Wheaton North frosh take
charge versus Streamwood
Rookies net 3 goals, Falcons advance to Porter Cup semis
By Steve Millar
LOCKPORT -- With four freshmen on his varsity roster and two in the starting lineup, Wheaton North coach Tim McEvilly has a simple expectation for the newcomers: make something happen.
“Our younger players, the effort is there all the time,” McEvilly said. “They’re trying to make a difference, and that’s all we ask them to do. Make an impact on the game somehow, some way in a positive manner.
“Don’t be afraid to make an impact. You’re not just there to put a uniform on. You’re there to make a difference, and that’s what they’re doing right now.”
They certainly shook things up in Saturday’s opening-round game of the Porter Cup at Lockport.
Freshman Piper Harborth came off the bench to score thE final two goals, and classmate Talia Kaempf opened the scoring in the Falcons’ 4-1 win over Streamwood.
Wheaton North (3-3-0) will take on host and newly 23rd-ranked Lockport in the semifinals at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“It’s been good,” Harborth said of her experience as a freshman on varsity. “I have some other freshmen on the team, and we always stick together. So, it’s fun.
“Freshmen are expected to not do anything, but I think our freshmen are really strong this year.”
Harborth received Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match honors for her first career two-goal performance. She now has three goals in her first season.
“It feels good, like I helped the team out,” Harborth said.
Streamwood (1-6-0) played a high line defensively and was able to draw Wheaton North offsides many times. However, the Falcons were able to take advantage of the strategy on occasion and get behind the defense to create several scoring opportunities.
That’s what happened on the initial goal, scored by Kampf in the 12th minute. Defender Rowan Smith played a long pass out of the back that Kampf was able to run onto and speed past the defense down the middle of the field.
Kampf finished from 10 yards with a line-drive shot to the right side.
Ten minutes later, speedy junior forward Macy Hutchinson got behind the defense down the right side of the field. Her shot was saved by Streamwood goalkeeper Selina Chavez, but senior Olivia Moreno slid in to hammer home the rebound.
“Early in the game, we recognized that they were playing a really high line,” Moreno said. “We have a lot of speed up-top, and we wanted to use that to our advantage. So playing the ball over or through was kind of our best friend this game, especially with the wind.
“Timing was kind of a give and take, because we were getting a lot of offsides calls. But we fought through it, and we made what we did with the opportunities we had.”
Streamwood responded nicely to the two-goal disadvantage. The Sabres created some pressure in the final third and eventually capitalized in the 29th minute.
Senior Diana Herrera and junior Daniela Sanchez worked a nice give-and-go, with Sanchez finding Herrera on a pass through the middle of the field. Herrera ripped in a shot from just outside the box to make it 2-1.
“It started off with me up in the middle, me and Daniela were playing short passes. Then I got a chance to go to goal, so I just took it and took my opportunity,” Herrera said. “After that goal, our confidence went up a little bit, and we kept fighting.”
Streamwood coach Matt Polovin was impressed.
“Diana hits it against the wind from 25 yards out, a nice screamer into the lower corner, which was beautiful,” Polovin said.
Harborth, though, thwarted any momentum Streamwood had developed.
Ella Landstrom created the play for the Falcons in the 31st minute, getting behind the defense down the right side of the field and slipping a quick pass across the box, where Harborth was charging the far post and was able to put it away.
“I want to make sure that I do something for my team,” Harborth said. “When I come in, I just think about that and what can do to benefit them.”
Harborth added the only goal of the second half on a nearly identical play.
Hutchinson again gave the defense nightmares with her speed and ballhandling, She got free down the right side of the field.
Again, Harborth got to the right spot, crashing toward the far post to take the cross from Hutchinson and put it into an open net with 37 minutes, 32 seconds left in the match.
Moreno appreciates the difference the freshmen are making for the Falcons. As a senior leader, she wants to be a mentor for them.
“I love playing with them,” Moreno said. “I was a freshman on varsity, and I know what that was like. So I try to help them. I knew that having those upperclassmen, that I could look up to, was big for me. So, I wanted to be that for them this year.
“I’ll drive them places and stuff. We try to translate that onto the field with cheering for each other and stuff like that.”
Harborth has felt embraced by the older players.
