W. Chicago's Castellanos has all the moves
Wildcats' star has 2 goals in 3-1 win over Glenbard North
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CAROL STREAM -- Six years ago, a small though brazen-and-confident 12-year old turned up at a summer camp for West Chicago soccer and showed off a dazzling combination of moxie and skill.
She had the special 'It' factor.
“She was just in seventh grade,” West Chicago coach J. Cesar Gomez remembered. “It was a camp workout, and I told her: ‘I need to meet your parents because some day I am going to build a team around you,’ and that was that.”
Barbie Castellanos is the easiest player to spot on the field. She likes to wear a flamboyant, red colored headband shaped like a classic bandana. She is as much substance as style, a graceful, athletic and exciting talent with a flair for making plays.
“I’d describe my game as somebody who tried to make the one-two pass and get my teammates involved,” Castellanos said. “I also try to communicate on the field. I probably don’t talk as much as I should. During breaks in the game or at halftime, we talk about what changes or things we need to do.”
Her game says it all.
Castellanos tied the program record for individual goals in a year by scoring twice and assisting the game-winner as the Wildcats registered a comeback 3-1 win over Glenbard North in nonconference action Saturday morning.
Castellanos has amassed 25 goals and 12 assists. A Chicago State recruit, she has expanded on the range and versatile skill level that placed her on the prestigious Chicagoland Soccer all-state squad last year after she had 20 goals and 16 assists as a junior. Her creativity, originality and ability to make those around her better is an elite gift.
Her trajectory has been a thrill to watch.
“She scored zero goals here freshman year,” Gomez said. “Little by little, she became a captain and she really expanded her game. She is a hard worker. If things are not really working for the team, she has the ability to just take over. She has taken over a lot of games.
“Players respect her hard work. She does pretty much anything you tell her. She never questions it, and she knows what we are telling are the right things.”
Glenbard North (2-10-2) is a team working to establish its culture. Playing in the rugged DuKane Conference against top-ranked opponents like St. Charles North, St. Charles East, Batavia, Geneva and Wheaton Warrenville South is not very suitable to teams trying to find an identity and style.
“We are a young team, with five freshmen, two of them starters,” coach David Stanfield said. “I know it sounds off, because we have been losing by big margins against very good teams, but our defense has actually played very well. We have been able to play one really good half of solid defense each game.
“We struggle to create possession and create chances. Today we were able to do more of that. I thought we could take a lot of positives from today. The girls have done a nice job in our previous games of trying to build out of the back.”
The Panthers struck first in the 24th minute off a blast from junior midfielder Perla Kamami that handcuffed Wildcats’ keeper Haley Rich and slipped inside the near post.
“Mariela [Manuel] had a one-on-one attacking play, and she crossed me the ball,” Kamami said. “I saw that I had space, so I took a touch, and I tried to shoot it as hard as I could. It was very exciting to score after being down so much these last couple of games. Scoring was a relief, an adrenaline boost for the whole team.”
Unfortunately for the Panthers, the lead proved to be brief.
West Chicago (8-8-4) responded immediately as midfielder Britney Mendoza played a ball to Castellanos in space that allowed her to slip past the last line of defenders. In a foot race with Panthers’ keeper Karissa Chalus, Castellanos got the first touch and was able to elevate the ball over her for the equalizer in the 25th minute.
“We tend to wait a little,” Castellanos said. “Not that we are always trying to play like this, but I feel like we always wait for the other team to score first, and we have the attitude, it’s our turn now.”
West Chicago was energized and Castellanos was just getting warmed up. She slotted a ball on the left edge that marked a great scoring chance for freshman midfielder Melissa Pani moments later. Pani could not get a clean shot off and Chalus smothered the shot for one of her seven saves.
The same combination earned the game-winner in the 32nd minute. Castellanos wove through a pack of Panther defenders, influencing their shape and forcing Glenbard North to close down on her as she expertly left the ball for Pani. On her second chance, Pani delivered with a strong finish.
“It was great, so excitng,” Pani said. “I thought I was going to score the first one. Barbie was running, and I opened up at the center and said to play if you can, or I was also ready for the rebound if that was there. When she passed it, I just thought, ‘Oh yeah, time to score.’
“Her scoring is so awesome. She really helps me out. She is scoring, scoring, scoring, and I just feel like: Sister, keep scoring. I am striving to get to that point one day.”
The combination was deeply felt because Castellanos and Pani are “soccer sisters,” a special mentor program in Gomez’s system where an older player helps carry out the younger player’s transition to varsity play.
