Team preview: Palatine
By Gary Larsen
On the next drive to the store for hand sanitizer, keep a lookout for high school-aged girls running along the side of the road. They might be soccer players, doing all they can to stay in shape.
They’re players like Palatine senior Melanie Simon, who hopes that running on her own will be replaced by running alongside teammates on a soccer field at some point this spring.
“It’s my senior season and everyone wants to go out in their senior season and just have fun in their last year of playing,” Simon said. “But I’m staying optimistic and hopeful that the season will start up again.”
Simon is a defender entering her fourth varsity season for coach Willie Filian. Third-year varsity players in midfielder/forward Olivia Radtke and defender Julianna Mandarino want to join Simon on the field, if and when the high school sports season put on hold by the COVID-19 virus resumes.
Like Simon, Radtke is doing what she can to stay in shape.
“I’ve been running a lot outside. I usually try to go two miles a day when I can,” Radtke said. “I just miss the physical activity.”
Simon and Radtke both earned spots on Chicagoland Soccer’s 2020 All-State Watch List. In his 28th season as head coach of Palatine’s girls’ team, Willie Filian will rely on both of them on both sides of the ball.
Simon not only brings savvy and toughness to the field as a veteran central defender; she’s also a main target on the set pieces that the Pirates rely on.
Likewise, Radtke is more than just a skilled attacking player; she’s also the one sending in the corner kicks and free kicks that players like Simon, Mandarino, and Caden Bargowski will be running onto.
Radtke’s strong and accurate leg will be key for a team that relies heavily on set piece scoring chances.
“A lot of kids in the girls game can struggle to get it to the far post on corner kicks,” Filian said. “They’ll get it between the pipes somewhere near the six, or at the near post. Olivia can get the ball to the far post. She gets good distance on free kicks in and around midfield.”
But that’s not what Filian appreciates most about Radtke.
“She’ll work until she drops,” he said. “When she’s at midfield, she runs box to box and she’s adept at playing three or four different positions. She’s just a hard-working kid.”
The 6-foot Radtke was an all-Mid Suburban League golfer and a captain on the basketball team at Palatine this year. She’s hoping her odyssey as a three-sport high school athlete comes to fruition on the soccer field.
“My sister (Morgan) played three sports in high school as well, so I think it just kind of trickled down through my family,” Radtke said. “With soccer, I love the concept of working as a team. Especially when you get that result and can kind of celebrate together. It’s really fun.”
Radtke and a talented freshman in Paige Millstone figure to lead the midfield this year. A crafty freshman in Mia Ramirez should play prominent minutes and junior Jennifer Lopez is another versatile player the Pirates will rely on at midfield.
In Simon and Mandarino, Palatine has a pair of veteran varsity players practiced at the art of defending together.
“I’ve been friends with (Mandarino) for a while and that trust definitely helps us on the field,” Simon said. “I know I can rely on her, and she knows I have her back.”
Simon took her first varsity step as an outside defender in her freshman year. She played a few games at the JV level that year before Filian pulled her up to the big club.
Juniors and seniors can seem like grown women to a freshman, and memories of her first varsity practices at Palatine are ingrained in Simon’s mind.
“I was definitely scared and intimidated by the seniors,” she said. “MacKenzie Filian was definitely scary to me at first, but she was a really good player and a good role model for me.
“My freshman and sophomore years I had upperclassmen like Mackenzie, Sarah Clancy and Anja Jacobson that were all really good role models, and they really helped me look at the game differently.”
And that’s where her coach has seen Simon evolve into an elite defender.
“Her physical qualities and ability to play have always been there,” Filian said, “and the communication and mental part of the game has just gotten better and better.
"She was really good at the end of last year, and she’s even better, I’m sure, this year. Our central defender needs to be one of our best players and Melanie is well-equipped; she’s physical, she tackles hard, and she organizes well.”
Simon and Mandarino will keep the hatch battened down in back, along with junior outside back Jillian Giavano. Mandarino and junior defender Grace Kubacik will also cover throw-in duties.
Goalkeeping duties will get sorted out between junior Aubry Grana and sophomore Madi Stark.
“I think the whole team is staying optimistic, texting each other to go out and run, and stay in shape,” Radtke said. “We were really looking forward to the season starting, and we were excited during that first week of practice. So we’re staying hopeful.”
Click here to see the Pirates team page!
