Vernon Hills prepares for hot night
vs. Deerfield’s sizzling Schimanski
By Bill McLean
The life of Riley Schimanski on soccer pitches this spring has been of the five-alarm variety.
The Deerfield junior forward and captain has scored 14 goals — 11 in the last seven games.
“She’s been on fire,” Warriors Chief of Soccer Rich Grady said.
Visiting Vernon Hills (7-5-0 overall, 3-2-0 in the Central Suburban League North Division) hopes to douse, or at least contain, Schimanski in the schools’ second meeting of the season. It starts at 7 p.m. Friday.
Schimanski netted a pair of goals in their first clash, a 3-2 Deerfield road victory May 7.
Grady’s bunch (10-6-1, 5-2-0) features additional threats: junior forward Holly Deutsch (11 goals, 14 assists); and freshman midfielder Emily Fox (10, 7).
“Deerfield is well-coached and organized,” said Vernon Hills coach Mike McCaulou, who guided his 2019 Cougars to a Class AA sectional final, where they lost 2-0 to eventual state runnerup Wauconda. “They play a physical style year after year, which makes it challenging for us. They have a never-die attitude and make us bring our level of play up each time we play them.
“It’s been a great rivalry over the last four years or so,” he added. “It’s always a competitive game. It makes each program better, for sure.”
Four of the Cougars’ five losses were one-goal setbacks.
Nobody would be surprised if one goal decides Vernon Hills-Deerfield II.
“Both teams,” Grady said, “like to get the ball wide and make use of weak-side runners at the back post. Both teams like to keep the ball on the ground and play.
“Vernon Hills is always a challenge to play because they are committed to a philosophy of play that involves possessing the ball and building out of the back. Mike does a great job of teaching that to his players.”
Deerfield, an Honorable Mention team in the latest Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 rankings, received a no. 3 seed in the Class AA Wauconda Sectional on Thursday. Vernon Hills got the no. 7 seed in the same sectional.
“Every game against Vernon Hills is special because they are both a conference rival and a team in our sectional,” Grady said. “We always expect to run into them at some point in the playoffs.
“So there is a sense of never getting too high after a win or too low after a loss, because we know we will see them again soon.”
Footnotes
Vernon Hills defeated Deerfield 2-1 in a Class AA regional final in 2017. … Deerfield’s other three captains, in addition to Schimanski, are senior forward Noa Friedland, senior midfielder Anna Fang and junior back Katie Morgan. … Ten of Schimanski’s 20 career goals through May 19 were game-winners. … Three of Deerfield’s varsity players have a collegiate surname — junior midfielder Erin Emory, sophomore back Katie Denison and senior forward Leah Hamilton. … McCaulou, on the Cougars’ primary strengths: “We seem to possess the ball very well against most teams, and we are always looking for the special moment of brilliance in the final third.”
vs. Deerfield’s sizzling Schimanski
By Bill McLean
The life of Riley Schimanski on soccer pitches this spring has been of the five-alarm variety.
The Deerfield junior forward and captain has scored 14 goals — 11 in the last seven games.
“She’s been on fire,” Warriors Chief of Soccer Rich Grady said.
Visiting Vernon Hills (7-5-0 overall, 3-2-0 in the Central Suburban League North Division) hopes to douse, or at least contain, Schimanski in the schools’ second meeting of the season. It starts at 7 p.m. Friday.
Schimanski netted a pair of goals in their first clash, a 3-2 Deerfield road victory May 7.
Grady’s bunch (10-6-1, 5-2-0) features additional threats: junior forward Holly Deutsch (11 goals, 14 assists); and freshman midfielder Emily Fox (10, 7).
“Deerfield is well-coached and organized,” said Vernon Hills coach Mike McCaulou, who guided his 2019 Cougars to a Class AA sectional final, where they lost 2-0 to eventual state runnerup Wauconda. “They play a physical style year after year, which makes it challenging for us. They have a never-die attitude and make us bring our level of play up each time we play them.
“It’s been a great rivalry over the last four years or so,” he added. “It’s always a competitive game. It makes each program better, for sure.”
Four of the Cougars’ five losses were one-goal setbacks.
Nobody would be surprised if one goal decides Vernon Hills-Deerfield II.
“Both teams,” Grady said, “like to get the ball wide and make use of weak-side runners at the back post. Both teams like to keep the ball on the ground and play.
“Vernon Hills is always a challenge to play because they are committed to a philosophy of play that involves possessing the ball and building out of the back. Mike does a great job of teaching that to his players.”
Deerfield, an Honorable Mention team in the latest Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 rankings, received a no. 3 seed in the Class AA Wauconda Sectional on Thursday. Vernon Hills got the no. 7 seed in the same sectional.
“Every game against Vernon Hills is special because they are both a conference rival and a team in our sectional,” Grady said. “We always expect to run into them at some point in the playoffs.
“So there is a sense of never getting too high after a win or too low after a loss, because we know we will see them again soon.”
Footnotes
Vernon Hills defeated Deerfield 2-1 in a Class AA regional final in 2017. … Deerfield’s other three captains, in addition to Schimanski, are senior forward Noa Friedland, senior midfielder Anna Fang and junior back Katie Morgan. … Ten of Schimanski’s 20 career goals through May 19 were game-winners. … Three of Deerfield’s varsity players have a collegiate surname — junior midfielder Erin Emory, sophomore back Katie Denison and senior forward Leah Hamilton. … McCaulou, on the Cougars’ primary strengths: “We seem to possess the ball very well against most teams, and we are always looking for the special moment of brilliance in the final third.”