Bombs beat IC in 1st game after break
Knights drop 4th straight, St. Edward uses 2 long goals in 3-1 win
By Matt Le Cren
ELMHURST – Cassandra Serrano had spent most of her athletic career as a soccer player.
That changed when she opted to play softball her freshman year at IC Catholic Prep.
So Serrano was on the outside looking in last spring when the Knights enjoyed their best season ever, advancing to the Class A state semifinals and earning the first state trophy in program history.
That motivated the 5-foot-8 sophomore to return to the pitch.
“I just wanted to try something new,” Serrano said of her dalliance with softball. “I played soccer all the way through eighth grade. I stopped and picked up softball.
“I saw how good the (soccer) team was, so I was like I’ll give it a shot. Some of the girls on the team were like, ‘You should try out for soccer.’ Abi Wagner encouraged me to do it.
“I still have to get all my skills back, but it’s coming along.”
Indeed, Serrano has earned a starting spot on the backline, which was decimated by graduation. Sophomore Annie Guinan is the only returning starter, so it’s opened up a lot of opportunities, as well as responsibilities, for younger players.
The Knights, who fell to 2-4-0 after Monday’s 3-1 loss to St. Edward at Plunkett Field, have been a mixed bag so far. They opened with an impressive 4-3 win over Marist and then knocked off Joliet Central 4-0.
Monday’s loss was the fourth straight for IC. The Knights have played exclusively against larger schools, though St. Edward held only a 41-student advantage in enrollment. Both schools will compete in the state tournament in the small school Class A level.
One of IC Catholic Prep's losses this season was a 4-1 decision to traditional power Wheaton Academy. Last year the Warriors finished second at the Class AA state tournament and routed the Knights 9-0 in the regular season.
IC showed great improvement in this year’s game, which was scoreless for much of the first half. IC co-captain Bella Leslie scored for the Knights.
Against St. Edward, the defense wasn’t as crisp. The Green Wave took a 3-0 halftime lead, but the Knights allowed only three shots in the second half.
“I feel like as a team defense we had each other’s back,” Serrano said. “If one girl lost the ball, the other would be covering her back.
“I feel like we need to communicate a little bit more and do better communicating with the midfielders. But overall we were pretty good.”
But not good enough to beat St. Edward (1-0-0), which was champing at the bit to get the season started after their first three games were cancelled. The Green Wave broke the ice in the eighth minute after being awarded a free kick 45 yards from the IC net.
Madalynn Duffy tapped the ball forward to Rachel Martini, who boomed a 40-yard shot over the head of IC goalie Rochelle Spizzirri. Madeline Ellsworth scored from the same distance with 5:16 left in the half to make it 2-0.
That seemed to take something out of the Knights, who conceded the third goal just 1:28 later. IC got lucky seconds earlier when a 20-yard shot hit the crossbar, but the Green Wave held it in and Katie Ellsworth scored in a crowd to make it 3-0.
“I think we just weren’t being aggressive enough, and we weren’t pushing up and going to the ball,” IC junior Olivia Hurt said. “We did that more in the second half. We all moved more as a group than we did in the first half.
“I think at first we didn’t really respond well, but then at halftime our coach talked to us, and we all realized that we need to pick it up, and we can still come back from that deficit.
“We did that more in the second half. We all moved more as a group than we did in the first half.”
IC was weakened by the absence of midfielder Grace Fuller, a senior co-captain who was still away on vacation, as well as the rust after a week off for spring break.
“The first half was just adjustments from having a week off and not training,” said first-year IC coach Antonio Godinez. “We didn’t find the rhythm until the second half.
“Give it to (St. Edward). They buried the three opportunities for goals. They took advantage of our mistakes.
“But the girls are slowly coming together. They’re adapting to the new system that we have for them. We’re adding to what (former coach) Tom Schergen brought and increasing their understanding of their soccer IQ, where to be at and just how to work better together. Their soccer IQ is increasing.”
The Knights know they need to get the ball to Hurt, a dynamic scorer and passer who bagged 26 goals and 18 assists last season.
