Deerfield set for next hurdle against Lakes
By Bobby Narang
DEERFIELD -- Rich Grady tried his best to beat Mother Nature on Saturday.
The Deerfield coach spent most of the junior varsity game against Payton trying to get the field ready for the varsity match.
After the Warriors (4-0-1) scored two goals in the final 10 minutes to walk away with a 2-2 draw against Fenwick on Thursday, Grady and the Warriors were excited to host the Grizzlies in the weekend nonconference match.
“I was going on the field with the broom wiping away the snow, but eventually the (varsity game) got snowed out,” Grady said. “We were going to be down three starters against Payton, but we wanted to play anyway.
“We spent some time on Friday looking at the video from the Fenwick game. We figured out a couple of things that are fixable on our end. It was a promising learning experience for the girls.
The Warriors, ranked no. 21 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, get another crack at adding to their strong start when they hosting Lakes (0-4-0) on Monday at 6:45 p.m. A year ago, the Eagles and Warriors played 80 minutes of scoreless soccer, something both coaches hope to avoid on the same night the men’s basketball national championship game between Kansas and North Carolina is schedule to tip-off.
“We know Lakes is always going to be a challenging game for us,” Grady said. “They’re another Class AA team that’s in our sectional. I’ve known their coach, Kevin Kullby, a long time. They’re always a well-coached team. We look forward to playing them. Hopefully, we can carry the momentum from Thursday into that game.”
For his part, Kullby said his team is aiming to end their losing streak and squash Deerfield’s unbeaten run.
“Last year we played really well defensively against Deerfield,” Kullby said. “We had some talent and it was early in the season, just like this is. I’m hoping it will be a similar game. They have more speed on the ball and are more physical, so we have to deal with that and have to get behind the ball and defend well.”
Grady said his team is aiming to build off their strong comeback against a talented Fenwick team.
“That’s why we play game like this, just to see how we’re going to do in games that are very challenging, especially when not everything is going our way,” Grady said. “I thought we responded well. When you get in the playoffs, all kinds of crazy stuff can happen and you have to respond to it. Against Carmel and Prairie Ridge (in the 2021 playoffs), we got very late game-winners. We have a sense of what we need to do.”
Deerfield mounted a comeback against the Friars by getting a strong push from seniors Holly Deutsch and Riley Schimanski. Both scored a goal and earned an assist. Three days after the Fenwick game, Deutsch said the Warriors learned several lessons in the draw. Deutsch, the all-time program leader in assists, has four goals and seven assists this season. Schimanski, who scored 17 goals last season, tops the team with seven goals this spring.
“Thursday’s game was much different compared to our previous ones,” Deutsch said. “The competition level was much higher. The vibe at the field felt different as well. We had a really strong warmup and almost scored 30 seconds into the game. If we had, I think it would’ve changed everything.
“Although mistakes happen, I’m grateful that I got to experience being down because as a team we haven’t had that happen yet. The drive was far, the conditions were not ideal and I hate to lose as I’m very Type-A. In the last 10 minutes, the adrenaline levels were so high, and I’m happy that we secured a tie.”
Lakes enters Monday’s game coming off a difficult stretch of opponents. The Eagles have been outscored 16-1 this season in losses to Lake Zurich, Crystal Lake Central, no. 1 Libertyville and no. 7 Warren.
Kullby said he hopes Monday’s game is part of a revival as the team prepares for Northern Lake County Conference action next week
“This year we’re not defending well, so we’re giving up goals that I wasn’t anticipating,” Kullby said. “On Monday, hopefully, we will be competitive and get some chances at goal and make a good game of it. I think it will take us this week to get ready for conference, if we get our games in.
“My hope is we find ourselves and play with more confidence. When we play some tough teams like we have, it plays on the team’s collective confidence.
“You need a game where you can show something. I thought in the Warren game we did. But we have a great group of kids, fun to be around. I’m looking forward to getting some games under our belt this week before we play conference next week.
“I like our chances in the conference. We’re going to have to find ourselves in these games going forward, so we can be ready when conference rolls around.
“Deerfield has had tough teams over the years. We play them almost every year. They’re usually close games. I expect another close game.”
