Quick goals put Evanston in driver's seat
3 strikes in 6-minute span leads hosts to 4-0 win over Vernon Hills
By Mike Garofola
EVANSTON -- Keara Kerr's early double set the tone for Evanston, but Vanessa Eljaiek and Kat Sehgal were the destroyers for the Wildkits in a 4-0 win over Vernon Hills on Thursday afternoon at Murney Lazar Field.
"Before we went to down to South Carolina during our break, we didn't come to play against Glenbrook South in our conference opener," said Evanston manager Stacy Salgado, whose club went 1-1-0 on its road trip which included the 3-2 win over state-ranked Mauldin. "So it was good to see the girls come out right away: attacking, creating and scoring a couple of quick goals today
"We did a lot of good things at that tournament and continued to do so today, both with our attack, and along the back," continued Salgado.
"Again, it was great to see us create chances, finish a couple of them. But we have to get better in the final third as we begin a tough stretch of tournament games ahead of us beginning this weekend."
The Wildkits (4-3-0) open pool play at the Lou Malnati's Deep Dish Classic this Saturday when they host Naperville North, ranked fourth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. Evanston's pool games conclude with Hinsdale Central and no. 11 Carmel, and hopefully semifinal and title berths next weekend to finish up the high-profile tournament.
"We were so much better on both sides of the ball today compared to our game with Glenbrook South," said Eljaiek, who along with Sehgal was named Chicagoland Soccer's co-MVP of the Match for their terrific work on this wintery day.
"On the first day of soccer Kat and I were in the same 6-v.-6 group, and it all seemed to click right then and there. And we've been pretty much playing alongside each other since."
Sehgal concurs on the connection.
"We just work so well together," she said. "(She's) someone that I always know where's she's at. We just trust each other out there."
With the Wildkits keeper ranks thin due to injuries, Ruby Siegel, who is usually deployed along the backline, stepped in between the sticks for her mates. She showed her versatility, athleticism and soccer IQ with near flawless play during her 80 minutes in the new position.
Siegel enjoyed a relatively easy day thanks in part to solid work from her backline. But more important was the Wildkits rampant attack, which put up three goals on the scorebard in during the opening 13 minutes against Mike McCaulou's young side from Vernon Hills (0-3-1).
"Allowing those early goals then another just moments into the second half was a real eye opener for my team," said the Cougars manager, who is now in his third season in charge. "But I thought we stayed in the game against a very athletic opponent that was so dangerous because of its direct style of play."
Evanston's Kerr, Sehgal, Eljaiek, Callista O'Connor, Kelly Kleschen and Margaret Rogan, whom Salgado stationed a little deeper than her midfield mates, all involved themselves during the Wildkits early onslaught against the Cougars.
Kerr, whose pace and quickness were too much for the visitors to handle on the outside for the first 40 minutes, created her first goal when she dispossessed her opponent before driving an angled shot from 25 yards into the upper right corner in the eighth minute.
Next, Eljaiek bent her left-footed attempt from the right side towards the Cougars back post. Unfortunately for freshmen keeper Danielle Jarrell, the ball was redirected off one of her teammates into the back of the net.
The ninth-minute goal was nearly followed by another when Kerr set O'Connor free inside the box. If not for a timely tackle by Lindsey Brettman, the 'Kits sophomore would have had Jarrell all to herself.
Alexa Michel, just brought on by Salgado in the 12th minute, made an immediate impact on the game when her marvelous early ball broke open the Vernon Hills defense and reached the foot of Kerr.
With a fearless Jarrell racing off her line to deny a potential 1-v.-1, Kerr took a quick snap-shot past the onrushing Jarrell that eventually rattled off the post before spilling back to the still-running Kerr who steered in her second of the day.
"Scoring first, then adding two more very quickly was big for us, and made things a little easier for us today," said Sehgal.
