St. Francis and Loyola battle
to decide GCAC Red Division title
By Patrick Z. McGavin
In the boxing game the saying is "styles make fights." In other sports, so too do ambitious programs make games -- especially those who are ambitious and eager to make a statement by upstaging the established hierarchy.
Making the leap to the top Red Division of the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference (GCAC) a year ago, St. Francis took a bold step forward in challenging the upper echelon. In girls soccer, that means confronting Loyola, the perennial power that has won the conference 11 times in its 13-year history under the leadership of coach Craig Snower.
St. Francis finished second by a point to the Ramblers a year ago, foreshadowing the great run to come as the Spartans blitzed through Class 2A field to reach the state finals, where the young club finished fourth.
On Thursday, the upstart and the perennial square off at Loyola’s stadium campus in Wilmette with the conference title in the balance. St. Francis (8-3-2, 4-0-0) and Loyola (11-6-0, 4-0-0) have been each largely untested in GCAC Red Division play.
Click here for updated GCAC Red Division standings
“Winning the conference is always our first goal every year,” Snower said. “This year in particular with the early-season struggles and the strength of St. Francis, conference is very meaningful and very important to us. We might very well be the underdog in this game, but we have had this game circled on our schedule since preseason.”
The teams were both part of the North Shore Invitational that Loyola hosted with New Trier. They were locked in opposite brackets and did not meet. St. Francis went 1-2-1 and distinguished itself by becoming the first team this season that did not yield to previously top-ranked Naperville North with a 0-0 draw. Loyola went 2-2-0 in the event, with losses to highly ranked Barrington and New Trier, and finished fourth.
Significantly, the teams are playing their best soccer of the year. St. Francis is 5-1-0 in its last six games with a 32-3 scoring differential.
“We are starting to play better, more fluid, with better rhythm and confidence,” coach Jim Winslow said.
Loyola is 7-2-0 in its last nine games with wins over Glenbrook South, Palatine, Sandburg and Waubonsie Valley. The only losses during the run came against no. 3 New Trier and then no. 15 St. Charles East.
“Tactically we put more emphasis on numbers behind the ball defensively and then transitioning to offense,” Snower said. As a result, he said, the Ramblers realize “we are a good team whose early season issues were the result of being young and playing a very tough schedule.”
Loyola losses include games against Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 heavyweights Barrington, New Trier and St. Charles North.
Both Loyola and St. Francis boast superb individual talents. St. Francis junior forward Kendra Pasquale is one of the best players in the state, a dynamic and explosive offensive talent who is dangerous anywhere on the field.
“They are extremely well coached and play great soccer,” Snower said. “Kendra is a top 10 player in the state. We have struggled dealing with that caliber of player this year going all the way back to St. Charles North.”
Pasquale generates so much attention, it naturally frees up the Spartans’ other attacking players in space.
“(Forwards) Hannah Rittenhouse and Erin Peck are really starting to play better off of each other, and our (midfielders) and backline are getting healthy finally,” said Winslow.
Like many programs, St. Francis has been stymied trying to get into a refined shape and rhythm against the particularly unpredictable weather. The Spartans won their opening game against Regina (Ia.) 5-0, played an abbreviated semifinal game with Notre Dame (Quincy) and had its third game cancelled last weekend at the Tournament of Champions in Iowa.
A scheduled game with St. Ignatius Tuesday was also postponed because of unplayable field conditions.
“Can Craig promise that there is not going to be any rain?” Winslow joked.
“We know they are very good, organized and play hard. My main concern was getting healthy again. Although we are not completely there yet, we are getting closer. It is great to play the defending conference champs in a conference championship game and see where we stack up.”
Unusual by recent standards, Loyola was dependent on several younger players, particularly freshmen, and the combination of the brutally tough schedule and the learning curve of the young players required some time and patience.
Snower has particularly high praise for two rapidly improved players, senior midfielder Ally West and freshman midfielder Vanessa Murray.
“They both regularly go 80 minutes for us at midfield, and they are the glue keeping us together. We have also freed up (forwards) Maggie Brett and Stephanie Ramsay to be more creative with their runs (and) encouraged them to interchange and make more diagonal runs to unbalance opposing teams’ backlines.
“We are now looking like the offensive team we thought we would be early in the year.”
A regular season that has seemingly zoomed past is most importantly a crucial preparation stage for the impending state tournament.
St. Francis is the fourth-seed behind Nazareth, Hinsdale South and Benet in the Class 2A Nazareth Sectional. Loyola is the third-seed behind New Trier and Evanston in the Class 3A Glenbrook North Sectional.
