IC shuts out Timothy to win 6th in row
3-goal 2nd half carries Knights to 3-0 victory
By Ken Keenan
ELMHURST -- Surging IC Catholic Prep chalked up its sixth-consecutive win with a 3-0 decision over visiting Timothy in Metro Suburban Conference Red Division action at Lewis Field Thursday night.
The Knights, who improved to 7-5-0 overall and 4-0-0 in league play with the victory, cracked open a 0-0 halftime deadlock with a trio of goals in the second half to put away the Trojans (3-3-1, 1-2-0).
"We had a tough schedule in the beginning, and the girls understand that," said IC head coach Antonio Godinez. "We're growing as each game goes on. As a group, we want to keep it going ... keep hungry and go for more."
IC senior midfielder Olivia Hurt, Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match, tallied twice to lead the charge against Timothy. Consistently dangerous Knights sophomore mid Abi Wagner, slightly hobbled by an ankle injury suffered the previous night in a 3-0 win over St. Edward, drew a foul in the box to set up IC's first goal and then potted the second marker herself.
"I twisted my ankle (Wednesday) night," said Wagner, sporting a bag of ice atop her foot at game's end. "But we had only two subs on the bench (Thursday night), so today it was fight through the pain. It was hard to break through ... difficult to get through (Timothy's) 'D' line. We finally scored, but 1-0 is not a comfortable lead. Two goals is a more comfortable lead -- 2-0 felt good."
Chances were scarce for both teams in the opening 40 minutes, which featured back-and-forth play in the midfield and not much action on the wings. Wagner had a few opportunities early on, including a long run down the right side in the 12th minute resulting in a short shot that narrowly missed wide-left.
Wagner also slipped through for a semi-breakaway in the 37th minute, but she was robbed on a spectacular, diving save by Trojans sophomore goalkeeper Angel Burke. Five minutes prior, Hurt settled a deep throw-in and fired from 10 yards, only to be stopped by Burke.
Four minutes into the second half, Hurt sailed a 25-yard free kick over the crossbar. Four minutes later, she charged ahead on a clear break and was again snuffed by Burke.
Hurt didn't miss on her next attempt, smacking a penalty kick into the top left corner with 24:20 remaining in the second session to break the scoreless tie. Wagner earned the PK try when she was fouled in the box after a long run on the right side.
"Abi worked hard to get that foul, so I had to finish it for her," Hurt said. "That goal boosted up our confidence -- made us want to stay strong and finish off the game."
Wagner made it 2-0 with 12:18 left. After dancing in on the right side, Wagner cut to her right and beat Burke with a 15-yard strike inside the far post.
"Abi, she fought through adversity tonight with mental toughness," Godinez said. "Olivia (Hurt), too, as a senior captain she had to do a bit more in the second half -- and she did."
A bit of luck allowed IC to net its third goal. Lining up a 40-yard free kick from the center of the field in the 70th minute, Hurt fired a low drive that Burke appeared to stop. But the ball slipped under the Trojans keeper and gently rolled across the goal-line to conclude the scoring.
"I wanted to kick it as far as I could," Hurt said. "I kinda got lucky to get it through her legs."
Paced by the tandem of junior forward Sophie Labuda and freshman midfielder Ella VanderMolen, Timothy didn't fold down the stretch. In the 73rd minute, Labuda nabbed a loose ball and delivered a 30-yard shot that IC senior keeper Gabby Smola stopped.
Smola also scooped a long, bouncing try by Labuda with 6:40 showing.
"I was angry that we were losing," Labuda said. "I wanted to do something. I needed to show up and step up. But the lucky goal put them over the top."
Added VanderMolen: "I feel we did step up, especially in the second half. It was a good effort. The score doesn't reflect our battle."
In the first half, Smola made a nice stop on a one-timer by VanderMolen, and the IC keeper also had the answer for a 25-yard turnaround shot by Labuda with 3:30 to go before the break.
