Warren gets enough offense vs. Deerfield
F Cullison and GK Barbosa star in 1-0 victory
By Patrick Z. McGavin
DEERFIELD -- Scoring is as much a state of mind as state of the art. Attitude is the critical factor.
Warren sophomore Cate Cullison is a dynamic player with size, speed and the ability to take over games. She has also played long enough to know the purest sensation of all.
“The best sound during the game is hearing that ball hit the back of the net,” she said.
Cullison created her own joyous music by ending the Blue Devils’ scoring difficulties and blasting home a short volley from the left edge in the 32nd minute for Warren’s 1-0 nonconference victory at Deerfield on Friday night.
Scoring has a musical rhythm and cadence all its own. Cullison turned it into her own particular elixir. The Blue Devils (11-8-3) came into the game having gone scoreless in three of their last four games.
Sophomore midfielder Emily Soriaga worked a beautiful sequence with senior midfielder Courtney Chomko that established the pressure.
Chomko got to the edge and generated the first significant shot that Deerfield keeper Isla Davila deflected. Soriaga crashed hard and controlled the rebound and played the ball out to Cullison, who had the better angle and stronger scoring chance.
The pieces all meshed perfectly. The goal marked the culmination, not just of the pressure, but the ball movement and spacing that caught the Warriors off-guard.
Junior Elizabeth Weinberg, another dynamic attacking player, set the aggressive tempo with some strong play at the start.
Warren sought that offensive touch after failing to score against Mundelein on Monday during a 2-0 loss and Maine South in a scoreless draw Thursday night.
“Lately the girls have been holding the ball a little too long,” Warren coach Ryan McCabe said. “I have been encouraging them to play one-, two-touch soccer. That is what we were able to do on the goal.
“We got the ball deep, worked a couple of give and gos, got the ball up quick into a dangerous area, and we were able to get on the on the end of the rebound. Playing off a quicker style of soccer gives us those opportunities.”
Soriago, the Blue Devils’ free kick specialist, is blessed with an exceptionally strong shot. She was playing her second game back since missing just over a week with a bothersome ankle injury that has troubled her since training.
Her return has rejuvenated the Warren attack.
“It definitely took us a while to get rolling, but once did we did a great job making those quick, one-two passes,” Chomko said.
“We realized as good as a team as Deerfield is, we had to be able to play crisp passes to our feet, get the ball on and off our feet, and we worked our way up the sideline, got it in, and we were dynamic at our feet. We just seized the opportunity when it came to us.”
Cullison has a pure scorer’s mentality, a go-for-broke style of constantly creating pressure.
She took her team’s recent scoring struggles personally.
“I think when you play my position, a striker, or forward, or even as a midfielder, and you are going through a scoring drought, you have that attitude or belief of just coming back, of nothing holding you back and just saying: ‘Let’s go. We are in this.’
“You could just feel the energy.”
Warren and Deerfield have a proud history, and the two Lake County rivals have used their typical end-of-the-regular-season showdown as a way to take the pulse of the team.
Cullison said the Blue Devils had to match the intensity and power of the Warriors.
“As a freshman last year when we played them, Deerfield really surprised me on how aggressive they were,” Cullison said.
“They are really good, and when the goal-scoring opportunities happened, it felt really good, because that is a very good team, and I knew we had to come out and match their aggressiveness and athleticism.”
Deerfield (11-11-2) had a curiously mirrored schedule with the Blue Devils. They also played Maine South and Mundelein. The game was the Warriors’ third in four days.
Deerfield responded well to the early push of the Blue Devils. Right after the Warren score, Deerfield generated some of its best scoring chances of the game. In the 37th minute, star junior Malori Killoren nearly bent in a corner kick from the left side.
Warren starter in goal Alana Turner made a great leaping push to get just enough on the ball to stop it. It served notice.
Killoren missed 12 games recovering from mono, and she is starting to resemble the breathtaking talent who scored 24 goals and added 11 assists last year. Her creativity, skill and ability on the ball is flawless.