“I am interested to see how we hold defensively because it will tell us how far we have come as a defensive unit in the past 50 days and how much further we have to go in the next few weeks,” Snower said.
to decide GCAC Red Division title
By Patrick Z. McGavin
In the boxing game the saying is "styles make fights." In other sports, so too do ambitious programs make games -- especially those who are ambitious and eager to make a statement by upstaging the established hierarchy.
Making the leap to the top Red Division of the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference (GCAC) a year ago, St. Francis took a bold step forward in challenging the upper echelon. In girls soccer, that means confronting Loyola, the perennial power that has won the conference 11 times in its 13-year history under the leadership of coach Craig Snower.
St. Francis finished second by a point to the Ramblers a year ago, foreshadowing the great run to come as the Spartans blitzed through Class 2A field to reach the state finals, where the young club finished fourth.
On Thursday, the upstart and the perennial square off at Loyola’s stadium campus in Wilmette with the conference title in the balance. St. Francis (8-3-2, 4-0-0) and Loyola (11-6-0, 4-0-0) have been each largely untested in GCAC Red Division play.
Click here for updated GCAC Red Division standings
“Winning the conference is always our first goal every year,” Snower said. “This year in particular with the early-season struggles and the strength of St. Francis, conference is very meaningful and very important to us. We might very well be the underdog in this game, but we have had this game circled on our schedule since preseason.”
The teams were both part of the North Shore Invitational that Loyola hosted with New Trier. They were locked in opposite brackets and did not meet. St. Francis went 1-2-1 and distinguished itself by becoming the first team this season that did not yield to previously top-ranked Naperville North with a 0-0 draw. Loyola went 2-2-0 in the event, with losses to highly ranked Barrington and New Trier, and finished fourth.
Significantly, the teams are playing their best soccer of the year. St. Francis is 5-1-0 in its last six games with a 32-3 scoring differential.
“We are starting to play better, more fluid, with better rhythm and confidence,” coach Jim Winslow said.
Loyola is 7-2-0 in its last nine games with wins over Glenbrook South, Palatine, Sandburg and Waubonsie Valley. The only losses during the run came against no. 3 New Trier and then no. 15 St. Charles East.
“Tactically we put more emphasis on numbers behind the ball defensively and then transitioning to offense,” Snower said. As a result, he said, the Ramblers realize “we are a good team whose early season issues were the result of being young and playing a very tough schedule.”
Loyola losses include games against Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 heavyweights Barrington, New Trier and St. Charles North.
Both Loyola and St. Francis boast superb individual talents. St. Francis junior forward Kendra Pasquale is one of the best players in the state, a dynamic and explosive offensive talent who is dangerous anywhere on the field.
“They are extremely well coached and play great soccer,” Snower said. “Kendra is a top 10 player in the state. We have struggled dealing with that caliber of player this year going all the way back to St. Charles North.”
Pasquale generates so much attention, it naturally frees up the Spartans’ other attacking players in space.
“(Forwards) Hannah Rittenhouse and Erin Peck are really starting to play better off of each other, and our (midfielders) and backline are getting healthy finally,” said Winslow.
Like many programs, St. Francis has been stymied trying to get into a refined shape and rhythm against the particularly unpredictable weather. The Spartans won their opening game against Regina (Ia.) 5-0, played an abbreviated semifinal game with Notre Dame (Quincy) and had its third game cancelled last weekend at the Tournament of Champions in Iowa.
A scheduled game with St. Ignatius Tuesday was also postponed because of unplayable field conditions.
“Can Craig promise that there is not going to be any rain?” Winslow joked.
“We know they are very good, organized and play hard. My main concern was getting healthy again. Although we are not completely there yet, we are getting closer. It is great to play the defending conference champs in a conference championship game and see where we stack up.”
Unusual by recent standards, Loyola was dependent on several younger players, particularly freshmen, and the combination of the brutally tough schedule and the learning curve of the young players required some time and patience.
Snower has particularly high praise for two rapidly improved players, senior midfielder Ally West and freshman midfielder Vanessa Murray.
“They both regularly go 80 minutes for us at midfield, and they are the glue keeping us together. We have also freed up (forwards) Maggie Brett and Stephanie Ramsay to be more creative with their runs (and) encouraged them to interchange and make more diagonal runs to unbalance opposing teams’ backlines.
“We are now looking like the offensive team we thought we would be early in the year.”
A regular season that has seemingly zoomed past is most importantly a crucial preparation stage for the impending state tournament.
St. Francis is the fourth-seed behind Nazareth, Hinsdale South and Benet in the Class 2A Nazareth Sectional. Loyola is the third-seed behind New Trier and Evanston in the Class 3A Glenbrook North Sectional.
“I am interested to see how we hold defensively because it will tell us how far we have come as a defensive unit in the past 50 days and how much further we have to go in the next few weeks,” Snower said.