“She drives me to pasta dinners every time,” Harborth said of Moreno. “It’s really fun. We sit in the car and listen to all kinds of music. They really took me under their wing. I expected as a freshman to not know people.”
Held to one shot on goal in the first half, Streamwood put three on frame in the second half, but all were stopped by Wheaton North goalkeeper Zoey Bohmer.
The Sabres also had some shots just off target. Sanchez fired just wide from 25 yards in the 46th minute and Esther Cardenas fired high on a good look in the 80th minute.
“We created a lot of good chances, especially in the second half,” Polovin said. “We just needed to keep those shots low, with the wind, and drive them a bit more. We’ve got a bit of an inexperienced team, and we’re still working on those things, but we played well.”
Polovin juggled his lineup with some players out.
“Esther is usually my starting center back, and I had her playing up-top, because I needed a little bit of a spark up-top,” he said. “Daniela did a nice job putting pressure on them and keeping the ball. Daniela, Esther, Diana are really skilled, technical players who work well together.”
Going forward, Herrera feels the Sabres have the potential to do big things offensively.
“I like our offensive connection, how we’re able to find each other,” she said. “Now it’s just about finishing. We just have to work on finishing and scoring goals.”
Starting lineups
Streamwood
GK – Selina Chavez
D – Jeidy Salazar
D – Karla Morales
D – Alea Soriano
D – Jessica Rosales
MF – Alondra Mendoza
MF – Reyna Saldivar
MF – Millanie Martinez
MF – Diana Herrera
F – Esther Cardenas
F – Daniela Sanchez
Wheaton North
GK – Zoey Bohmer
D – Calah Strong
D – Abby Gosling
D – Anna Roe
D – Rowan Smith
MF – Claudia Kim
MF – Grace Ryan
MF – Addison Falco
F – Macy Hutchinson
F – Olivia Moreno
F – Talia Kaempf
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Piper Harborth, fr., F, Wheaton North
Scoring summary
First half
WN: Kaempf (Smith), 12th minute
WN: oreno (Hutchinson), 22nd minute
S: Herrera (Sanchez), 29th minute
WN: Harborth (Landstrom), 31st minute
Second half
WN: Harborth (Hutchinson), 43rd minute
charge versus Streamwood
Rookies net 3 goals, Falcons advance to Porter Cup semis
By Steve Millar
LOCKPORT -- With four freshmen on his varsity roster and two in the starting lineup, Wheaton North coach Tim McEvilly has a simple expectation for the newcomers: make something happen.
“Our younger players, the effort is there all the time,” McEvilly said. “They’re trying to make a difference, and that’s all we ask them to do. Make an impact on the game somehow, some way in a positive manner.
“Don’t be afraid to make an impact. You’re not just there to put a uniform on. You’re there to make a difference, and that’s what they’re doing right now.”
They certainly shook things up in Saturday’s opening-round game of the Porter Cup at Lockport.
Freshman Piper Harborth came off the bench to score thE final two goals, and classmate Talia Kaempf opened the scoring in the Falcons’ 4-1 win over Streamwood.
Wheaton North (3-3-0) will take on host and newly 23rd-ranked Lockport in the semifinals at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“It’s been good,” Harborth said of her experience as a freshman on varsity. “I have some other freshmen on the team, and we always stick together. So, it’s fun.
“Freshmen are expected to not do anything, but I think our freshmen are really strong this year.”
Harborth received Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match honors for her first career two-goal performance. She now has three goals in her first season.
“It feels good, like I helped the team out,” Harborth said.
Streamwood (1-6-0) played a high line defensively and was able to draw Wheaton North offsides many times. However, the Falcons were able to take advantage of the strategy on occasion and get behind the defense to create several scoring opportunities.
That’s what happened on the initial goal, scored by Kampf in the 12th minute. Defender Rowan Smith played a long pass out of the back that Kampf was able to run onto and speed past the defense down the middle of the field.
Kampf finished from 10 yards with a line-drive shot to the right side.
Ten minutes later, speedy junior forward Macy Hutchinson got behind the defense down the right side of the field. Her shot was saved by Streamwood goalkeeper Selina Chavez, but senior Olivia Moreno slid in to hammer home the rebound.
“Early in the game, we recognized that they were playing a really high line,” Moreno said. “We have a lot of speed up-top, and we wanted to use that to our advantage. So playing the ball over or through was kind of our best friend this game, especially with the wind.
