Opportunistic Carranza lifts SCE past WWS
No. 6 Saints edge no. 20 Tigers 1-0 in DuKane play
By Steve Nemeth
ST. CHARLES -- Alondra Carranza’s impressive resume -- which includes recent St. Charles Augsburg-Drach Invitational All-Tourney and Naperville Invitational second-team all-tournament honors, and 2018 Chicagoland Soccer All-State, IHSSCA All-Section 3 and All-Upstate Eight Conference River Division All-Conference recognition -- is well-earned recognition for her stellar skills as a defender.
Tuesday night Carranza stole the offensive spotlight with an absolute cracker that powered St. Charles East to a 1-0 DuKane Conference victory over Wheaton Warrenville South.
Now she can add Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match to her list after the Saints, ranked no. 6 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, held off the late charges from South’s no. 20 Tigers.
The loss snapped a five-match win streak for South (11-4-0, 2-3-0), including a trio of victories that resulted in the championship trophy at the Sacred Heart-Griffin Cyclone Invitational last weekend in Springfield. It also puts the Wheaton crew looking uphill in the inaugural girls season for the new DuKane Conference.
The win kept the Saints’ DKC hopes alive and continued East’s (15-5-0, 2-1-0) rebound from a narrow 1-0 loss in the Naperville Invitational to defending Class 3A state champ and previously season-long no. 1-ranked Barrington. The St. Charles side started the recovery with a 4-0 shutout of Oswego.
Tuesday’s clash started out as a somewhat one-sided affair. Host East initially appeared a little less than enthused to be back on the saturated Norris Stadium turf even though the pre-match rains came to an end.
South, on the other hand, looked ready for both the inclement weather and continuing their weekend trophy success. On the sideline the prepared Tigers had a variety of plastic bags to protect their backpacks, and sidelined Molly Fank and Mia Taulahu had their walking-boots double-bagged.
Wheaton South standout Paige Miller was seemingly everywhere in the Saints’ half of the field, but Carranza and her backline mates Jessica Stepien and Lindsey Rzeszutko found ways to limit her chances or harass her into hurried or simply off-target shots. Shortly after the mid-point of the opening half, J.J. Aalbue had a 40-yard free kick from the left wing that looked dangerous until it sailed just wide right. Teammate Audrey Siebert had a blast carom off the field goal crossbar.
At the opposite end, East’s offensive attempts also failed to find the back of the net. When play resumed after the 0-0 halftime draw, Miller had a long blast from the left side that Saints goalie Grace Griffin confidently hauled in.
East scoring leader Elle McCaslin pivoted and cranked a 36-yard try that Tiger keeper Abbie Brennan stopped. Then the South senior goalie raced off her line to smother a ball before McCaslin could get there and the stalemate continued with 26:57 left in regulation.
As usual on offense, McCaslin and forward Hannah Miller could be found threatening from either side or the middle.
They were joined in the attack by senior Kayla Villa, who earlier in the day made her signing official to continue playing soccer at MIT. As a junior, Villa earned Chicagoland Soccer Watch List distinction and IHSSCA Honorable Mention Section 3 honors. She's third on the Saints production chart with 20 points from six goals (one game-winner) and eight assists.
The Saints began to show more energy and urgency, and although South managed to stop consecutive blasts from a scramble out front, the ball ended up in Hannah Miller’s possession on the wing. The East sophomore fed the ball to an opening directly out front from where Carranza blistered a 29-yarder that flew high inside the right half of the cage.
“I saw the chance and even though I normally pass or look for teammates, I thought I’d take a chance,” Carranza explained. “I think that’s only my second career goal. It’s not that I don’t like to shoot, I just love passing to help my offensive teammates, plus I’m more confident defending and helping us preferably get shutouts.”
