St. Francis falls to Saint Ignatius
in sectional championship
Young Spartans suffer 1st loss following 13 wins
By Curt Herron
WHEATON --- It was a bittersweet way for St. Francis players to see their successful season or career conclude.
As the top-seed in the Class AA Solorio Sectional, a majority of people anticipated that the 13-0-0 Spartans would capitalize on their home-field advantage to defeat Saint Ignatius in Friday's sectional final and then advance to the home supersectional match Monday in order to earn another state finals appearance.
But none of that seemed to matter much to the second-seeded Wolfpack, who not only brought a big group of supporters but also a strong determination to not only capture their first sectional title since 2008 but also to put themselves in a position with one more win to achieve a first for their school -- a soccer state trophy.
"It's nice to be appreciated and recognized and the girls have worked extremely hard, so to have people come out and support us, we couldn't ask for more," said Wolfpack coach Caroline Zadina. "To my girls, a challenge is a privilege, so today was a privilege to be on that field with a team like that.
"We showed up with courage and a little bit of bravery, and we stuck well to our game plan. We played a great squad and good competition is what we look for on this day. We work all season to play a team like St. Francis."
Saint Ignatius turned in a strong first half which allowed it to grab the lead at halftime. After St. Francis scored late to make things look like overtime would be warranted, the visitors quickly responded with a goal that gave them the 2-1 victory and a supersectional match against Payton on Monday at 6:30 p.m. on the same field.
"We were lucky to be down 1-0," St. Francis coach Jim Winslow said of the first half. "We didn't give them a ton of chances, but they capitalized on the one and in these types of games, you typically don't get a ton of chances either way. But they owned the game, for sure.
"In the second half, I wouldn't say that we played pretty, but we played much better. We pressured them, and we had more chances than they did. We didn't take them completely out of what they do since they're a good team that's well-coached.
“We showed our youth tonight. We had a bunch of young kids out there and at times they're lost, and the game is fast and physical."
But the coach who has led the Spartans to two state championships and three trophies in 10 seasons preferred to focus on the positives that his team achieved this year.
"The future is very bright," said Winslow of his team. "This was a far better season than I ever anticipated. I'm heartbroken for our seniors since they came out this year and even kids who hadn't played a ton before came out and contributed, and that's been phenomenal.
"And our two captains, Katherine Lemke and Kate Chaparro, have been awesome and I am going to miss them terribly. As good as they are players, they're better human beings. They've grown into being young women who are good leaders, and that's hard to find."
Beside his captains, Winslow lost Abby Curtis, Hannah Davis, Sofia Monzon, Megan Ward and Alondra Zepeda to graduation.
There are only five juniors on the team: Lauren Bruce, Sara Dziengel, Tristan Grosam, Mia Haas and Claire Reinke. Some of them will be expected to step into leadership roles.
The Spartans roster had two sophomores, Hannah Blaha and Ella Schroeder. The seven freshmen on the list, Olivia Basel, Ellie Bielenda, Shannon Brown, Paige Chrustowski, Addy Jones, Sophia Roszkowski and Ella Wozniak, matched the number of seniors on the team.
"We had no idea that we would even have this sort of talent on the team," Chaparro said. "I talked to coach last year, and he didn't know who would be coming out or what the team would be like. So this has been an unexpected season. We all started with our expectations being very low, but it was a great group of girls.
"You have to give the freshmen credit. It was fun working with them and just seeing them grow the entire season and being next to them and watching them score. This season was definitely memorable and one for the books."
Saint Ignatius (14-5-1) played a number of Class 3A teams that played for regional titles or advanced to sectional play. The Wolfpack received both of their goals from forward Lauren Tiemann. She scored in the 34th minute to give her team the lead and then got the match-winner in the 74th minute.
The Spartans caught their big break in the 72nd minute when a foul was called in the box. Lemke's penalty was blocked, but she alertly raced to the deflection and put in a short attempt to briefly tie things.
"All of our players were very coachable and willing to listen," Lemke said. "At the beginning of the season, there was a lot of kick ball and disjointed ball movement. But by the end, we really took what we learned in practice, and we put it into the game. We worked on a lot of ball passes in practice, and that's what created a lot of our goals this season.
"Every single girl was willing to work hard and everybody figured out their role. I'm going to remember the girls, especially the young ones that I got really close with.
“I hope to come back and see them kick butt on the soccer field in the next couple of years. And I told them to win the whole thing next year."
Starting lineups
Saint Ignatius
GK Darcy Schoen
D Kate Abdo
D Cameron Shutt
D Ellie Doherty
D Santana Berhalter
MF Adrian Williams
MF Eloise Barnett
MF Shannon Rydz
F Claire Radecki
F Maeve O’Meara
F Lauren Tiemann
sd
St. Francis
GK Hannah Blaha 2023
D Meghan Ward 2021
D Alondra Zepeda 2021
D Katherine Lemke 2021
D Abby Curtis 2021
MF Claire Reinke 2022
MF Sara Dziengel 2022
MF Sophia Roszkowski 2024
F Kate Chaparro 2021
F Paige Chrustowski 2024
F Lauren Bruce 2022
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Lauren Tiemann, sr., F, Saint Ignatius
Scoring summary
First half
Lauren Tiemann, 34th minute
Second half
Katherine Lemke, 72nd minute
Lauren Tiemann, 74th minute
in sectional championship
Young Spartans suffer 1st loss following 13 wins
By Curt Herron
WHEATON --- It was a bittersweet way for St. Francis players to see their successful season or career conclude.