“She is our only freshman on the varsity, and her scoring that goal was really nice,” Castellanos said. “I saw her running in nad heard her calling for the ball, so I knew I had to get a touch into the middle.”
Castellanos maintained the pressure throughout the second half. Chalus made a couple of major saves against her, including a spectacular diving stop off a rocket ball in the 44th minute.
Castellanos put the game out of reach by blasting home a ball from about 16 yards in the 52nd minute.
Playing in the middle, she is the orchestrator of the attack. She controls and shapes the action, suiting the moment to the needs of the team. For her accomplishments, Castellanos earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honor.
“I feel like playing in the middle gives me a few more chances to get touches in and try to control and distribute balls and get them back and also wait for the through-ball to run onto,” she said.
West Chicago also showed some resilience, fighting off the early Panthers score and maintaining its composure and shape. Forward Giselle Navejas, who assisted the final goal, played just her second game after after missing eight games. Jackie Hernandez, another forward, played just her second game.
The team is finding its stride with a great player making all the other parts sing.
“Honestly, I love our coach,” Mendoza said. “He is always encouraging us, no matter what the score is or if we are down. He is always pushing us by saying not to put our heads down if something bad happens. Even if we lose, he says, you need to leave everything on the field.
“That is how we do it. We just put our heads down and whatever happens happens.”
Starting lineups
West Chicago
GK: Haley Rich
D: Luciana Balzer
D: Odalis Martinez
D: Jimena Padilla
MF: Emily Ayala
MF: Barbie Castellanos
MF: Joanna Velazquez
MF: Britney Mendoza
F: Giselle Navejas
F: Jackie Hernandez
F: Ruby Lebo
Glenbard North
GK: Karissa Chalus
D: Hannah Arista
D: Anna Pedraza
D: Alexis Stone
D: Jacqueline Arroyo
MF: Anna Class
MF: Perla Kamami
MF: Anyi Estrada
MF: Sofia Espana
F: Kayla Pasillas
F: Maya Weisz
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Barbie Castellanos, sr., MF, West Chicago
Scoring summary
First half
Glenbard North—Perla Kamami (Mariela Manuel), 24th minute
West Chicago—Barbie Castellanos (Britney Mendoza), 25th minute
West Chicago—Melissa Pani (Castellanos), 32nd minute
Second half
West Chicago—Castellanos (Giselle Navejas), 52nd minute
Wildcats' star has 2 goals in 3-1 win over Glenbard North
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CAROL STREAM -- Six years ago, a small though brazen-and-confident 12-year old turned up at a summer camp for West Chicago soccer and showed off a dazzling combination of moxie and skill.
She had the special 'It' factor.
“She was just in seventh grade,” West Chicago coach J. Cesar Gomez remembered. “It was a camp workout, and I told her: ‘I need to meet your parents because some day I am going to build a team around you,’ and that was that.”
Barbie Castellanos is the easiest player to spot on the field. She likes to wear a flamboyant, red colored headband shaped like a classic bandana. She is as much substance as style, a graceful, athletic and exciting talent with a flair for making plays.
“I’d describe my game as somebody who tried to make the one-two pass and get my teammates involved,” Castellanos said. “I also try to communicate on the field. I probably don’t talk as much as I should. During breaks in the game or at halftime, we talk about what changes or things we need to do.”
Her game says it all.
Castellanos tied the program record for individual goals in a year by scoring twice and assisting the game-winner as the Wildcats registered a comeback 3-1 win over Glenbard North in nonconference action Saturday morning.
Castellanos has amassed 25 goals and 12 assists. A Chicago State recruit, she has expanded on the range and versatile skill level that placed her on the prestigious Chicagoland Soccer all-state squad last year after she had 20 goals and 16 assists as a junior. Her creativity, originality and ability to make those around her better is an elite gift.
Her trajectory has been a thrill to watch.
“She scored zero goals here freshman year,” Gomez said. “Little by little, she became a captain and she really expanded her game. She is a hard worker. If things are not really working for the team, she has the ability to just take over. She has taken over a lot of games.
“Players respect her hard work. She does pretty much anything you tell her. She never questions it, and she knows what we are telling are the right things.”
Glenbard North (2-10-2) is a team working to establish its culture. Playing in the rugged DuKane Conference against top-ranked opponents like St. Charles North, St. Charles East, Batavia, Geneva and Wheaton Warrenville South is not very suitable to teams trying to find an identity and style.
“We are a young team, with five freshmen, two of them starters,” coach David Stanfield said. “I know it sounds off, because we have been losing by big margins against very good teams, but our defense has actually played very well. We have been able to play one really good half of solid defense each game.