Give her memory an 'A' and note this goal as her first-ever game-winner. Carranza’s prior varsity score came last season when she had the second strike in a 2-0 victory over Geneva that netted East the Class 3A Rolling Meadows Regional title. In 2018 while enhancing her reputation on defense, she did manage a pair of assists. In this her junior year, she’s chalked up six assists. The offensive opportunity was a result of coach Vince DiNuzzo hoping to spark the Saints offense by moving her to midfield.
“Playing as a midfielder can be a little more fun,” Carranza admitted. “I’ve scored a few more times during practice, but the feeling in a game is so much sweeter.”
For Hannah Miller, the set-up boosted her team-best assist total to 11 to go along with 13 goals (four game-winners).
East was eager to enlarge its lead. Margaret Harper put a 32-yard missile on target that skipped off the turf before Brennan made the stop. The South goalie had to sprint off her line to beat Hannah Miller to a loose ball with 19:06 still to go. A wild scramble once again in front of the Tigers goal was like a pinball series absent a goal lighting. Brennan thwarted long attempts from McCaslin as well as Villa with 13:34 showing.
But that’s when South stepped up its efforts for an equalizer. Griffin made a huge save as clock ticked just under eight minutes and held her breath when a textbook cross from Paige Miller failed to find a Tigers teammate. A corner kick shortly after that necessitated a clearing blast by East.
Returning to her defensive role, Carranza made a sliding tackle that led to a stoppage in play. In case the officials or South players were thinking it was a stall tactic, DiNuzzo and Saints trainer Chuck Harrier went to Carranza’s aide with the coach saying “Sorry, but I’d really rather have her on the field.”
Instead Harrier prepared ice bags for Carranza legs, and she had to watch the final minutes from the trainer’s cart.
“Moving Alondra to midfield really changed the game for us,” DiNuzzo said. “Our legs were clearly a little too heavy at the start of the game following last night’s match. The second half was a big difference in that we did a much better job of possession and creating opportunities.
“Honestly I’d prefer we’d be more effective in the final third so we don’t have to defend so much for those final minutes. Overall I was also pleased with how we defended 19 (Aalbue) and 20 (Miller). Margaret (Harper) was simply a tank out there. She continues to play very well for us on defense.”
St. Charles East's second half work rate was contagious.
“I see my teammates working so hard and that motivates me to match their effort or do even more,” Villa said. “Our backline always is solid so that’s another incentive for all of us in the middle or up-top to give even more effort. In the second half I thought we connected passes and played the ball more fluidly to each other.”
That was an assessment that veteran Wheaton Warrenville South coach Guy Callipari also touched upon.
“We have to play better in the second half. The opening half we created chances but unfortunately didn’t finish them. In the second half we didn’t play well under their pressure while conversely we let them have some good looks. Without pressure from us, they get opportunities, and regrettably they finished one.
“There’s always a learning curve,” Callipari noted. “They are well-organized, battle, double-up on us smartly, are athletic and manage the game. So those are things hopefully we can adjust for especially if we can get another chance against them.”
“Tonight we played well in the first half in terms of working the ball and creating good chances, unfortunately we didn’t finish them,” Audrey Seibert said. “Given the chance to learn from our mistakes and the loss, we can change our mindset in the playoffs, whether or not that even means another meeting.”
That’s not to be construed as either team looking ahead to the postseason. South has two more DKC road matches (at Glenbard North and against no. 1-rated St. Charles North) as well as a PepsiCo Showdown bracket final against Metea Valley and a nonconference home date with Glenbard West.
However, within the 17-school 3A Schaumburg Sectional structure, should the 6th-seeded Tigers prevail over 11-seed West Chicago, they be in the Hoffman Estates regional title match against the winner of third-seeded St. Charles East versus 14-seed Hoffman Estates.
As a historical footnote, the last meeting between the two now DuKane opponents occurred back in 2013 when St. Charles East claimed a 5-2 regional championship triumph over the Tigers.
“Our only concern now is our next DKC match Thursday at Wheaton North,” DiNuzzo said. “We take care of business, then we continue one step at a time.”