In her initial return, Killoren was successful on pure ability, especially her scoring prowess. The encouraging part for the Warriors is she is finding her touch, quickness and fitness.
“I do feel like it’s back,” Killoren said. “I am working to keep in shape and play all 80 minutes in the middle. It is hard running, back and forth, especially when you play a team like this that is attacking a lot in the middle. It is difficult, but I am definitely getting a lot of my timing back.”
Deerfield is a different team with a fully operational Killoren. She is still a bit raw, even unsettled, but every time she touches the ball, a kind of magic unfolds.
McCabe was thrilled to get back one of his best defenders, Morgan Liebau, who returned against Maine South after missing 10 days.
“I thought our defenders did a great job,” McCabe said. “We knew that [Killoren] was going to be a handful for us today, and we were definitely queuing up on her for sure. I thought we did a nice job of deflecting a lot of pressure and taking away the strong parts of their attack.”
The Warriors dominated possession and shots in the second half. Right off the jump, Deerfield showed greater urgency and creativity in mounting an attack. In the 41st minute, senior forward Marissa Hyland executed a deft wheel route on a give-and-go and found herself with an unobstructed path to the goal.
Junior Sarah Barbosa, who split the game with Turner, made a great athletic move to deny the rocket shot from about 14 yards.
“That no. 8 [Hyland] was a really good player that put a lot of pressure on us,” Barbosa said. “I knew it was extremely important that I make the save at the beginning, because it would set the tempo for the rest of the half. And we needed to keep our heads in the game.”
It was the first of her seven saves. McCabe has alternated the two keepers most of the year. Turner typically starts and Barbosa comes in the second half.
“They are both really good,” McCabe said. “It is a good problem for a coach to have, trying to decide between two starting quality keepers. Alana starts but Sarah, her job is more difficult. She is coming into the game cold, and the other team has made some halftime adjustments. She knows she is going to get peppered a little bit. Sarah has really grown into that role.”
Cullison and Barbosa shared the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match distinction for their superb efforts.
Hyland said she was almost shocked at the space and the opportunity afforded her, especially coming so quickly after the start of the second half.
“I wasn’t expecting to get that wide open of a shot, so I think I could have taken another a step,” she said. “I felt like I could have gotten another touch and really got my foot on it.
“I really didn’t get enough power on the shot.”
Freshman forward Riley Schimanski, who has excelled in the absence of Killoren, created two strong shots. Midfielder Holly Deutsch also created some exceptionally dangerous chances, a free kick that was on line though just high in the 71st minute and another dangerous cross from the right wing that Barbosa made an aggressive play to come off her line to deprive the Warriors of another strong scoring opportunity.
“I knew that I had to come off of my line for the cross from [Deutsch], because it was nearing the end,” Barbosa said. “If I hadn’t, it could’ve been easily volleyed in by the other forwards in the box.”
Deerfield coach Rich Grady lamented the breakdown that created the Warren goal.
“We had a lot more in the second half,” he said. “I thought we dominated the second half. I don’t think we deserved to lose, but when you give up a goal like that, it happens.
“I was pleased with the intensity and effort and all-around play, but until we stop giving up unnecessary goals, we are always going to be chasing the game at that point.”
Starting lineups
Warren
GK: Alana Turner
D: Amber Wolf
D: Sarah Kreppien
D: Annika Attiah
D: Morgan Liebau
MF: Courtney Chomko
MF: Emma Preda
MF: Emily Soriaga
MF: Ella Skelton
F: Elizabeth Weinberg
F: Athena McGinn
Deerfield
GK: Isla Davila
D: Sydney Burns
D: Megan David
D: Ally Linn
D: Katie Morgan
MF: Shayna Wood
MF: Malori Killoren
MF: Mallory Sawyer
MF: Holly Deutsch
F: Marissa Hyland
F: Riley Schimanski
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match: Cate Cullison, so., F, Warren
Sarah Barbosa, jr., GK, Warren
Scoring summary
First half
Warren—Cate Cullison (Emily Soriaga), 32nd minute
Second half
No scoring
F Cullison and GK Barbosa star in 1-0 victory
By Patrick Z. McGavin
DEERFIELD -- Scoring is as much a state of mind as state of the art. Attitude is the critical factor.
