Loyola, Fenwick battle
for GCAC Red Division supremacy
By Michael Wojtychiw
When it comes to the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference's Red Division midway through the season, Loyola and Fenwick are looking down, standings-wise, at their rivals.
That’s because the numbers don’t lie.
Loyola, ranked seventh in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, and Fenwick are the only two squads with undefeated conference records. Neither has allowed a goal in conference play.
The teams will break their tie in the loss column when they meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Loyola's Munz Campus in Glenview.
Loyola has shut out its opponents in six-consecutive games; Fenwick has a streak of four matches.
"It's a team effort," Fenwick manager Craig Blazer said. "We're fortunate to have three quality keepers, which is a part of it. But our back six, they're coming together. It's a mix of players, but the overall team level of pressing, covering, it's a solid team effort."
"Our emphasis at training has been on our team defending," Loyola manager Shannon Hartinger said. "I think that the last six games we've executed it and executed it for 80 minutes. Staying locked in and being mentally focuses for all 80 minutes of the game is something we've really stressed."
In this interesting COVID-affected spring season, the GCAC decided to do back-to-back games for all its teams on a Tuesday-Thursday schedule. So teams play the same team twice in three days.
Blazer said it's given his squad a chance to process what they saw on Tuesday and push forward two days later.
"We try to have the same consistent lineup, which is now evolving," Blazer said. "Both the coaching staff and players have noticed that we need to do this together, take what we're seeing and process it."
Loyola had one change in the system. It saw St. Ignatius earlier in the season and will close the season with a match against the Wolfpack to finish the two-game series.
Hartinger thinks that the conference setup this season is helpful for her squad as they try to work on what they learn in their training sessions.
"The Tuesday-Thursday set up has really made us focus on our cycle of training, like rest and recovery from one game to another," she said. "Part of Wednesday is looking at the Tuesday game and quickly making adjustments for what we need to do Thursday."
With the uncertainty of what the 2021 season might look like, Fenwick decided to keep a larger roster, including six freshmen on a 30-player squad.
For most players transitioning to the high school varsity level, the leap is daunting. That’s even more so the case when making the jump from elementary or middle school soccer to high school soccer. Even for the three sophomores on the roster, this year marks their first year of high school soccer since the 2020 season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Blazer is really excited with how the underclassmen have performed this season and what his squad will look like going into the future.
"It's encouraging for the future," he said. "Grace Kapsch is a really good overall athlete and soccer player. Caroline Henige and Maddie Rogowski are both really good holding mids. Those three freshmen have been really good for us."
Loyola has been in somewhat of a similar situation as well.
Despite the fact that the core of the Ramblers' squad are juniors, five of whom saw action on the varsity in 2019, it's been the play of some of the newcomers that has really helped the team off to a 7-1-2 start.
Hartinger attributes that to the new juniors and lone senior, Eleanor Jackson, as well as the entire group buying into what she and her coaching staff are really trying to portray.
"We have a strong junior group that's provided great leadership," Hartinger said. "We've seen that class really step up both on and off the field and that's really helped our team cohesiveness. And then that in turn gives all our players the confidence on the field.
"We talk about our bench being a huge part of the game, and I think they've discovered that relationship has fueled the girls through tough moments on the field. The team unity between all of the girls is something that's led the newcomers feel more comfortable on the field."
for GCAC Red Division supremacy
By Michael Wojtychiw
When it comes to the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference's Red Division midway through the season, Loyola and Fenwick are looking down, standings-wise, at their rivals.
That’s because the numbers don’t lie.
Loyola, ranked seventh in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, and Fenwick are the only two squads with undefeated conference records. Neither has allowed a goal in conference play.
The teams will break their tie in the loss column when they meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Loyola's Munz Campus in Glenview.
Loyola has shut out its opponents in six-consecutive games; Fenwick has a streak of four matches.
"It's a team effort," Fenwick manager Craig Blazer said. "We're fortunate to have three quality keepers, which is a part of it. But our back six, they're coming together. It's a mix of players, but the overall team level of pressing, covering, it's a solid team effort."
"Our emphasis at training has been on our team defending," Loyola manager Shannon Hartinger said. "I think that the last six games we've executed it and executed it for 80 minutes. Staying locked in and being mentally focuses for all 80 minutes of the game is something we've really stressed."
In this interesting COVID-affected spring season, the GCAC decided to do back-to-back games for all its teams on a Tuesday-Thursday schedule. So teams play the same team twice in three days.
Blazer said it's given his squad a chance to process what they saw on Tuesday and push forward two days later.
"We try to have the same consistent lineup, which is now evolving," Blazer said. "Both the coaching staff and players have noticed that we need to do this together, take what we're seeing and process it."
Loyola had one change in the system. It saw St. Ignatius earlier in the season and will close the season with a match against the Wolfpack to finish the two-game series.
Hartinger thinks that the conference setup this season is helpful for her squad as they try to work on what they learn in their training sessions.
"The Tuesday-Thursday set up has really made us focus on our cycle of training, like rest and recovery from one game to another," she said. "Part of Wednesday is looking at the Tuesday game and quickly making adjustments for what we need to do Thursday."
With the uncertainty of what the 2021 season might look like, Fenwick decided to keep a larger roster, including six freshmen on a 30-player squad.
For most players transitioning to the high school varsity level, the leap is daunting. That’s even more so the case when making the jump from elementary or middle school soccer to high school soccer. Even for the three sophomores on the roster, this year marks their first year of high school soccer since the 2020 season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Blazer is really excited with how the underclassmen have performed this season and what his squad will look like going into the future.
"It's encouraging for the future," he said. "Grace Kapsch is a really good overall athlete and soccer player. Caroline Henige and Maddie Rogowski are both really good holding mids. Those three freshmen have been really good for us."
Loyola has been in somewhat of a similar situation as well.
Despite the fact that the core of the Ramblers' squad are juniors, five of whom saw action on the varsity in 2019, it's been the play of some of the newcomers that has really helped the team off to a 7-1-2 start.
Hartinger attributes that to the new juniors and lone senior, Eleanor Jackson, as well as the entire group buying into what she and her coaching staff are really trying to portray.
"We have a strong junior group that's provided great leadership," Hartinger said. "We've seen that class really step up both on and off the field and that's really helped our team cohesiveness. And then that in turn gives all our players the confidence on the field.
"We talk about our bench being a huge part of the game, and I think they've discovered that relationship has fueled the girls through tough moments on the field. The team unity between all of the girls is something that's led the newcomers feel more comfortable on the field."