Late W. Chicago goal ties Glenbard E.
Castellanos’ 78th-minute goal stuns hosts, earns 2-2 draw
By Matt Le Cren
LOMBARD – West Chicago midfielders Giselle Navejas and Barbie Castellanos had a message for their teammates at halftime of Wednesday’s game at Glenbard East.
“Do as we say.”
Afterward, they had another message.
“Do as we do.”
Navejas and Castellanos each had a goal and an assist in the second half as the visiting Wildcats rallied to tie Glenbard East 2-2 in a shocking Upstate Eight Conference result.
West Chicago (3-2-3, 0-1-2) trailed 2-0 early in the match and didn’t get a shot off for the first 60 minutes. The Wildcats, in fact, were outshot 14-4, but they earned an unexpected point when Castellanos tallied the equalizer with 2:07 remaining.
“At halftime we gave (our teammates) a speech, and we told them what our mistakes are (in the) first half and what we needed to fix in the second,” Navejas said. “They did good in actually taking it in and then following through with the advice that we gave them, and this was the outcome.”
This was the second time the Wildcats have rallied from a two-goal deficit in a UEC match. They also did it in a season-opening 2-2 draw with South Elgin.
Navejas and Castellanos led by example in this one as each bagged their eighth goal of the season, continuing a friendly competition.
Castellanos, a senior who has committed to Chicago State, set up WeGo’s first goal when she found Navejas on a furious counterattack. Navejas blasted in a 12-yard shot with 20:06 remaining to get the Wildcats on the board. It was their first shot of the game.
That seemed to light a fire under the Wildcats, who began to turn the tide, though the Rams (6-1-1, 0-0-1) forced West Chicago goalkeeper Haley Rich to make two difficult saves, one a leaping stop on Natalie Borcean’s 28-yard blast with 15:50 to go and a diving denial of a 15-yard shot off the foot of Maddie Weltin six minutes later.
West Chicago might have pulled off the upset had it not been for Rams second half goalie Lisa Stransky, who made a spectacular diving stop on a Castellanos breakaway at the 13:45 mark.
The ball trickled free along the goal line, but Glenbard East defender Summer Garcia raced over to clear it before any of the Wildcats could pounce.
But the Rams weren’t as lucky after getting called for a foul about 50 yards from their goal in the 78th minute. Navejas sent a booming ball into the box, where Ruby Lebo poked it forward into a crowd around the penalty spot.
Despite being surrounded by three defenders, Castellanos got the ball, gave herself a sliver of room and booted home the game-tying goal.
“It was a very nice ball,” Castellanos said. “We always depend on (Navejas’) kick, and she always has a good angle to where to put the ball.
“She puts it right into the center of the box where the PK is. We read each other pretty well, so I know when she’s kicking that ball; so I know where to run to. But in this case, somebody else had a touch on the ball first.”
No matter, Castellanos wasn’t flustered by the crowd.
“There were three girls right there, one in front of me,” Castellanos said. “I could see a little bit of the goal (under) her (arm). I saw the goalie was right there so I knew it was going to be kind of hard for her to read where I was going to kick it.”
The tie felt like a win for the Wildcats, who spent the vast majority of the opening 60 minutes chasing the ball and defending furiously after Glenbard East scored twice in the first six minutes.
“I think this shows a lot of what this team is made of,” Castellanos said. “This is our second time coming back from a (deficit), and I think that we just need to learn and understand that we need to start (strong) from the start, that we can’t go into a game intimidated because then we’ve got to work twice as hard second half.”
That’s the message that Navejas brought during intermission.
“We usually let the coaches do the halftime talk,” Castellanos said. “She stepped it up a lot this time and said we need to step it up, we can’t want until the last minute.
“I think (the comeback) was (because) of all the team. We all contributed.”
Indeed, Rich finished with eight saves and the backline led by Luciana Balzer, Joana Velazquez and Irene Dino held their own after some early lapses.
West Chicago coach Cesar Gomez is encouraged by that but wished the effort would have come sooner.
“Our biggest problem is effort,” Gomez said. “We have the possession, we have goals.
“I love that, but we just need a little bit more aggressiveness going to the ball. (Navejas) challenged (the Wildcats) a little bit.
