St. Francis takes key league
victory vs. Wheaton Academy
Lemke posts goal, assist as host Spartans take ranked battle 3-1
By Jared Birchfield
WHEATON -- St. Francis perfectly executed two set plays and a well-practiced passing drill to score all of its goals Thursday night at Kuhn Memorial Field in a 3-1 win over Metro Suburban Conference rival Wheaton Academy.
The Spartans, ranked number 22 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, found the back of the net on a free kick, a corner kick and a picture-perfect passing attack.
Scoring first, no. 23 Wheaton Academy held an early advantage, but St. Francis' finely tuned play turned the momentum in its favor.
The Warriors (7-3-0, 4-1-0) also scored on a set piece. Amy Alexander corralled a Kelly Bickhart corner kick and headed into the net in the fourth minute.
Spartan Sara Dziengel scored the equalizer halfway through the first half. The senior’s 35-yard free kick got past Warrior goalie Sara Swoboda.
St. Francis (5-0-0, 4-0-0) pulled ahead in the 56th minute on a near-side corner kick started by senior Kat Lemke. Classmate Kate Chaparro headed the boot into the net for her fifth goal of the 2021 campaign.
“This entire season I knew I could get on the end of a Kat kick. I've already had a header goal exactly like that one,” Chaparro said. “It was tied. I just saw the opportunity, and I told myself I'm getting on the end of it, and there you go.”
Lemke notched and started the insurance goal with 18 minutes left to play.
Lemke dribbled up the far sideline and passed the ball to Paige Chrustowski. The freshman forward moved the ball farther up field and returned it to Lemke, who finished the attack with a shot 10 yards from the net.
“That was just the combination passing that we've practiced. I kind of drive in and then I fed the ball to Paige, who worked it through the midfield,” said Lemke. “I continued to do my run on the outside. I called for it, and she found me. It worked like a charm.”
St. Francis coach Jim Winslow was impressed with the drive.
“It was very well done on our part,” he said. “Three, four, five one-touch passes, we timed that run right, and we got her in a simple finish.”
Chrustowski was a challenge for Wheaton Academy defense throughout the game.
“We were obviously aware of no. 21 (Chrustowski), her speed and skill on the on the width,” said Wheaton Academy coach Maria Selvaggio. “They floated her around from the wing to the middle. We managed her well, but she's dangerous; so she was able get around a couple of times.
“I think the third goal resulted from her speed on the width and breaking us down. We stepped a little too soon around, and she got in behind us. I think we managed her for probably for 75 minutes of that game, and those few breakdowns really hurt us.”
With both teams primarily using speed to mount their attacks, there was a lot of back-and-forth play. The defenses were up to the task of thwarting scoring opportunities.
“There was a lot of midfield play,” said the St. Francis coach. “They came out and washed us most the time. We've been able to get behind teams. We got in behind them a couple of times early, and we got in a couple of times late.
“One we took advantage of, and one we didn't. They did a nice job. They are well coached. They are organized.”
“I think we needed to be a little bit more dangerous in our final third,” said Selvaggio. “We had some dangerous opportunities but not enough. Shots from a distance are great, but you've got to get a little deeper.
“This was an athletic goalkeeper, who is going to stop them. We got shots off and crosses off. It was just kind of that final piece didn't quite come together.”
Overall, both coaches were satisfied with their squads’ efforts.
“I was happy with the result. I thought we withstood their pressure well,” Winslow said. “They are a good team. They’re athletic; they’re physical. They pressed like crazy, and I thought we did a pretty decent job of managing it when we needed to.”
“I thought we played a great game,” Selvaggio said. “I loved the way we possessed. I loved the way we attacked. I loved the way we were organized defensively and managing their dangerous players. I loved how we controlled a ton of the game.”
Lemke agreed that Wheaton Academy applied a lot of pressure up-top.
“There was a lot of running. That's kind of their style; they like to play the through-ball and play behind all day,” said the senior defender. “We knew we were going to have to defend that, and we were prepared for the running.
