IC Catholic Prep extends winning streak
Hurt’s 2 goals, Fuller’s 3 assists help Knights edge Trinity 3-2
By Matt Le Cren
ELMHURST – Some people may have thought IC Catholic Prep’s season was sunk after the Knights lost six of seven games early in the season.
They were wrong.
The Knights have resurfaced, getting back to the .500 mark thanks to a four-game winning streak that included Monday night’s hard-fought 3-2 victory over visiting Trinity at Plunkett Park.
The win was anything but easy. Trinity (4-8-0) stunned IC when Kelcie Leyden scored on a breakaway at the 34:02 mark of the first half to break the ice.
“We played three teams before that weren’t really up to our competition,” IC senior Grace Fuller said. “In the first half we came out maybe a little overconfident and then their defense had pushed really far up line, so I think some of our forwards were caught off guard.
“So it made it a little difficult to score.”
Indeed, the Blazers played a high line on defense, daring the Knights to try to beat it. Fuller did so by regularly sending lead balls into space for the IC forwards to run onto, but Trinity’s defenders repeatedly won 1-on-1 battles and goalkeeper Cristina Olmos came up with five of her 10 saves in the first half.
Even so, the Knights didn’t trail for long. A throw-in from deep on the right side led to Fuller getting the ball on the right side of the box. The veteran midfielder poked a cross through the crease to junior Olivia Hurt, who volleyed home the equalizer with 32:15 remaining.
It was the first of three assists on the night for Fuller, who was kept busy not only with passing but with fulfilling her corner kick duties. She took 12 of them, including one that led to the game-winning goal.
Fuller’s serve from the right side went to the top of the six to Hurt, who got a head on the ball but popped it up in the air. It seemed like a harmless shot but the parabolic arc of the shot took the ball over the head of Olmos and a defender and bounced inside the right post with 37:48 remaining in the second half.
“In the first couple games we didn’t really finish the corners and now we’re on a streak of Bella (Leslie) and Olivia heading in the corners,” Fuller said. “It’s a really good feeling.”
It brought a sense of relief, at least temporarily, to IC Catholic Prep coach Antonio Godinez, who watched his team squander a score of opportunities despite outshooting the Blazers 29-7, including a 16-1 margin in the second half.
“The last three games we’ve scored on three or four corner kicks, so we’ve done really well,” Godinez said. “We look for those to help us score, but we had a lot of opportunities today that we didn’t put away.”
That was an understatement.
In the first half alone, Olmos thwarted Abi Wagner on two breakaways and stopped a wide-open shot from Sophie Zanoni.
The Knights took a 2-1 lead thanks to a lucky break with 17:19 to go before intermission. Fuller was the instigator on this play, too, firing a lead pass up to Zanoni on the right wing. Zanoni took the ball to the end line before crossing it in front of the goal, where a defender knocked it into the net.
But efforts to extend the lead went for naught. Just moments later, IC defender Cassandra Serrano’s header off a Fuller corner kick beat Olmos but was cleared off the line by a defender.
IC was awarded a penalty kick at the 5:23 mark, but Wagner’s attempt skidded into the outside of the left post and was eventually cleared.
Then the Blazers scored against the run of play. They earned back-to-back corner kicks – their only ones of the match – and converted the second one when Stephanie Flores punched in the serve from Courtney Yungermann with 54 seconds left in the first half.
So a game that should have been comfortably in IC’s pocket was tied at intermission. That only fueled the home team.
“The girls made a better adjustment in the second half,” Godinez said. “They were a bit hungrier.
“It was a scrappy game, and they found a way to get the victory. Trinity played very tough, and they came out with a lot of intensity. We just came out lax in the first half, but we played a lot better in the second half.”
The Knights dominated the action throughout the second half, forcing the Blazers back on their heels. Trinity’s Grace Lewandowski made a bid for the equalizer about 80 seconds after Hurt’s go-ahead header, breaking into the left side of the box, but IC goalie Gabbie Smola came out and smothered it.
