Barnett’s hat-trick leads
streaking WWS past Lake Park
5-0 victory stretches Tigers win streak to 5
By Jared Birchfield
ROSELLE – It’s understandable that the spectators at Thursday’s match at Lake Park did not throw their hats onto the pitch to honor the third goal scored by Wheaton Warrenville South’s Lauren Barnett.
Except for the lucky few in Lake Park’s new press box, the fans needed their head coverings for protection from the rain, which has seemed to become a regular feature at contests this spring.
Barnett’s last score was the final goal in the Tigers’ 5-0 DuKane Conference win over the Lancers.
The junior forward opened the scoring at the 30:43 mark of the first half after getting behind Lake Park’s defense and shooting from 10 yards. The second came seven minutes later from close-in after she again eluded the Lancers’ backline.
Barnett completed the first hat-trick of her varsity career with 26 minutes left in the contest with her sixth goal of the season.
“We’ve been working on getting behind (the defense), and the main thing is I’ve been working on
timing my runs. Obviously, that paid off tonight,” Barnett said. “It felt pretty good with Olivia (Vassios) and Elie (Farrell) and Meghan (Economos) making those perfectly placed runs.”
The third goal was her favorite.
“I kind of like that little nutmeg action,” the junior said. “I made my timing just right, and it went through the goalie’s legs.”
For her impressive offensive output, Barnett was named Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match.
“Wheaton Warrenville South is one of the best in our sectional and one of the best teams in the state traditionally,” said Lake Park coach Sean Crosby. “They have very talented players, so we knew we were going to have our hands full defending. Our backline needed to be better organized.”
“Lake Park played a really high line,” said Wheaton Warrenville coach Guy Callipari. “They did a really good job of trying to stay connected, so we had to play smart, and the timing had to be perfect/
“Our girls got it right tonight. There were a couple of first touches to keep the ball in play, and then (Barnett) was comfortable enough and confident enough to finish.”
Lake Park (2-13-1, 0-6-0) played without starting goalkeeper Vanessa Boafo, who sat out due to a red card from the Lancers match with West Chicago on Monday.
“It was unfortunate. We’ve relied on Vanessa quite a bit to save us in some tough situations,” said the Lake Park coach. “We don’t traditionally have a backup goalkeeper with a ton of experience.
“So, Bella (Witt) jumped in and took over and gave us the best chance at keeping the game close.
“Bella just wanted to help support the team. I thought for not having a ton of goalkeeping training, she stepped in and did her best to put us in a good position to win,” said Crosby of his senior midfielder. “She made a couple of big saves in the second half that actually kept the game close. She made the best of a tough situation.”
Wheaton Warrenville South forward Ashley Adams scored the Tigers’ third goal from 30 yards from the near sideline after corralling a throw-in.
“Elia McClatchy had a great throw, and I just turned and shot it,” Adams said.
The freshman is optimistic about the near future of the Tigers (8-4-2, 3-2-0).
“We’ve had a really tough schedule in the first half, and we learned a lot from those games,” she said. “So going forward we hope to finish this season strong and make a really good long run in the state series.”
One of the match keys was the Tigers’ control of the middle of the field. Wheaton Warrenville South’s midfielders denied the Lancers a chance to attack and kept the action on Lake Park’s side of the pitch.
“I think we connected passes well all around the field. We were able to create opportunities out there, and we kept the ball mostly in their half which was great,” midfielder Kate Grunland said. “We were playing balls through great, and the offense was finishing opportunities that we got.”
Callipari agreed that play in the middle third was critical to the match.
“I think around the park we were very aggressive getting numbers back behind the ball. We were able to pressure everywhere on the field,” the Tigers coach said. “It all starts when we get the ball back. When we do lose it or give it away, we’ve got to make it an effort to get the ball back as quickly.”
The Tigers tallied their fourth marker on an own-goal in the 50th minute. Lancer defenders tried to head away a corner kick by Grunland, but the junior’s delivery was headed into the net.
Crosby was pleased that his backline continued to battle through the entire match.
“It was nice to see our defensive line, Madeine Mintrup specifically but Gianna Kubica, Peyton
Sarubbi and Brynn Ellenbecker continue to play for the last 40 minutes,” he said. “When things are beyond them, a lot of players would have dropped their heads. They kept playing through and made it tough.”