“(Glenbard East) is a very aggressive team. They’re very confident. They’re big, tall kids, and they’re going to go through us. They think that they can score through us, and they proved it. In 50 seconds they were already on top of us, and they could have scored eight on us.”
Indeed, the Rams looked every bit of the three-time defending conference champions that they are in the first half. They attacked off the opening kickoff and were rebuffed on their first foray.
But on the second, Weltin sprinted up the middle and slotted a through-ball to Lindsey Novak, who tucked a perfectly placed shot inside the far post just 53 seconds into the game.
Five minutes later, Elaine Wesling took a ball into the right side of the box and fired a sharp cross that missed the tightly marked Novak but found Molly Galvin open on the back post. Galvin’s goal made it 2-0 Rams, and it looked like the rout was on.
But the Wildcats, despite having little if any possession, somehow pitched a shutout for the final 74 minutes, an impressive feat considering the Rams already have 29 goals and had given up only four until West Chicago’s rally.
“Sometimes we have to put the game in survival mode and if you can survive it and ride it out for a little bit, that is doable,” Gomez said. “I know at some point we’re going to connect.
“You can only contain (Navejas and Castellanos) for so long, and now we have the supporting cast. They did it.
“That’s what we tell the kids. I really can’t care less about the scorebook, but if you put in the things that we know how to play, who knows?”
That’s the mindset Glenbard East has had the past several seasons as coach Kent Overbey has transformed the Rams from doormats to dominant. Despite the tie, they are still heavily favored to win another UEC championship even though they graduated nearly all of their starters.
Senior Amy Chiero, a Denison recruit, and Weltin, who already is a co-captain as a sophomore, are providing great leadership. Chiero talked before the game about why the Rams are enjoying sustained success.
“Every year we try to hit on positivity because team chemistry, I feel, is the most important part of the team,” Chiero said. “If you are able to work together then you are going to achieve more than just the talent that you have.
“For example, I’ve been playing soccer with Lindsey Novak and Sam Johnson since my first year playing soccer. You can tell on the field that we have been, because Sam always knows where my feet are. And I can always find Lindsey up-top without even having to look, because I know her runs and I know what she wants, and it really helps our team out.
“That’s how a lot of us connect. Even this year with so many younger players, we did a lot of offseason work. We went to Ackerman Park to get extra practices in, we did a lot of team-bonding things. We went to Top Golf, movie night. We’ve done so many things as a team to help us get to know each other, and it helps.”
Chiero, who leads the team with six goals and six assists, has been impressed with young players like Weltin, who already has taken a large leadership role on a team that has six freshmen, many of whom start or play regular minutes.
“In the offseason, Maddie showed great commitment to the team,” Chiero said. “She was working so hard.
“She was always talking to me, Lindsey and Sam about the team, and it doesn’t even feel like she’s a sophomore. It feels like she is a senior.
“Maddie is such a talented player, and it really shows on the field with her foot skills. She always has her head up while dribbling to find a person’s feet wherever they are. Whether she’s a forward or at midfield, she stays connected out there, and it really helps our team out.
“You have vocal leaders, you have leaders who lead by example and others who lead with character. Maddie represents all three of these things. That is incredible to see her have a strong personality at that age because we need that to stay in the program for years to come.”
Starting lineups
West Chicago
GK Haley Rich
D Luciana Balzer
D Joana Velazquez
D Irene Dino
M Barbie Castellanos
M Giselle Navejas
M Melissa Pani
M Evelyn Hernandez
M Emily Ayala
F Brittany Mendoza
F Ruby Lebo
Glenbard East
GK Zoe Romano
D Sam Johnson
D Kendall Crackel
D Sarah Liljestrand
D Summer Garcia
D Molly Galvin
M Natalie Borcean
M Amy Chiero
F Maddie Weltin
F Elaine Wesling
F Lindsey Novak
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Giselle Navejas, sr., MF, West Chicago
Scoring summary
First half
GE – Lindsey Novak (Michelle Weltin) 39:07
GE – Molly Galvin (Elaine Wesling) 34:16
Second half
WC – Giselle Navejas (Barbie Castellanos) 20:06
WC – Castellanos (Ruby Leto, Navejas) 2:07
Castellanos’ 78th-minute goal stuns hosts, earns 2-2 draw
By Matt Le Cren
LOMBARD – West Chicago midfielders Giselle Navejas and Barbie Castellanos had a message for their teammates at halftime of Wednesday’s game at Glenbard East.
