Offensive duo reunites,
sparks West Chicago win
Castellanos celebrates Navejas’ return with 4 goals in 6-2 win
By Steve Nemeth
STREAMWOOD -- West Chicago’s 2018 Chicagoland Soccer All-State standout Barbie Castellanos celebrated the return to action of teammate Giselle Navejas with a scoring explosion.
Catallanos -- the Wildcats’ version of the Energizer Bunny -- tallied four goals as the visitors sailed to a 6-2 Upstate Eight Conference victory in Wednesday’s visit to Streamwood. Those goals made the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match choice a foregone conclusion.
The triumph snapped a four-game losing skid for West Chicago (7-8-3, 1-5-2) and continued the Wildcats’ dominance over the Sabres (5-12-1, 1-6-1).
During the previous years in the UEC, West Chicago was shifted from one division to the other, which sometimes resulted in no meetings with Streamwood. Still, this was the fourth triumph for the Wildcats over Streamwood under the UEC banner. The decade also includes a 2013 non-league win as part of an in-season tourney.
Streamwood entertained the notion of ending their drought of success by taking full advantage of a penalty kick opportunity. With West Chicago goalie Haley Rich guessing a dive to the right, Diana Herrera buried the PK into the opposite empty side for a 1-0 Sabres lead after 13:42. The times are courtesy of the officiating crew since the Millenium Stadium scoreboard was not functioning.
Instead of simply being a scoreboard response, a Navejas assist on a Castellanos goal was a return to normalcy for West Chicago. It was less than five minutes later when a Navejas through-ball led to a sprint between Castellanos and out-rushing Streamwood goalie Emina Causevic. Castellanos emerged from the collision still upright, gained control of the ball, and advanced enough to send a 16-yarder rolling into an empty net at 18:29.
"This was the first time back for Giselle (Navejas) after eight games, and those two just complement each other,” Wildcat coach J. Cesar Gomez noted. “Usually she’s the last touch before a Barbie goal and when that happened, it might have been an equalizer in the score, but it tipped the confidence factor in our favor.”
The momentum and offensive numbers grew in favor of West Chicago. Wildcat pressure led to a scramble in front of the Streamwood goal, and Najevas was among those crashing the net and produced a follow-up finish for a 2-1 lead after 29 minutes.
“It felt so good to back,” Navejas insisted. “I missed playing during the past few weeks, so to be able to help the team in any fashion made this win feel even better.”
As noted, despite having to erase an initial one-goal deficit, the Wildcats were energized.
“We felt good at half when it was 2-1 in our favor because our offense would score more, and as a defense, we’re constantly talking to each other and that communication keeps us focused and able to do our jobs well,” explained defender Luciana Balzer.
Indeed the West Chicago defense enabled the visitors to amass a 9-4 edge advantage for overall attempts and 5-2 edge for shots on frame for the opening 40 minutes. By the end, those margins grew to 22-6 overall and 13-3 in shots on goal.
A mere 4:42 after halftime, Castellanos used another feed from Navejas for a 29-yard rocket shot. That brought Navejas’ team-high assist total to nine, to go with her 11 goals. Four minutes later, Castellanos dispossessed a Streamwood player and used the opportunity to slot a 19-yarder from the right inside the far left post to make it 4-1.
“Most of my goals involve a quick one-two pass or one-two move that gets me near the net. My mom shoots video and in the background you can almost hear the coaches yelling second post all the time. So I’m often going for the far post,” Castellanos explained. “The biggest thing today was the great feeling of having just about everyone back. When we’re healthy, we’re a much better team.”
Of course even the best teams occasionally suffer a letdown. Remember those statistics which indicated Streamwood had just one shot on goal for the second half? That came with 16:29 left to be played as reserve Karla Morales registered her first assist by setting up Herrera for a 12-yarder from the right of center. The Sabres senior’s two goals brought her season total to eight.
“Basically I saw an opening, turned to square up and make the shot,” Herrera explained. “Scoring in a game feels like it shows all the hard work one does in practice. As for the penalty kick, that’s more about powering the shot.”
