Carmel 4, Highland Park 0
Maddie Ogrinc played outside midfielder a year ago for Carmel.
A move up front this year has made a world of a difference for Ogrinc and the Corsairs.
Through seven games, Ogrinc has compiled 5 goals and 6 assists. That includes a goal and an assist on Friday night in Carmel's 4-0 shutout of visiting Highland Park in Mundelein as part of the Lake Forest Snowbowl Classic.
"I just love being up there because it exhilarates me," Ogrinc said. "I just like taking the ball to the goal. You just don't have to play defense as much."
Ogrinc started a three-goal outburst in the first half for Carmel (6-1, 1-0 in the tournament) by scoring off a Sara Petermann assist in the fourth minute.,
Lisa Schostick knocked in a header off Nikki Boland's corner kick in the 21st minute. Ogrinc then set up Kassidy Brown to make it 3-0.
"Maddie has made a lot of progress from last year," Carmel coach John Halloran said. "It's almost like you see improvement with her every day."
Petermann scored in the second half off a long service from Julie Schaser.
Corsairs keeper Maria Sapienza made 1 save and picked up her third shutout.
Highland Park (0-4-1, 0-1) found out that Carmel is one of the strongest teams in the area.
"Carmel is a very good team," Highland Park coach Christina Schriner said. "They play incredibly well together. I thought we were intimidated and played timid for a while."
Because of the inclement weather on Thursday, the tournament featured two games at both Lake Forest and Carmel on Friday.
Carmel will next play Stevenson back at Carmel on Tuesday. Lakes will visit Lake Forest today for a 1:30 p.m. game in the other semifinal.
The Scouts rolled past Deerfield 3-1, and Lakes edged Mother McCauley 3-2 on kicks, winning the shootout 4-3.
Stevenson 1 Prairie Ridge 0: Stevenson soccer teammates Laura Schroeder and Ali Hall demonstrated good chemistry Friday.
They collaborated on the game's lone goal in the Patriots' 1-0 win over Prairie Ridge in the Lake Forest Snowbowl Classic at Carmel.
Schroeder, a senior, notched her second goal of the spring in the 63rd minute to lift Stevenson (3-1, 1-0 tournament).
"We were moving halfway from midfield and I saw it in her eye," Schroeder said of Hall. "It was like a give-and-go thing. We always look for one another."
Hall touched the ball over and Schroeder did the rest.
"Actually, I didn't get it on the first touch," Schroeder said. "I had to put it down, then I waited for the girl to move in front of me and shot it."
Stevenson played on the turf for the first time this season and it took some time for the Patriots to get used to it. But they had the better of the play against Prairie Ridge (1-3, 0-1).
"We're not used to the speed of the turf," Stevenson coach Mark Schartner said. "We actually had good passes. We were a step away from having a bigger score.
"I thought Prairie Ridge was much improved from last year. Their goalie (Kyli Humm) was the best player on the field."
Stevenson keeper Courtney Levy earned her third straight shutout and made 3 saves.
"I thought we played well and we got lucky, because they could've scored a few more," Prairie Ridge coach David O'Leary said. "By far, this was the best game we've played so far and Stevenson was the best team we've played."