"I thought we matched (IC) speed for speed pretty well," said Timothy skipper Jon Hamelinck. "We hung in there quite a while. We got a little unlucky on the free kick (by Hurt). But I liked our push at the end. Sophie (Labuda) and Ella (VanderMolen) did a nice job together in the middle."
IC Catholic Prep's defense did its job, helping Smola preserve the shutout by shutting down passing lanes and clearing balls away from the box as the Trojans made their late push.
"They did have a little push, but we pushed through," said IC sophomore defender Cassandra Serrano. "Our defense, we just wanted to kick it and clear it."
Godinez was pleased with the collective effort on defense, name-checking freshman Claire Wagner, sophomore Sophie Hurt, senior Suzy Maloney and Serrano for their contributions.
"They left everything on the field," Godinez said. "I'm proud of the whole team. Everyone stepped up today."
Olivia Hurt added: "Losing at the beginning of the season fueled our fire. We're working together and starting to win ... building up confidence as a group."
Starting lineups
IC Catholic Prep
G: Gabby Smola
D: Claire Wagner
D: Suzy Maloney
D: Cassandra Serrano
D: Maggie O'Brien
M: Sophie Hurt
M: Olivia Hurt
M: Abi Wagner
M: Rachel Simonides
F: Eva Calles
F: Kate Sebastian
Timothy Christian
G: Angel Burke
D: Jana Kunz
D: Sophia Biscan
D: Elena Munk
D: Celeste Vandermeer
M: Ellen Cochrane
M: Abby Carstensen
M: Sarah Carstensen
M: Ellen VanderMolen
F: Sophie Labuda
F: Sarah Stoll
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Olivia Hurt, sr., MF, IC Catholic Prep
Officials: Arek Pugacewicz, Janusz Kieca, Manou Chahmirzadi
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
IC: Olivia Hurt (penalty kick) in 56th minute
IC: Abi Wagner (assisted by Eva Calles) in 68th minute
IC: Hurt (unassisted) in 70th minute
3-goal 2nd half carries Knights to 3-0 victory
By Ken Keenan
ELMHURST -- Surging IC Catholic Prep chalked up its sixth-consecutive win with a 3-0 decision over visiting Timothy in Metro Suburban Conference Red Division action at Lewis Field Thursday night.
The Knights, who improved to 7-5-0 overall and 4-0-0 in league play with the victory, cracked open a 0-0 halftime deadlock with a trio of goals in the second half to put away the Trojans (3-3-1, 1-2-0).
"We had a tough schedule in the beginning, and the girls understand that," said IC head coach Antonio Godinez. "We're growing as each game goes on. As a group, we want to keep it going ... keep hungry and go for more."
IC senior midfielder Olivia Hurt, Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match, tallied twice to lead the charge against Timothy. Consistently dangerous Knights sophomore mid Abi Wagner, slightly hobbled by an ankle injury suffered the previous night in a 3-0 win over St. Edward, drew a foul in the box to set up IC's first goal and then potted the second marker herself.
"I twisted my ankle (Wednesday) night," said Wagner, sporting a bag of ice atop her foot at game's end. "But we had only two subs on the bench (Thursday night), so today it was fight through the pain. It was hard to break through ... difficult to get through (Timothy's) 'D' line. We finally scored, but 1-0 is not a comfortable lead. Two goals is a more comfortable lead -- 2-0 felt good."
Chances were scarce for both teams in the opening 40 minutes, which featured back-and-forth play in the midfield and not much action on the wings. Wagner had a few opportunities early on, including a long run down the right side in the 12th minute resulting in a short shot that narrowly missed wide-left.
Wagner also slipped through for a semi-breakaway in the 37th minute, but she was robbed on a spectacular, diving save by Trojans sophomore goalkeeper Angel Burke. Five minutes prior, Hurt settled a deep throw-in and fired from 10 yards, only to be stopped by Burke.