Even though that simply cut the deficit in half, Castellanos believed a response was needed.
“That second goal I took it personally and believed we needed to erase any hopes of a comeback they might have had,” Castellanos said.
So less than five minutes later, Castellanos intercepted another ball, dribbled past a defender and cranked a 10-yarder from the right just inside the far left post. The Chicago State signee’s goal total rose to 22.
“We had some good possessions in the first half and did a decent job of communicating, but it all faded after halftime” said Streamwood coach Kristin Duffy, who also noted that regular Sabres goalie Candy Nava was injured during warm-ups. “Unfortunately we had some new defenders in back, and we gave (Castellanos) too much room to work with."
That put back-up keeper Causevic under pressure. What the freshman goalie lacked in experience, she nearly made up for in terms of fearlessness.
West Chicago capped the scoring with 3:09 remaining when Britney Mendoza chalked up her fourth assist in creating an open look for Ruby Lebo, who netted her fifth goal of the season. While sophomore defenders Alex Alcantar and Irene Dino battle injuries, coach Gomez was encouraged by the effort from Jackie Hernandez.
“She had a broken ankle as a freshman, so this is really her first year playing. Today I thought we saw some glimpses of what she’ll be able to add for us,” Gomez said.
West Chicago lost only twice in the initial 10 games of the season (5-2-3), however, that was followed by just one victory in a seven-match span coinciding with Navejas’ absence. For the Wildcats now the aim is to build momentum for the postseason. Challenge number one is closing the regular-season with five matches over an eight-day span.
West Chicago is at Willowbrook on Thursday and Glenbard North on Saturday. The squad then returns home for a nonconference Monday match with Lake Park prior to the May 8 finale versus Upstate Eight foe Glenbard South.
Streamwood hopes to get healthier with a week-long break heading into the regular-season and league final on May 8 against a visiting Bartlett crew.
Starting lineups
West Chicago
GK Haley Rich
D Dulce Reyes
D Luciana Balzer
D Joana Velazquez
M Evelyn Hernandez
M Melissa Pani
M Odalis Martinez
M Jimena Padilla
F Barbie Castellanos
F Ruby Lebo
F Britney Mendoza
Streamwood
GK Emma Causevic
D Brianni Yi
D Lesley Jimenez
F Jasmin Perez
D Esther Cardenas
D Alex Meza
M Diana Herrera
M Paulette Carranza
M Melanie Ramirez
F Kristina Kellogg
F Josett Perez
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Barbie Castellanos, sr. F/MF, West Chicago
Officials: Neil Kregel (center), Tom Guidara, Chuck Raksinh
Game summary
West Chicago 6, Streamwood 2
West Chicago 2 4 -- 6 (7-8-3, 2-4-2)
Streamwood 1 1 -- 2 (5-12-1, 1-6-1)
Scoring
First half
S -- Herrera penalty kick conversion (unassisted), 13:42 gone
WC -- Castellanos wins collision with keeper for 12-yard empty net finish (Navejas assist), 18:29 gone
WC -- Najevas crashing the net for nine-yard follow-up finish (unassisted), 29:00 gone
Second half
WC -- Castellanos 29-yard rocket inside right half of cage (Navejas assist), 45:18 gone
WC -- Castellanos right side 19-yarder slotted inside far left post (unassisted), 49:33 gone
S -- Herrera 12-yarder from right of center (Morales assist), 63:31 gone
WC -- Castellanos 20-yarder from right wing inside far left post (unassisted), 68:10 gone
WC -- Lebo opportunistic 11-yard finish (Mendoza assist), 76:51 gone
Shots
WC 9 – 13 -- 22
S 4 – 2 -- 6
Shots on goal
WC 5 – 8 -- 13
S 2 – 1 -- 3
Saves (goalie)
WC (Rich) 1 – 0 -- 1
S (Causevic) 3 – 4 -- 7
Corner kicks
WC 2 – 1 -- 3
S 2 – 0 -- 2
Offsidea
WC 6 – 0 -- 6
S 1 – 0 -- 1
sparks West Chicago win
Castellanos celebrates Navejas’ return with 4 goals in 6-2 win
By Steve Nemeth
STREAMWOOD -- West Chicago’s 2018 Chicagoland Soccer All-State standout Barbie Castellanos celebrated the return to action of teammate Giselle Navejas with a scoring explosion.
