Fenwick gets the point -- start scoring
Friars seek offense, tie St. Ignatius for 2nd 0-0 league finish in row
By Steve Millar
RIVER FOREST – After its second-straight scoreless draw, Fenwick was disappointed but not defeated Friday night.
“I think we can play better,” Fenwick coach Robert Watson said. “I think we have more upside than we’re showing. However, we’re digging in, and we’re not losing. 0-0 is maybe a bit of a letdown, but it wasn’t a loss. So, I’m not upset about it.”
The host Friars missed some early scoring chances then dodged some late bullets to hold on for the scoreless draw with St. Ignatius in an evenly-matched Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Red Division battle. Fenwick also played to a scoreless draw Monday against league foe Providence.
On Senior Night, a host of members from the Class of 2018 contributed heavily as Fenwick (8-2-2, 1-0-2) upped its unbeaten streak to four games, and recorded its third-consecutive shutout and eighth of the season. The Friars have only surrendered six goals this season.
Senior goalkeeper McKenzie Blaze made two saves, while senior defenders Shannon Ehrhardt, Lauren Miller, Tess Shannon and Lauren Stibich all came up huge on the backline.
“This year, defensively, we’re communicating really well,” Shannon said. “We’re so much more in sync than we’ve been in past years. A lot of girls in the program are taking on leadership roles, and that’s been a big key. We’ve just got to get the offense together now.”
It was senior midfielder Kaylie Fredian, though, that made the biggest defensive play of the game.
St. Ignatius (10-2-3, 2-1-1) generated a huge wave of offensive pressure over the final 15 minutes. Dynamite freshman midfielder Ella Richards produced the best chance of the day for either team in the 74th minute.
Richards shook off two defenders with a nifty move then got around a charging Blaze and fired a shot toward the open net. Fredian, though, raced back and slid to clear the ball off the goal line.
“(Richards) is a great player, and I heard she is a freshman, which is awesome,” Fredian said. “I just kind of stuck with her. I knew I couldn’t let her free. Once (Blaze) was out, I knew to go back into her spot.
“I learned it from (senior midfielder) Anna Waring. She saved one like that in one of our PepsiCo tournament games.”
For the heroic play, and her strong work in the midfield, Fredian was named Chicagoland Soccer’s co-MVP of the Match.
Watson wasn’t surprised by the heads-up play from Fredian, one of his senior captains.
“I’ve been seeing that for four years,” he said. “That’s Kaylie. She’s a workhorse. She’s in on most of the action. She’s constantly chasing. Seeing her make a play like that doesn’t shock me.”
Fredian’s save was one of multiple missed opportunities for St. Ignatius late in the game. Maura Murphy fired just wide with 14:30 to go and Blaze stopped Grace Campbell’s shot with 13 minutes left.
The Wolfpack got one final good look with just 12 seconds to go, but Hailey Laurenson fired wide.
St. Ignatius assistant coach Roy Carney, who led the team in the absence of head coach Sean Palacios, was both encouraged and frustrated by his team’s late surge.
“If we could’ve played with that same intensity that we had at the end of the game, we may have had a different outcome,” he said. “It was an intense game from the start, which is just the nature of our rivalry with Fenwick, but we didn’t really turn it on until the second half.
“We felt like this win was snatched away from us, because we didn’t do what we needed to do.”
While St. Ignatius had the better of play late, it was Fenwick that generated more offense in the first half.
The Friars produced three of their four shots on goal in the opening 40 minutes. St. Ignatius junior goalkeeper Emma Thompson, who shared Chicagoland Soccer co-MVP of the Match honors with Fredian, was up for the challenge.
Thompson made a pair of saves in the opening four minutes, denying Natalie Brennan on a close-in attempt just 30 seconds in, then denying a Morgan Hosty bid at goal.
“I just had to always be aware of what was going on,” Thompson said. “I got great encouragement from my teammates. My defense played really well.
“In the second half, we really picked it up and took a lot of the pressure off me. I think the halftime speech from our coaches gave us a little pep.”
Fenwick worked a nice combination play in the 25th minute as Hensley Akers found dangerous midfielder Anissa Nourse open in front of the net, but Thompson batted Nourse’s shot wide.
