Timothy ignores the hype,
takes down Notre Dame (Quincy)
Trojans' 1-0 win gives them shot at 1st state title
By Matt Le Cren
HOFFMAN ESTATES – Timothy coach Jon Hamelinck delivered a simple message to his team in advance of Friday’s Class A state semifinal against heavily favored Notre Dame (Quincy).
Hamelinck was well aware of Notre Dame’s outstanding run of success, which includes five state championships since 2010, and his own squad’s lack of pedigree.
“I think the biggest things were mentally having the girls buy into the mentality of the game and not buy into their reputation,” Hamelinck said. “We played just as meaningful games as they had.
“We had depth. And we knew talent-wise we were going to be right there with them, and we have had belief in our level of play all season long. It’s a great group of girls.
“They love each other and good things happen.”
Something good – and unprecedented – happened Friday. Even though Notre Dame was making its seventh state semifinal appearance while the Trojans made their first, none of that history mattered.
Senior midfielder Emma Carter tallied her 22nd goal of the season with 2:46 to go in the first half, and Timothy went on to upset the Lady Raiders 1-0.
Timothy (17-2-0) faces Althoff (21-2-0) for the state championship at 2 p.m. Saturday at Hoffman Estates.
Friday’s historic victory was no fluke. The Trojans controlled nearly all of the action in the first half and played the Raiders to a standoff in the second half.
Timothy enjoyed a 10-3 edge in shots in the opening 40 minutes and goalkeeper Corinne Myket was not called upon to make a save until 15 seconds before intermission, when she dove to stop Notre Dame star Lia Quintero’s shot from the right wing.
Quintero, a sophomore forward, came into the game with 38 goals and 11 assists. But she was limited to only four shots, two on frame, by Timothy’s tenacious backline of Sophia Biscan, Marta Veenstra, Elena Munk and Chloe Leppink.
“They (Timothy) played well,” Notre Dame coach Mark Longo said. “We were a little bit flat in the first half, but they probably had a lot to do with that.
“Second half we did a lot of nice things. We just couldn’t get the ball in the net.”
The blame for that can be placed on many of the Timothy defenders, though Biscan would be a good place to start. The 5-foot junior punches way above her weight, as she demonstrated by battling with players like Quintero and Sophie Gramke who towered over her.
Biscan was run over on several occasions and knocked down repeatedly in collisions, but she was crucial to Timothy’s efforts, even blocking a shot near the goal line with 30 minutes remaining in the second half.
“A lot of people are a lot taller than me, so I have to beat them to the ball,” Biscan said. “I can’t really push them off the ball, so I try to beat them back and then get the ball and try to find feet.”
When Biscan and her backline mates were unable to prevent shots, Myket was there to make the save. She made five of them after the break to finish off Timothy’s 13th shutout, four of which have come in the playoffs.
That strengthened the Trojans’ resolve.
“I think the last few minutes, when our keeper made some great saves, we were connecting passes, and we still had possession of the ball,” Biscan said. “Hearing the crowd motivated us and kept us together and kept us working hard and grinding it out. The last two minutes were crucial.”
All that effort made Timothy the first team to shut out the Raiders this season.
“They played a lot of defenders,” Longo said. “That was part of it and then (Carter) up high for them, she was a handful all day. They just played a really strong game.”
Carter has been strong for the Trojans all season, leading the team in goals and assists (17). She regularly got loose in the first half against the Raiders, and only the sharp play of freshman goalkeeper Aly Young, who made three of her eight saves on drives from Carter, kept the game scoreless.
But that only postponed what Carter felt was inevitable.
“Offensively, we had so many opportunities and we were kind of seeing how we could still connect and play our own game,” Carter said. “That’s when we realized, ‘Hey, we missed a couple shots. We’re knocking on the door, and we were going to get one if we just kept grinding it out and working hard for each other.’
“I think that’s when the goal happened.”
It happened on a 23-yard drive into the upper left corner of the net that Young had no chance on. Sophomore forward Maddie Drye had the assist.
Though the Trojans never took their foot off the gas, the opportunities came less frequently after intermission as the Raiders found their legs, if not the equalizer. That’s when the defense had to step up.
“The speed on our backline, they might be four of the fastest players on our team,” Hamelinck said. “They just continue to push hard and make it difficult on everybody.
“We have the mentality that we’re not going to go into a game scared of anybody. We have a really talented, balanced group. Any girl can score in any game.”
While the Raiders didn’t score in this one, they do get one more chance to making a lasting impression when they play Wheaton Academy in the third place game at 10 a.m. Saturday at Fremd.
“What I told them was our expectations this year were very low key,” Longo said. “We have only one player that has ever played varsity before this year, so we’re not the powerhouse we’ve been in the past.
“But they’ve gutted it out, and they worked hard. We’re really happy to get here.
“And I told them we’ve got to regroup, and it’s going to be difficult. But at 10 a.m. we’re going to show up and give it our best effort. We’ll get a trophy out of this, and we’ll be happy.”
Starting lineups
Timothy
GK Corinne Myket
D Sophia Biscan
D Marta Veenstra
D Elena Munk
D Chloe Leppink
M Juliana Norman
M Emma Carter
M Angie Tornabene
M Miliana Martens
M Hope Huizenga
F Maddie Drye
Notre Dame (Quincy)
GK Aly Young
D Aubrey Sparrow
D Sheriden Hull
D Eva Dickerman
M Ellie Peters
M Anna Keck
M Avery Keck
M Audrey Henkenmeier
M Lauryn Peters
F Lia Quintero
F Sophie Gramke
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Emma Carter, sr., MF, Timothy
Scoring summary
First half
Timothy – Emma Carter (Maddie Drye) 2:46 remaining
Second half
No scoring
takes down Notre Dame (Quincy)
Trojans' 1-0 win gives them shot at 1st state title
By Matt Le Cren
HOFFMAN ESTATES – Timothy coach Jon Hamelinck delivered a simple message to his team in advance of Friday’s Class A state semifinal against heavily favored Notre Dame (Quincy).
