U15 Celtic Select girls get
burned early, then catch fire
Squad storms back to post 4-1 win vs. Vernon Hills Cougars
By Patrick Z. McGavin
PALATINE — Nothing quite shakes up a game like the early goal. Confidence soars or deflates depending on the perspective.
The Celtic Select U15 girls side wrote their own narrative with a mixture of resolve, anger and a vow to play better.
After conceding a goal in the first minute, Celtic rode the strong play of Mary Ann Castelli in an impressive 4-1 victory over the Vernon Hill Cougars SC 01 Red in A/B league play Sunday afternoon at Celtic Park.
A freshman from Saint Viator, Castelli sparked the rally with two goals that enabled the home side to overcome the shaky start. In the first minute, Cougars midfielder Marley Reback finished a cross in front of the Celtic goal for the sudden and dramatic opening goal.
"We played this team in the Celtic Cup, and we knew they were very good at creating the counter," Celtic Select coach Brian Colicchia said. "When you play the way we do, sometimes you're going to give up plays or be vulnerable to the counter, and they did a good job of capitalizing on the early opportunity."
Celtic followed with its own excellent job of nullifying any lingering fallout. The team just steeled itself. "When we get scored upon early in a game, we get more focused and we play harder," Castelli said. The improved focus was immediately apparent Celtic quickly regrouped and began to attack the interior of the Cougars.
Midfielder Nicole Palella made several strong forays toward the goal. Forward Gabi Buccieri also cut through the left edge and drilled a ball just wide of the mark. If the early response failed to draw an immediate result, the deeper the match played the more confident and possessive Celtic Select became.
Midfielder Jamie Henning played a cross just beyond the reach of defender Megan Dowd. Defender Morgan Perkins sensed the reversal. "When we give up an early goal, sometimes we shut down," the Fremd freshman said. "But in most cases we play harder, especially here because we knew there was a lot of time left on the clock."
Castelli finally broke through in the 32nd minute on a beautiful two-on-one in tandem with Dowd. "Megan dribbled down the line and then went through the center of the field, and she passed me the ball and I was able to make it 1-1," Castelli said.
"Getting that goal made us go harder and want to play even better."
It was a new score and effectively a different game as Celtic dominated the remaining 60 minutes of play. Celtic outscored the Cougars 3-0 in the second half. Vernon Hills' keeper Meghan Cavolick was under constant duress and forced to repeatedly move off the line to deny the Celtic angle of attack.
"Once you make the keeper commit you have to beat the keeper and then score," Castelli said. "That's what a lot of our team did."
Castelli demonstrated excellent breakaway speed in the open field and the ability to create enough space to finish on the move. She broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute off a through-ball played to the middle that she ran down and finished in style. "Whenever I score a goal I always want to score a second one because that makes me feel good," she said.
For her impactful play, Castelli earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match distinction.
"The second one I just got a pass through the middle of the field, and I had a breakaway and I was able to score." Just preceding her second goal, Castelli was stymied in a similar scenario in a one-on-one encounter with Cavolick. "Since it didn't go so well I wanted to make up for it," she said.
Everything changed. The early elation of the Cougars goal was a very distant memory. "We didn't stick to our game plan after the early goal," Cougars coach Peter Kempf said. "We wanted to play short balls, with a lot of one- and two-touch passing. Instead we started playing the long ball."
Celtic went for the jugular. "We're good at keeping leads as long as we can get them," Perkins said. "Once we get the ball going we do pretty well at staying focused and keeping up our level of play."
Celtic received contributions from an array of players. Colicchia used his entire bench because of injuries to forwards Emma Spotak and Angie Zara that kept them out of the game.
Maya Poyraz, an eighth-grader, was elevated to the squad and provided a jolt, and the most impressive goal of the game. In the 63rd minute, she ran down the right edge and caught up with a long ball she controlled with her right foot. Playing off a defender who was tightly covering her, Poyraz fell down, regained her balance and possession and returned to her feet and drilled a left-footed ball from about 12 yards out for the crucial two-goal advantage.
Henning, a freshman at Palatine, punctuated the comeback with a strong thrust at the goal and finish in the 80th minute. "We never shut down, even at the end and we kept our focus high because you never know what's going to happen at the end of a game," Perkins said.
It ended much better than it began. "We weren't focused and ready to play at the start of the game," Castelli said.
Things change.
Team rosters
Vernon Hills Cougars SC '01 Red
GK: Meghan Cavolick
D: Emily Singer
D: Olivia Sweeney
D: Shayna Wood
D: Nikki Kolz
M: Lily Blase
M: Nina Kalou
M: Laine Lutgens
M: Marley Reback
M: Brynn Ziemke
M: Abby Brown
F: Abby Kempf
Celtic Select U15
GK: Amaya Rivera
D: Allison Muntz
D: Megan Dow
D: Morgan Perkins
D: Marissa Wade
M: Christy Murauskis
M: Jamie Henning
M: Kayla Tanner
M: Mary Ann Castelli
M: Nicole Palella
M: Brianna Curylo
F: Gabi Buccieri
F: Serena Escalona
F: Maya Poyraz
MVP of the Match: Mary Ann Castelli, MF, Celtic Select
burned early, then catch fire
Squad storms back to post 4-1 win vs. Vernon Hills Cougars
By Patrick Z. McGavin
PALATINE — Nothing quite shakes up a game like the early goal. Confidence soars or deflates depending on the perspective.
