Exasperated South Elgin
works it out, tops West Chicago
Barthelt switches roles, assists frosh Dihel's game-winner
By Bob Narang
SOUTH ELGIN -- Katrina Barthelt’s frustration level started rising with each missed opportunity Saturday morning.
The South Elgin junior forward repeatedly peppered shots toward the goalie box in an attempt to score the first goal in a defensive battle. The strong and athletic player was a dominating force on the field in the Upstate Eight Conference match.
She attempted several shots from each side of the box, even beating defenders on two long dribbles for uncontested close shots at a goal.
Nothing.
“I was so frustrated, especially in the first half,” Barthelt said. “We’ve gotten better in recent games and even this one and in practices. We used to struggle all getting up. We had a lot of chances, all of us. But it was frustrating not scoring. I tried to use that frustration for the better, to help motivate us.”
In the 74th minute, Barthelt played a key hand in ending the scoreless tie. She earned the assist on freshman Ella Dihel’s goal to lift South Elgin, ranked 18th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, to a 1-0 victory over West Chicago.
“The goal happened so fast, but I saw Ella out of the corner of my eye,” Barthelt said. “She then did her thing. She has crazy foot skills and put in the back of the net. It felt good. We worked well as a unit, kept high tempo and communicated well.”
With the late goal, the Storm (5-0-1, 3-0-1) remained on track in their quest to win the conference title.
“As a coach sitting on the sidelines, it just felt like it was a matter of time before we scored,” South Elgin coach Laura Szwaja said. “It was a good battle.”
Dihel’s second high school goal ended the scoreless battle on a sunny day on South Elgin’s grass field. She took the pass from Barthelt, stopped, took two dribbles, stopped again to let the defender slide by and then drilled a shot with her right foot from nine yards into the back of the net.
“It was a good ball by Katrina,” Dihel said. “I didn’t really have an angle at first if I cut it outside. I had to wait for the defender to come, then cross it over her, and I got the angle and was able to shoot it into the net. It felt good. It was better than my first (career) goal, which I ran in on a cross and just kicked it in.
“This goal I got to move around the player to get it in. I was getting little nervous before we scored, so I decided to pick up the tempo a bit and bring the ball up the field and hold onto it more. I usually pass it really quick off my foot. I kind of wanted to hold onto it, see the space and where the ball would fit in.”
West Chicago (1-2-2, 1-1-2) nearly scored a late equalizer but Luciana Balzer’s free kick in the 75th minute was stopped by South Elgin junior goalie Mallory Stueck. Ninety-seconds later, West Chicago senior midfielder Ruby Lebo’s shot sailed high over the goal post.
“We did have a lot of chances,” West Chicago coach J. Cesar Gomez said. “Those free kicks from outside 30 (yards) are usually what we do. We just couldn’t get one today. The effort we asked them to give was here today.
“We just have to read the game better. That will come with practice. This is just our fifth game in the high school season. Some freshmen from last year are still learning.
“I try and play attractive and effective soccer. We’re not just going to kick the ball around. They planted four in the back, so that was hard to go through that.”
The Wildcats, who defeated Glenbard South for their lone win, received a solid game from goalie Ariana Hernandez. The junior played with an injured ankle suffered in Friday’s practice but managed two saves in each half.
Gomez said his team can build off nearly knocking off the undefeated Storm on their home turf.
“They have (Barthelt), and she’s very speedy,” Gomez said. “They tried to pop it out to her, and she tried to peel off and go.
“I thought the effort from our team was very good. We’re going to come together at some point, and we have to finish our chances. Ariana played great. She did a great job, and Isabella Lopez did an awesome job as well.
“We’re getting together, but we can learn from this loss. They’re working incredibly hard, and every day is a learning process. They have to anticipate instead of reacting. When that comes, this will be a fun team to watch.”
West Chicago nearly scored the first goal of the match in the closing minutes of the first half. Balzer lined up for a free kick and saw her shot smack the crossbar.
Teammate Daisy Garcia’s shot from 30 yards was saved by South Elgin keeper Karissa Cruz, who played the first half in the net.
“My initial thoughts are that I’m mad,” Balzer said. “I think we can use this as motivation for our next game to come out stronger. I think we got tired at the end. I’ve been working on free kicks from far, but that didn’t work today. I plan to keep working on them. We just need to keep that passion for the entire game, not just for a few minutes.”
Garcia’s bid to put her team on the board in the 54th minute was stoned by Stueck, who made a diving save to her right to stop the potential goal. Ten minutes later, Garcia sailed a shot over the crossbar to miss a chance for her second goal of the season.
“I think we could’ve played better because we have more potential,” Garcia said. “We still have a long season ahead of us. We learned a lot from this match and can improve. (South Elgin) is a good team, but we kind of slacked off. Our pressure was good in the first half, but they got that really good goal.”
Starting lineups
West Chicago
GK Ariana Hernandez
D Luciana Balzer
D Jenny Espinal
D Irene Dino
D Isabella Lopez
M Natalie Fernandez
M Emily Ayala
M Joana Velazquez
F Heidi Pereckas
F Daisy Garcia
F Ruby Lebo
South Elgin
GK Karissa Cruz
D Mailie Dunne
D Chloe Beucler
D Lesly Ulloa
D Noran Stueck
M Alyssa Doherty
M Allie Rys
M Erin Morahan
M Ella Dihel
F Katrina Barthelt
F Bella Piaskowy
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Ella Dihel, fr., MF, South Elgin
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
South Elgin — Dihel (Barthelt), 74’
works it out, tops West Chicago
Barthelt switches roles, assists frosh Dihel's game-winner
By Bob Narang
SOUTH ELGIN -- Katrina Barthelt’s frustration level started rising with each missed opportunity Saturday morning.