Hamelinck was well aware of Notre Dame’s outstanding run of success, which includes five state championships since 2010, and his own squad’s lack of pedigree.
“I think the biggest things were mentally having the girls buy into the mentality of the game and not buy into their reputation,” Hamelinck said. “We played just as meaningful games as they had.
“We had depth. And we knew talent-wise we were going to be right there with them, and we have had belief in our level of play all season long. It’s a great group of girls.
“They love each other and good things happen.”
Something good – and unprecedented – happened Friday. Even though Notre Dame was making its seventh state semifinal appearance while the Trojans made their first, none of that history mattered.
Senior midfielder Emma Carter tallied her 22nd goal of the season with 2:46 to go in the first half, and Timothy went on to upset the Lady Raiders 1-0.
Timothy (17-2-0) faces Althoff (21-2-0) for the state championship at 2 p.m. Saturday at Hoffman Estates.
Friday’s historic victory was no fluke. The Trojans controlled nearly all of the action in the first half and played the Raiders to a standoff in the second half.
Timothy enjoyed a 10-3 edge in shots in the opening 40 minutes and goalkeeper Corinne Myket was not called upon to make a save until 15 seconds before intermission, when she dove to stop Notre Dame star Lia Quintero’s shot from the right wing.
Quintero, a sophomore forward, came into the game with 38 goals and 11 assists. But she was limited to only four shots, two on frame, by Timothy’s tenacious backline of Sophia Biscan, Marta Veenstra, Elena Munk and Chloe Leppink.
“They (Timothy) played well,” Notre Dame coach Mark Longo said. “We were a little bit flat in the first half, but they probably had a lot to do with that.
“Second half we did a lot of nice things. We just couldn’t get the ball in the net.”
The blame for that can be placed on many of the Timothy defenders, though Biscan would be a good place to start. The 5-foot junior punches way above her weight, as she demonstrated by battling with players like Quintero and Sophie Gramke who towered over her.
Biscan was run over on several occasions and knocked down repeatedly in collisions, but she was crucial to Timothy’s efforts, even blocking a shot near the goal line with 30 minutes remaining in the second half.
“A lot of people are a lot taller than me, so I have to beat them to the ball,” Biscan said. “I can’t really push them off the ball, so I try to beat them back and then get the ball and try to find feet.”
When Biscan and her backline mates were unable to prevent shots, Myket was there to make the save. She made five of them after the break to finish off Timothy’s 13th shutout, four of which have come in the playoffs.
That strengthened the Trojans’ resolve.
“I think the last few minutes, when our keeper made some great saves, we were connecting passes, and we still had possession of the ball,” Biscan said. “Hearing the crowd motivated us and kept us together and kept us working hard and grinding it out. The last two minutes were crucial.”
All that effort made Timothy the first team to shut out the Raiders this season.
“They played a lot of defenders,” Longo said. “That was part of it and then (Carter) up high for them, she was a handful all day. They just played a really strong game.”
Carter has been strong for the Trojans all season, leading the team in goals and assists (17). She regularly got loose in the first half against the Raiders, and only the sharp play of freshman goalkeeper Aly Young, who made three of her eight saves on drives from Carter, kept the game scoreless.
But that only postponed what Carter felt was inevitable.
“Offensively, we had so many opportunities and we were kind of seeing how we could still connect and play our own game,” Carter said. “That’s when we realized, ‘Hey, we missed a couple shots. We’re knocking on the door, and we were going to get one if we just kept grinding it out and working hard for each other.’
“I think that’s when the goal happened.”
It happened on a 23-yard drive into the upper left corner of the net that Young had no chance on. Sophomore forward Maddie Drye had the assist.
Though the Trojans never took their foot off the gas, the opportunities came less frequently after intermission as the Raiders found their legs, if not the equalizer. That’s when the defense had to step up.
“The speed on our backline, they might be four of the fastest players on our team,” Hamelinck said. “They just continue to push hard and make it difficult on everybody.
“We have the mentality that we’re not going to go into a game scared of anybody. We have a really talented, balanced group. Any girl can score in any game.”
While the Raiders didn’t score in this one, they do get one more chance to making a lasting impression when they play Wheaton Academy in the third place game at 10 a.m. Saturday at Fremd.
“What I told them was our expectations this year were very low key,” Longo said. “We have only one player that has ever played varsity before this year, so we’re not the powerhouse we’ve been in the past.
“But they’ve gutted it out, and they worked hard. We’re really happy to get here.
“And I told them we’ve got to regroup, and it’s going to be difficult. But at 10 a.m. we’re going to show up and give it our best effort. We’ll get a trophy out of this, and we’ll be happy.”
Starting lineups
Timothy
GK Corinne Myket
D Sophia Biscan
D Marta Veenstra
D Elena Munk
D Chloe Leppink
M Juliana Norman
M Emma Carter
M Angie Tornabene
M Miliana Martens
M Hope Huizenga
F Maddie Drye
Notre Dame (Quincy)
GK Aly Young
D Aubrey Sparrow
D Sheriden Hull
D Eva Dickerman
M Ellie Peters
M Anna Keck
M Avery Keck
M Audrey Henkenmeier
M Lauryn Peters
F Lia Quintero
F Sophie Gramke
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Emma Carter, sr., MF, Timothy
Scoring summary
First half
Timothy – Emma Carter (Maddie Drye) 2:46 remaining
Second half
No scoring