Warren sophomore Cate Cullison is a dynamic player with size, speed and the ability to take over games. She has also played long enough to know the purest sensation of all.
“The best sound during the game is hearing that ball hit the back of the net,” she said.
Cullison created her own joyous music by ending the Blue Devils’ scoring difficulties and blasting home a short volley from the left edge in the 32nd minute for Warren’s 1-0 nonconference victory at Deerfield on Friday night.
Scoring has a musical rhythm and cadence all its own. Cullison turned it into her own particular elixir. The Blue Devils (11-8-3) came into the game having gone scoreless in three of their last four games.
Sophomore midfielder Emily Soriaga worked a beautiful sequence with senior midfielder Courtney Chomko that established the pressure.
Chomko got to the edge and generated the first significant shot that Deerfield keeper Isla Davila deflected. Soriaga crashed hard and controlled the rebound and played the ball out to Cullison, who had the better angle and stronger scoring chance.
The pieces all meshed perfectly. The goal marked the culmination, not just of the pressure, but the ball movement and spacing that caught the Warriors off-guard.
Junior Elizabeth Weinberg, another dynamic attacking player, set the aggressive tempo with some strong play at the start.
Warren sought that offensive touch after failing to score against Mundelein on Monday during a 2-0 loss and Maine South in a scoreless draw Thursday night.
“Lately the girls have been holding the ball a little too long,” Warren coach Ryan McCabe said. “I have been encouraging them to play one-, two-touch soccer. That is what we were able to do on the goal.
“We got the ball deep, worked a couple of give and gos, got the ball up quick into a dangerous area, and we were able to get on the on the end of the rebound. Playing off a quicker style of soccer gives us those opportunities.”
Soriago, the Blue Devils’ free kick specialist, is blessed with an exceptionally strong shot. She was playing her second game back since missing just over a week with a bothersome ankle injury that has troubled her since training.
Her return has rejuvenated the Warren attack.
“It definitely took us a while to get rolling, but once did we did a great job making those quick, one-two passes,” Chomko said.
“We realized as good as a team as Deerfield is, we had to be able to play crisp passes to our feet, get the ball on and off our feet, and we worked our way up the sideline, got it in, and we were dynamic at our feet. We just seized the opportunity when it came to us.”
Cullison has a pure scorer’s mentality, a go-for-broke style of constantly creating pressure.
She took her team’s recent scoring struggles personally.
“I think when you play my position, a striker, or forward, or even as a midfielder, and you are going through a scoring drought, you have that attitude or belief of just coming back, of nothing holding you back and just saying: ‘Let’s go. We are in this.’
“You could just feel the energy.”
Warren and Deerfield have a proud history, and the two Lake County rivals have used their typical end-of-the-regular-season showdown as a way to take the pulse of the team.
Cullison said the Blue Devils had to match the intensity and power of the Warriors.
“As a freshman last year when we played them, Deerfield really surprised me on how aggressive they were,” Cullison said.
“They are really good, and when the goal-scoring opportunities happened, it felt really good, because that is a very good team, and I knew we had to come out and match their aggressiveness and athleticism.”
Deerfield (11-11-2) had a curiously mirrored schedule with the Blue Devils. They also played Maine South and Mundelein. The game was the Warriors’ third in four days.
Deerfield responded well to the early push of the Blue Devils. Right after the Warren score, Deerfield generated some of its best scoring chances of the game. In the 37th minute, star junior Malori Killoren nearly bent in a corner kick from the left side.
Warren starter in goal Alana Turner made a great leaping push to get just enough on the ball to stop it. It served notice.
Killoren missed 12 games recovering from mono, and she is starting to resemble the breathtaking talent who scored 24 goals and added 11 assists last year. Her creativity, skill and ability on the ball is flawless.