By Bobby Narang
DEERFIELD -- Rich Grady tried his best to beat Mother Nature on Saturday.
The Deerfield coach spent most of the junior varsity game against Payton trying to get the field ready for the varsity match.
After the Warriors (4-0-1) scored two goals in the final 10 minutes to walk away with a 2-2 draw against Fenwick on Thursday, Grady and the Warriors were excited to host the Grizzlies in the weekend nonconference match.
“I was going on the field with the broom wiping away the snow, but eventually the (varsity game) got snowed out,” Grady said. “We were going to be down three starters against Payton, but we wanted to play anyway.
“We spent some time on Friday looking at the video from the Fenwick game. We figured out a couple of things that are fixable on our end. It was a promising learning experience for the girls.
The Warriors, ranked no. 21 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, get another crack at adding to their strong start when they hosting Lakes (0-4-0) on Monday at 6:45 p.m. A year ago, the Eagles and Warriors played 80 minutes of scoreless soccer, something both coaches hope to avoid on the same night the men’s basketball national championship game between Kansas and North Carolina is schedule to tip-off.
“We know Lakes is always going to be a challenging game for us,” Grady said. “They’re another Class AA team that’s in our sectional. I’ve known their coach, Kevin Kullby, a long time. They’re always a well-coached team. We look forward to playing them. Hopefully, we can carry the momentum from Thursday into that game.”
For his part, Kullby said his team is aiming to end their losing streak and squash Deerfield’s unbeaten run.
“Last year we played really well defensively against Deerfield,” Kullby said. “We had some talent and it was early in the season, just like this is. I’m hoping it will be a similar game. They have more speed on the ball and are more physical, so we have to deal with that and have to get behind the ball and defend well.”
Grady said his team is aiming to build off their strong comeback against a talented Fenwick team.
“That’s why we play game like this, just to see how we’re going to do in games that are very challenging, especially when not everything is going our way,” Grady said. “I thought we responded well. When you get in the playoffs, all kinds of crazy stuff can happen and you have to respond to it. Against Carmel and Prairie Ridge (in the 2021 playoffs), we got very late game-winners. We have a sense of what we need to do.”
Deerfield mounted a comeback against the Friars by getting a strong push from seniors Holly Deutsch and Riley Schimanski. Both scored a goal and earned an assist. Three days after the Fenwick game, Deutsch said the Warriors learned several lessons in the draw. Deutsch, the all-time program leader in assists, has four goals and seven assists this season. Schimanski, who scored 17 goals last season, tops the team with seven goals this spring.
“Thursday’s game was much different compared to our previous ones,” Deutsch said. “The competition level was much higher. The vibe at the field felt different as well. We had a really strong warmup and almost scored 30 seconds into the game. If we had, I think it would’ve changed everything.
“Although mistakes happen, I’m grateful that I got to experience being down because as a team we haven’t had that happen yet. The drive was far, the conditions were not ideal and I hate to lose as I’m very Type-A. In the last 10 minutes, the adrenaline levels were so high, and I’m happy that we secured a tie.”
Lakes enters Monday’s game coming off a difficult stretch of opponents. The Eagles have been outscored 16-1 this season in losses to Lake Zurich, Crystal Lake Central, no. 1 Libertyville and no. 7 Warren.
Kullby said he hopes Monday’s game is part of a revival as the team prepares for Northern Lake County Conference action next week
“This year we’re not defending well, so we’re giving up goals that I wasn’t anticipating,” Kullby said. “On Monday, hopefully, we will be competitive and get some chances at goal and make a good game of it. I think it will take us this week to get ready for conference, if we get our games in.
“My hope is we find ourselves and play with more confidence. When we play some tough teams like we have, it plays on the team’s collective confidence.
“You need a game where you can show something. I thought in the Warren game we did. But we have a great group of kids, fun to be around. I’m looking forward to getting some games under our belt this week before we play conference next week.
“I like our chances in the conference. We’re going to have to find ourselves in these games going forward, so we can be ready when conference rolls around.
“Deerfield has had tough teams over the years. We play them almost every year. They’re usually close games. I expect another close game.”