Reavis defense cleans up vs. T.F. United
Stingy Rams post 2-0 win; Corona records brace
By Steve Millar
BURBANK -- As her team continues to pile up clean sheets, Reavis senior goalkeeper Briana Silva is becoming more and more confident in her defense.
“All my defenders are really good,” Silva said. “I can trust all of them. I have to give them a lot of credit. We’re playing really well on defense, and they’re helping me out a lot.”
Silva made three saves to record her third-straight and seventh shutout of the season Thursday. The host Rams got a pair of goals from junior midfielder Litzy Corona to beat T.F. United 2-0 in a South Suburban Conference match.
It was the sixth shutout in the last eight games for the Rams (8-6-1, 3-1-1 South Suburban Red).
Silva got plenty of help from her backline, including seniors Arlette Hernandez and Yazmeen Perez, and sophomores Camilina Valdez and Alyssa Froylan.
“Alyssa is super fast,” Silva said. “I love when she comes out of nowhere and stops a breakaway. All the other girls do a great job, too. They all play their role.”
Corona, meanwhile, continues to spark the Rams’ offense since returning to the lineup after missing all of last season with patellar tendinitis in her knee.
The skilled junior, Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match, scored her 12th and 13th goals of the season to increase her team lead in scoring.
T.F. United (4-6-1, 3-1-1 South Suburban Blue) fought off a bevy of Rams’ chances to maintain a scoreless tie until Corona broke through in the 24th minute.
Corona, who came off the bench because of a missed practice, made a quick impact when she entered the game.
She took a long pass from Isabel Guzman, sped down the right sideline and cut in to bury a perfectly-placed shot inside the far post.
“I love to score,” Corona said. “I’m hungry for it. I’m playing with confidence now and going out there and being able to say to myself ‘OK, I’ve got this.’”
Corona struck again in the second half, producing a nearly-identical finish with another shot inside the far post, this time off a pass from Sylwia Rzadkosz.
Reavis coach Phil Basile liked the ball movement between his midfielders.
“Litzy is a huge asset, but we need to make sure the other girls work off her well,” Basile said. “It’s not just give Litzy the ball, and let her do the work.
“In this game we had some nice give-and-gos with her and the center mids. We did a good job stretching the ball wide, which is something we’ve been looking to do. We’d like to open some space to give our center mids a chance to get more involved.”
Basile credited center midfielders Rzadkosz and Kim Marquez with “doing the dirty work.” Earlier in the week, Marquez, along with Hernandez, signed to play collegiately at St. Xavier.
“Kim and Sylwia are winning the 50-50 balls; they’re getting back on defense in transition; they’re doing all the little things,” Basile said. “They’re exceptional players, and now we’d like to see the stats reflect that. We want to get them some more opportunities.”
Corona felt her team’s passing was strong throughout Thursday’s game.
“We’ve been able to work the ball from defenders to midfielders all the way up to the forwards,” she said. “We’re possessing the ball really well.”
While the Rams dominated in possession, T.F. United proved dangerous on counterattacks.
Reavis’ defense did a good job trapping the visitors into several offside calls in the first half, but Silva had to come up big in the 31st minute.
T.F. United’s speedy freshman midfielder Amarys Gonzalez broke free down the middle of the field in a bid to tie the game, but Silva made a diving save.
“I hurt my leg a little bit on that one,” Silva said. “I was glad I made the save, though.”
After Corona’s second goal gave the Rams some cushion, Silva came up with a couple more stops to keep the shutout intact.
She stretched high to bat down a hard shot from Jasmine Quezada with 22:30 to go and stopped another Quezada shot with 1:15 left.
Though her team wasn’t able to break through, T.F. United coach Eugenia Munoz liked the second half effort.
“The competition was high, and we had some girls out with injuries, but we did our best, Munoz said.
“We were on their side a bit more in the second half. We were able to create some opportunities, and we just need to work on finishing. We’ve got some really good players, but they need to have more confidence shooting. If we just take a lot more shots, we’ll definitely get some goals.”
The conference victory was big for Reavis, which is battling with Argo (3-0-2 conference record) and Eisenhower (3-1-0) for the South Suburban Red lead.
The Rams tied Argo on Tuesday and are scheduled to meet two-time defending league champion Eisenhower on May 1.
“I have very high hopes,” Basile said. “I think we can win out. We know Eisenhower is going to be a tough battle, but it’s a challenge we’re excited to take on. Our other games aren’t going to be easy, either, but I’m confident in our team.”
Starting lineups
Reavis
GK: Briana Silva
D: Yazmeen Perez
D: Alyssa Froylan
D: Camilina Valdez
D: Arlette Hernandez
MF: Desirae Beck
MF: Sylwia Rzadkosz
MF: Kim Marquez
MF: Rebecca Confederat
F: Sandra Garcia
F: Isabel Guzman
T.F. United
GK: Anna Muth
D: Azucena Tirado
D: Anayeli Mendoza
D: Fatima Herrera
D: Sydney Rosinia-Cowan
MF: Amarys Gonzalez
MF: Gelsey Cervantes
MF: Jasmine Quezada
MF: Adriana Munoz
F: Alexa Weber
F: Yaqar Heffner
Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match: Litzy Corona, jr., MF, Reavis
Scoring summary
First half
Reavis: Litzy Corona (Isabel Guzman), 24th minute
Second half
Reavis: Corona (Sylwia Rzadkosz), 50th minute
Stingy Rams post 2-0 win; Corona records brace
By Steve Millar
BURBANK -- As her team continues to pile up clean sheets, Reavis senior goalkeeper Briana Silva is becoming more and more confident in her defense.