“On free kicks I was marking 16 (Alexander), because she's strong out of the air. With their combination passing, I didn't have one specific number in mind (to defend). I just knew that I had to get in the way of their through-balls. I think every single one of them has the ability to go in and score a goal if it's dead through.”
Lemke’s goal, assist and defensive play earned her Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors.
Both coaches saw room for improvement.
“I think this game came down to silly errors, silly fouls, giving up set pieces,” said Selvaggio. “A play that could have been handled and cleared out instead we gave up a corner kick.
“Those opportunities created goals for them that really kind of killed our momentum for just enough time for them to capitalize, and the shift happened.
“We will learn from this for sure. How the little things matter - be disciplined in every moment, not giving up silly fouls.”
“Did we play great?” Winslow asked. “ No, but we played hard, and we did enough to win. We've got a lot of room for improvement.”
Thursday was the fourth time St. Francis played on its uniquely colored pitch. Instead of the usual green, the playing surface alternates every five yards between royal blue and navy blue.
“We redid it last spring, but we didn't get to play on it obviously,” said Winslow. “The perk this time, which was great, was we were able to widen the field. It’s almost 7 yards wider which plays much better for soccer.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton Academy
GK: Sara Swoboda
D: Sarah VanderKlok
D: Jillian Paulson
D: Kelsey Bowling
D: Olivia Cran
M: Lilly Lebo
M: Amy Alexander
M: Emily Setran
M: Kelly Bickhart
F: Eva Desouza
F: Jocelyn Royce
St. Francis
GK: Hannah Blaha
D: Meghan Ward
D: Katherine Lemke
D: Abby Curtis
D: Sara Dzeingel
M: Sophia Roszkowski
M: Claire Reinke
M: Sofia Monzon
F: Kate Chaparro
F: Lauren Bruce
F: Paige Chrustowski
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Katherine Lemke, sr., D, St. Francis
Scoring summary
First half
WA: Alexander (Bickhart) 4 minutes
SF: Dziengel (UA) 21 minutes
Second half
SF: Chaparro (Lemke) 56 minutes
SF: Lemke (Chrustowski) 62 minutes
victory vs. Wheaton Academy
Lemke posts goal, assist as host Spartans take ranked battle 3-1
By Jared Birchfield
WHEATON -- St. Francis perfectly executed two set plays and a well-practiced passing drill to score all of its goals Thursday night at Kuhn Memorial Field in a 3-1 win over Metro Suburban Conference rival Wheaton Academy.
The Spartans, ranked number 22 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, found the back of the net on a free kick, a corner kick and a picture-perfect passing attack.
Scoring first, no. 23 Wheaton Academy held an early advantage, but St. Francis' finely tuned play turned the momentum in its favor.
The Warriors (7-3-0, 4-1-0) also scored on a set piece. Amy Alexander corralled a Kelly Bickhart corner kick and headed into the net in the fourth minute.
Spartan Sara Dziengel scored the equalizer halfway through the first half. The senior’s 35-yard free kick got past Warrior goalie Sara Swoboda.
St. Francis (5-0-0, 4-0-0) pulled ahead in the 56th minute on a near-side corner kick started by senior Kat Lemke. Classmate Kate Chaparro headed the boot into the net for her fifth goal of the 2021 campaign.
“This entire season I knew I could get on the end of a Kat kick. I've already had a header goal exactly like that one,” Chaparro said. “It was tied. I just saw the opportunity, and I told myself I'm getting on the end of it, and there you go.”
Lemke notched and started the insurance goal with 18 minutes left to play.
Lemke dribbled up the far sideline and passed the ball to Paige Chrustowski. The freshman forward moved the ball farther up field and returned it to Lemke, who finished the attack with a shot 10 yards from the net.
“That was just the combination passing that we've practiced. I kind of drive in and then I fed the ball to Paige, who worked it through the midfield,” said Lemke. “I continued to do my run on the outside. I called for it, and she found me. It worked like a charm.”
St. Francis coach Jim Winslow was impressed with the drive.
“It was very well done on our part,” he said. “Three, four, five one-touch passes, we timed that run right, and we got her in a simple finish.”
