Warren, Vernon Hills fall in Cup openers

There was no evidence that Warren’s girls soccer team had the better of the play in the opening round of the Glenbrook Cup on Friday night.

The Blue Devils ended suffering a 1-0 loss to Belvidere North that was decided on penalty kicks 3-2.

Warren (7-8-3) worked hard to generate plenty of scoring chances but ultimately lacked the finishing touch.

“We did have a lot of shots on the keeper, and not on the goal,” Warren coach Nathan McCabe said. “We had several good opportunities, but every single one of them we didn’t have composure and put it right at their keeper.”

Belvidere North (8-6-2) keeper Adrienne Giglio made 8 stops, including one during the six rounds of penalty kicks.

“Our build-up was good all game,” McCabe said. “We dominated possession and moved the ball from side to side. A few times we were not connecting — we were too direct. And we lost our composure in the final third.”

Blue Devils keeper Amanda Macuiba made a couple of saves to keep the match scoreless through regulation.

“Warren was a very good team and has strong players,” Belvidere North coach Sean Norton said. “(Warren) moved the ball well and their player movement was excellent.

“We just wanted to play our channels and not to over-commit on the attack.”

Warren plays its next game against Regina at 9:20 a.m. Saturday with an additional game to follow in the afternoon.

Ÿ Vernon Hills had a tough challenge in its opening-round match.

The Cougars played well through a scoreless first half before Chatham Glenwood scored three second-half goals in a 3-0 victory.

“(Chatham Glenwood) was a really good team,” said Vernon Hills coach Vince Deluca, whose team dropped to 7-8-3. “I thought we did well with missing a few kids, and some others out with injuries. It was a good learning experience for us.”

The Cougars had some of their better chances in the first half, but Titans keeper Cara Moody made 5 of her 6 stops in the first half.

“We were making some good connections against a very good teams,” said Vernon Hills’ Julie Pecht. “We got unlucky a couple of times, but we had some great ball movement. We just have trouble finishing, and it’s been happening all season.”

Chatham Glenwood (11-2-2) got 2 goals from Maggie Juhlin and the other from Taylor Copp.

“We did have a hard time early on because we don’t play on turf,” Chatham Glenwood coach Jay Lipe said. “We weren’t getting some quality opportunities (in the first half), but their keeper (Iris Ostrovsky) had a couple nice saves against us. They play hard.”

Vernon Hills next faces Willows Academy at 9:20 a.m. Saturday, with another game scheduled for the afternoon.