Hurt has scored or assisted all but one of the Knights’ tallies this season. She has five goals and three assists, including the lone marker against St. Edward.
That strike was set up by Serrano, whose long diagonal ball found Hurt in the left side of the box. Hurt turned and ripped a left-footed shot from 10 yards to make it 3-1 with 12:15 left.
“She’s one of the captains so that is what we expect,” Godinez said. “Our expectations of leaders are higher than anybody else on the team.
“They have to lead by example and be that presence, whether it’s playing in the midfield or playing up-top, playing a pass to set up a goal or finishing an opportunity. That’s what we need from her.”
Hurt is ready to provide that despite drawing increased attention from defenses.
“Sometimes it’s difficult because if a team knows me coming in, they mark me pretty well,” Hurt said. “But that just makes me have to work harder, and it makes me a better player.
“Our team as a whole, we have so much potential, and I saw that from last year, and I just wanted to bring that into this year too. Me and Grace and Bella, we are the captains. We want to lead the team so we have a lot of success this year.”
Starting lineups
St. Edward
GK Mariel Franco
D Rachel Hicks
D Taylor Gredzielski
D Mackenzie Wilson
M Madalynn Duffy
M Madeline Ellsworth
M Mia Castro
M Rachel Martini
M Ariel Martinez
F Katie Ellsworth
F Madison Knott
ICCP
GK Rochelle Spizzirri
D Suzy Maloney
D Annie Guinan
D Cassandra Serrano
D Sophie Hurt
M Olivia Hurt
M Kelly Murray
M Bella Leslie
F Sophie Zanoni
F Abi Wagner
F Grace Grady
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Rachel Martini, so., M, St. Edward
Scoring summary
1st Half
St. Edward – Rachel Martini (Madalynn Duffy) 32:19
St. Edward – Madeline Ellsworth 5:16
St. Edward – Katie Ellsworth 3:48
2nd Half
ICCP – Olivia Hurt (Cassandra Serrano) 12:15
Knights drop 4th straight, St. Edward uses 2 long goals in 3-1 win
By Matt Le Cren
ELMHURST – Cassandra Serrano had spent most of her athletic career as a soccer player.
That changed when she opted to play softball her freshman year at IC Catholic Prep.
So Serrano was on the outside looking in last spring when the Knights enjoyed their best season ever, advancing to the Class A state semifinals and earning the first state trophy in program history.
That motivated the 5-foot-8 sophomore to return to the pitch.
“I just wanted to try something new,” Serrano said of her dalliance with softball. “I played soccer all the way through eighth grade. I stopped and picked up softball.
“I saw how good the (soccer) team was, so I was like I’ll give it a shot. Some of the girls on the team were like, ‘You should try out for soccer.’ Abi Wagner encouraged me to do it.
“I still have to get all my skills back, but it’s coming along.”
Indeed, Serrano has earned a starting spot on the backline, which was decimated by graduation. Sophomore Annie Guinan is the only returning starter, so it’s opened up a lot of opportunities, as well as responsibilities, for younger players.
The Knights, who fell to 2-4-0 after Monday’s 3-1 loss to St. Edward at Plunkett Field, have been a mixed bag so far. They opened with an impressive 4-3 win over Marist and then knocked off Joliet Central 4-0.
Monday’s loss was the fourth straight for IC. The Knights have played exclusively against larger schools, though St. Edward held only a 41-student advantage in enrollment. Both schools will compete in the state tournament in the small school Class A level.
One of IC Catholic Prep's losses this season was a 4-1 decision to traditional power Wheaton Academy. Last year the Warriors finished second at the Class AA state tournament and routed the Knights 9-0 in the regular season.
IC showed great improvement in this year’s game, which was scoreless for much of the first half. IC co-captain Bella Leslie scored for the Knights.
Against St. Edward, the defense wasn’t as crisp. The Green Wave took a 3-0 halftime lead, but the Knights allowed only three shots in the second half.