That’d prove to be the last good look for the Friars, who will look to get their offense on track in their PepsiCo Showdown Navy Bracket championship game against top-seeded Crystal Lake Central at 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
“We’ll continue to rotate some personnel and figure out what works,” Watson said. “There are going to be times where we’ve got to come out of our shell a little bit earlier, for sure. It’s just a matter of finding that right balance. We’re getting there.
“I think the one negative is we just panic sometimes. I want to see us calm down and play better soccer. I know we can do that.”
Fenwick honored its 11 seniors in a ceremony before the match.
Fredian and Shannon both said it was an emotional day.
“I was interviewed today for our senior video for school that we watch on the last day of the year,” Fredian said. “That got my feels going. Then I got to come out on the field and share Senior Day with my best friend. Tess and I are best friends. We’ve been playing together for like 10 years.”
Shannon said the seniors are determined to make the most of their remaining time together.
“(Friday) was fun,” she said. “There were a bunch of posters when we walked into school and our lockers were decorated, so that was sweet. Our underclassmen have done a lot for us this year.
“We love playing together. Right now, I think we’re all in denial of the fact that we’re graduating."
Watson had plenty of praise for the seniors.
“They’re a great group,” he said. “They all got to play. We didn’t get the win for them, but at least we didn’t lose. Now it’s back to work.”
Starting lineups
Fenwick
GK: McKenzie Blaze
D: Shannon Ehrhardt
D: Lauren Miller
D: Tess Shannon
D: Lauren Stibich
MF: Kaylie Fredian
MF: Molly Griffin
MF: Anissa Nourse
MF: Anna Waring
MF: Natalie Brennan
F: Morgan Hosty
St. Ignatius
GK: Emma Thompson
D: Rachel Ryan
D: Sam Ritter
D: Abby Gupta
D: Allie Laurenson
MF: Shay Reifert
MF: Grace Campbell
MF: Adrian Williams
MF: Ella Richards
F: Maura Murphy
F: Hailey Laurenson
Chicagoland Soccer’s co-MVPs of the Match: Kaylie Fredian, sr., MF, Fenwick and Emma Thompson, GK, St. Ignatius
Scoring Summary:
None
Friars seek offense, tie St. Ignatius for 2nd 0-0 league finish in row
By Steve Millar
RIVER FOREST – After its second-straight scoreless draw, Fenwick was disappointed but not defeated Friday night.
“I think we can play better,” Fenwick coach Robert Watson said. “I think we have more upside than we’re showing. However, we’re digging in, and we’re not losing. 0-0 is maybe a bit of a letdown, but it wasn’t a loss. So, I’m not upset about it.”
The host Friars missed some early scoring chances then dodged some late bullets to hold on for the scoreless draw with St. Ignatius in an evenly-matched Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Red Division battle. Fenwick also played to a scoreless draw Monday against league foe Providence.
On Senior Night, a host of members from the Class of 2018 contributed heavily as Fenwick (8-2-2, 1-0-2) upped its unbeaten streak to four games, and recorded its third-consecutive shutout and eighth of the season. The Friars have only surrendered six goals this season.
Senior goalkeeper McKenzie Blaze made two saves, while senior defenders Shannon Ehrhardt, Lauren Miller, Tess Shannon and Lauren Stibich all came up huge on the backline.
“This year, defensively, we’re communicating really well,” Shannon said. “We’re so much more in sync than we’ve been in past years. A lot of girls in the program are taking on leadership roles, and that’s been a big key. We’ve just got to get the offense together now.”
It was senior midfielder Kaylie Fredian, though, that made the biggest defensive play of the game.
St. Ignatius (10-2-3, 2-1-1) generated a huge wave of offensive pressure over the final 15 minutes. Dynamite freshman midfielder Ella Richards produced the best chance of the day for either team in the 74th minute.
Richards shook off two defenders with a nifty move then got around a charging Blaze and fired a shot toward the open net. Fredian, though, raced back and slid to clear the ball off the goal line.
“(Richards) is a great player, and I heard she is a freshman, which is awesome,” Fredian said. “I just kind of stuck with her. I knew I couldn’t let her free. Once (Blaze) was out, I knew to go back into her spot.
“I learned it from (senior midfielder) Anna Waring. She saved one like that in one of our PepsiCo tournament games.”