Callipari thinks his team peaking at the right time.
“We’re playing a pretty good brand of soccer right now. Given the fact that we’ve had some time together, the nuances and the behaviors are learned,” said the Tigers coach. “We’re starting to understand each other’s tendencies in certain environments, play to our strengths and try to hide our weaknesses.
“We also felt that we have pretty good depth. We can work hard, because we have numbers that can come in and maintain the same level of play.”
Crosby hopes for a better result on Saturday when his squad plays nonconference foe Addison Trail (3-8-2) .
“They are a team very similar to us, a very similar record and very similar score line,” he said. “We hope to get another result, another win on our record.
“We hope that we’ll build on what we have done, attack and get more chances on goal.”
Wheaton Warrenville South also returns to the pitch on Saturday when they host Chicago Public League member Washington and honor longtime coach Gary Luckey.
“We have a lot going on Saturday We invited (Washington) out here, and we’re going to dine
together, have a game and we’re going to celebrate coach Luckey’s 36 years with us” Callipari
said. “He started the girls’ program in 1987. He got the ball rolling and he’s been part of this program ever since. We’re going to celebrate that.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK – Carolin Spayth
D – Mallory Cadagin
D – Elle Farrell
D – Bri Stransky
D – Olivia Vassios
MF – Brooke Ittersagen
MF – Kate Grunland
MF – Carrie Harvey
F - Mia Taullahu
F – Meghan Economos
F – Lauren Barnett
Lake Park
GK – Isabella Witt
D – Peyton Sarubbi
D – Gianna Kubica
D – Brynn Ellenbecker
D – Madeine Mintrup
M – Francesca Cali
M – Peyton Olinski
M – Janice Hernandez-Bustos
F – Kira Holliday
F – Teagan Locus
F – Erin Vachlin
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match:
Lauren Barnett, jr., F, Wheaton Warrenville South
Scoring summary
First half
WWS: Lauren Barnett (unassisted), 10th minute
WWS: Lauren Barnett (unassisted), 17th minute
WWS: Ashlyn Adams (Elia McClatchy), 27th minute
Second half
WWS: own-goal, 50th minute
WWS: Ashley Barnett (unassisted), 64th minute
streaking WWS past Lake Park
5-0 victory stretches Tigers win streak to 5
By Jared Birchfield
ROSELLE – It’s understandable that the spectators at Thursday’s match at Lake Park did not throw their hats onto the pitch to honor the third goal scored by Wheaton Warrenville South’s Lauren Barnett.
Except for the lucky few in Lake Park’s new press box, the fans needed their head coverings for protection from the rain, which has seemed to become a regular feature at contests this spring.
Barnett’s last score was the final goal in the Tigers’ 5-0 DuKane Conference win over the Lancers.
The junior forward opened the scoring at the 30:43 mark of the first half after getting behind Lake Park’s defense and shooting from 10 yards. The second came seven minutes later from close-in after she again eluded the Lancers’ backline.
Barnett completed the first hat-trick of her varsity career with 26 minutes left in the contest with her sixth goal of the season.
“We’ve been working on getting behind (the defense), and the main thing is I’ve been working on
timing my runs. Obviously, that paid off tonight,” Barnett said. “It felt pretty good with Olivia (Vassios) and Elie (Farrell) and Meghan (Economos) making those perfectly placed runs.”
The third goal was her favorite.
“I kind of like that little nutmeg action,” the junior said. “I made my timing just right, and it went through the goalie’s legs.”
For her impressive offensive output, Barnett was named Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match.
“Wheaton Warrenville South is one of the best in our sectional and one of the best teams in the state traditionally,” said Lake Park coach Sean Crosby. “They have very talented players, so we knew we were going to have our hands full defending. Our backline needed to be better organized.”
“Lake Park played a really high line,” said Wheaton Warrenville coach Guy Callipari. “They did a really good job of trying to stay connected, so we had to play smart, and the timing had to be perfect/
“Our girls got it right tonight. There were a couple of first touches to keep the ball in play, and then (Barnett) was comfortable enough and confident enough to finish.”
Lake Park (2-13-1, 0-6-0) played without starting goalkeeper Vanessa Boafo, who sat out due to a red card from the Lancers match with West Chicago on Monday.