Vernon Hills did its best to play out of the back. The work of its 2017 all-conference junior Ryan Schofield, junior Leah Wilkowski, freshman Gill Johnson and Brettmann was successful on occasion in finding its talented forward, Abby Kempf, who ran hard, created, was crafty, and worked at being a general nuisance for the home side.
"Our plan is to build our attack, play through our midfielders as much as we can, and try to get something going from the run of play," said McCaulou.
"One of our top players, Alex Ludolph, who has already committed to play at IUPU (Indianapolis) is out with an ankle, so we moved a few players around. And after some early trouble sorting things out, I thought we went long stretches of playing with a very good (Class) 3A team today."
McCaulou has juiced up his nonconference schedule to insure his Class AA club gets all that it can handle before it advances to the postseason.
"Nineteen of our opponents are 3A teams, so the girls will get tested all throughout the spring before we get to the playoffs," said McCaulou.
Evanston's Eljaiek and Sehgal showed why they deserved top honors after this contest for a work rate that was second to none. Whether going box to box or flashing terrific defensive play, their selfless work on the ball was generous and with plenty of purpose.
"Those two are my playmakers'" said Salgado with a smile. "They make things go for us in our attack. And today, you saw what our attack can look like if both are playing at the level they were all throughout this game."
Vernon Hills had a rare chance into the strong first half wind just before the intermission on a well-struck free kick from Brettman. But Ruby Siegel was up to the task. She came off her line to parry away a dangerous ball that both Kempf and Julia Neary were running onto.
Moments into the second period it was Evanston's dynamic duo of Sehgal and Eljaiek who once again joined up on a lovely bit of combination play that allowed Sehgal to drive her 22-yard blast up and over the outstretched gloves of Jarrell.
Jarrell, a star on the basketball court whom McCaulou enlisted to become his first team keeper, displayed terrific form despite her inexperience. She stopped Kleschen and then Michel on back-to-back chances in the 50th minute.
Evanston's keeper was called upon as the visitors began to breathe some life into their attack after the hour. Siegel pulled down two well-aimed free kicks from Brettmann.
While Vernon Hills was unable to put anything dangerous at Siegel, it did force the Wildkits backline to respond in the later stages in order to insure its first clean-sheet of the season.
Wildkits defenders Annika DeStefano, Kathleen Donati and Ruby Rogers all turned in gritty tackling efforts when needed, including a nice read of potential trouble when the Neary-Kempf pair combined for pressure in the 72nd minute which required a quick decision by DeStefano to provide a sharp tackle near the box.
"Credit to Mike and his team," began Salgado. "They try to play the game the correct way, building from the back, knocking the ball around and attempting to get all of its players involved in the game."
Evanston hopes the win is the start of better things to come.
"Against GBS, we lost so many 50-50 balls, but today we were stronger in that area, as well as winning first and second balls (with) all of us playing the way we know we can," said Eljaiek.
"Now we just have to keep playing that way."
Starting lineups
Vernon Hills (4-4-2)
GK- Danielle Jarrell
D- Leah Wilkowski
D- Lindsey Brettmann
D- Ryan Schofield
D- Gill Johnson
M- Lily Blase
M- Frances Ferolo
M- Marley Reback
M- Katie Wilkowski
F- Abby Kempf
F- Julia Neary
Evanston (4-3-3)
GK: Ruby Siegel
D- Ruby Rogers
D- Annika DeStefano
D- Kathleen Donati
D- Ryann Lucas
M- Margaret Rogan
M- Kelly Kleschen
M- Kat Sehgal
F- Callista O'Connor
F- Keara Kerr
F- Vanessa Eljaiek
Scoring summary
Evanston
Kerr (U/A) 8'
Eljaiek (FK) 10'
Kerr (Michel) 13'
Sehgal (Eljaiek) 41'
Chicagoland Soccer co-MVPs of the Match: Vanessa Eljaiek, sr., MF/F, Evanston
Kat Sehgal, jr., MF, Evanston
Referee: Vic Taylor
3 strikes in 6-minute span leads hosts to 4-0 win over Vernon Hills
By Mike Garofola
EVANSTON -- Keara Kerr's early double set the tone for Evanston, but Vanessa Eljaiek and Kat Sehgal were the destroyers for the Wildkits in a 4-0 win over Vernon Hills on Thursday afternoon at Murney Lazar Field.