By Gary Larsen
On the next drive to the store for hand sanitizer, keep a lookout for high school-aged girls running along the side of the road. They might be soccer players, doing all they can to stay in shape.
They’re players like Palatine senior Melanie Simon, who hopes that running on her own will be replaced by running alongside teammates on a soccer field at some point this spring.
“It’s my senior season and everyone wants to go out in their senior season and just have fun in their last year of playing,” Simon said. “But I’m staying optimistic and hopeful that the season will start up again.”
Simon is a defender entering her fourth varsity season for coach Willie Filian. Third-year varsity players in midfielder/forward Olivia Radtke and defender Julianna Mandarino want to join Simon on the field, if and when the high school sports season put on hold by the COVID-19 virus resumes.
Like Simon, Radtke is doing what she can to stay in shape.
“I’ve been running a lot outside. I usually try to go two miles a day when I can,” Radtke said. “I just miss the physical activity.”
Simon and Radtke both earned spots on Chicagoland Soccer’s 2020 All-State Watch List. In his 28th season as head coach of Palatine’s girls’ team, Willie Filian will rely on both of them on both sides of the ball.
Simon not only brings savvy and toughness to the field as a veteran central defender; she’s also a main target on the set pieces that the Pirates rely on.
Likewise, Radtke is more than just a skilled attacking player; she’s also the one sending in the corner kicks and free kicks that players like Simon, Mandarino, and Caden Bargowski will be running onto.
Radtke’s strong and accurate leg will be key for a team that relies heavily on set piece scoring chances.
“A lot of kids in the girls game can struggle to get it to the far post on corner kicks,” Filian said. “They’ll get it between the pipes somewhere near the six, or at the near post. Olivia can get the ball to the far post. She gets good distance on free kicks in and around midfield.”
But that’s not what Filian appreciates most about Radtke.
“She’ll work until she drops,” he said. “When she’s at midfield, she runs box to box and she’s adept at playing three or four different positions. She’s just a hard-working kid.”
The 6-foot Radtke was an all-Mid Suburban League golfer and a captain on the basketball team at Palatine this year. She’s hoping her odyssey as a three-sport high school athlete comes to fruition on the soccer field.
“My sister (Morgan) played three sports in high school as well, so I think it just kind of trickled down through my family,” Radtke said. “With soccer, I love the concept of working as a team. Especially when you get that result and can kind of celebrate together. It’s really fun.”
Radtke and a talented freshman in Paige Millstone figure to lead the midfield this year. A crafty freshman in Mia Ramirez should play prominent minutes and junior Jennifer Lopez is another versatile player the Pirates will rely on at midfield.
In Simon and Mandarino, Palatine has a pair of veteran varsity players practiced at the art of defending together.
“I’ve been friends with (Mandarino) for a while and that trust definitely helps us on the field,” Simon said. “I know I can rely on her, and she knows I have her back.”
Simon took her first varsity step as an outside defender in her freshman year. She played a few games at the JV level that year before Filian pulled her up to the big club.
Juniors and seniors can seem like grown women to a freshman, and memories of her first varsity practices at Palatine are ingrained in Simon’s mind.
“I was definitely scared and intimidated by the seniors,” she said. “MacKenzie Filian was definitely scary to me at first, but she was a really good player and a good role model for me.
“My freshman and sophomore years I had upperclassmen like Mackenzie, Sarah Clancy and Anja Jacobson that were all really good role models, and they really helped me look at the game differently.”
And that’s where her coach has seen Simon evolve into an elite defender.
“Her physical qualities and ability to play have always been there,” Filian said, “and the communication and mental part of the game has just gotten better and better.
"She was really good at the end of last year, and she’s even better, I’m sure, this year. Our central defender needs to be one of our best players and Melanie is well-equipped; she’s physical, she tackles hard, and she organizes well.”
Simon and Mandarino will keep the hatch battened down in back, along with junior outside back Jillian Giavano. Mandarino and junior defender Grace Kubacik will also cover throw-in duties.
Goalkeeping duties will get sorted out between junior Aubry Grana and sophomore Madi Stark.
“I think the whole team is staying optimistic, texting each other to go out and run, and stay in shape,” Radtke said. “We were really looking forward to the season starting, and we were excited during that first week of practice. So we’re staying hopeful.”
Click here to see the Pirates team page!