For the heroic play, and her strong work in the midfield, Fredian was named Chicagoland Soccer’s co-MVP of the Match.
Watson wasn’t surprised by the heads-up play from Fredian, one of his senior captains.
“I’ve been seeing that for four years,” he said. “That’s Kaylie. She’s a workhorse. She’s in on most of the action. She’s constantly chasing. Seeing her make a play like that doesn’t shock me.”
Fredian’s save was one of multiple missed opportunities for St. Ignatius late in the game. Maura Murphy fired just wide with 14:30 to go and Blaze stopped Grace Campbell’s shot with 13 minutes left.
The Wolfpack got one final good look with just 12 seconds to go, but Hailey Laurenson fired wide.
St. Ignatius assistant coach Roy Carney, who led the team in the absence of head coach Sean Palacios, was both encouraged and frustrated by his team’s late surge.
“If we could’ve played with that same intensity that we had at the end of the game, we may have had a different outcome,” he said. “It was an intense game from the start, which is just the nature of our rivalry with Fenwick, but we didn’t really turn it on until the second half.
“We felt like this win was snatched away from us, because we didn’t do what we needed to do.”
While St. Ignatius had the better of play late, it was Fenwick that generated more offense in the first half.
The Friars produced three of their four shots on goal in the opening 40 minutes. St. Ignatius junior goalkeeper Emma Thompson, who shared Chicagoland Soccer co-MVP of the Match honors with Fredian, was up for the challenge.
Thompson made a pair of saves in the opening four minutes, denying Natalie Brennan on a close-in attempt just 30 seconds in, then denying a Morgan Hosty bid at goal.
“I just had to always be aware of what was going on,” Thompson said. “I got great encouragement from my teammates. My defense played really well.
“In the second half, we really picked it up and took a lot of the pressure off me. I think the halftime speech from our coaches gave us a little pep.”
Fenwick worked a nice combination play in the 25th minute as Hensley Akers found dangerous midfielder Anissa Nourse open in front of the net, but Thompson batted Nourse’s shot wide.
That’d prove to be the last good look for the Friars, who will look to get their offense on track in their PepsiCo Showdown Navy Bracket championship game against top-seeded Crystal Lake Central at 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
“We’ll continue to rotate some personnel and figure out what works,” Watson said. “There are going to be times where we’ve got to come out of our shell a little bit earlier, for sure. It’s just a matter of finding that right balance. We’re getting there.
“I think the one negative is we just panic sometimes. I want to see us calm down and play better soccer. I know we can do that.”
Fenwick honored its 11 seniors in a ceremony before the match.
Fredian and Shannon both said it was an emotional day.
“I was interviewed today for our senior video for school that we watch on the last day of the year,” Fredian said. “That got my feels going. Then I got to come out on the field and share Senior Day with my best friend. Tess and I are best friends. We’ve been playing together for like 10 years.”
Shannon said the seniors are determined to make the most of their remaining time together.
“(Friday) was fun,” she said. “There were a bunch of posters when we walked into school and our lockers were decorated, so that was sweet. Our underclassmen have done a lot for us this year.
“We love playing together. Right now, I think we’re all in denial of the fact that we’re graduating."
Watson had plenty of praise for the seniors.
“They’re a great group,” he said. “They all got to play. We didn’t get the win for them, but at least we didn’t lose. Now it’s back to work.”
Starting lineups
Fenwick
GK: McKenzie Blaze
D: Shannon Ehrhardt
D: Lauren Miller
D: Tess Shannon
D: Lauren Stibich
MF: Kaylie Fredian
MF: Molly Griffin
MF: Anissa Nourse
MF: Anna Waring
MF: Natalie Brennan
F: Morgan Hosty
St. Ignatius
GK: Emma Thompson
D: Rachel Ryan
D: Sam Ritter
D: Abby Gupta
D: Allie Laurenson
MF: Shay Reifert
MF: Grace Campbell
MF: Adrian Williams
MF: Ella Richards
F: Maura Murphy
F: Hailey Laurenson
Chicagoland Soccer’s co-MVPs of the Match: Kaylie Fredian, sr., MF, Fenwick and Emma Thompson, GK, St. Ignatius
Scoring Summary:
None