As the top-seed in the Class AA Solorio Sectional, a majority of people anticipated that the 13-0-0 Spartans would capitalize on their home-field advantage to defeat Saint Ignatius in Friday's sectional final and then advance to the home supersectional match Monday in order to earn another state finals appearance.
But none of that seemed to matter much to the second-seeded Wolfpack, who not only brought a big group of supporters but also a strong determination to not only capture their first sectional title since 2008 but also to put themselves in a position with one more win to achieve a first for their school -- a soccer state trophy.
"It's nice to be appreciated and recognized and the girls have worked extremely hard, so to have people come out and support us, we couldn't ask for more," said Wolfpack coach Caroline Zadina. "To my girls, a challenge is a privilege, so today was a privilege to be on that field with a team like that.
"We showed up with courage and a little bit of bravery, and we stuck well to our game plan. We played a great squad and good competition is what we look for on this day. We work all season to play a team like St. Francis."
Saint Ignatius turned in a strong first half which allowed it to grab the lead at halftime. After St. Francis scored late to make things look like overtime would be warranted, the visitors quickly responded with a goal that gave them the 2-1 victory and a supersectional match against Payton on Monday at 6:30 p.m. on the same field.
"We were lucky to be down 1-0," St. Francis coach Jim Winslow said of the first half. "We didn't give them a ton of chances, but they capitalized on the one and in these types of games, you typically don't get a ton of chances either way. But they owned the game, for sure.
"In the second half, I wouldn't say that we played pretty, but we played much better. We pressured them, and we had more chances than they did. We didn't take them completely out of what they do since they're a good team that's well-coached.
“We showed our youth tonight. We had a bunch of young kids out there and at times they're lost, and the game is fast and physical."
But the coach who has led the Spartans to two state championships and three trophies in 10 seasons preferred to focus on the positives that his team achieved this year.
"The future is very bright," said Winslow of his team. "This was a far better season than I ever anticipated. I'm heartbroken for our seniors since they came out this year and even kids who hadn't played a ton before came out and contributed, and that's been phenomenal.
"And our two captains, Katherine Lemke and Kate Chaparro, have been awesome and I am going to miss them terribly. As good as they are players, they're better human beings. They've grown into being young women who are good leaders, and that's hard to find."
Beside his captains, Winslow lost Abby Curtis, Hannah Davis, Sofia Monzon, Megan Ward and Alondra Zepeda to graduation.
There are only five juniors on the team: Lauren Bruce, Sara Dziengel, Tristan Grosam, Mia Haas and Claire Reinke. Some of them will be expected to step into leadership roles.
The Spartans roster had two sophomores, Hannah Blaha and Ella Schroeder. The seven freshmen on the list, Olivia Basel, Ellie Bielenda, Shannon Brown, Paige Chrustowski, Addy Jones, Sophia Roszkowski and Ella Wozniak, matched the number of seniors on the team.
"We had no idea that we would even have this sort of talent on the team," Chaparro said. "I talked to coach last year, and he didn't know who would be coming out or what the team would be like. So this has been an unexpected season. We all started with our expectations being very low, but it was a great group of girls.
"You have to give the freshmen credit. It was fun working with them and just seeing them grow the entire season and being next to them and watching them score. This season was definitely memorable and one for the books."
Saint Ignatius (14-5-1) played a number of Class 3A teams that played for regional titles or advanced to sectional play. The Wolfpack received both of their goals from forward Lauren Tiemann. She scored in the 34th minute to give her team the lead and then got the match-winner in the 74th minute.
The Spartans caught their big break in the 72nd minute when a foul was called in the box. Lemke's penalty was blocked, but she alertly raced to the deflection and put in a short attempt to briefly tie things.
"All of our players were very coachable and willing to listen," Lemke said. "At the beginning of the season, there was a lot of kick ball and disjointed ball movement. But by the end, we really took what we learned in practice, and we put it into the game. We worked on a lot of ball passes in practice, and that's what created a lot of our goals this season.
"Every single girl was willing to work hard and everybody figured out their role. I'm going to remember the girls, especially the young ones that I got really close with.
“I hope to come back and see them kick butt on the soccer field in the next couple of years. And I told them to win the whole thing next year."
Starting lineups
Saint Ignatius
GK Darcy Schoen
D Kate Abdo
D Cameron Shutt
D Ellie Doherty
D Santana Berhalter
MF Adrian Williams
MF Eloise Barnett
MF Shannon Rydz
F Claire Radecki
F Maeve O’Meara
F Lauren Tiemann
sd
St. Francis
GK Hannah Blaha 2023
D Meghan Ward 2021
D Alondra Zepeda 2021
D Katherine Lemke 2021
D Abby Curtis 2021
MF Claire Reinke 2022
MF Sara Dziengel 2022
MF Sophia Roszkowski 2024
F Kate Chaparro 2021
F Paige Chrustowski 2024
F Lauren Bruce 2022
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Lauren Tiemann, sr., F, Saint Ignatius
Scoring summary
First half
Lauren Tiemann, 34th minute
Second half
Katherine Lemke, 72nd minute
Lauren Tiemann, 74th minute