St. Charles North's youngsters beat Joliet Catholic
It's a polyglot team St. Charles North has sent to the Downers Grove South girls soccer tournament. There are some freshmen and some sophomores and even a pair of juniors.
What you won't find are any varsity players. The North Stars, having already scheduled themselves to play in the Pepsi Tournament and the Tournament of Champions - couldn't play varsity contests in the Downers Grove South tournament without violating IHSA rules. So a quasi all-star team of the school's underclass teams was put together.
It turns out, this team is pretty good too. After falling to Lincoln-Way Central on Wednesday, the North Stars defeated Joliet Catholic 2-0 on Thursday.
"There was confusion with this tournament," St. Charles North JV coach Jeff Fett said. Fett is coaching the team this week. "They didn't want to have any ineligibility later in the season. So we put together a team from the freshman and JV team and they definitely stepped up to the talent today."
The young North Stars used Thursday's match to show their various talents, especially freshman keeper Leanne Stahulak. She made a save at a Joliet Catholic forward's feet, made a diving save and commanded her penalty area.
"I was feeling pretty good," Stahulak said. "(Wednesday), I didn't have such a good game. I wasn't mentally prepared. This game, I felt confident in myself, so overall, it was a good performance."
Working with an unfamiliar group of players in front of her didn't faze Stahulak.
"I definitely know what kind of things I need to work on with this team and into the future," Stahulak said. "There's always a good sense when you make a good save. Even though we're coming from different age levels, there are some of the same clubs in here. There are people here who you played with in the fall."
Stahulak's exploits didn't surprise Fett.
"She's talented and very smart, as you can tell," Fett said. "She's a great decision-maker, especially for when to come out. As a freshman, that's something that's a great quality to possess."
The North Stars scored a goal in each half to secure the victory. A pair of sophomores combined to score the first goal with Abby Rydberg scored from a Jillian Stephens corner kick late in the opening half.
Freshman K.B. Kusswurm doubled the lead midway through the second half with a long-range shot that went low into the corner of the net.
"(Kusswurm) is a freshman who's normally a forward who we're asking to play that center mid role," Fett said. "She brings a ton of athleticism and aggression to that spot."
The North Stars had other chances to score goals. Sophomore Kelly Jones hit the post just before halftime and freshman Ashley Hayes had a shot cleared off the line early in the second half.
St. Charles North finishes the tournament against the host Mustangs on Saturday.
"We talked before this started about how they're in a unique situation, where they're able to play at a varsity level," Fett said. "They can show what they can do and maybe turn some heads and prove some people wrong and step into a spot, maybe. Downers Grove is a pretty talented team and it should be an interesting game on Saturday."