Familiar foes faceoff with
championship berth on line
West Chicago meets Bartlett in South Elgin Tournament
By Dave Owen
After two days of snow-caused postponements, Bartlett and West Chicago hope to heat up the South Elgin Tournament with a growing rivalry’s latest matchup.
The squads are scheduled to face off at 5:30 p.m., an hour later than originally posted, today at Millenium Field in Streamwood.
“These are two teams that know each other well, having played three times last season,” Bartlett coach Ben Beary said. “WeGo won two of our three match-ups last year, but we won the last match.”
Bartlett (1-1) and West Chicago (1-3) have three scheduled meetings again this season. Beary expects a battle from the opening face off of Wednesday’s first match.
“West Chicago is disciplined and adept at executing their attack,” Beary said. “They are a good possession team, and they like to build out of the back. They play the ball quickly, and they limit their touches whenever possible.”
Striker Kayla Kirkwood is a particular concern for the Hawks.
“They have a dangerous player in Kayla,” Beary said. “She is capable of beating you in a variety of ways.”
West Chicago coach J. Cesar Gomez hopes his forward can handle the added attention she is almost sure to get.
“It's hard to play when they key on one player (Kirkwood), and she gets frustrated,” Wildcats coach J. Cesar Gomez said after a 1-0 loss to Schaumburg in the second game of the season. “She's a good player, but when she's out of the run we all kind of fall off a bit.”
West Chicago opened the season with two-straight shutout losses, including one to powerhouse Hinsdale Central. The Wildcats finished the week with a doubleheader Saturday.
They rebounded with a 6-3 win over Glenbard South in their first pool game of the South Elgin Tournament, before falling 3-1 to St. Francis in a nonconference game.
If West Chicago tops Bartlett tonight, they will play for the tournament title Friday.
Bartlett opens the tournament tonight, and plays its final pool game at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Glenbard South. The Hawks' offense has gotten a boost from one of its junior midfielders.
“Mariela Alba is our top returning scorer from last season, and she has a goal in each of our first two matches,” Beary said. “Jenna Dombrowski and Jess Mirsky are two freshman players who have stepped into the starting lineup with confidence. They’ve improved with each match.
“With three freshman starters, we are still learning our system of play. We show signs of brilliance, but we are still capable of making costly mistakes.”
Bartlett beat Schaumburg 2-0 and lost 4-1 to Oswego before two days of postponements. Schaumburg (a 1-0 winner over West Chicago) is the only common opponent for the two teams thus far.
“This will be a match of tactics,” Beary said, “and if we can execute what we are trying to do, it should be an interesting match.”
championship berth on line
West Chicago meets Bartlett in South Elgin Tournament
By Dave Owen
After two days of snow-caused postponements, Bartlett and West Chicago hope to heat up the South Elgin Tournament with a growing rivalry’s latest matchup.
The squads are scheduled to face off at 5:30 p.m., an hour later than originally posted, today at Millenium Field in Streamwood.
“These are two teams that know each other well, having played three times last season,” Bartlett coach Ben Beary said. “WeGo won two of our three match-ups last year, but we won the last match.”
Bartlett (1-1) and West Chicago (1-3) have three scheduled meetings again this season. Beary expects a battle from the opening face off of Wednesday’s first match.
“West Chicago is disciplined and adept at executing their attack,” Beary said. “They are a good possession team, and they like to build out of the back. They play the ball quickly, and they limit their touches whenever possible.”
Striker Kayla Kirkwood is a particular concern for the Hawks.
“They have a dangerous player in Kayla,” Beary said. “She is capable of beating you in a variety of ways.”
West Chicago coach J. Cesar Gomez hopes his forward can handle the added attention she is almost sure to get.
“It's hard to play when they key on one player (Kirkwood), and she gets frustrated,” Wildcats coach J. Cesar Gomez said after a 1-0 loss to Schaumburg in the second game of the season. “She's a good player, but when she's out of the run we all kind of fall off a bit.”
West Chicago opened the season with two-straight shutout losses, including one to powerhouse Hinsdale Central. The Wildcats finished the week with a doubleheader Saturday.
They rebounded with a 6-3 win over Glenbard South in their first pool game of the South Elgin Tournament, before falling 3-1 to St. Francis in a nonconference game.
If West Chicago tops Bartlett tonight, they will play for the tournament title Friday.
Bartlett opens the tournament tonight, and plays its final pool game at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Glenbard South. The Hawks' offense has gotten a boost from one of its junior midfielders.
“Mariela Alba is our top returning scorer from last season, and she has a goal in each of our first two matches,” Beary said. “Jenna Dombrowski and Jess Mirsky are two freshman players who have stepped into the starting lineup with confidence. They’ve improved with each match.
“With three freshman starters, we are still learning our system of play. We show signs of brilliance, but we are still capable of making costly mistakes.”
Bartlett beat Schaumburg 2-0 and lost 4-1 to Oswego before two days of postponements. Schaumburg (a 1-0 winner over West Chicago) is the only common opponent for the two teams thus far.
“This will be a match of tactics,” Beary said, “and if we can execute what we are trying to do, it should be an interesting match.”