Youthful talent shines in Warren rout
Weinberg records hat-trick in 5-0 Glenbrook Cup victory
By Patrick Z. McGavin
NORTHBROOK — By every account, Warren's young and gifted talents like Elizabeth Weinberg, Emily Soriaga and Cate Cullison had every reason to be glum about the Blue Devils recent stretch of the games.
Losing wreaks havoc on youthful players, and the gifted though very inexperienced Warren youngsters were riding out a tough 0-4-1 stretch. But surprisingly, the mood was the opposite of somber. The team is loose, jubilant and ready for excitement.
“It has been a process, and I told them from the beginning we were not going to get wins, and we were going to take our lumps,” Warren coach Ryan McCabe said. “We were not going to have success right off the bat, but we were going to learn from the experience.”
Last year’s 22-win sectional finalist was the greatest team in program history. Six players from the team are playing in college. Only junior midfielder Courtney Chomko and senior defender Jamie Kwon are returning starters. Warren is a team of parts -- striking talent and players eager to learn.
‘I think the biggest adjustment has been learning how to connect with our passes since most of us have not played on the same team before,” Soriaga said.
Warren (5-8-1) gave a glimpse of what is possible, yoking together the privileged past and offering a look at a potentially dominant future.
Sophomore Weinberg recorded her first career hat trick and Cullison added a goal and an assist as the Blue Devils swept past Taft 5-0 in a quarterfinal of the Glenbrook Cup on Thursday at Glenbrook North.
Warren (5-8-1) will play Glenbrook North in a Friday semifinals. The Spartans defeated Grayslake North 4-2. In the other quarterfinal bracket at Glenbrook South, no. 18 Deerfield beat Grayslake Central 5-0, and no. 7 Glenbrook South whipped Rockford Lutheran 7-1.
All of Warren's goals came from first-year varsity players.
Two of the freshmen, forward Cullison and midfielder Soriaga, started the onslaught. Rangy and physical, Cullison plays with a high motor and loves to compete. Soriaga is cool and skilled. She has a wicked-hard shot. Even in tough circumstances, like a 4-2 loss against no. 22 Plainfield North in an earlier game, Soriaga scored two goals.
In the ninth minute Cullison worked the ball to her, and Soriaga made a decisive move and hammered in a ball inside the near post for the Blue Devils’ opening tally.
“I don’t normally take space,” Soriaga said. “I like to pass it more. What stood out for me in that instance is that I was dribbling it more, and I shot it in the corner.”
From there Weinberg took charge. She earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match for her performance.
As a indicator of her youth, Weinberg was much more comfortable playing than reflecting after the game on her performance. Her effort spoke volumes. She blends excellent size with a change of pace burst, the ability to get to the edge and a strong finishing style with either foot.
‘I think we were moving the ball very well and getting it in the open areas,” Weinberg said. She now has seven goals of the year. She also had a multiple-goal game in the Blue Devils’ 2018 debut against Highland Park.
“I think right now all of the underclassmen are really starting to step it up.”
Taft (9-3-1) is a developing program in the Chicago Public League. The Eagles captured the First Division North title on Tuesday and move to the elite Premier Division next season. Taft beat Bulls Prep on penalty kicks to capture the National Guard bracket of the PepsiCo Showdown last Sunday at Lyons.
“When we make a mistake, a team like this is going to capitalize on it,” Taft coach Christine Medunycia said. “We were able to make adjustments and shift and move against some of their opportunities. I think we were a bit of our own worst enemy with passing and our trapping. That hurt us there. If we were a little more solid in those areas, that would have helped us.
“In the first half the 50/50 balls were not nearly as good as I wanted them to be, but then we got better. What I need from them is progression, and they definitely did better in the second half. I thought we kept possession better in the second half and moved the ball around better.”
Taft managed only one shot on goal, a free kick by Stephanie Diamond that Warren sophomore keeper Sarah Barbosa collected.
Eagles’ keeper Kelly Palacios registered nine saves. She made a couple of athletic stops in the first half, especially a ball by Chomko, to keep the game close.
In the 30th minute, defender Zoe Wagner slotted a ball down the left flank that Weinberg controlled and unleashed a low liner from about 16 yards for the Blue Devils’ 2-0 lead at the break.
The second half marked a solid continuation.
Chomko scored 11 goals and had 10 assists a year ago. She is quick and electric with the ball. She recorded two assists. In the 48th minute, she worked the ball to Weinberg on the left wing. The crafty sophomore again unleashed a hard ball that was both clean and accurate.