That’s in reference to the final DKC trio of matches against Batavia, Glenbard North, and Lake Park coupled with some scoreboard watching.
“A conference title it not out of the question, however, it involves taking care of business one match at a time while also hoping for a little help,” DiNuzzo acknowledged. “However, we had a meeting to set goals on how we would handle the grind of the last six matches. The desire is to take a shot at a conference banner, handle the grind that is multiple games in a short period and do so with the mindset of playing your best in the postseason.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK: Abbie Brennan
D Becca Hauenstein
D Maddie Monaco
D Maria Dohse
D Sam Buol
M Evelyn Demsher
M J.J. Aalbue
M Audrey Siebert
F Allie Anderson
F Melissa Hadzic
F Paige Miller
St. Charles East
GK Grace Griffin
D Lindsey Rzeszutko
D Alondra Carranza
D Jessica Stepien
M Ashley D’Orio
M Kayla Villa
M Renee Unterberg
M Margaret Harper
F Jenna Sitta
F Hannah Miller
F Elle McCaslin
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Alondra Carranza, jr. D, St. Charles East
Officials: Bruce Bode (center), Rauel Farfan, Dave Petrosky
Game summary
St. Charles East 1, Wheaton Warrenville South 0
WWS 0 0 --- 0 (11-4-0, 2-3-0)
SCE 0 1 --- 1 (15-5-0, 2-1-0)
Scoring
First half
No scoring
Second half
SCE: Carranza 29-yarder high and into right side (Miller assist), 54:53 gone
Shots
WWS 6 – 5 -- 11
SCE 6 – 16 -- 22
Shots on goal
WWS 3 – 3 -- 6
SCE 3 – 10 -- 13
Saves (goalie)
WWS (Brennan) 3 – 9 -- 12
SCE (Griffin) 3 – 3 --- 6
Corner kicks
WWS 0 – 2 -- 2
SCE 1 – 2 -- 3
Offsides
WWS 2 – 0 -- 2
SCE 0 – 2 -- 2
No. 6 Saints edge no. 20 Tigers 1-0 in DuKane play
By Steve Nemeth
ST. CHARLES -- Alondra Carranza’s impressive resume -- which includes recent St. Charles Augsburg-Drach Invitational All-Tourney and Naperville Invitational second-team all-tournament honors, and 2018 Chicagoland Soccer All-State, IHSSCA All-Section 3 and All-Upstate Eight Conference River Division All-Conference recognition -- is well-earned recognition for her stellar skills as a defender.
Tuesday night Carranza stole the offensive spotlight with an absolute cracker that powered St. Charles East to a 1-0 DuKane Conference victory over Wheaton Warrenville South.
Now she can add Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match to her list after the Saints, ranked no. 6 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, held off the late charges from South’s no. 20 Tigers.
The loss snapped a five-match win streak for South (11-4-0, 2-3-0), including a trio of victories that resulted in the championship trophy at the Sacred Heart-Griffin Cyclone Invitational last weekend in Springfield. It also puts the Wheaton crew looking uphill in the inaugural girls season for the new DuKane Conference.
The win kept the Saints’ DKC hopes alive and continued East’s (15-5-0, 2-1-0) rebound from a narrow 1-0 loss in the Naperville Invitational to defending Class 3A state champ and previously season-long no. 1-ranked Barrington. The St. Charles side started the recovery with a 4-0 shutout of Oswego.
Tuesday’s clash started out as a somewhat one-sided affair. Host East initially appeared a little less than enthused to be back on the saturated Norris Stadium turf even though the pre-match rains came to an end.
South, on the other hand, looked ready for both the inclement weather and continuing their weekend trophy success. On the sideline the prepared Tigers had a variety of plastic bags to protect their backpacks, and sidelined Molly Fank and Mia Taulahu had their walking-boots double-bagged.