Catallanos -- the Wildcats’ version of the Energizer Bunny -- tallied four goals as the visitors sailed to a 6-2 Upstate Eight Conference victory in Wednesday’s visit to Streamwood. Those goals made the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match choice a foregone conclusion.
The triumph snapped a four-game losing skid for West Chicago (7-8-3, 1-5-2) and continued the Wildcats’ dominance over the Sabres (5-12-1, 1-6-1).
During the previous years in the UEC, West Chicago was shifted from one division to the other, which sometimes resulted in no meetings with Streamwood. Still, this was the fourth triumph for the Wildcats over Streamwood under the UEC banner. The decade also includes a 2013 non-league win as part of an in-season tourney.
Streamwood entertained the notion of ending their drought of success by taking full advantage of a penalty kick opportunity. With West Chicago goalie Haley Rich guessing a dive to the right, Diana Herrera buried the PK into the opposite empty side for a 1-0 Sabres lead after 13:42. The times are courtesy of the officiating crew since the Millenium Stadium scoreboard was not functioning.
Instead of simply being a scoreboard response, a Navejas assist on a Castellanos goal was a return to normalcy for West Chicago. It was less than five minutes later when a Navejas through-ball led to a sprint between Castellanos and out-rushing Streamwood goalie Emina Causevic. Castellanos emerged from the collision still upright, gained control of the ball, and advanced enough to send a 16-yarder rolling into an empty net at 18:29.
"This was the first time back for Giselle (Navejas) after eight games, and those two just complement each other,” Wildcat coach J. Cesar Gomez noted. “Usually she’s the last touch before a Barbie goal and when that happened, it might have been an equalizer in the score, but it tipped the confidence factor in our favor.”
The momentum and offensive numbers grew in favor of West Chicago. Wildcat pressure led to a scramble in front of the Streamwood goal, and Najevas was among those crashing the net and produced a follow-up finish for a 2-1 lead after 29 minutes.
“It felt so good to back,” Navejas insisted. “I missed playing during the past few weeks, so to be able to help the team in any fashion made this win feel even better.”
As noted, despite having to erase an initial one-goal deficit, the Wildcats were energized.
“We felt good at half when it was 2-1 in our favor because our offense would score more, and as a defense, we’re constantly talking to each other and that communication keeps us focused and able to do our jobs well,” explained defender Luciana Balzer.
Indeed the West Chicago defense enabled the visitors to amass a 9-4 edge advantage for overall attempts and 5-2 edge for shots on frame for the opening 40 minutes. By the end, those margins grew to 22-6 overall and 13-3 in shots on goal.
A mere 4:42 after halftime, Castellanos used another feed from Navejas for a 29-yard rocket shot. That brought Navejas’ team-high assist total to nine, to go with her 11 goals. Four minutes later, Castellanos dispossessed a Streamwood player and used the opportunity to slot a 19-yarder from the right inside the far left post to make it 4-1.
“Most of my goals involve a quick one-two pass or one-two move that gets me near the net. My mom shoots video and in the background you can almost hear the coaches yelling second post all the time. So I’m often going for the far post,” Castellanos explained. “The biggest thing today was the great feeling of having just about everyone back. When we’re healthy, we’re a much better team.”
Of course even the best teams occasionally suffer a letdown. Remember those statistics which indicated Streamwood had just one shot on goal for the second half? That came with 16:29 left to be played as reserve Karla Morales registered her first assist by setting up Herrera for a 12-yarder from the right of center. The Sabres senior’s two goals brought her season total to eight.
“Basically I saw an opening, turned to square up and make the shot,” Herrera explained. “Scoring in a game feels like it shows all the hard work one does in practice. As for the penalty kick, that’s more about powering the shot.”
