NSCD meets Parker
with share of ISL title on line
By Michael Wojtychiw
North Shore Country Day has found a groove since its 3-1 loss to University (Chicago) in its second game of the year on May 7.
Since then, the Raiders (4-1-1, 3-1-0) have gone 3-0-1, outscored their opponents 13-3 and compiled three clean-sheets.
The Winnetka school hope to continue its successful run and gain a share of the Independent School League title when it hosts Parker at 5 p.m. Tuesday. The Raiders need a win to remain level with University, which finished at 4-1 in the league. One-loss Latin meets Woodlands Tuesday to finish their conference season.
One of the reasons for North Shore Country Day's positive play has been the work of its experienced seniors.
"We had nearly two years off, so we had to have more practice, more time playing together," North Shore Country Day manager Lizzy Giffen said. "It's a really short season, so every day counts. It's been a slow and steady progress.
"We have four awesome seniors, who are great leaders. Two are defenders and two others are midfield or forward-type players, so that's absolutely helped. Eun Hae (Lillig) is such a creative player. She's able to use her own skills to score herself, but she's also able to play balls to other people. We've moved Zinzi (Steele) around a bit due to some injuries, and she's remarkable at pinpointing a ball right on somebody's foot."
The leadership of Jane Scullion and Natalie Duquette has held down the defensive third and allowed the Raiders to succeed with less offensive firepower than in past seasons.
The Raiders have taken a slow build to the season. The squad's first game of the season didn't take place until May 4, a win over Latin. After the opening loss, the team didn't play a game for another week.
On May 14 North Shore Country Day played to a scoreless draw against Lake Forest Academy, which will officially join the Independent School League next season. After the Parker match, the Raiders will have played five games in a week-and-a-half, including three last week.
Working that rust off has been big for the two-time defending Class A state runnerup.
"This is the start of week seven, so normally we'd be in mid-April and have about a month and a half left," Giffen said. "It's a double-edged sword. It's a shortened season, you've got to play games, and you've got to play them pretty quickly. But you also need time to work on things, practice, work together and start to refine your offense and defense."
Parker has managed to get more experience on the pitch this spring and has also had some success, especially on the defensive end.
The Colonels (4-3-2, 4-2-1) have given up seven goals in seven games this month but four of those came in their last game, a 4-0 loss to University last Friday. That stretch has included three clean-sheets.
"It's been built on the back of our junior goalkeeper, Alex Carlin, and our backline, which consists of two sophomore center backs and a junior and freshman outside backs." Parker manager Patrick Stanton said. "We haven't really capitalized on our chances in front of goal, but once we got our defense to start working as a unit we were able to start getting some better results.
"Since my first year as the head coach three years ago, we've had quite possibly the best female goalkeeper I've seen play in high school. She's phenomenal and that always lets us set the tone. So we can take a few more risks to keep a clean-sheet in the back."
Parker, like North Shore Country Day and many of the other Independent School League teams, is a school that starts at pre-kindergarten and goes through high school. So a good number of the players have been playing together on the same team for many years.
Stanton feels that the camaraderie and excitement that his group has been able to create has been just one reason why the team has started to jell the way it has.
"It's a 14-year school and at least 50 percent will go all 14 years, so a number are bound to play together," he said. "But there's also a lot of families that have kids across multiple grades. So even if you haven't played with someone two years younger than you, you know their brother or sister.
"It's a small, niche community, but some of the things that some of the girls have been excited about is knowing there are good, quality players around their age groups. These are some of the things that they were talking to me even as early as eighth grade."
After Tuesday's game, North Shore Country has a nonconference match against Niles West before heading into to the Class AA playoffs. The 13th-seeded Raiders travel to meet no. 4 seed Crystal Lake Central on June 1 as part of the Wauconda Sectional. North Shore Country Day was forced up a class due to the IHSA's success-factor calculation after back-to-back Class A second place finishes.