“I feel like as a team defense we had each other’s back,” Serrano said. “If one girl lost the ball, the other would be covering her back.
“I feel like we need to communicate a little bit more and do better communicating with the midfielders. But overall we were pretty good.”
But not good enough to beat St. Edward (1-0-0), which was champing at the bit to get the season started after their first three games were cancelled. The Green Wave broke the ice in the eighth minute after being awarded a free kick 45 yards from the IC net.
Madalynn Duffy tapped the ball forward to Rachel Martini, who boomed a 40-yard shot over the head of IC goalie Rochelle Spizzirri. Madeline Ellsworth scored from the same distance with 5:16 left in the half to make it 2-0.
That seemed to take something out of the Knights, who conceded the third goal just 1:28 later. IC got lucky seconds earlier when a 20-yard shot hit the crossbar, but the Green Wave held it in and Katie Ellsworth scored in a crowd to make it 3-0.
“I think we just weren’t being aggressive enough, and we weren’t pushing up and going to the ball,” IC junior Olivia Hurt said. “We did that more in the second half. We all moved more as a group than we did in the first half.
“I think at first we didn’t really respond well, but then at halftime our coach talked to us, and we all realized that we need to pick it up, and we can still come back from that deficit.
“We did that more in the second half. We all moved more as a group than we did in the first half.”
IC was weakened by the absence of midfielder Grace Fuller, a senior co-captain who was still away on vacation, as well as the rust after a week off for spring break.
“The first half was just adjustments from having a week off and not training,” said first-year IC coach Antonio Godinez. “We didn’t find the rhythm until the second half.
“Give it to (St. Edward). They buried the three opportunities for goals. They took advantage of our mistakes.
“But the girls are slowly coming together. They’re adapting to the new system that we have for them. We’re adding to what (former coach) Tom Schergen brought and increasing their understanding of their soccer IQ, where to be at and just how to work better together. Their soccer IQ is increasing.”
The Knights know they need to get the ball to Hurt, a dynamic scorer and passer who bagged 26 goals and 18 assists last season.
Hurt has scored or assisted all but one of the Knights’ tallies this season. She has five goals and three assists, including the lone marker against St. Edward.
That strike was set up by Serrano, whose long diagonal ball found Hurt in the left side of the box. Hurt turned and ripped a left-footed shot from 10 yards to make it 3-1 with 12:15 left.
“She’s one of the captains so that is what we expect,” Godinez said. “Our expectations of leaders are higher than anybody else on the team.
“They have to lead by example and be that presence, whether it’s playing in the midfield or playing up-top, playing a pass to set up a goal or finishing an opportunity. That’s what we need from her.”
Hurt is ready to provide that despite drawing increased attention from defenses.
“Sometimes it’s difficult because if a team knows me coming in, they mark me pretty well,” Hurt said. “But that just makes me have to work harder, and it makes me a better player.
“Our team as a whole, we have so much potential, and I saw that from last year, and I just wanted to bring that into this year too. Me and Grace and Bella, we are the captains. We want to lead the team so we have a lot of success this year.”
Starting lineups
St. Edward
GK Mariel Franco
D Rachel Hicks
D Taylor Gredzielski
D Mackenzie Wilson
M Madalynn Duffy
M Madeline Ellsworth
M Mia Castro
M Rachel Martini
M Ariel Martinez
F Katie Ellsworth
F Madison Knott
ICCP
GK Rochelle Spizzirri
D Suzy Maloney
D Annie Guinan
D Cassandra Serrano
D Sophie Hurt
M Olivia Hurt
M Kelly Murray
M Bella Leslie
F Sophie Zanoni
F Abi Wagner
F Grace Grady
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Rachel Martini, so., M, St. Edward
Scoring summary
1st Half
St. Edward – Rachel Martini (Madalynn Duffy) 32:19
St. Edward – Madeline Ellsworth 5:16
St. Edward – Katie Ellsworth 3:48
2nd Half
ICCP – Olivia Hurt (Cassandra Serrano) 12:15