"Before we went to down to South Carolina during our break, we didn't come to play against Glenbrook South in our conference opener," said Evanston manager Stacy Salgado, whose club went 1-1-0 on its road trip which included the 3-2 win over state-ranked Mauldin. "So it was good to see the girls come out right away: attacking, creating and scoring a couple of quick goals today
"We did a lot of good things at that tournament and continued to do so today, both with our attack, and along the back," continued Salgado.
"Again, it was great to see us create chances, finish a couple of them. But we have to get better in the final third as we begin a tough stretch of tournament games ahead of us beginning this weekend."
The Wildkits (4-3-0) open pool play at the Lou Malnati's Deep Dish Classic this Saturday when they host Naperville North, ranked fourth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. Evanston's pool games conclude with Hinsdale Central and no. 11 Carmel, and hopefully semifinal and title berths next weekend to finish up the high-profile tournament.
"We were so much better on both sides of the ball today compared to our game with Glenbrook South," said Eljaiek, who along with Sehgal was named Chicagoland Soccer's co-MVP of the Match for their terrific work on this wintery day.
"On the first day of soccer Kat and I were in the same 6-v.-6 group, and it all seemed to click right then and there. And we've been pretty much playing alongside each other since."
Sehgal concurs on the connection.
"We just work so well together," she said. "(She's) someone that I always know where's she's at. We just trust each other out there."
With the Wildkits keeper ranks thin due to injuries, Ruby Siegel, who is usually deployed along the backline, stepped in between the sticks for her mates. She showed her versatility, athleticism and soccer IQ with near flawless play during her 80 minutes in the new position.
Siegel enjoyed a relatively easy day thanks in part to solid work from her backline. But more important was the Wildkits rampant attack, which put up three goals on the scorebard in during the opening 13 minutes against Mike McCaulou's young side from Vernon Hills (0-3-1).
"Allowing those early goals then another just moments into the second half was a real eye opener for my team," said the Cougars manager, who is now in his third season in charge. "But I thought we stayed in the game against a very athletic opponent that was so dangerous because of its direct style of play."
Evanston's Kerr, Sehgal, Eljaiek, Callista O'Connor, Kelly Kleschen and Margaret Rogan, whom Salgado stationed a little deeper than her midfield mates, all involved themselves during the Wildkits early onslaught against the Cougars.
Kerr, whose pace and quickness were too much for the visitors to handle on the outside for the first 40 minutes, created her first goal when she dispossessed her opponent before driving an angled shot from 25 yards into the upper right corner in the eighth minute.
Next, Eljaiek bent her left-footed attempt from the right side towards the Cougars back post. Unfortunately for freshmen keeper Danielle Jarrell, the ball was redirected off one of her teammates into the back of the net.
The ninth-minute goal was nearly followed by another when Kerr set O'Connor free inside the box. If not for a timely tackle by Lindsey Brettman, the 'Kits sophomore would have had Jarrell all to herself.
Alexa Michel, just brought on by Salgado in the 12th minute, made an immediate impact on the game when her marvelous early ball broke open the Vernon Hills defense and reached the foot of Kerr.
With a fearless Jarrell racing off her line to deny a potential 1-v.-1, Kerr took a quick snap-shot past the onrushing Jarrell that eventually rattled off the post before spilling back to the still-running Kerr who steered in her second of the day.
"Scoring first, then adding two more very quickly was big for us, and made things a little easier for us today," said Sehgal.
