Despite fiddling with formations,
Glenbard East can't get past Timothy
Visiting Trojans use PK to take 1-0 win
By Jared Birchfield
LOMBARD – Although Glenbard East dropped its opener 1-0 to Timothy on Saturday morning, the Rams did have the satisfaction of throttling back the Trojans’ offense.
While the nonconference match was East’s first of the season, it was the fourth for Timothy.
In their prior three games, the Trojans scored 16 goals. The team’s lone strike on the Ram’s pitch Saturday came on Emma Carter’s second half penalty kick.
“We played ice cold in the back even after the PK,” Glenbard East coach Kent Overbey said about his squad preventing goals in open play. “I thought we did a great job defensively.”
“They pressured the ball well all over the field, and they had good balance,” said Timothy’s coach Jon Hamelinck. “Also, their compete level was a little bit higher than the teams we've played so far.”
First half play was evenly divided between the two teams. Both squads had scoring chances but were unable to complete them. Neither team had many set piece opportunities as both squads only had one free kick in the half.
Timothy (4-0-0) had no corner kicks and Glenbard East (0-1-0) was unable to capitalize on its three.
The Trojans managed four shots on goal in the first forty minutes, all stopped by Glenbard East goalkeeper Zoe Romano.
The Rams got off two shots at the net, but both missed the mark. The hosts’ best scoring opportunity came in the 25th minute. Sarah Liljestrand attempted a cross to Sophia Sommesi who was right in front of the net. Timothy’s keeper Angel Burke pounced on the loose ball to break up the pass and ended the threat.
In the second half, Overbey switched his team’s formation to improve scoring opportunities. The change did move most of the play to Timothy’s side of the pitch and increased Glenbard East’s shots on the net but did not result in any goals.
“We were playing a 5-3-2 in the first half. We felt like we had most of the pressure, and we didn't need five in the back, so we switched it to 4-3-3,” Overbey said. “It also allowed us to get Sommesi, our freshmen forward on the field. With all three of them playing, I thought we did a great job.”
The Rams’ Hope McKenna role changed with the new formation.
“To start, I was playing the outside wingback because we're doing a five back. I needed to get up and down as defense and offense. It's a pretty tiring spot, but I thought it was pretty fun,” said the freshman. “When we switched to four backs, I became kind of an outside back that still pushed up a little bit but not as high.”
Carter ended the scoreless deadlock with 25:39 left to play with the PK. The senior’s goal, her eighth of the season, hit the right corner of the net.
“She's been lights out so far. She's talented and can put the ball away with the best of them. She's also a good teammate, and she's a good person to coach,” said Hamelinck about Carter. “She's added the responsibility being a senior captain and done a nice job. She communicates well out on the field.:
After the score, Overbey further adjusted his attack. The additional switch also was unable to produce a score.
“When they got the goal, we still didn't feel like we were under a ton of pressure back there so then we switched to 3-4-3 to get more players up the field,” said Overbey “But it didn’t get on the end of one.”
Although Overbey felt first game nerves hindered the offense, he gave his squad’s premier a rave review.
“I thought we were rushing it a little bit. You know your first game, you've got the jitters. You saw a lot in the first half specifically a lot of our through-passes were going all the way to the goalie,” said the East coach. “I think we're just amped up and ready to go. We haven't played in a while.”
“I thought up-top, we looked good. Sarah (Liljestrand), she's going to give defenses fits all year. Jasmine Dhamers is a sophomore who didn't get a chance last year. I thought she played really well,” he continued. “Sophia (Sommesi) came in and played some big minutes for us. She's very physical in there. She serves a nice ball and defends well,”
Liljestrand agreed with her coach’s assessment of East’s offense.
“I thought we were playing great. We were on our attacking side almost the whole time. We were getting chances, and we were staying positive,” said Liljestrand.
“We just kept giving it up, and we just couldn't find the back of the net today. Their defense did an amazing job trying to stop us.”