Her third goal was a thing of beauty. Again working from the left edge, she drove a looping ball that curved perfectly beyond the reach of the Taft keeper for a signature goal. Cullison turned the game into a rout her eighth goal of the year just seconds later.
“I think it’s great I get to be part of this great team,” Cullison said, “and the team we had last year was phenomenal, and I want to bring that competitive edge to the next generation. Every day is a learning curve. Every practice, even seeing each other in the hallway, is about figuring out how our team plays and how to better predict each other’s movements because we are all so new.”
The upside of playing so many young players is they accelerate the growth process. Warren has a high ceiling because its young talent is progressing quickly. The team has enough holdovers from the past with Chomko, Kwon and senor forward Ayusha Ayalur to make a compelling whole.
“I try to give them as much varsity experience as I can until we get into the start of the state tournament,” McCabe said. “We are working our ways through the difficult times and trying to keep our eyes on the prize. Tonight I saw a lot of what we worked on in training yesterday. They are picking up the nuances I am trying to teach them, and that is all I can ask for.”
Starting lineups
Taft
GK: Kelly Palacios
D: Shelly Buitron
D: Cynthia Gonzalez
D: Nicki Gorder
D: Hallie Palluca
M: Amina Ahmetovic
M: Denise Carvajal
M: Victoria Tryba
M: Chloe Clark
F: Olivia Harcarik
F: Danielle Jozefczyk
Warren
GK: Sarah Barbosa
D: Olivia Wolf
D: Jamie Kwon
D: Zoe Wagner
M: Courtney Chomko
M: Amber Langosch
M: Emma Preda
M: Emily Soriaga
M: Cate Cullison
M: Morgan Best
F: Elizabeth Weinberg
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Elizabeth Weinberg, Warren, soph., F
Scoring summary
First half
Warren—Emily Soriaga (Cate Cullison), ninth minute
Warren—Elizabeth Weinberg (Zoe Wagner), 30th minute
Second half
Warren—Weinberg (Courtney Chomko), 48th minute
Warren—Weinberg (Emma Preda), 59th minute
Warren—Cullison (Chomko), 60th minute
Weinberg records hat-trick in 5-0 Glenbrook Cup victory
By Patrick Z. McGavin
NORTHBROOK — By every account, Warren's young and gifted talents like Elizabeth Weinberg, Emily Soriaga and Cate Cullison had every reason to be glum about the Blue Devils recent stretch of the games.
Losing wreaks havoc on youthful players, and the gifted though very inexperienced Warren youngsters were riding out a tough 0-4-1 stretch. But surprisingly, the mood was the opposite of somber. The team is loose, jubilant and ready for excitement.
“It has been a process, and I told them from the beginning we were not going to get wins, and we were going to take our lumps,” Warren coach Ryan McCabe said. “We were not going to have success right off the bat, but we were going to learn from the experience.”
Last year’s 22-win sectional finalist was the greatest team in program history. Six players from the team are playing in college. Only junior midfielder Courtney Chomko and senior defender Jamie Kwon are returning starters. Warren is a team of parts -- striking talent and players eager to learn.
‘I think the biggest adjustment has been learning how to connect with our passes since most of us have not played on the same team before,” Soriaga said.
Warren (5-8-1) gave a glimpse of what is possible, yoking together the privileged past and offering a look at a potentially dominant future.
Sophomore Weinberg recorded her first career hat trick and Cullison added a goal and an assist as the Blue Devils swept past Taft 5-0 in a quarterfinal of the Glenbrook Cup on Thursday at Glenbrook North.
Warren (5-8-1) will play Glenbrook North in a Friday semifinals. The Spartans defeated Grayslake North 4-2. In the other quarterfinal bracket at Glenbrook South, no. 18 Deerfield beat Grayslake Central 5-0, and no. 7 Glenbrook South whipped Rockford Lutheran 7-1.
All of Warren's goals came from first-year varsity players.
Two of the freshmen, forward Cullison and midfielder Soriaga, started the onslaught. Rangy and physical, Cullison plays with a high motor and loves to compete. Soriaga is cool and skilled. She has a wicked-hard shot. Even in tough circumstances, like a 4-2 loss against no. 22 Plainfield North in an earlier game, Soriaga scored two goals.