Chrustowski was a challenge for Wheaton Academy defense throughout the game.
“We were obviously aware of no. 21 (Chrustowski), her speed and skill on the on the width,” said Wheaton Academy coach Maria Selvaggio. “They floated her around from the wing to the middle. We managed her well, but she's dangerous; so she was able get around a couple of times.
“I think the third goal resulted from her speed on the width and breaking us down. We stepped a little too soon around, and she got in behind us. I think we managed her for probably for 75 minutes of that game, and those few breakdowns really hurt us.”
With both teams primarily using speed to mount their attacks, there was a lot of back-and-forth play. The defenses were up to the task of thwarting scoring opportunities.
“There was a lot of midfield play,” said the St. Francis coach. “They came out and washed us most the time. We've been able to get behind teams. We got in behind them a couple of times early, and we got in a couple of times late.
“One we took advantage of, and one we didn't. They did a nice job. They are well coached. They are organized.”
“I think we needed to be a little bit more dangerous in our final third,” said Selvaggio. “We had some dangerous opportunities but not enough. Shots from a distance are great, but you've got to get a little deeper.
“This was an athletic goalkeeper, who is going to stop them. We got shots off and crosses off. It was just kind of that final piece didn't quite come together.”
Overall, both coaches were satisfied with their squads’ efforts.
“I was happy with the result. I thought we withstood their pressure well,” Winslow said. “They are a good team. They’re athletic; they’re physical. They pressed like crazy, and I thought we did a pretty decent job of managing it when we needed to.”
“I thought we played a great game,” Selvaggio said. “I loved the way we possessed. I loved the way we attacked. I loved the way we were organized defensively and managing their dangerous players. I loved how we controlled a ton of the game.”
Lemke agreed that Wheaton Academy applied a lot of pressure up-top.
“There was a lot of running. That's kind of their style; they like to play the through-ball and play behind all day,” said the senior defender. “We knew we were going to have to defend that, and we were prepared for the running.
“On free kicks I was marking 16 (Alexander), because she's strong out of the air. With their combination passing, I didn't have one specific number in mind (to defend). I just knew that I had to get in the way of their through-balls. I think every single one of them has the ability to go in and score a goal if it's dead through.”
Lemke’s goal, assist and defensive play earned her Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors.
Both coaches saw room for improvement.
“I think this game came down to silly errors, silly fouls, giving up set pieces,” said Selvaggio. “A play that could have been handled and cleared out instead we gave up a corner kick.
“Those opportunities created goals for them that really kind of killed our momentum for just enough time for them to capitalize, and the shift happened.
“We will learn from this for sure. How the little things matter - be disciplined in every moment, not giving up silly fouls.”
“Did we play great?” Winslow asked. “ No, but we played hard, and we did enough to win. We've got a lot of room for improvement.”
Thursday was the fourth time St. Francis played on its uniquely colored pitch. Instead of the usual green, the playing surface alternates every five yards between royal blue and navy blue.
“We redid it last spring, but we didn't get to play on it obviously,” said Winslow. “The perk this time, which was great, was we were able to widen the field. It’s almost 7 yards wider which plays much better for soccer.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton Academy
GK: Sara Swoboda
D: Sarah VanderKlok
D: Jillian Paulson
D: Kelsey Bowling
D: Olivia Cran
M: Lilly Lebo
M: Amy Alexander
M: Emily Setran
M: Kelly Bickhart
F: Eva Desouza
F: Jocelyn Royce
St. Francis
GK: Hannah Blaha
D: Meghan Ward
D: Katherine Lemke
D: Abby Curtis
D: Sara Dzeingel
M: Sophia Roszkowski
M: Claire Reinke
M: Sofia Monzon
F: Kate Chaparro
F: Lauren Bruce
F: Paige Chrustowski
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Katherine Lemke, sr., D, St. Francis
Scoring summary
First half
WA: Alexander (Bickhart) 4 minutes
SF: Dziengel (UA) 21 minutes
Second half
SF: Chaparro (Lemke) 56 minutes
SF: Lemke (Chrustowski) 62 minutes