Vernon Hills did its best to play out of the back. The work of its 2017 all-conference junior Ryan Schofield, junior Leah Wilkowski, freshman Gill Johnson and Brettmann was successful on occasion in finding its talented forward, Abby Kempf, who ran hard, created, was crafty, and worked at being a general nuisance for the home side.
"Our plan is to build our attack, play through our midfielders as much as we can, and try to get something going from the run of play," said McCaulou.
"One of our top players, Alex Ludolph, who has already committed to play at IUPU (Indianapolis) is out with an ankle, so we moved a few players around. And after some early trouble sorting things out, I thought we went long stretches of playing with a very good (Class) 3A team today."
McCaulou has juiced up his nonconference schedule to insure his Class AA club gets all that it can handle before it advances to the postseason.
"Nineteen of our opponents are 3A teams, so the girls will get tested all throughout the spring before we get to the playoffs," said McCaulou.
Evanston's Eljaiek and Sehgal showed why they deserved top honors after this contest for a work rate that was second to none. Whether going box to box or flashing terrific defensive play, their selfless work on the ball was generous and with plenty of purpose.
"Those two are my playmakers'" said Salgado with a smile. "They make things go for us in our attack. And today, you saw what our attack can look like if both are playing at the level they were all throughout this game."
Vernon Hills had a rare chance into the strong first half wind just before the intermission on a well-struck free kick from Brettman. But Ruby Siegel was up to the task. She came off her line to parry away a dangerous ball that both Kempf and Julia Neary were running onto.
Moments into the second period it was Evanston's dynamic duo of Sehgal and Eljaiek who once again joined up on a lovely bit of combination play that allowed Sehgal to drive her 22-yard blast up and over the outstretched gloves of Jarrell.
Jarrell, a star on the basketball court whom McCaulou enlisted to become his first team keeper, displayed terrific form despite her inexperience. She stopped Kleschen and then Michel on back-to-back chances in the 50th minute.
Evanston's keeper was called upon as the visitors began to breathe some life into their attack after the hour. Siegel pulled down two well-aimed free kicks from Brettmann.
While Vernon Hills was unable to put anything dangerous at Siegel, it did force the Wildkits backline to respond in the later stages in order to insure its first clean-sheet of the season.
Wildkits defenders Annika DeStefano, Kathleen Donati and Ruby Rogers all turned in gritty tackling efforts when needed, including a nice read of potential trouble when the Neary-Kempf pair combined for pressure in the 72nd minute which required a quick decision by DeStefano to provide a sharp tackle near the box.
"Credit to Mike and his team," began Salgado. "They try to play the game the correct way, building from the back, knocking the ball around and attempting to get all of its players involved in the game."
Evanston hopes the win is the start of better things to come.
"Against GBS, we lost so many 50-50 balls, but today we were stronger in that area, as well as winning first and second balls (with) all of us playing the way we know we can," said Eljaiek.
"Now we just have to keep playing that way."
Starting lineups
Vernon Hills (4-4-2)
GK- Danielle Jarrell
D- Leah Wilkowski
D- Lindsey Brettmann
D- Ryan Schofield
D- Gill Johnson
M- Lily Blase
M- Frances Ferolo
M- Marley Reback
M- Katie Wilkowski
F- Abby Kempf
F- Julia Neary
Evanston (4-3-3)
GK: Ruby Siegel
D- Ruby Rogers
D- Annika DeStefano
D- Kathleen Donati
D- Ryann Lucas
M- Margaret Rogan
M- Kelly Kleschen
M- Kat Sehgal
F- Callista O'Connor
F- Keara Kerr
F- Vanessa Eljaiek
Scoring summary
Evanston
Kerr (U/A) 8'
Eljaiek (FK) 10'
Kerr (Michel) 13'
Sehgal (Eljaiek) 41'
Chicagoland Soccer co-MVPs of the Match: Vanessa Eljaiek, sr., MF/F, Evanston
Kat Sehgal, jr., MF, Evanston
Referee: Vic Taylor