Glenbrook North shuts out Warren

Tournament host Glenbrook North (7-2-1) eased to a 2-0 win Thursday afternoon against Warren in the first match for both sides at the second annual Glenbrook Cup Soccer Invite held on the turf at Techny Park in Northbrook.

The Blue Devils fell behind just before intermission, allowed another goal immediately after the break, then chased the Spartans the rest of the way, but still were unable to cut into the 2-goal lead despite playing a hard half of soccer right up until the final whistle.

“There’s that old saying that you never want to give up a goal five minutes before half, or five minutes after, and unfortunately we did on both sides of the break. That’s a tough thing to come back against at any time — and especially today against quality team like Glenbrook North,” said Warren coach Jeff Knouse, whose club faces Regina when pool play continues Saturday morning.

It was obvious from the onset the Spartans would be a handful to defend if Samantha Lallas, Montana Paley or freshman Rachel Hirschman were on the ball, and if not for some gritty work from the Blue Devils at midfield, North could have had even more scoring chances.

“I thought Warren did a very good job of frustrating our attack in the first half by playing three up top and clogging up the middle, and for us to score that late goal against a top keeper such as (Amanda) Macuiba, then another right away after the break really helped us to finally get going,” said Glenbrook North coach Paul Vignocchi.

Trouble along the back allowed Lallas to beat Macuiba, who never hesitated in her challenge off the line. But it was a brilliant run and carry up the left side by Maggie Doar which helped the Spartans double their lead.

Doar finished her own rebound off of Macuiba, who stopped the first attempt by the freshman midfielder at the near post.

“We got a little careless when we gave up that first goal, and again, despite a very good run up the side by (Doar) we didn’t defend well enough on their second goal,” said Knouse, who lost defender Rachel Stemplewski to an ankle injury 10 minutes into the second-half.

Warren senior captain Jackie Luka, who was a bright star for the Blue Devils (2-7-0) throughout, provided plenty of pace and energy to encourage her mates as they looked to solve Glenbrook North keeper Katherine Weber. Although Luka provided quality service and passes, the Blue Devils just were not sharp enough in the final third to create quality chances on frame.

“I thought we played so much better in the second half today, and, once again, this team played right until the end, with everyone giving 100 percent while doing so, and there’s not much more you can ask from a team and its players than that,” said Knouse.