That was Trinity’s only shot of the second half.
“I think our defense did a really good job of pushing up (in the second half) and holding the line, which really helped,” Hurt said. “It blocked off their scoring opportunities.”
Even though Hurt was denied several times in her bid for a hat-trick and Zanoni’s bid for a second goal was thwarted by a defender who kicked her shot off the line with 35:30 left, the Knights were never seriously threatened.
“I think we were in control for most of the game,” Hurt said. “In the second half we were connecting our passes better and we had better effort, so that helped us come out with the win.”
The second half effort was more reflective of the team the Knights can be. While they aren’t the powerhouse squad they were in 2017, they still have potential.
“We lost a bunch of our seniors from last year and from our defense so we really had to start to get the hang of it,” Fuller said. “That’s why we were on a losing streak for a little while.
“Now I think we’re starting to get the hang of it and trust each other more, so it’s a good feeling.”
Starting lineups
Trinity
GK Cristina Olmos
D Samantha Salcedo
D Daniela Olmos
D Courtney Youngerman
D Areli Rodriguez
M Mia Ruggiero
M Elizabeth Riley
M Natalie Maite
F Kelcie Leyden
F Deana Sannicandro
F Bridget Coty
IC Catholic Prep
GK Rochelle Spizzirri
D Sophie Hurt
D Suzy Maloney
D Annie Guinan
D Cassandra Serrano
M Olivia Hurt
M Grace Fuller
M Bella Leslie
F Kelly Murray
F Abi Wagner
F Sophie Zanoni
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Grace Fuller, Sr, M, IC Catholic Prep
Scoring summary
1st half
Trinity – Kelcie Leyden (Natalie Maite) 34:22
ICCP – Olivia Hurt (Grace Fuller) 32:15
ICCP – Sophie Zanoni (Fuller) 17:19
Trinity – Stephanie Flores (Courtney Youngerman) :54
2nd Half
ICCP – Hurt (Fuller) 37:48
Hurt’s 2 goals, Fuller’s 3 assists help Knights edge Trinity 3-2
By Matt Le Cren
ELMHURST – Some people may have thought IC Catholic Prep’s season was sunk after the Knights lost six of seven games early in the season.
They were wrong.
The Knights have resurfaced, getting back to the .500 mark thanks to a four-game winning streak that included Monday night’s hard-fought 3-2 victory over visiting Trinity at Plunkett Park.
The win was anything but easy. Trinity (4-8-0) stunned IC when Kelcie Leyden scored on a breakaway at the 34:02 mark of the first half to break the ice.
“We played three teams before that weren’t really up to our competition,” IC senior Grace Fuller said. “In the first half we came out maybe a little overconfident and then their defense had pushed really far up line, so I think some of our forwards were caught off guard.
“So it made it a little difficult to score.”
Indeed, the Blazers played a high line on defense, daring the Knights to try to beat it. Fuller did so by regularly sending lead balls into space for the IC forwards to run onto, but Trinity’s defenders repeatedly won 1-on-1 battles and goalkeeper Cristina Olmos came up with five of her 10 saves in the first half.
Even so, the Knights didn’t trail for long. A throw-in from deep on the right side led to Fuller getting the ball on the right side of the box. The veteran midfielder poked a cross through the crease to junior Olivia Hurt, who volleyed home the equalizer with 32:15 remaining.
It was the first of three assists on the night for Fuller, who was kept busy not only with passing but with fulfilling her corner kick duties. She took 12 of them, including one that led to the game-winning goal.
Fuller’s serve from the right side went to the top of the six to Hurt, who got a head on the ball but popped it up in the air. It seemed like a harmless shot but the parabolic arc of the shot took the ball over the head of Olmos and a defender and bounced inside the right post with 37:48 remaining in the second half.
“In the first couple games we didn’t really finish the corners and now we’re on a streak of Bella (Leslie) and Olivia heading in the corners,” Fuller said. “It’s a really good feeling.”
