Girls soccer: Experience serves Schaumburg in win at BG
It's been a tough road of late for the Schaumburg girls soccer club.
St. Charles East, Naperville Central, Geneva and MSL rival Conant have all been on the slate for the Saxons - and that group, with a 20-5-3 combined record, has been the ultimate test for Schaumburg coach Greg Charvat and his group.
The Saxons may have gone winless (with a draw against St. Charles East) during the recent stretch, but the experience has helped them greatly. And that showed Wednesday at Grant Blaney Stadium, where Schaumburg came away with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Buffalo Grove.
"We actually played very well against four outstanding teams, earning a 2-2 draw with St. Charles East to open the tournament there and ending with a very good effort the other night in our 2-1 loss to Conant," said Charvat. "The experience did us a lot of good, and I think the girls learned a lot about each other and themselves. So to come in and win tonight says a lot about this team."
Freshman Victoria Treni scored the game-winner at 65 minutes following a 10-minute sequence in which the Saxons (2-6-1, 2-2-0) created four quality chances, including the Treni strike.
"We knew coming in that Schaumburg had just played four really tough opponents, and very well at that, so that was something we had to be ready for," said Bison coach Pat Dudle, who was without two starters. "Schaumburg controlled the midfield in the first half by winning a lot of 50-50 balls, as well as first and second balls. And they played aggressive soccer, as we expect every night in the MSL. Although we battled, it wasn't enough in the end."
The Schaumburg midfield duo of Al Schaar and Gina D'Orazio have given Charvat quality play at midfield on both sides of the ball, which includes unselfish distribution to the Saxons' front-runners.
"The chemistry on this team is very good," said Schaumburg senior Abbey Paolicchi, who helped create the Treni goal from her spot in the center of the Saxons' back line. "We're close both on and off the field, and with each game you can see how that chemistry is making us a little better each time out. We've started a lot of our games recently a little slow, letting our opponents dictate the tempo of the game. But not tonight, so that's a good sign for this team as well."
Dana Kiszkowski and Schaar both put two attempts on frame before the half-hour arrived, as did D'Orazio - all saved confidently by Zugey Olvera, BG's keeper.
In between, the hosts struggled to test Saxons keeper Livvy Masi, who was between the sticks for injured starter Emily Reddy.
The best chance for the Bison came in the 24th minute when KK Hanner nearly collected a helper near the spot from Katie Derengowski.
Buffalo Grove (0-4-2, 0-3-0) showed a little more life in its attack after the break when Gina Bolis created a corner, and Allyssa Floro and Georgette Topalis each had a chance to get on the end of another corner.
Paolicchi's sharp tackle near the mid-line started the game-winner for Treni, who found a way to get enough pace on her attempt to slot past Olvera in a crowd.
The game opened up after that, with Macy Floro nearly beating Masi to a 50-50 at the edge, before Danielle Allaire cleared a ball off the line after an early ball set Kiszkowski free.
Topalis saw her left-footed strike saved by Masi, and a 75th-minute free kick sailed over the bar on BG's final chance.
"We're still finding our way as we continue to sort things out, but despite our record, we are getting better," said Dudle. "And with three MSL East opponents coming up next week, hopefully we can compete in order to get the results we hope to get."
Conant 1, Rolling Meadows 0: Jessica Smeltzer's first-half goal, assisted by Kaylin Feeley, held up as the Cougars claimed an MSL victory and a shutout for keeper Taylor Cyr.
Prospect 4, Elk Grove: Four Knights players scored - Ella Marzolf, Aly Kobler, Ashley Welk and Shawna Stokes - as visiting Prospect won in the MSL.
Emily Sitkowski had both of the goals in the second half for Elk Grove on penalty kicks.
Jalyn Mosley and Kendra Gancarz had assists for Prospect, as did Stokes and Kobler.
Fremd 8, Hoffman Estates 0: Angie Zara, Julia Leonard and Emilijia Peleckas each scored 2 goals to power the host Vikings in MSL play as Kelsie Stone earned the shutout.