The South Elgin junior forward repeatedly peppered shots toward the goalie box in an attempt to score the first goal in a defensive battle. The strong and athletic player was a dominating force on the field in the Upstate Eight Conference match.
She attempted several shots from each side of the box, even beating defenders on two long dribbles for uncontested close shots at a goal.
Nothing.
“I was so frustrated, especially in the first half,” Barthelt said. “We’ve gotten better in recent games and even this one and in practices. We used to struggle all getting up. We had a lot of chances, all of us. But it was frustrating not scoring. I tried to use that frustration for the better, to help motivate us.”
In the 74th minute, Barthelt played a key hand in ending the scoreless tie. She earned the assist on freshman Ella Dihel’s goal to lift South Elgin, ranked 18th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, to a 1-0 victory over West Chicago.
“The goal happened so fast, but I saw Ella out of the corner of my eye,” Barthelt said. “She then did her thing. She has crazy foot skills and put in the back of the net. It felt good. We worked well as a unit, kept high tempo and communicated well.”
With the late goal, the Storm (5-0-1, 3-0-1) remained on track in their quest to win the conference title.
“As a coach sitting on the sidelines, it just felt like it was a matter of time before we scored,” South Elgin coach Laura Szwaja said. “It was a good battle.”
Dihel’s second high school goal ended the scoreless battle on a sunny day on South Elgin’s grass field. She took the pass from Barthelt, stopped, took two dribbles, stopped again to let the defender slide by and then drilled a shot with her right foot from nine yards into the back of the net.
“It was a good ball by Katrina,” Dihel said. “I didn’t really have an angle at first if I cut it outside. I had to wait for the defender to come, then cross it over her, and I got the angle and was able to shoot it into the net. It felt good. It was better than my first (career) goal, which I ran in on a cross and just kicked it in.
“This goal I got to move around the player to get it in. I was getting little nervous before we scored, so I decided to pick up the tempo a bit and bring the ball up the field and hold onto it more. I usually pass it really quick off my foot. I kind of wanted to hold onto it, see the space and where the ball would fit in.”
West Chicago (1-2-2, 1-1-2) nearly scored a late equalizer but Luciana Balzer’s free kick in the 75th minute was stopped by South Elgin junior goalie Mallory Stueck. Ninety-seconds later, West Chicago senior midfielder Ruby Lebo’s shot sailed high over the goal post.
“We did have a lot of chances,” West Chicago coach J. Cesar Gomez said. “Those free kicks from outside 30 (yards) are usually what we do. We just couldn’t get one today. The effort we asked them to give was here today.
“We just have to read the game better. That will come with practice. This is just our fifth game in the high school season. Some freshmen from last year are still learning.
“I try and play attractive and effective soccer. We’re not just going to kick the ball around. They planted four in the back, so that was hard to go through that.”
The Wildcats, who defeated Glenbard South for their lone win, received a solid game from goalie Ariana Hernandez. The junior played with an injured ankle suffered in Friday’s practice but managed two saves in each half.
Gomez said his team can build off nearly knocking off the undefeated Storm on their home turf.
“They have (Barthelt), and she’s very speedy,” Gomez said. “They tried to pop it out to her, and she tried to peel off and go.
“I thought the effort from our team was very good. We’re going to come together at some point, and we have to finish our chances. Ariana played great. She did a great job, and Isabella Lopez did an awesome job as well.
“We’re getting together, but we can learn from this loss. They’re working incredibly hard, and every day is a learning process. They have to anticipate instead of reacting. When that comes, this will be a fun team to watch.”
West Chicago nearly scored the first goal of the match in the closing minutes of the first half. Balzer lined up for a free kick and saw her shot smack the crossbar.
Teammate Daisy Garcia’s shot from 30 yards was saved by South Elgin keeper Karissa Cruz, who played the first half in the net.
“My initial thoughts are that I’m mad,” Balzer said. “I think we can use this as motivation for our next game to come out stronger. I think we got tired at the end. I’ve been working on free kicks from far, but that didn’t work today. I plan to keep working on them. We just need to keep that passion for the entire game, not just for a few minutes.”
Garcia’s bid to put her team on the board in the 54th minute was stoned by Stueck, who made a diving save to her right to stop the potential goal. Ten minutes later, Garcia sailed a shot over the crossbar to miss a chance for her second goal of the season.
“I think we could’ve played better because we have more potential,” Garcia said. “We still have a long season ahead of us. We learned a lot from this match and can improve. (South Elgin) is a good team, but we kind of slacked off. Our pressure was good in the first half, but they got that really good goal.”
Starting lineups
West Chicago
GK Ariana Hernandez
D Luciana Balzer
D Jenny Espinal
D Irene Dino
D Isabella Lopez
M Natalie Fernandez
M Emily Ayala
M Joana Velazquez
F Heidi Pereckas
F Daisy Garcia
F Ruby Lebo
South Elgin
GK Karissa Cruz
D Mailie Dunne
D Chloe Beucler
D Lesly Ulloa
D Noran Stueck
M Alyssa Doherty
M Allie Rys
M Erin Morahan
M Ella Dihel
F Katrina Barthelt
F Bella Piaskowy
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Ella Dihel, fr., MF, South Elgin
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
South Elgin — Dihel (Barthelt), 74’