“Timing was kind of a give and take, because we were getting a lot of offsides calls. But we fought through it, and we made what we did with the opportunities we had.”
Streamwood responded nicely to the two-goal disadvantage. The Sabres created some pressure in the final third and eventually capitalized in the 29th minute.
Senior Diana Herrera and junior Daniela Sanchez worked a nice give-and-go, with Sanchez finding Herrera on a pass through the middle of the field. Herrera ripped in a shot from just outside the box to make it 2-1.
“It started off with me up in the middle, me and Daniela were playing short passes. Then I got a chance to go to goal, so I just took it and took my opportunity,” Herrera said. “After that goal, our confidence went up a little bit, and we kept fighting.”
Streamwood coach Matt Polovin was impressed.
“Diana hits it against the wind from 25 yards out, a nice screamer into the lower corner, which was beautiful,” Polovin said.
Harborth, though, thwarted any momentum Streamwood had developed.
Ella Landstrom created the play for the Falcons in the 31st minute, getting behind the defense down the right side of the field and slipping a quick pass across the box, where Harborth was charging the far post and was able to put it away.
“I want to make sure that I do something for my team,” Harborth said. “When I come in, I just think about that and what can do to benefit them.”
Harborth added the only goal of the second half on a nearly identical play.
Hutchinson again gave the defense nightmares with her speed and ballhandling, She got free down the right side of the field.
Again, Harborth got to the right spot, crashing toward the far post to take the cross from Hutchinson and put it into an open net with 37 minutes, 32 seconds left in the match.
Moreno appreciates the difference the freshmen are making for the Falcons. As a senior leader, she wants to be a mentor for them.
“I love playing with them,” Moreno said. “I was a freshman on varsity, and I know what that was like. So I try to help them. I knew that having those upperclassmen, that I could look up to, was big for me. So, I wanted to be that for them this year.
“I’ll drive them places and stuff. We try to translate that onto the field with cheering for each other and stuff like that.”
Harborth has felt embraced by the older players.
“She drives me to pasta dinners every time,” Harborth said of Moreno. “It’s really fun. We sit in the car and listen to all kinds of music. They really took me under their wing. I expected as a freshman to not know people.”
Held to one shot on goal in the first half, Streamwood put three on frame in the second half, but all were stopped by Wheaton North goalkeeper Zoey Bohmer.
The Sabres also had some shots just off target. Sanchez fired just wide from 25 yards in the 46th minute and Esther Cardenas fired high on a good look in the 80th minute.
“We created a lot of good chances, especially in the second half,” Polovin said. “We just needed to keep those shots low, with the wind, and drive them a bit more. We’ve got a bit of an inexperienced team, and we’re still working on those things, but we played well.”
Polovin juggled his lineup with some players out.
“Esther is usually my starting center back, and I had her playing up-top, because I needed a little bit of a spark up-top,” he said. “Daniela did a nice job putting pressure on them and keeping the ball. Daniela, Esther, Diana are really skilled, technical players who work well together.”
Going forward, Herrera feels the Sabres have the potential to do big things offensively.
“I like our offensive connection, how we’re able to find each other,” she said. “Now it’s just about finishing. We just have to work on finishing and scoring goals.”
Starting lineups
Streamwood
GK – Selina Chavez
D – Jeidy Salazar
D – Karla Morales
D – Alea Soriano
D – Jessica Rosales
MF – Alondra Mendoza
MF – Reyna Saldivar
MF – Millanie Martinez
MF – Diana Herrera
F – Esther Cardenas
F – Daniela Sanchez
Wheaton North
GK – Zoey Bohmer
D – Calah Strong
D – Abby Gosling
D – Anna Roe
D – Rowan Smith
MF – Claudia Kim
MF – Grace Ryan
MF – Addison Falco
F – Macy Hutchinson
F – Olivia Moreno
F – Talia Kaempf
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Piper Harborth, fr., F, Wheaton North
Scoring summary
First half
WN: Kaempf (Smith), 12th minute
WN: oreno (Hutchinson), 22nd minute
S: Herrera (Sanchez), 29th minute
WN: Harborth (Landstrom), 31st minute
Second half
WN: Harborth (Hutchinson), 43rd minute