“All my defenders are really good,” Silva said. “I can trust all of them. I have to give them a lot of credit. We’re playing really well on defense, and they’re helping me out a lot.”
Silva made three saves to record her third-straight and seventh shutout of the season Thursday. The host Rams got a pair of goals from junior midfielder Litzy Corona to beat T.F. United 2-0 in a South Suburban Conference match.
It was the sixth shutout in the last eight games for the Rams (8-6-1, 3-1-1 South Suburban Red).
Silva got plenty of help from her backline, including seniors Arlette Hernandez and Yazmeen Perez, and sophomores Camilina Valdez and Alyssa Froylan.
“Alyssa is super fast,” Silva said. “I love when she comes out of nowhere and stops a breakaway. All the other girls do a great job, too. They all play their role.”
Corona, meanwhile, continues to spark the Rams’ offense since returning to the lineup after missing all of last season with patellar tendinitis in her knee.
The skilled junior, Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match, scored her 12th and 13th goals of the season to increase her team lead in scoring.
T.F. United (4-6-1, 3-1-1 South Suburban Blue) fought off a bevy of Rams’ chances to maintain a scoreless tie until Corona broke through in the 24th minute.
Corona, who came off the bench because of a missed practice, made a quick impact when she entered the game.
She took a long pass from Isabel Guzman, sped down the right sideline and cut in to bury a perfectly-placed shot inside the far post.
“I love to score,” Corona said. “I’m hungry for it. I’m playing with confidence now and going out there and being able to say to myself ‘OK, I’ve got this.’”
Corona struck again in the second half, producing a nearly-identical finish with another shot inside the far post, this time off a pass from Sylwia Rzadkosz.
Reavis coach Phil Basile liked the ball movement between his midfielders.
“Litzy is a huge asset, but we need to make sure the other girls work off her well,” Basile said. “It’s not just give Litzy the ball, and let her do the work.
“In this game we had some nice give-and-gos with her and the center mids. We did a good job stretching the ball wide, which is something we’ve been looking to do. We’d like to open some space to give our center mids a chance to get more involved.”
Basile credited center midfielders Rzadkosz and Kim Marquez with “doing the dirty work.” Earlier in the week, Marquez, along with Hernandez, signed to play collegiately at St. Xavier.
“Kim and Sylwia are winning the 50-50 balls; they’re getting back on defense in transition; they’re doing all the little things,” Basile said. “They’re exceptional players, and now we’d like to see the stats reflect that. We want to get them some more opportunities.”
Corona felt her team’s passing was strong throughout Thursday’s game.
“We’ve been able to work the ball from defenders to midfielders all the way up to the forwards,” she said. “We’re possessing the ball really well.”
While the Rams dominated in possession, T.F. United proved dangerous on counterattacks.
Reavis’ defense did a good job trapping the visitors into several offside calls in the first half, but Silva had to come up big in the 31st minute.
T.F. United’s speedy freshman midfielder Amarys Gonzalez broke free down the middle of the field in a bid to tie the game, but Silva made a diving save.
“I hurt my leg a little bit on that one,” Silva said. “I was glad I made the save, though.”
After Corona’s second goal gave the Rams some cushion, Silva came up with a couple more stops to keep the shutout intact.
She stretched high to bat down a hard shot from Jasmine Quezada with 22:30 to go and stopped another Quezada shot with 1:15 left.
Though her team wasn’t able to break through, T.F. United coach Eugenia Munoz liked the second half effort.
“The competition was high, and we had some girls out with injuries, but we did our best, Munoz said.
“We were on their side a bit more in the second half. We were able to create some opportunities, and we just need to work on finishing. We’ve got some really good players, but they need to have more confidence shooting. If we just take a lot more shots, we’ll definitely get some goals.”
The conference victory was big for Reavis, which is battling with Argo (3-0-2 conference record) and Eisenhower (3-1-0) for the South Suburban Red lead.
The Rams tied Argo on Tuesday and are scheduled to meet two-time defending league champion Eisenhower on May 1.
“I have very high hopes,” Basile said. “I think we can win out. We know Eisenhower is going to be a tough battle, but it’s a challenge we’re excited to take on. Our other games aren’t going to be easy, either, but I’m confident in our team.”
Starting lineups
Reavis
GK: Briana Silva
D: Yazmeen Perez
D: Alyssa Froylan
D: Camilina Valdez
D: Arlette Hernandez
MF: Desirae Beck
MF: Sylwia Rzadkosz
MF: Kim Marquez
MF: Rebecca Confederat
F: Sandra Garcia
F: Isabel Guzman
T.F. United
GK: Anna Muth
D: Azucena Tirado
D: Anayeli Mendoza
D: Fatima Herrera
D: Sydney Rosinia-Cowan
MF: Amarys Gonzalez
MF: Gelsey Cervantes
MF: Jasmine Quezada
MF: Adriana Munoz
F: Alexa Weber
F: Yaqar Heffner
Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match: Litzy Corona, jr., MF, Reavis
Scoring summary
First half
Reavis: Litzy Corona (Isabel Guzman), 24th minute
Second half
Reavis: Corona (Sylwia Rzadkosz), 50th minute