Four minutes into the second half, Hurt sailed a 25-yard free kick over the crossbar. Four minutes later, she charged ahead on a clear break and was again snuffed by Burke.
Hurt didn't miss on her next attempt, smacking a penalty kick into the top left corner with 24:20 remaining in the second session to break the scoreless tie. Wagner earned the PK try when she was fouled in the box after a long run on the right side.
"Abi worked hard to get that foul, so I had to finish it for her," Hurt said. "That goal boosted up our confidence -- made us want to stay strong and finish off the game."
Wagner made it 2-0 with 12:18 left. After dancing in on the right side, Wagner cut to her right and beat Burke with a 15-yard strike inside the far post.
"Abi, she fought through adversity tonight with mental toughness," Godinez said. "Olivia (Hurt), too, as a senior captain she had to do a bit more in the second half -- and she did."
A bit of luck allowed IC to net its third goal. Lining up a 40-yard free kick from the center of the field in the 70th minute, Hurt fired a low drive that Burke appeared to stop. But the ball slipped under the Trojans keeper and gently rolled across the goal-line to conclude the scoring.
"I wanted to kick it as far as I could," Hurt said. "I kinda got lucky to get it through her legs."
Paced by the tandem of junior forward Sophie Labuda and freshman midfielder Ella VanderMolen, Timothy didn't fold down the stretch. In the 73rd minute, Labuda nabbed a loose ball and delivered a 30-yard shot that IC senior keeper Gabby Smola stopped.
Smola also scooped a long, bouncing try by Labuda with 6:40 showing.
"I was angry that we were losing," Labuda said. "I wanted to do something. I needed to show up and step up. But the lucky goal put them over the top."
Added VanderMolen: "I feel we did step up, especially in the second half. It was a good effort. The score doesn't reflect our battle."
In the first half, Smola made a nice stop on a one-timer by VanderMolen, and the IC keeper also had the answer for a 25-yard turnaround shot by Labuda with 3:30 to go before the break.
"I thought we matched (IC) speed for speed pretty well," said Timothy skipper Jon Hamelinck. "We hung in there quite a while. We got a little unlucky on the free kick (by Hurt). But I liked our push at the end. Sophie (Labuda) and Ella (VanderMolen) did a nice job together in the middle."
IC Catholic Prep's defense did its job, helping Smola preserve the shutout by shutting down passing lanes and clearing balls away from the box as the Trojans made their late push.
"They did have a little push, but we pushed through," said IC sophomore defender Cassandra Serrano. "Our defense, we just wanted to kick it and clear it."
Godinez was pleased with the collective effort on defense, name-checking freshman Claire Wagner, sophomore Sophie Hurt, senior Suzy Maloney and Serrano for their contributions.
"They left everything on the field," Godinez said. "I'm proud of the whole team. Everyone stepped up today."
Olivia Hurt added: "Losing at the beginning of the season fueled our fire. We're working together and starting to win ... building up confidence as a group."
Starting lineups
IC Catholic Prep
G: Gabby Smola
D: Claire Wagner
D: Suzy Maloney
D: Cassandra Serrano
D: Maggie O'Brien
M: Sophie Hurt
M: Olivia Hurt
M: Abi Wagner
M: Rachel Simonides
F: Eva Calles
F: Kate Sebastian
Timothy Christian
G: Angel Burke
D: Jana Kunz
D: Sophia Biscan
D: Elena Munk
D: Celeste Vandermeer
M: Ellen Cochrane
M: Abby Carstensen
M: Sarah Carstensen
M: Ellen VanderMolen
F: Sophie Labuda
F: Sarah Stoll
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Olivia Hurt, sr., MF, IC Catholic Prep
Officials: Arek Pugacewicz, Janusz Kieca, Manou Chahmirzadi
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
IC: Olivia Hurt (penalty kick) in 56th minute
IC: Abi Wagner (assisted by Eva Calles) in 68th minute
IC: Hurt (unassisted) in 70th minute