“Do as we say.”
Afterward, they had another message.
“Do as we do.”
Navejas and Castellanos each had a goal and an assist in the second half as the visiting Wildcats rallied to tie Glenbard East 2-2 in a shocking Upstate Eight Conference result.
West Chicago (3-2-3, 0-1-2) trailed 2-0 early in the match and didn’t get a shot off for the first 60 minutes. The Wildcats, in fact, were outshot 14-4, but they earned an unexpected point when Castellanos tallied the equalizer with 2:07 remaining.
“At halftime we gave (our teammates) a speech, and we told them what our mistakes are (in the) first half and what we needed to fix in the second,” Navejas said. “They did good in actually taking it in and then following through with the advice that we gave them, and this was the outcome.”
This was the second time the Wildcats have rallied from a two-goal deficit in a UEC match. They also did it in a season-opening 2-2 draw with South Elgin.
Navejas and Castellanos led by example in this one as each bagged their eighth goal of the season, continuing a friendly competition.
Castellanos, a senior who has committed to Chicago State, set up WeGo’s first goal when she found Navejas on a furious counterattack. Navejas blasted in a 12-yard shot with 20:06 remaining to get the Wildcats on the board. It was their first shot of the game.
That seemed to light a fire under the Wildcats, who began to turn the tide, though the Rams (6-1-1, 0-0-1) forced West Chicago goalkeeper Haley Rich to make two difficult saves, one a leaping stop on Natalie Borcean’s 28-yard blast with 15:50 to go and a diving denial of a 15-yard shot off the foot of Maddie Weltin six minutes later.
West Chicago might have pulled off the upset had it not been for Rams second half goalie Lisa Stransky, who made a spectacular diving stop on a Castellanos breakaway at the 13:45 mark.
The ball trickled free along the goal line, but Glenbard East defender Summer Garcia raced over to clear it before any of the Wildcats could pounce.
But the Rams weren’t as lucky after getting called for a foul about 50 yards from their goal in the 78th minute. Navejas sent a booming ball into the box, where Ruby Lebo poked it forward into a crowd around the penalty spot.
Despite being surrounded by three defenders, Castellanos got the ball, gave herself a sliver of room and booted home the game-tying goal.
“It was a very nice ball,” Castellanos said. “We always depend on (Navejas’) kick, and she always has a good angle to where to put the ball.
“She puts it right into the center of the box where the PK is. We read each other pretty well, so I know when she’s kicking that ball; so I know where to run to. But in this case, somebody else had a touch on the ball first.”
No matter, Castellanos wasn’t flustered by the crowd.
“There were three girls right there, one in front of me,” Castellanos said. “I could see a little bit of the goal (under) her (arm). I saw the goalie was right there so I knew it was going to be kind of hard for her to read where I was going to kick it.”
The tie felt like a win for the Wildcats, who spent the vast majority of the opening 60 minutes chasing the ball and defending furiously after Glenbard East scored twice in the first six minutes.
“I think this shows a lot of what this team is made of,” Castellanos said. “This is our second time coming back from a (deficit), and I think that we just need to learn and understand that we need to start (strong) from the start, that we can’t go into a game intimidated because then we’ve got to work twice as hard second half.”
That’s the message that Navejas brought during intermission.
“We usually let the coaches do the halftime talk,” Castellanos said. “She stepped it up a lot this time and said we need to step it up, we can’t want until the last minute.
“I think (the comeback) was (because) of all the team. We all contributed.”
Indeed, Rich finished with eight saves and the backline led by Luciana Balzer, Joana Velazquez and Irene Dino held their own after some early lapses.
West Chicago coach Cesar Gomez is encouraged by that but wished the effort would have come sooner.
“Our biggest problem is effort,” Gomez said. “We have the possession, we have goals.
“I love that, but we just need a little bit more aggressiveness going to the ball. (Navejas) challenged (the Wildcats) a little bit.