Francis Parker opens the Class A state tournament when it hosts Chicago Academy on June 1.
with share of ISL title on line
By Michael Wojtychiw
North Shore Country Day has found a groove since its 3-1 loss to University (Chicago) in its second game of the year on May 7.
Since then, the Raiders (4-1-1, 3-1-0) have gone 3-0-1, outscored their opponents 13-3 and compiled three clean-sheets.
The Winnetka school hope to continue its successful run and gain a share of the Independent School League title when it hosts Parker at 5 p.m. Tuesday. The Raiders need a win to remain level with University, which finished at 4-1 in the league. One-loss Latin meets Woodlands Tuesday to finish their conference season.
One of the reasons for North Shore Country Day's positive play has been the work of its experienced seniors.
"We had nearly two years off, so we had to have more practice, more time playing together," North Shore Country Day manager Lizzy Giffen said. "It's a really short season, so every day counts. It's been a slow and steady progress.
"We have four awesome seniors, who are great leaders. Two are defenders and two others are midfield or forward-type players, so that's absolutely helped. Eun Hae (Lillig) is such a creative player. She's able to use her own skills to score herself, but she's also able to play balls to other people. We've moved Zinzi (Steele) around a bit due to some injuries, and she's remarkable at pinpointing a ball right on somebody's foot."
The leadership of Jane Scullion and Natalie Duquette has held down the defensive third and allowed the Raiders to succeed with less offensive firepower than in past seasons.
The Raiders have taken a slow build to the season. The squad's first game of the season didn't take place until May 4, a win over Latin. After the opening loss, the team didn't play a game for another week.
On May 14 North Shore Country Day played to a scoreless draw against Lake Forest Academy, which will officially join the Independent School League next season. After the Parker match, the Raiders will have played five games in a week-and-a-half, including three last week.
Working that rust off has been big for the two-time defending Class A state runnerup.
"This is the start of week seven, so normally we'd be in mid-April and have about a month and a half left," Giffen said. "It's a double-edged sword. It's a shortened season, you've got to play games, and you've got to play them pretty quickly. But you also need time to work on things, practice, work together and start to refine your offense and defense."
Parker has managed to get more experience on the pitch this spring and has also had some success, especially on the defensive end.
The Colonels (4-3-2, 4-2-1) have given up seven goals in seven games this month but four of those came in their last game, a 4-0 loss to University last Friday. That stretch has included three clean-sheets.
"It's been built on the back of our junior goalkeeper, Alex Carlin, and our backline, which consists of two sophomore center backs and a junior and freshman outside backs." Parker manager Patrick Stanton said. "We haven't really capitalized on our chances in front of goal, but once we got our defense to start working as a unit we were able to start getting some better results.
"Since my first year as the head coach three years ago, we've had quite possibly the best female goalkeeper I've seen play in high school. She's phenomenal and that always lets us set the tone. So we can take a few more risks to keep a clean-sheet in the back."
Parker, like North Shore Country Day and many of the other Independent School League teams, is a school that starts at pre-kindergarten and goes through high school. So a good number of the players have been playing together on the same team for many years.
Stanton feels that the camaraderie and excitement that his group has been able to create has been just one reason why the team has started to jell the way it has.
"It's a 14-year school and at least 50 percent will go all 14 years, so a number are bound to play together," he said. "But there's also a lot of families that have kids across multiple grades. So even if you haven't played with someone two years younger than you, you know their brother or sister.
"It's a small, niche community, but some of the things that some of the girls have been excited about is knowing there are good, quality players around their age groups. These are some of the things that they were talking to me even as early as eighth grade."
After Tuesday's game, North Shore Country has a nonconference match against Niles West before heading into to the Class AA playoffs. The 13th-seeded Raiders travel to meet no. 4 seed Crystal Lake Central on June 1 as part of the Wauconda Sectional. North Shore Country Day was forced up a class due to the IHSA's success-factor calculation after back-to-back Class A second place finishes.
Francis Parker opens the Class A state tournament when it hosts Chicago Academy on June 1.