Even though that simply cut the deficit in half, Castellanos believed a response was needed.
“That second goal I took it personally and believed we needed to erase any hopes of a comeback they might have had,” Castellanos said.
So less than five minutes later, Castellanos intercepted another ball, dribbled past a defender and cranked a 10-yarder from the right just inside the far left post. The Chicago State signee’s goal total rose to 22.
“We had some good possessions in the first half and did a decent job of communicating, but it all faded after halftime” said Streamwood coach Kristin Duffy, who also noted that regular Sabres goalie Candy Nava was injured during warm-ups. “Unfortunately we had some new defenders in back, and we gave (Castellanos) too much room to work with."
That put back-up keeper Causevic under pressure. What the freshman goalie lacked in experience, she nearly made up for in terms of fearlessness.
West Chicago capped the scoring with 3:09 remaining when Britney Mendoza chalked up her fourth assist in creating an open look for Ruby Lebo, who netted her fifth goal of the season. While sophomore defenders Alex Alcantar and Irene Dino battle injuries, coach Gomez was encouraged by the effort from Jackie Hernandez.
“She had a broken ankle as a freshman, so this is really her first year playing. Today I thought we saw some glimpses of what she’ll be able to add for us,” Gomez said.
West Chicago lost only twice in the initial 10 games of the season (5-2-3), however, that was followed by just one victory in a seven-match span coinciding with Navejas’ absence. For the Wildcats now the aim is to build momentum for the postseason. Challenge number one is closing the regular-season with five matches over an eight-day span.
West Chicago is at Willowbrook on Thursday and Glenbard North on Saturday. The squad then returns home for a nonconference Monday match with Lake Park prior to the May 8 finale versus Upstate Eight foe Glenbard South.
Streamwood hopes to get healthier with a week-long break heading into the regular-season and league final on May 8 against a visiting Bartlett crew.
Starting lineups
West Chicago
GK Haley Rich
D Dulce Reyes
D Luciana Balzer
D Joana Velazquez
M Evelyn Hernandez
M Melissa Pani
M Odalis Martinez
M Jimena Padilla
F Barbie Castellanos
F Ruby Lebo
F Britney Mendoza
Streamwood
GK Emma Causevic
D Brianni Yi
D Lesley Jimenez
F Jasmin Perez
D Esther Cardenas
D Alex Meza
M Diana Herrera
M Paulette Carranza
M Melanie Ramirez
F Kristina Kellogg
F Josett Perez
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Barbie Castellanos, sr. F/MF, West Chicago
Officials: Neil Kregel (center), Tom Guidara, Chuck Raksinh
Game summary
West Chicago 6, Streamwood 2
West Chicago 2 4 -- 6 (7-8-3, 2-4-2)
Streamwood 1 1 -- 2 (5-12-1, 1-6-1)
Scoring
First half
S -- Herrera penalty kick conversion (unassisted), 13:42 gone
WC -- Castellanos wins collision with keeper for 12-yard empty net finish (Navejas assist), 18:29 gone
WC -- Najevas crashing the net for nine-yard follow-up finish (unassisted), 29:00 gone
Second half
WC -- Castellanos 29-yard rocket inside right half of cage (Navejas assist), 45:18 gone
WC -- Castellanos right side 19-yarder slotted inside far left post (unassisted), 49:33 gone
S -- Herrera 12-yarder from right of center (Morales assist), 63:31 gone
WC -- Castellanos 20-yarder from right wing inside far left post (unassisted), 68:10 gone
WC -- Lebo opportunistic 11-yard finish (Mendoza assist), 76:51 gone
Shots
WC 9 – 13 -- 22
S 4 – 2 -- 6
Shots on goal
WC 5 – 8 -- 13
S 2 – 1 -- 3
Saves (goalie)
WC (Rich) 1 – 0 -- 1
S (Causevic) 3 – 4 -- 7
Corner kicks
WC 2 – 1 -- 3
S 2 – 0 -- 2
Offsidea
WC 6 – 0 -- 6
S 1 – 0 -- 1