Wheaton South standout Paige Miller was seemingly everywhere in the Saints’ half of the field, but Carranza and her backline mates Jessica Stepien and Lindsey Rzeszutko found ways to limit her chances or harass her into hurried or simply off-target shots. Shortly after the mid-point of the opening half, J.J. Aalbue had a 40-yard free kick from the left wing that looked dangerous until it sailed just wide right. Teammate Audrey Siebert had a blast carom off the field goal crossbar.
At the opposite end, East’s offensive attempts also failed to find the back of the net. When play resumed after the 0-0 halftime draw, Miller had a long blast from the left side that Saints goalie Grace Griffin confidently hauled in.
East scoring leader Elle McCaslin pivoted and cranked a 36-yard try that Tiger keeper Abbie Brennan stopped. Then the South senior goalie raced off her line to smother a ball before McCaslin could get there and the stalemate continued with 26:57 left in regulation.
As usual on offense, McCaslin and forward Hannah Miller could be found threatening from either side or the middle.
They were joined in the attack by senior Kayla Villa, who earlier in the day made her signing official to continue playing soccer at MIT. As a junior, Villa earned Chicagoland Soccer Watch List distinction and IHSSCA Honorable Mention Section 3 honors. She's third on the Saints production chart with 20 points from six goals (one game-winner) and eight assists.
The Saints began to show more energy and urgency, and although South managed to stop consecutive blasts from a scramble out front, the ball ended up in Hannah Miller’s possession on the wing. The East sophomore fed the ball to an opening directly out front from where Carranza blistered a 29-yarder that flew high inside the right half of the cage.
“I saw the chance and even though I normally pass or look for teammates, I thought I’d take a chance,” Carranza explained. “I think that’s only my second career goal. It’s not that I don’t like to shoot, I just love passing to help my offensive teammates, plus I’m more confident defending and helping us preferably get shutouts.”
Give her memory an 'A' and note this goal as her first-ever game-winner. Carranza’s prior varsity score came last season when she had the second strike in a 2-0 victory over Geneva that netted East the Class 3A Rolling Meadows Regional title. In 2018 while enhancing her reputation on defense, she did manage a pair of assists. In this her junior year, she’s chalked up six assists. The offensive opportunity was a result of coach Vince DiNuzzo hoping to spark the Saints offense by moving her to midfield.
“Playing as a midfielder can be a little more fun,” Carranza admitted. “I’ve scored a few more times during practice, but the feeling in a game is so much sweeter.”
For Hannah Miller, the set-up boosted her team-best assist total to 11 to go along with 13 goals (four game-winners).
East was eager to enlarge its lead. Margaret Harper put a 32-yard missile on target that skipped off the turf before Brennan made the stop. The South goalie had to sprint off her line to beat Hannah Miller to a loose ball with 19:06 still to go. A wild scramble once again in front of the Tigers goal was like a pinball series absent a goal lighting. Brennan thwarted long attempts from McCaslin as well as Villa with 13:34 showing.
But that’s when South stepped up its efforts for an equalizer. Griffin made a huge save as clock ticked just under eight minutes and held her breath when a textbook cross from Paige Miller failed to find a Tigers teammate. A corner kick shortly after that necessitated a clearing blast by East.
Returning to her defensive role, Carranza made a sliding tackle that led to a stoppage in play. In case the officials or South players were thinking it was a stall tactic, DiNuzzo and Saints trainer Chuck Harrier went to Carranza’s aide with the coach saying “Sorry, but I’d really rather have her on the field.”
Instead Harrier prepared ice bags for Carranza legs, and she had to watch the final minutes from the trainer’s cart.
“Moving Alondra to midfield really changed the game for us,” DiNuzzo said. “Our legs were clearly a little too heavy at the start of the game following last night’s match. The second half was a big difference in that we did a much better job of possession and creating opportunities.
“Honestly I’d prefer we’d be more effective in the final third so we don’t have to defend so much for those final minutes. Overall I was also pleased with how we defended 19 (Aalbue) and 20 (Miller). Margaret (Harper) was simply a tank out there. She continues to play very well for us on defense.”