In her initial return, Killoren was successful on pure ability, especially her scoring prowess. The encouraging part for the Warriors is she is finding her touch, quickness and fitness.
“I do feel like it’s back,” Killoren said. “I am working to keep in shape and play all 80 minutes in the middle. It is hard running, back and forth, especially when you play a team like this that is attacking a lot in the middle. It is difficult, but I am definitely getting a lot of my timing back.”
Deerfield is a different team with a fully operational Killoren. She is still a bit raw, even unsettled, but every time she touches the ball, a kind of magic unfolds.
McCabe was thrilled to get back one of his best defenders, Morgan Liebau, who returned against Maine South after missing 10 days.
“I thought our defenders did a great job,” McCabe said. “We knew that [Killoren] was going to be a handful for us today, and we were definitely queuing up on her for sure. I thought we did a nice job of deflecting a lot of pressure and taking away the strong parts of their attack.”
The Warriors dominated possession and shots in the second half. Right off the jump, Deerfield showed greater urgency and creativity in mounting an attack. In the 41st minute, senior forward Marissa Hyland executed a deft wheel route on a give-and-go and found herself with an unobstructed path to the goal.
Junior Sarah Barbosa, who split the game with Turner, made a great athletic move to deny the rocket shot from about 14 yards.
“That no. 8 [Hyland] was a really good player that put a lot of pressure on us,” Barbosa said. “I knew it was extremely important that I make the save at the beginning, because it would set the tempo for the rest of the half. And we needed to keep our heads in the game.”
It was the first of her seven saves. McCabe has alternated the two keepers most of the year. Turner typically starts and Barbosa comes in the second half.
“They are both really good,” McCabe said. “It is a good problem for a coach to have, trying to decide between two starting quality keepers. Alana starts but Sarah, her job is more difficult. She is coming into the game cold, and the other team has made some halftime adjustments. She knows she is going to get peppered a little bit. Sarah has really grown into that role.”
Cullison and Barbosa shared the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match distinction for their superb efforts.
Hyland said she was almost shocked at the space and the opportunity afforded her, especially coming so quickly after the start of the second half.
“I wasn’t expecting to get that wide open of a shot, so I think I could have taken another a step,” she said. “I felt like I could have gotten another touch and really got my foot on it.
“I really didn’t get enough power on the shot.”
Freshman forward Riley Schimanski, who has excelled in the absence of Killoren, created two strong shots. Midfielder Holly Deutsch also created some exceptionally dangerous chances, a free kick that was on line though just high in the 71st minute and another dangerous cross from the right wing that Barbosa made an aggressive play to come off her line to deprive the Warriors of another strong scoring opportunity.
“I knew that I had to come off of my line for the cross from [Deutsch], because it was nearing the end,” Barbosa said. “If I hadn’t, it could’ve been easily volleyed in by the other forwards in the box.”
Deerfield coach Rich Grady lamented the breakdown that created the Warren goal.
“We had a lot more in the second half,” he said. “I thought we dominated the second half. I don’t think we deserved to lose, but when you give up a goal like that, it happens.
“I was pleased with the intensity and effort and all-around play, but until we stop giving up unnecessary goals, we are always going to be chasing the game at that point.”
Starting lineups
Warren
GK: Alana Turner
D: Amber Wolf
D: Sarah Kreppien
D: Annika Attiah
D: Morgan Liebau
MF: Courtney Chomko
MF: Emma Preda
MF: Emily Soriaga
MF: Ella Skelton
F: Elizabeth Weinberg
F: Athena McGinn
Deerfield
GK: Isla Davila
D: Sydney Burns
D: Megan David
D: Ally Linn
D: Katie Morgan
MF: Shayna Wood
MF: Malori Killoren
MF: Mallory Sawyer
MF: Holly Deutsch
F: Marissa Hyland
F: Riley Schimanski
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match: Cate Cullison, so., F, Warren
Sarah Barbosa, jr., GK, Warren
Scoring summary
First half
Warren—Cate Cullison (Emily Soriaga), 32nd minute
Second half
No scoring