Mudd, Grayslake Central puts their best foot forward
Regardless of how talented their feet, coach Mike McCaulou wants his Grayslake Central soccer girls on their toes.
He expects his players to be ready at all times, anticipating, even during dead balls.
So when McCaulou saw sophomore Savannah Mudd standing flat-footed after she was tripped in the box, drawing a penalty kick in the 29th minute of a scoreless game against Waukegan on Tuesday, he rolled his eyes.
“I looked at the bench and was like, ‘Girls, she’s not even ready for this kick. She’s not on her toes,’ ” McCaulou said. “Right when I said that, ‘Sav’ (started bouncing on her toes). I was like, ‘All right’ (smiling).”
Mudd stuck one.
She buried a shot into the left corner of the net, and Grayslake Central never looked back, building on her PK by scoring three goals in the second half to capture a 4-0 win on its artificial surface.
Grayslake Central (4-0) improved to 2-0 in its own tournament, as senior keeper Kat Dickson earned her fourth shutout in as many games.
The Rams play Grant at noon today for the championship of the fourth annual invite.
When Mudd was fouled, her team, including the coach, didn’t immediately know who would take the penalty kick.
“I wanted to see how the girls were going to react,” McCaulou said. “I wanted to see if someone on the field was going to step up and say, ‘Hey, it’s me,’ or if they were going to look at me and say, ‘Who’s taking it?’ I didn’t say anything.”
The players did say something, with senior midfielder Kelly Jay telling Mudd to take the kick.
“They were like, ‘Sav should take it,’ so I just took it,” Mudd said.
Mudd is one of just three sophomores on a team that is junior- and senior-dominated for what McCaulou says is the first time in his nine years as coach.
“I was a little nervous,” Mudd said. “I then kept thinking (McCaulou) wanted me on my toes, so I just got on my toes, calmed down a little bit and took it.”
Mudd’s PK came after one of the few scoring chances either team had in the opening 40 minutes.
“I think the first half we were sluggish,” McCaulou said. “Give credit to Waukegan. I didn’t know their game plan, I wasn’t in their locker room before the game, but I think it was to pack it in, sit back and let the game come to them. I think in the first half they did a good job.”
Grayslake Central’s change of attack and patience with the ball paid dividends just less than eight minutes into the second half. Emily Schrader took a through ball from Skyler Jessop, deked the keeper and squeezed a shot past two defenders into an empty net.
In the 57th minute, Sarah Gauger finished a pass in the box from Schrader, after Colleen Daly started an attack.
Kelsey Skutnick, who missed the Rams’ first three games of the season with a high-ankle sprain, finished the scoring with a shot from around 35 yards out in the closing seconds. Alex Wilson assisted.
“I think our girls were anxious (in the first half),” McCaulou said. “Everything wanted to go forward. The game of soccer is a creative game and it’s a buildup game. It’s a game of chess. We needed to knock the ball around more, possess it a little better, get some more negative passes going and stretch (Waukegan) out.”
Grant 3, Round Lake 0: At Grayslake Central, it was all Alyssa Wilhem in the day’s first game.
The Bulldogs freshman scored all 3 goals, off assists from Bri Miller, Vanessa Foreman and Lindsey Lewis. Jen Jones and Sarah Vandervest split time in goal for the Bulldogs (3-3, 2-0 tournament) and made 1 save each.