North Stars give New Trier a battle
One early goal given up and it was effectively lights out for St. Charles North.
Despite carrying the lion's share of play against New Trier (8-0) in a girls soccer game on Saturday, the North Stars (4-1) lost 1-0 and thus lost their bid to advance to next week's title game of the 32-team Pepsi Showdown.
"We played hard, and they're a great team," said North Stars forward Leah DeMoss. "Our team should walk out of here with our heads held high."
"You can't complain when your team plays great and it just comes down to one goal," said North Stars assistant coach Anne Poulin. "We played great.
"When it comes down to a scrappy goal in the box, that's just soccer."
The Trevians' fifth-minute goal on the artificial turf at Oak Park-River Forest came off the foot of Alicia Shapiro. St. Charles North applied good attacking pressure to halftime, and DeMoss blistered a ball off the crossbar in the 31st minute from 16 yards out.
Ashley Capone ripped a shot from 25 yards out in the 48th minute that Trevians' goalkeeper Caroline Kerr snared, and Kerr made a kick-save two minutes later on a Paige Dusek shot from 14 yards out.
The North Stars got an exceptional save out of second-half goalkeeper Kristen Manski, who dove to her left in the 53rd minute to thwart a point-blank shot by New Trier's Amber Fry.
A fast, strong and skilled North Stars team was a steady presence in the Trevians' defensive end in the second half, earning dangerous free kicks, corner kicks and getting off serves toward the New Trier goalmouth.
"We had a few opportunities go right across the box," Poulin said. "We were in our offensive third creating opportunities. Now it's just about getting good shots."
Capone teed off on a free kick from 22 yards out in the 59th minute that led to a wild exchange in the box that ended with DeMoss sending a hard-hit ball just high of frame.
"We got a few corners in and had some opportunities, but we just couldn't finish them," DeMoss said. "We played as hard as we could, and there's nothing we can do about it."
North Stars senior Caitlin Winkelman saw her first action of the season on Saturday, "and this was the first time I've had everyone available this season," said Poulin, who also applauded the play of DeMoss and Maggie Hamilton.
"They're a physical team, and they work hard up front," New Trier coach Jim Burnside said of the North Stars. "It was tough for us to clear the ball out of the back today."