Hamelinck explained how his team keep East from scoring.
“Our game plan was transition -- give them nothing easy on the defensive side. We knew that they were going to be talented and deep. I knew they had some speed up-top with number 2 (Liljestrand).” said the Timothy coach. “They were playing a lot of north-south and through-balls on the ground.
“We didn’t allow anything easy. They would have to earn something if they're going to score on us.”
Overbey was especially pleased with the play of backline player Sarah Conroy.
“She's an attacking center mid that we we've repurposed into a center back,” he said. “I thought she did great for the first time ever playing back there.”
Overbey rotated a number of players in and out of the lineup.
“Since it is our first game, we're not sure where our fitness is, and we wanted to make sure everyone's fresh in there,” said Overbey.” We’re focused on outworking the opponents and if people need subs, we have the next player up.”
Hamelinck had to be more selective with his substitutions. Nine starters played all 80 minutes.
“We got hit with the injury bug a little bit. Probably four girls on the bench that were not good to go,” said the Timothy coach. “So, some of the girls had to learn to dig deep and get into game shape.”
East returns to the pitch Wednesday in its home Upstate Eight Conference opener against Elgin.
Timothy resumes play Tuesday went it hosts St. Edward in a Metro Suburban Conference contest.
Starting line ups
Timothy
GK: Angel Burke
D: Sophia Biscan
D: Marta Veenstra
D: Elena Munk
D: Chloe Leppink
D: Abby Bechtel
M: Emma Carter
M: Hope Huizenga
M: Lauren Weigers
F: Maddie Drye
F: Angie Tornabene
Glenbard East
GK: Zoe Romano
D: Sarah Conroy
D: Haley Tu
D: Hope McKenna
D: Kendall Crackel
D: Natalie Borcean
M: Maia Zatarski
M: Maddie Kiefer
M: Briele DeForest
F: Sarah Liljestrand
F:Jasmine Dhamers
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Emma Carter, sr., MF, Timothy
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Timothy: Emma Carter (PK) 55th minute
Glenbard East can't get past Timothy
Visiting Trojans use PK to take 1-0 win
By Jared Birchfield
LOMBARD – Although Glenbard East dropped its opener 1-0 to Timothy on Saturday morning, the Rams did have the satisfaction of throttling back the Trojans’ offense.
While the nonconference match was East’s first of the season, it was the fourth for Timothy.
In their prior three games, the Trojans scored 16 goals. The team’s lone strike on the Ram’s pitch Saturday came on Emma Carter’s second half penalty kick.
“We played ice cold in the back even after the PK,” Glenbard East coach Kent Overbey said about his squad preventing goals in open play. “I thought we did a great job defensively.”
“They pressured the ball well all over the field, and they had good balance,” said Timothy’s coach Jon Hamelinck. “Also, their compete level was a little bit higher than the teams we've played so far.”
First half play was evenly divided between the two teams. Both squads had scoring chances but were unable to complete them. Neither team had many set piece opportunities as both squads only had one free kick in the half.
Timothy (4-0-0) had no corner kicks and Glenbard East (0-1-0) was unable to capitalize on its three.
The Trojans managed four shots on goal in the first forty minutes, all stopped by Glenbard East goalkeeper Zoe Romano.
The Rams got off two shots at the net, but both missed the mark. The hosts’ best scoring opportunity came in the 25th minute. Sarah Liljestrand attempted a cross to Sophia Sommesi who was right in front of the net. Timothy’s keeper Angel Burke pounced on the loose ball to break up the pass and ended the threat.
In the second half, Overbey switched his team’s formation to improve scoring opportunities. The change did move most of the play to Timothy’s side of the pitch and increased Glenbard East’s shots on the net but did not result in any goals.
“We were playing a 5-3-2 in the first half. We felt like we had most of the pressure, and we didn't need five in the back, so we switched it to 4-3-3,” Overbey said. “It also allowed us to get Sommesi, our freshmen forward on the field. With all three of them playing, I thought we did a great job.”
