," smiled DiTusa.
At the final whistle, the Spartans raced out to meet and celebrate their victory which sent them through, while Prangen took his club off the pitch and into the shade for its customary cool down before heading home.
"We played our hearts out, but St. Francis was the better team today, and they deserved the result," began Prangen.
"Could I have moved Mairead up-top? Sure, but then maybe it's 3-0 or 4-0. She gave us the best chance to stay in the game as long as we could.
"They have a lot of weapons to keep an eye on and playing on the turf, instead of grass as we do for 90% of our games took its toll on us. That's just the way this game goes."
Lemont faced Normal West in the third place game Saturday and looks to improve on its fourth place finish a year ago, while already being assured of its sixth state trophy in program history.
It's on to the final for St. Francis.
"This is the game we've been wanting to get into from the start of the year for ourselves and especially the seniors," echoed both Zimmer and Rittenhouse, who had visions of lifting the big trophy in their eyes.
Starting lineups
Lemont (3-1-5-1)
GK- Michelle Jerantowski
D- Danielle Irwin
D- Mairead Ruane
D- Sarah Knoepfle
M- Michaela Egan
M- Lily Hinkle
M- Erin Crispo
M- Katie Knutte
M- Adriana Patino
M- Jacqueline Aleman
F- Niamh Hehir
St. Francis (4-3-3)
GK- Courtney Kozak
D- Alex Preusser
D- Jill DiTusa
D- Emma Armbrust
D- Christine Fasana
M- Kaitlin Joniak
M- Claire Hensley
M- Caroline Zimmer
F- Kendra Pasquale
F- Hannah Rittenhouse
F- Erin Peck
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Caroline Zimmer, jr., M, St. Francis
Referee: John Bouc; assistants Rick Geati, Richard Goldberg; fourth Miguel Chavez.
Scoring summary
Second half
St. Francis: Zimmer (Rittenhouse) 68'
St. Francis: DiTusa (FK) 72'