It brought a sense of relief, at least temporarily, to IC Catholic Prep coach Antonio Godinez, who watched his team squander a score of opportunities despite outshooting the Blazers 29-7, including a 16-1 margin in the second half.
“The last three games we’ve scored on three or four corner kicks, so we’ve done really well,” Godinez said. “We look for those to help us score, but we had a lot of opportunities today that we didn’t put away.”
That was an understatement.
In the first half alone, Olmos thwarted Abi Wagner on two breakaways and stopped a wide-open shot from Sophie Zanoni.
The Knights took a 2-1 lead thanks to a lucky break with 17:19 to go before intermission. Fuller was the instigator on this play, too, firing a lead pass up to Zanoni on the right wing. Zanoni took the ball to the end line before crossing it in front of the goal, where a defender knocked it into the net.
But efforts to extend the lead went for naught. Just moments later, IC defender Cassandra Serrano’s header off a Fuller corner kick beat Olmos but was cleared off the line by a defender.
IC was awarded a penalty kick at the 5:23 mark, but Wagner’s attempt skidded into the outside of the left post and was eventually cleared.
Then the Blazers scored against the run of play. They earned back-to-back corner kicks – their only ones of the match – and converted the second one when Stephanie Flores punched in the serve from Courtney Yungermann with 54 seconds left in the first half.
So a game that should have been comfortably in IC’s pocket was tied at intermission. That only fueled the home team.
“The girls made a better adjustment in the second half,” Godinez said. “They were a bit hungrier.
“It was a scrappy game, and they found a way to get the victory. Trinity played very tough, and they came out with a lot of intensity. We just came out lax in the first half, but we played a lot better in the second half.”
The Knights dominated the action throughout the second half, forcing the Blazers back on their heels. Trinity’s Grace Lewandowski made a bid for the equalizer about 80 seconds after Hurt’s go-ahead header, breaking into the left side of the box, but IC goalie Gabbie Smola came out and smothered it.
That was Trinity’s only shot of the second half.
“I think our defense did a really good job of pushing up (in the second half) and holding the line, which really helped,” Hurt said. “It blocked off their scoring opportunities.”
Even though Hurt was denied several times in her bid for a hat-trick and Zanoni’s bid for a second goal was thwarted by a defender who kicked her shot off the line with 35:30 left, the Knights were never seriously threatened.
“I think we were in control for most of the game,” Hurt said. “In the second half we were connecting our passes better and we had better effort, so that helped us come out with the win.”
The second half effort was more reflective of the team the Knights can be. While they aren’t the powerhouse squad they were in 2017, they still have potential.
“We lost a bunch of our seniors from last year and from our defense so we really had to start to get the hang of it,” Fuller said. “That’s why we were on a losing streak for a little while.
“Now I think we’re starting to get the hang of it and trust each other more, so it’s a good feeling.”
Starting lineups
Trinity
GK Cristina Olmos
D Samantha Salcedo
D Daniela Olmos
D Courtney Youngerman
D Areli Rodriguez
M Mia Ruggiero
M Elizabeth Riley
M Natalie Maite
F Kelcie Leyden
F Deana Sannicandro
F Bridget Coty
IC Catholic Prep
GK Rochelle Spizzirri
D Sophie Hurt
D Suzy Maloney
D Annie Guinan
D Cassandra Serrano
M Olivia Hurt
M Grace Fuller
M Bella Leslie
F Kelly Murray
F Abi Wagner
F Sophie Zanoni
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Grace Fuller, Sr, M, IC Catholic Prep
Scoring summary
1st half
Trinity – Kelcie Leyden (Natalie Maite) 34:22
ICCP – Olivia Hurt (Grace Fuller) 32:15
ICCP – Sophie Zanoni (Fuller) 17:19
Trinity – Stephanie Flores (Courtney Youngerman) :54
2nd Half
ICCP – Hurt (Fuller) 37:48