“(Glenbard East) is a very aggressive team. They’re very confident. They’re big, tall kids, and they’re going to go through us. They think that they can score through us, and they proved it. In 50 seconds they were already on top of us, and they could have scored eight on us.”
Indeed, the Rams looked every bit of the three-time defending conference champions that they are in the first half. They attacked off the opening kickoff and were rebuffed on their first foray.
But on the second, Weltin sprinted up the middle and slotted a through-ball to Lindsey Novak, who tucked a perfectly placed shot inside the far post just 53 seconds into the game.
Five minutes later, Elaine Wesling took a ball into the right side of the box and fired a sharp cross that missed the tightly marked Novak but found Molly Galvin open on the back post. Galvin’s goal made it 2-0 Rams, and it looked like the rout was on.
But the Wildcats, despite having little if any possession, somehow pitched a shutout for the final 74 minutes, an impressive feat considering the Rams already have 29 goals and had given up only four until West Chicago’s rally.
“Sometimes we have to put the game in survival mode and if you can survive it and ride it out for a little bit, that is doable,” Gomez said. “I know at some point we’re going to connect.
“You can only contain (Navejas and Castellanos) for so long, and now we have the supporting cast. They did it.
“That’s what we tell the kids. I really can’t care less about the scorebook, but if you put in the things that we know how to play, who knows?”
That’s the mindset Glenbard East has had the past several seasons as coach Kent Overbey has transformed the Rams from doormats to dominant. Despite the tie, they are still heavily favored to win another UEC championship even though they graduated nearly all of their starters.
Senior Amy Chiero, a Denison recruit, and Weltin, who already is a co-captain as a sophomore, are providing great leadership. Chiero talked before the game about why the Rams are enjoying sustained success.
“Every year we try to hit on positivity because team chemistry, I feel, is the most important part of the team,” Chiero said. “If you are able to work together then you are going to achieve more than just the talent that you have.
“For example, I’ve been playing soccer with Lindsey Novak and Sam Johnson since my first year playing soccer. You can tell on the field that we have been, because Sam always knows where my feet are. And I can always find Lindsey up-top without even having to look, because I know her runs and I know what she wants, and it really helps our team out.
“That’s how a lot of us connect. Even this year with so many younger players, we did a lot of offseason work. We went to Ackerman Park to get extra practices in, we did a lot of team-bonding things. We went to Top Golf, movie night. We’ve done so many things as a team to help us get to know each other, and it helps.”
Chiero, who leads the team with six goals and six assists, has been impressed with young players like Weltin, who already has taken a large leadership role on a team that has six freshmen, many of whom start or play regular minutes.
“In the offseason, Maddie showed great commitment to the team,” Chiero said. “She was working so hard.
“She was always talking to me, Lindsey and Sam about the team, and it doesn’t even feel like she’s a sophomore. It feels like she is a senior.
“Maddie is such a talented player, and it really shows on the field with her foot skills. She always has her head up while dribbling to find a person’s feet wherever they are. Whether she’s a forward or at midfield, she stays connected out there, and it really helps our team out.
“You have vocal leaders, you have leaders who lead by example and others who lead with character. Maddie represents all three of these things. That is incredible to see her have a strong personality at that age because we need that to stay in the program for years to come.”
Starting lineups
West Chicago
GK Haley Rich
D Luciana Balzer
D Joana Velazquez
D Irene Dino
M Barbie Castellanos
M Giselle Navejas
M Melissa Pani
M Evelyn Hernandez
M Emily Ayala
F Brittany Mendoza
F Ruby Lebo
Glenbard East
GK Zoe Romano
D Sam Johnson
D Kendall Crackel
D Sarah Liljestrand
D Summer Garcia
D Molly Galvin
M Natalie Borcean
M Amy Chiero
F Maddie Weltin
F Elaine Wesling
F Lindsey Novak
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Giselle Navejas, sr., MF, West Chicago
Scoring summary
First half
GE – Lindsey Novak (Michelle Weltin) 39:07
GE – Molly Galvin (Elaine Wesling) 34:16
Second half
WC – Giselle Navejas (Barbie Castellanos) 20:06
WC – Castellanos (Ruby Leto, Navejas) 2:07