“It was unfortunate. We’ve relied on Vanessa quite a bit to save us in some tough situations,” said the Lake Park coach. “We don’t traditionally have a backup goalkeeper with a ton of experience.
“So, Bella (Witt) jumped in and took over and gave us the best chance at keeping the game close.
“Bella just wanted to help support the team. I thought for not having a ton of goalkeeping training, she stepped in and did her best to put us in a good position to win,” said Crosby of his senior midfielder. “She made a couple of big saves in the second half that actually kept the game close. She made the best of a tough situation.”
Wheaton Warrenville South forward Ashley Adams scored the Tigers’ third goal from 30 yards from the near sideline after corralling a throw-in.
“Elia McClatchy had a great throw, and I just turned and shot it,” Adams said.
The freshman is optimistic about the near future of the Tigers (8-4-2, 3-2-0).
“We’ve had a really tough schedule in the first half, and we learned a lot from those games,” she said. “So going forward we hope to finish this season strong and make a really good long run in the state series.”
One of the match keys was the Tigers’ control of the middle of the field. Wheaton Warrenville South’s midfielders denied the Lancers a chance to attack and kept the action on Lake Park’s side of the pitch.
“I think we connected passes well all around the field. We were able to create opportunities out there, and we kept the ball mostly in their half which was great,” midfielder Kate Grunland said. “We were playing balls through great, and the offense was finishing opportunities that we got.”
Callipari agreed that play in the middle third was critical to the match.
“I think around the park we were very aggressive getting numbers back behind the ball. We were able to pressure everywhere on the field,” the Tigers coach said. “It all starts when we get the ball back. When we do lose it or give it away, we’ve got to make it an effort to get the ball back as quickly.”
The Tigers tallied their fourth marker on an own-goal in the 50th minute. Lancer defenders tried to head away a corner kick by Grunland, but the junior’s delivery was headed into the net.
Crosby was pleased that his backline continued to battle through the entire match.
“It was nice to see our defensive line, Madeine Mintrup specifically but Gianna Kubica, Peyton
Sarubbi and Brynn Ellenbecker continue to play for the last 40 minutes,” he said. “When things are beyond them, a lot of players would have dropped their heads. They kept playing through and made it tough.”
Callipari thinks his team peaking at the right time.
“We’re playing a pretty good brand of soccer right now. Given the fact that we’ve had some time together, the nuances and the behaviors are learned,” said the Tigers coach. “We’re starting to understand each other’s tendencies in certain environments, play to our strengths and try to hide our weaknesses.
“We also felt that we have pretty good depth. We can work hard, because we have numbers that can come in and maintain the same level of play.”
Crosby hopes for a better result on Saturday when his squad plays nonconference foe Addison Trail (3-8-2) .
“They are a team very similar to us, a very similar record and very similar score line,” he said. “We hope to get another result, another win on our record.
“We hope that we’ll build on what we have done, attack and get more chances on goal.”
Wheaton Warrenville South also returns to the pitch on Saturday when they host Chicago Public League member Washington and honor longtime coach Gary Luckey.
“We have a lot going on Saturday We invited (Washington) out here, and we’re going to dine
together, have a game and we’re going to celebrate coach Luckey’s 36 years with us” Callipari
said. “He started the girls’ program in 1987. He got the ball rolling and he’s been part of this program ever since. We’re going to celebrate that.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK – Carolin Spayth
D – Mallory Cadagin
D – Elle Farrell
D – Bri Stransky
D – Olivia Vassios
MF – Brooke Ittersagen
MF – Kate Grunland
MF – Carrie Harvey
F - Mia Taullahu
F – Meghan Economos
F – Lauren Barnett
Lake Park
GK – Isabella Witt
D – Peyton Sarubbi
D – Gianna Kubica
D – Brynn Ellenbecker
D – Madeine Mintrup
M – Francesca Cali
M – Peyton Olinski
M – Janice Hernandez-Bustos
F – Kira Holliday
F – Teagan Locus
F – Erin Vachlin
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match:
Lauren Barnett, jr., F, Wheaton Warrenville South
Scoring summary
First half
WWS: Lauren Barnett (unassisted), 10th minute
WWS: Lauren Barnett (unassisted), 17th minute
WWS: Ashlyn Adams (Elia McClatchy), 27th minute
Second half
WWS: own-goal, 50th minute
WWS: Ashley Barnett (unassisted), 64th minute