Barrington picks up key victory at Conant
Ryan Stengren has been saying since the beginning of the season that it’s Conant and Schaumburg in the Mid-Suburban West this spring.
It’s sure looking like the Barrington coach should add his own team to the conversation.
Friday night the Fillies stepped onto the center stage, taking control against host Conant for 80 minutes in a 3-0 victory to move ahead of the defending divisional champs as well as Schaumburg for the top spot in the MSL standings.
The Fillies (7-4-0, 6-0-0-18) are now 3 points clear of the Cougars (8-1-0, 5-1-0-15) and 8 ahead of the Saxons, who drew 1-1 on the road at Buffalo Grove.
“I really didn’t know what to expect tonight coming into this match, but our effort was about as good as a coach could expect in a game that was so important for both teams,” said Stengren. “I thought the key for us was how we were going to mark Courtney (Raetzman), and I thought that Sam (Frank) did an excellent job on one of the best, if not the best player in the state. And Molly Pfeiffer, who has been sick, was just amazing for us in our attack, and in her work on the defensive end as well.”
“That was the best job of defending Courtney that I’ve seen,” said Conant coach Jason Franco. “And as for (Barrington), they were easily the most fit and deep team that we’ve seen all year.”
With a stiff wind at their back, the hosts set out to keep their record perfect. But Barrington had plans of its own, which included some tactical genius on the part of Stengren and his staff, which included asking Frank, a senior, to mark the two-timer all-stater Raetzman and expecting the rest of the team to stay organized and work hard.
“It really was a great team effort tonight,” said Frank, who chose not to talk about her work against Raetzman. “Ellie Ackermann and Anna Burnidge got us going with the first 2 goals of the game, and our backline as a unit did everything our coaches asked, and Molly had a big game also.”
Ackermann, a sophomore, never stopped running during a scrum in front of freshman keeper Hailey Anderson, and her pace was rewarded when she finished in close at 15 minutes to give the Fillies the only goal they’d end up needing.
Two minutes later, a well-stationed Burnidge made it 2-0 when she ran onto a superb flick from Pfeiffer, who redirected Mia Calamari’s searing throw from the far touchline.
“Scoring the first goal is always so big, but going into the break with a 2-goal advantage, and with the way we were playing, was even bigger,” said Pfeiffer.
“I couldn’t believe we had a 2-goal lead at the half, and it could have been 3 if not for a sensational save from Conant’s keeper,” said Stengren of Anderson’s point-blank stop of Aimee Pierce at the back post.
The Cougars began the second half assertively, with some of their trademark possession and wonderful build-up in the attack. A half-dozen players had a touch before Kim Trinco’s shot on frame went over the bar, but it appeared Conant might have found its pace with plenty of the match yet to be played.
But Frank, Emily Morin, Abby Taplett and others who found their way into the backline in the second half were nearly flawless, and the Cougars were unable to create much of anything dangerous at freshman keeper Hannah Luedtke, who had an easy time of it between the sticks.
“It’s not that we didn’t try, but on this night, Barrington was easily the best team out there for 80 minutes,” Franco said.
Pfeiffer finished the scoring when she slotted past Anderson after Calamari’s free kick thunderbolt from 30 yards bounded off the Cougars keeper and right to the ever opportunistic all-area striker, who poured in the Fillies’ third goal.
Schaumburg 1, BG 1 (OT): The host Bison got a first-half goal from Kelli Zickert, and the Saxons answered in the second half with a Riley Williams goal assisted by Sarah Kozlowski, but neither team scored in the two overtimes.
Brooke Schocker made 8 saves for Schaumburg and Katie Okamoto had 7 for Buffalo Grove.
Elk Grove 7, Wheeling 0: Kelli Hubly scored 4 goals and Nikki Zaino 2 to lift the host Grens in MSL East play. Melissa Solorio made pair of saves to earn the shutout for the Grens.
Palatine 8, Hoffman Estates 1: Eight different players found the back of the net as the host Pirates rolled in MSL West action.
Prospect 4, Elgin 1: Jesse Petrovsky, Elena Cukors and Sarah LaCost were among the goal-scorers as Prospect earned a victory in the tournament it is hosting.
St. Viator 1, Carmel 1 (OT): Trying to get a leg up on one another in the East Suburban Catholic Conference girls soccer race, St. Viator and Carmel instead played to a 1-1 tie after two overtimes Friday night in Mundelein.
Both teams have identical records: 6-2-1 overall, and 2-0-1 in league play.
“I’m disappointed in the result,” St. Viator coach Mike Taylor said. “You get away from one situation, and you get a victory. But you get a tie and at least you walk away without a loss.”
St. Viator’s Chloe Luthringshausen was credited with a goal in the 31st minute after taking a pass from Katie Gavin and sending a ball off a Carmel defender.
Carmel pushed up a couple extra attackers late and tied the game in the 77th minute. The Corsairs’ Meegan Johnston provided a throw-in that was flicked off the head off Ashley Orth to Bri Carlson, who one-timed a shot into the back of the net.
“It was a perfect flick from Ashley (Orth) and I knew I had to get it,” Carlson said. “I was ecstatic to get it.
“We had to get it, and we didn’t want to lose. (St. Viator) is one of our top rivals. We’ll take a tie over a loss any day.”
The tie allows both teams to remain in control of their own destiny in the conference race.
“I was happy that the girls battled back, and it showed a lot of heart,” Carmel coach John Halloran said. “Sometimes ties feel like wins, and sometimes ties feel like losses. When you come back, it feels like a win.”
— Rusty Silber