The Celtic Select U15 girls side wrote their own narrative with a mixture of resolve, anger and a vow to play better.
After conceding a goal in the first minute, Celtic rode the strong play of Mary Ann Castelli in an impressive 4-1 victory over the Vernon Hill Cougars SC 01 Red in A/B league play Sunday afternoon at Celtic Park.
A freshman from Saint Viator, Castelli sparked the rally with two goals that enabled the home side to overcome the shaky start. In the first minute, Cougars midfielder Marley Reback finished a cross in front of the Celtic goal for the sudden and dramatic opening goal.
"We played this team in the Celtic Cup, and we knew they were very good at creating the counter," Celtic Select coach Brian Colicchia said. "When you play the way we do, sometimes you're going to give up plays or be vulnerable to the counter, and they did a good job of capitalizing on the early opportunity."
Celtic followed with its own excellent job of nullifying any lingering fallout. The team just steeled itself. "When we get scored upon early in a game, we get more focused and we play harder," Castelli said. The improved focus was immediately apparent Celtic quickly regrouped and began to attack the interior of the Cougars.
Midfielder Nicole Palella made several strong forays toward the goal. Forward Gabi Buccieri also cut through the left edge and drilled a ball just wide of the mark. If the early response failed to draw an immediate result, the deeper the match played the more confident and possessive Celtic Select became.
Midfielder Jamie Henning played a cross just beyond the reach of defender Megan Dowd. Defender Morgan Perkins sensed the reversal. "When we give up an early goal, sometimes we shut down," the Fremd freshman said. "But in most cases we play harder, especially here because we knew there was a lot of time left on the clock."
Castelli finally broke through in the 32nd minute on a beautiful two-on-one in tandem with Dowd. "Megan dribbled down the line and then went through the center of the field, and she passed me the ball and I was able to make it 1-1," Castelli said.
"Getting that goal made us go harder and want to play even better."
It was a new score and effectively a different game as Celtic dominated the remaining 60 minutes of play. Celtic outscored the Cougars 3-0 in the second half. Vernon Hills' keeper Meghan Cavolick was under constant duress and forced to repeatedly move off the line to deny the Celtic angle of attack.
"Once you make the keeper commit you have to beat the keeper and then score," Castelli said. "That's what a lot of our team did."
Castelli demonstrated excellent breakaway speed in the open field and the ability to create enough space to finish on the move. She broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute off a through-ball played to the middle that she ran down and finished in style. "Whenever I score a goal I always want to score a second one because that makes me feel good," she said.
For her impactful play, Castelli earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match distinction.
"The second one I just got a pass through the middle of the field, and I had a breakaway and I was able to score." Just preceding her second goal, Castelli was stymied in a similar scenario in a one-on-one encounter with Cavolick. "Since it didn't go so well I wanted to make up for it," she said.
Everything changed. The early elation of the Cougars goal was a very distant memory. "We didn't stick to our game plan after the early goal," Cougars coach Peter Kempf said. "We wanted to play short balls, with a lot of one- and two-touch passing. Instead we started playing the long ball."
Celtic went for the jugular. "We're good at keeping leads as long as we can get them," Perkins said. "Once we get the ball going we do pretty well at staying focused and keeping up our level of play."
Celtic received contributions from an array of players. Colicchia used his entire bench because of injuries to forwards Emma Spotak and Angie Zara that kept them out of the game.
Maya Poyraz, an eighth-grader, was elevated to the squad and provided a jolt, and the most impressive goal of the game. In the 63rd minute, she ran down the right edge and caught up with a long ball she controlled with her right foot. Playing off a defender who was tightly covering her, Poyraz fell down, regained her balance and possession and returned to her feet and drilled a left-footed ball from about 12 yards out for the crucial two-goal advantage.
Henning, a freshman at Palatine, punctuated the comeback with a strong thrust at the goal and finish in the 80th minute. "We never shut down, even at the end and we kept our focus high because you never know what's going to happen at the end of a game," Perkins said.
It ended much better than it began. "We weren't focused and ready to play at the start of the game," Castelli said.
Things change.
Team rosters
Vernon Hills Cougars SC '01 Red
GK: Meghan Cavolick
D: Emily Singer
D: Olivia Sweeney
D: Shayna Wood
D: Nikki Kolz
M: Lily Blase
M: Nina Kalou
M: Laine Lutgens
M: Marley Reback
M: Brynn Ziemke
M: Abby Brown
F: Abby Kempf
Celtic Select U15
GK: Amaya Rivera
D: Allison Muntz
D: Megan Dow
D: Morgan Perkins
D: Marissa Wade
M: Christy Murauskis
M: Jamie Henning
M: Kayla Tanner
M: Mary Ann Castelli
M: Nicole Palella
M: Brianna Curylo
F: Gabi Buccieri
F: Serena Escalona
F: Maya Poyraz
MVP of the Match: Mary Ann Castelli, MF, Celtic Select