The Rams’ Hope McKenna role changed with the new formation.
“To start, I was playing the outside wingback because we're doing a five back. I needed to get up and down as defense and offense. It's a pretty tiring spot, but I thought it was pretty fun,” said the freshman. “When we switched to four backs, I became kind of an outside back that still pushed up a little bit but not as high.”
Carter ended the scoreless deadlock with 25:39 left to play with the PK. The senior’s goal, her eighth of the season, hit the right corner of the net.
“She's been lights out so far. She's talented and can put the ball away with the best of them. She's also a good teammate, and she's a good person to coach,” said Hamelinck about Carter. “She's added the responsibility being a senior captain and done a nice job. She communicates well out on the field.:
After the score, Overbey further adjusted his attack. The additional switch also was unable to produce a score.
“When they got the goal, we still didn't feel like we were under a ton of pressure back there so then we switched to 3-4-3 to get more players up the field,” said Overbey “But it didn’t get on the end of one.”
Although Overbey felt first game nerves hindered the offense, he gave his squad’s premier a rave review.
“I thought we were rushing it a little bit. You know your first game, you've got the jitters. You saw a lot in the first half specifically a lot of our through-passes were going all the way to the goalie,” said the East coach. “I think we're just amped up and ready to go. We haven't played in a while.”
“I thought up-top, we looked good. Sarah (Liljestrand), she's going to give defenses fits all year. Jasmine Dhamers is a sophomore who didn't get a chance last year. I thought she played really well,” he continued. “Sophia (Sommesi) came in and played some big minutes for us. She's very physical in there. She serves a nice ball and defends well,”
Liljestrand agreed with her coach’s assessment of East’s offense.
“I thought we were playing great. We were on our attacking side almost the whole time. We were getting chances, and we were staying positive,” said Liljestrand.
“We just kept giving it up, and we just couldn't find the back of the net today. Their defense did an amazing job trying to stop us.”
Hamelinck explained how his team keep East from scoring.
“Our game plan was transition -- give them nothing easy on the defensive side. We knew that they were going to be talented and deep. I knew they had some speed up-top with number 2 (Liljestrand).” said the Timothy coach. “They were playing a lot of north-south and through-balls on the ground.
“We didn’t allow anything easy. They would have to earn something if they're going to score on us.”
Overbey was especially pleased with the play of backline player Sarah Conroy.
“She's an attacking center mid that we we've repurposed into a center back,” he said. “I thought she did great for the first time ever playing back there.”
Overbey rotated a number of players in and out of the lineup.
“Since it is our first game, we're not sure where our fitness is, and we wanted to make sure everyone's fresh in there,” said Overbey.” We’re focused on outworking the opponents and if people need subs, we have the next player up.”
Hamelinck had to be more selective with his substitutions. Nine starters played all 80 minutes.
“We got hit with the injury bug a little bit. Probably four girls on the bench that were not good to go,” said the Timothy coach. “So, some of the girls had to learn to dig deep and get into game shape.”
East returns to the pitch Wednesday in its home Upstate Eight Conference opener against Elgin.
Timothy resumes play Tuesday went it hosts St. Edward in a Metro Suburban Conference contest.
Starting line ups
Timothy
GK: Angel Burke
D: Sophia Biscan
D: Marta Veenstra
D: Elena Munk
D: Chloe Leppink
D: Abby Bechtel
M: Emma Carter
M: Hope Huizenga
M: Lauren Weigers
F: Maddie Drye
F: Angie Tornabene
Glenbard East
GK: Zoe Romano
D: Sarah Conroy
D: Haley Tu
D: Hope McKenna
D: Kendall Crackel
D: Natalie Borcean
M: Maia Zatarski
M: Maddie Kiefer
M: Briele DeForest
F: Sarah Liljestrand
F:Jasmine Dhamers
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Emma Carter, sr., MF, Timothy
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Timothy: Emma Carter (PK) 55th minute