“We struggle to create possession and create chances. Today we were able to do more of that. I thought we could take a lot of positives from today. The girls have done a nice job in our previous games of trying to build out of the back.”
The Panthers struck first in the 24th minute off a blast from junior midfielder Perla Kamami that handcuffed Wildcats’ keeper Haley Rich and slipped inside the near post.
“Mariela [Manuel] had a one-on-one attacking play, and she crossed me the ball,” Kamami said. “I saw that I had space, so I took a touch, and I tried to shoot it as hard as I could. It was very exciting to score after being down so much these last couple of games. Scoring was a relief, an adrenaline boost for the whole team.”
Unfortunately for the Panthers, the lead proved to be brief.
West Chicago (8-8-4) responded immediately as midfielder Britney Mendoza played a ball to Castellanos in space that allowed her to slip past the last line of defenders. In a foot race with Panthers’ keeper Karissa Chalus, Castellanos got the first touch and was able to elevate the ball over her for the equalizer in the 25th minute.
“We tend to wait a little,” Castellanos said. “Not that we are always trying to play like this, but I feel like we always wait for the other team to score first, and we have the attitude, it’s our turn now.”
West Chicago was energized and Castellanos was just getting warmed up. She slotted a ball on the left edge that marked a great scoring chance for freshman midfielder Melissa Pani moments later. Pani could not get a clean shot off and Chalus smothered the shot for one of her seven saves.
The same combination earned the game-winner in the 32nd minute. Castellanos wove through a pack of Panther defenders, influencing their shape and forcing Glenbard North to close down on her as she expertly left the ball for Pani. On her second chance, Pani delivered with a strong finish.
“It was great, so excitng,” Pani said. “I thought I was going to score the first one. Barbie was running, and I opened up at the center and said to play if you can, or I was also ready for the rebound if that was there. When she passed it, I just thought, ‘Oh yeah, time to score.’
“Her scoring is so awesome. She really helps me out. She is scoring, scoring, scoring, and I just feel like: Sister, keep scoring. I am striving to get to that point one day.”
The combination was deeply felt because Castellanos and Pani are “soccer sisters,” a special mentor program in Gomez’s system where an older player helps carry out the younger player’s transition to varsity play.
“She is our only freshman on the varsity, and her scoring that goal was really nice,” Castellanos said. “I saw her running in nad heard her calling for the ball, so I knew I had to get a touch into the middle.”
Castellanos maintained the pressure throughout the second half. Chalus made a couple of major saves against her, including a spectacular diving stop off a rocket ball in the 44th minute.
Castellanos put the game out of reach by blasting home a ball from about 16 yards in the 52nd minute.
Playing in the middle, she is the orchestrator of the attack. She controls and shapes the action, suiting the moment to the needs of the team. For her accomplishments, Castellanos earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honor.
“I feel like playing in the middle gives me a few more chances to get touches in and try to control and distribute balls and get them back and also wait for the through-ball to run onto,” she said.
West Chicago also showed some resilience, fighting off the early Panthers score and maintaining its composure and shape. Forward Giselle Navejas, who assisted the final goal, played just her second game after after missing eight games. Jackie Hernandez, another forward, played just her second game.
The team is finding its stride with a great player making all the other parts sing.
“Honestly, I love our coach,” Mendoza said. “He is always encouraging us, no matter what the score is or if we are down. He is always pushing us by saying not to put our heads down if something bad happens. Even if we lose, he says, you need to leave everything on the field.
“That is how we do it. We just put our heads down and whatever happens happens.”
Starting lineups
West Chicago
GK: Haley Rich
D: Luciana Balzer
D: Odalis Martinez
D: Jimena Padilla
MF: Emily Ayala
MF: Barbie Castellanos
MF: Joanna Velazquez
MF: Britney Mendoza
F: Giselle Navejas
F: Jackie Hernandez
F: Ruby Lebo
Glenbard North
GK: Karissa Chalus
D: Hannah Arista
D: Anna Pedraza
D: Alexis Stone
D: Jacqueline Arroyo
MF: Anna Class
MF: Perla Kamami
MF: Anyi Estrada
MF: Sofia Espana
F: Kayla Pasillas
F: Maya Weisz
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Barbie Castellanos, sr., MF, West Chicago
Scoring summary
First half
Glenbard North—Perla Kamami (Mariela Manuel), 24th minute
West Chicago—Barbie Castellanos (Britney Mendoza), 25th minute
West Chicago—Melissa Pani (Castellanos), 32nd minute
Second half
West Chicago—Castellanos (Giselle Navejas), 52nd minute