Girls soccer/Scouting the 22nd annual MSL Cup
By Mike Garofola
Daily Herald Correspondent
Conant vs. Hersey
When, where: 7 p.m. Wednesday at Hersey’s Roland Goins Stadium
How they got here: Conant (15-3-0, 10-1-0, 30 points) was on top of its game from the beginning in the Mid-Suburban West. That proved the best way to keep talented sides Schaumburg, Fremd and Barrington far enough away, as this trio were a dazzling 24-7-3 against the rest of the MSL during the regular season and 39-10-5 overall. Hersey (13-5-1, 6-4-1, 19 points) appeared to be destined for the runner-up spot in the MSL East as Rolling Meadows quickly ran away and hid from the rest of the field. But a late-season Meadows slump, and key victories over the Mustangs and Fremd allowed the Huskies to take hold of the division in the waning days of the campaign.
History lesson: During the second week of the season, the Cougars beat Hersey 1-0 in an evenly played match which saw Kaitlin Chiero strike the game-winner. That victory would be one of 10 the Cougars earned in the conference to help send them to just their second MSL Cup appearance. The first was in 2001 when they met Elk Grove, which was in the middle of winning three consecutive championship trophies behind future collegiate stars Jen Buczkowski and Erin Walter. The Huskies are competing in their fourth consecutive MSL Cup and fifth in the last seven years. Only Fremd (10), Schaumburg (6) and Barrington (6) have played in more championship matches.
Who to watch: Conant — Courtney Raetzman (Jr, F, 18 goals, 13 assists), Kaitlin Chiero (Sr, F, 14 g, 7 a), Chrissy Rosales (Jr, MF), Kelsey Foss (Jr, D), Kelly Lomas (Sr, D), Hailey Andress (Sr, MF), Paige Wentzel (Sr, MF, 7a), Sammi van de Linde (Jr, MF, 8 g, 5 a), Lindsay Fillingim (Sr, GK, 0.55 goals against, 11 shutouts). Hersey — Megan Boyle (Jr, MF), Eileen Zydek (Sr, MF, 8 goals), Lauren Gierman (Fr, MF, 5 g, 6 a), Olivia Stasiuk (Jr, D), Nicole Pietro (Jr, F, 7 g), Stefanie Mueller (Sr, D), Maeva Waterman (Sr, F, 3 g), Erin Rieff (Sr, GK, 0.68 goals against, 8 shutouts).
Talk along the touchline: The creative chemistry of the tandem of Raetzman and Chiero have made the Cougars much more than a dynamic and dangerous team, it has allowed others to flourish in the attack. But the conversation starts and ends for the MSL champs with two-time all-state and all-area pick Raetzman, who clearly is among the best at her trade and unselfishly plays the game with that extra little pace and spark which has become a joy to watch — especially for her coach, Jason Franco. “Courtney has been at a whole other level higher than anyone else that I’ve seen this year, and it has helped us be so consistent in our play, and in fact, much better than I would have ever imagined heading into the season.” Franco says the health of his C-MF Rosales, who has been a key figure in the middle of the park with her work rate and tireless energy has been important, as has the improvement of his keeper (Fllingim), who counts on the superb duo along the back (Foss and Lomas) for watertight defense. The rapid improvement of backline youngsters Drew Wentzel and Kim Trinco, who have helped allow a puny 11 goals in 18 matches. Operating on the outside, van de Linde and Andress provide terrific speed and pace to help break down their opponents, while (Wentzel) is the perfect complement alongside Rosales in the middle.
The culture has been all about winning, which both Zydek and Boyle agreed to in unison after the Huskies sealed their crown against Fremd last week. Both have played in the three previous MSL Cup matches. The four-year veteran (Zydek) was part of another successful program along the back initiated by coach Brad Abel, who for the second straight season replaced a superb backline star (Kathryn Korff) and his record-setting GK (Julia Fredian). “When we lost (Korff) to graduation, our first big task was to figure out who our central defender would be, and (Olivia) has just been phenomenal in that role for us with her speed, quickness, technical knowledge and vertical game,” Abel said. “I really don’t know where we would be without Reiff, who made the ultimate sacrifice for her team to become a sensational shot-blocking keeper for us and a great leader as well.” The freshman (Gierman) is at the center of the Huskies’ attack and can be a wonderfully creative force from that position who filters her passes through to find Pietro and Waterman up top. The Huskies also have the ultimate box-to-box player in Boyle, who can do it all.
They said it: Franco — “Although (Hersey) still defends so well, limits your chances and doesn’t give you much, they’re not the team that we’ve seen in the past couple of seasons because they have very good players up top, maybe some of the best around, so you have to be wary of that alone, while respecting the way the play so hard as well. But the group that I have has gotten used to postseason success in the state tournament the past couple of years, and they would like nothing more to win the first-ever MSL championship in soccer for our program tonight.”
Abel — “The defining match for us this season was our (1-0) loss to Bufffalo Grove, which told everyone that nobody was going to hand another division title to Hersey. That game brought us back to earth, and the day after we responded with a 1-0 win over Wheaton Warrenville South at the Pepsi, then came back and dropped a 1-0 game to Lyons, which showed we could compete with a strong state-ranked team. All the players know how hard it is to get to the (Cup) and what an amazing accomplishment it is to carry on the tradition, and we’ve reminded the girls of what an honor it is to be here, and to remember all of the hard work that goes into getting here.”