St. Charles East's second half work rate was contagious.
“I see my teammates working so hard and that motivates me to match their effort or do even more,” Villa said. “Our backline always is solid so that’s another incentive for all of us in the middle or up-top to give even more effort. In the second half I thought we connected passes and played the ball more fluidly to each other.”
That was an assessment that veteran Wheaton Warrenville South coach Guy Callipari also touched upon.
“We have to play better in the second half. The opening half we created chances but unfortunately didn’t finish them. In the second half we didn’t play well under their pressure while conversely we let them have some good looks. Without pressure from us, they get opportunities, and regrettably they finished one.
“There’s always a learning curve,” Callipari noted. “They are well-organized, battle, double-up on us smartly, are athletic and manage the game. So those are things hopefully we can adjust for especially if we can get another chance against them.”
“Tonight we played well in the first half in terms of working the ball and creating good chances, unfortunately we didn’t finish them,” Audrey Seibert said. “Given the chance to learn from our mistakes and the loss, we can change our mindset in the playoffs, whether or not that even means another meeting.”
That’s not to be construed as either team looking ahead to the postseason. South has two more DKC road matches (at Glenbard North and against no. 1-rated St. Charles North) as well as a PepsiCo Showdown bracket final against Metea Valley and a nonconference home date with Glenbard West.
However, within the 17-school 3A Schaumburg Sectional structure, should the 6th-seeded Tigers prevail over 11-seed West Chicago, they be in the Hoffman Estates regional title match against the winner of third-seeded St. Charles East versus 14-seed Hoffman Estates.
As a historical footnote, the last meeting between the two now DuKane opponents occurred back in 2013 when St. Charles East claimed a 5-2 regional championship triumph over the Tigers.
“Our only concern now is our next DKC match Thursday at Wheaton North,” DiNuzzo said. “We take care of business, then we continue one step at a time.”
That’s in reference to the final DKC trio of matches against Batavia, Glenbard North, and Lake Park coupled with some scoreboard watching.
“A conference title it not out of the question, however, it involves taking care of business one match at a time while also hoping for a little help,” DiNuzzo acknowledged. “However, we had a meeting to set goals on how we would handle the grind of the last six matches. The desire is to take a shot at a conference banner, handle the grind that is multiple games in a short period and do so with the mindset of playing your best in the postseason.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK: Abbie Brennan
D Becca Hauenstein
D Maddie Monaco
D Maria Dohse
D Sam Buol
M Evelyn Demsher
M J.J. Aalbue
M Audrey Siebert
F Allie Anderson
F Melissa Hadzic
F Paige Miller
St. Charles East
GK Grace Griffin
D Lindsey Rzeszutko
D Alondra Carranza
D Jessica Stepien
M Ashley D’Orio
M Kayla Villa
M Renee Unterberg
M Margaret Harper
F Jenna Sitta
F Hannah Miller
F Elle McCaslin
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Alondra Carranza, jr. D, St. Charles East
Officials: Bruce Bode (center), Rauel Farfan, Dave Petrosky
Game summary
St. Charles East 1, Wheaton Warrenville South 0
WWS 0 0 --- 0 (11-4-0, 2-3-0)
SCE 0 1 --- 1 (15-5-0, 2-1-0)
Scoring
First half
No scoring
Second half
SCE: Carranza 29-yarder high and into right side (Miller assist), 54:53 gone
Shots
WWS 6 – 5 -- 11
SCE 6 – 16 -- 22
Shots on goal
WWS 3 – 3 -- 6
SCE 3 – 10 -- 13
Saves (goalie)
WWS (Brennan) 3 – 9 -- 12
SCE (Griffin) 3 – 3 --- 6
Corner kicks
WWS 0 – 2 -- 2
SCE 1 – 2 -- 3
Offsides
WWS 2 – 0 -- 2
SCE 0 – 2 -- 2