In the ninth minute Cullison worked the ball to her, and Soriaga made a decisive move and hammered in a ball inside the near post for the Blue Devils’ opening tally.
“I don’t normally take space,” Soriaga said. “I like to pass it more. What stood out for me in that instance is that I was dribbling it more, and I shot it in the corner.”
From there Weinberg took charge. She earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match for her performance.
As a indicator of her youth, Weinberg was much more comfortable playing than reflecting after the game on her performance. Her effort spoke volumes. She blends excellent size with a change of pace burst, the ability to get to the edge and a strong finishing style with either foot.
‘I think we were moving the ball very well and getting it in the open areas,” Weinberg said. She now has seven goals of the year. She also had a multiple-goal game in the Blue Devils’ 2018 debut against Highland Park.
“I think right now all of the underclassmen are really starting to step it up.”
Taft (9-3-1) is a developing program in the Chicago Public League. The Eagles captured the First Division North title on Tuesday and move to the elite Premier Division next season. Taft beat Bulls Prep on penalty kicks to capture the National Guard bracket of the PepsiCo Showdown last Sunday at Lyons.
“When we make a mistake, a team like this is going to capitalize on it,” Taft coach Christine Medunycia said. “We were able to make adjustments and shift and move against some of their opportunities. I think we were a bit of our own worst enemy with passing and our trapping. That hurt us there. If we were a little more solid in those areas, that would have helped us.
“In the first half the 50/50 balls were not nearly as good as I wanted them to be, but then we got better. What I need from them is progression, and they definitely did better in the second half. I thought we kept possession better in the second half and moved the ball around better.”
Taft managed only one shot on goal, a free kick by Stephanie Diamond that Warren sophomore keeper Sarah Barbosa collected.
Eagles’ keeper Kelly Palacios registered nine saves. She made a couple of athletic stops in the first half, especially a ball by Chomko, to keep the game close.
In the 30th minute, defender Zoe Wagner slotted a ball down the left flank that Weinberg controlled and unleashed a low liner from about 16 yards for the Blue Devils’ 2-0 lead at the break.
The second half marked a solid continuation.
Chomko scored 11 goals and had 10 assists a year ago. She is quick and electric with the ball. She recorded two assists. In the 48th minute, she worked the ball to Weinberg on the left wing. The crafty sophomore again unleashed a hard ball that was both clean and accurate.
Her third goal was a thing of beauty. Again working from the left edge, she drove a looping ball that curved perfectly beyond the reach of the Taft keeper for a signature goal. Cullison turned the game into a rout her eighth goal of the year just seconds later.
“I think it’s great I get to be part of this great team,” Cullison said, “and the team we had last year was phenomenal, and I want to bring that competitive edge to the next generation. Every day is a learning curve. Every practice, even seeing each other in the hallway, is about figuring out how our team plays and how to better predict each other’s movements because we are all so new.”
The upside of playing so many young players is they accelerate the growth process. Warren has a high ceiling because its young talent is progressing quickly. The team has enough holdovers from the past with Chomko, Kwon and senor forward Ayusha Ayalur to make a compelling whole.
“I try to give them as much varsity experience as I can until we get into the start of the state tournament,” McCabe said. “We are working our ways through the difficult times and trying to keep our eyes on the prize. Tonight I saw a lot of what we worked on in training yesterday. They are picking up the nuances I am trying to teach them, and that is all I can ask for.”
Starting lineups
Taft
GK: Kelly Palacios
D: Shelly Buitron
D: Cynthia Gonzalez
D: Nicki Gorder
D: Hallie Palluca
M: Amina Ahmetovic
M: Denise Carvajal
M: Victoria Tryba
M: Chloe Clark
F: Olivia Harcarik
F: Danielle Jozefczyk
Warren
GK: Sarah Barbosa
D: Olivia Wolf
D: Jamie Kwon
D: Zoe Wagner
M: Courtney Chomko
M: Amber Langosch
M: Emma Preda
M: Emily Soriaga
M: Cate Cullison
M: Morgan Best
F: Elizabeth Weinberg
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Elizabeth Weinberg, Warren, soph., F
Scoring summary
First half
Warren—Emily Soriaga (Cate Cullison), ninth minute
Warren—Elizabeth Weinberg (Zoe Wagner), 30th minute
Second half
Warren—Weinberg (Courtney Chomko), 48th minute
Warren—Weinberg (Emma Preda), 59th minute
Warren—Cullison (Chomko), 60th minute