Pasquale, St. Francis play
keep-away, top Elk Grove
Stellar sophomore part of each goal in 3-1 win
By Ken Keenan
WHEATON -- Working its possession game to near perfection, St. Francis kept visiting Elk Grove on its heels for most of the match Tuesday night en route to a 3-1 nonconference win.
The Spartans calmly spread the field, dropping balls to the backline when an attack sputtered in order to reset the offense, and then moved east-to-west to set up good chances in front. And if a solid try was unavailable, they slid the ball back and reloaded to attack again.
"Possession is nine-tenths of the law, as they say," said St. Francis head coach Jim Winslow, whose club improved to 3-0-0 with the win. "In the first half, we were frantic at times. The second half, we did a better job of controlling the tempo."
Forward Kendra Pasquale controlled the scoresheet, scoring two goals and adding an assist to earn Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors.
Pasquale's first tally came in the 10th minute. A 30-yard free kick by senior defender Bridget Doran found freshman forward Hanna Rittenhouse in the box, but her header attempt was stopped by Elk Grove freshman goalkeeper Rachel Kandefer. Pasquale pounced on the loose ball and tapped it home for a 1-0 lead.
After Elk Grove sophomore midfielder Kelly Walter (assisted by freshman midfielder Gabriella Mauro) knotted the score at 1-1 on a 30-yard floater over the head of Spartans' junior keeper Tammy Syron with 20:28 left in the first half, Pasquale struck again -- this time on a penalty kick. The sophomore set the table, stealing a ball deep in Grenadiers' territory and feeding freshman forward Hanna Rittenhouse, who was fouled in the box. Pasquale then delivered on the PK, shooting low left while Kandefer guessed right, giving St. Francis a 2-1 lead at the break.
"I believe in going hard to every ball, and it does pay off," said Pasquale, who leads the Spartans in scoring this season with five goals. "In the beginning (Tuesday night), we struggled a bit. Once we started playing our game, we took control from there. We work a lot on swinging and switching the ball in practice."
Winslow said, "(Pasquale) is a special player. And as good as she is, she works her tail off. In practice, it's the same way. But, we have more depth this year, so (opponents) can't just worry about Kendra."
Rittenhouse made it 3-1 in the 54th minute, tapping in a beautiful, left-footed cross from Pasquale, who found her fellow forward from a wide angle on the left side.
"Kendra (Pasquale) is a fantastic player," Rittenhouse said. "She always creates opportunities, and she's an amazing teammate. But, everyone up front has a strong foot, so we can get it outside and get crosses in. It's just good opportunities, and we're good at finishing them. That's a strength of ours."
Sophomore midfielder Kaitlin Joniak, who rifled a shot off the right post with 13:45 to go in the second half, said, "Kendra is always working hard and going for the ball. We work on sending balls outside and getting it back inside. But, we don't force it if it's not there."
With 24 minutes to go in the opening session, Rittenhouse served a pass to Pasquale from the left flank for a try, but Kandefer was equal to the task. Freshman forward Lauren Douglass then sent the rebound wide.
Less than a minute later, Joniak slid a pass to Paquale, who delivered a nifty cross from a wide angle to Rittenhouse for a shot that sailed over the crossbar. Shortly after Elk Grove tallied its lone goal, Pasquale missed wide right.
In the 22nd minute, Spartans' sophomore forward Maggie O'Reilly sent a wide-angle cross to soph defender Alex Preusser, who put a shot on goal from 30 yards out. Preusser had another opportunity about 90 seconds later, but Kandefer stopped that one as well.
Rittenhouse then banged a shot off the right post with 12:10 left in the first half, and senior defender Brooke Rohback unloaded a free kick that Kandefer snuffed with 4:25 to go before intermission. Pasquale missed wide right with a blast from 25 yards out in the 39th minute.
"(St. Francis) had some pace," said Elk Grove skipper Dan Klaus, whose team fell to 1-2-0 with the loss. "I thought we did a good job defending, but when you're in your own end a lot, things happen."
Grenadiers' defender/midfielder Bailey Smola did her best to help in the back, blocking shots and clearing balls away from danger on several occasions.
"As a whole, we need to make the defense better," Smola said. "We have to work together more. Staying aggressive is key."
Elk Grove had a chance in the 38th minute when sophomore forward Leila Aguilar put a bouncing shot on Syron, and had another on a wide-angle try by freshman defender Marissa Mauro that drifted wide with 36:20 left in the second half. With 5:10 to play, Mauro's attempt in close was smothered by Syron.
Sophomore middie Zoe Blomquist had the Grenadiers' final opportunity, which came with 2:50 left. But, she slipped in the box without getting a shot off.
"Those Elk Grove kids busted their tail for 80 minutes," Winslow said. "We're getting there, but we have a ways to go to be consistently good. We just have to do smart things more often. But, the perk with this group ... they get along, work hard and compete, and they've bought into what we want to do. And I think they're hungry. That might be the best part of it all."
Added Pasquale: "We're big on building chemistry, and the wins give us that extra drive to keep going."
Starting line-ups
Elk Grove
GK: Rachel Kandefer
D: Emma Simmons
D: Marissa Mauro
D: Emma Slattery
D: Bailey Smola
MF: Elizabeth McDaniel
MF: Zoe Blomquist
MF: Gabriella Mauro
MF: Kelly Walter
F: Amanda Sitkowski
F: Cassie Slattery
St. Francis
GK: Tammy Syron
D: Brooke Rohback
D: McKenzie Douglass
D: Rachel Rahman
D: Bridget Doran
MF: Claire Hensley
MF: Molly Doran
MF: Kaitlin Joniak
F: Lauren Douglass
F: Kendra Pasquale
F: Hannah Rittenhouse
MVP of the Match: Kendra Pasquale, F, St. Francis
Officials: Scott Lichtfuss, Tom Gudari, Constantin Malacili
keep-away, top Elk Grove
Stellar sophomore part of each goal in 3-1 win
By Ken Keenan
WHEATON -- Working its possession game to near perfection, St. Francis kept visiting Elk Grove on its heels for most of the match Tuesday night en route to a 3-1 nonconference win.
The Spartans calmly spread the field, dropping balls to the backline when an attack sputtered in order to reset the offense, and then moved east-to-west to set up good chances in front. And if a solid try was unavailable, they slid the ball back and reloaded to attack again.
"Possession is nine-tenths of the law, as they say," said St. Francis head coach Jim Winslow, whose club improved to 3-0-0 with the win. "In the first half, we were frantic at times. The second half, we did a better job of controlling the tempo."
Forward Kendra Pasquale controlled the scoresheet, scoring two goals and adding an assist to earn Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors.
Pasquale's first tally came in the 10th minute. A 30-yard free kick by senior defender Bridget Doran found freshman forward Hanna Rittenhouse in the box, but her header attempt was stopped by Elk Grove freshman goalkeeper Rachel Kandefer. Pasquale pounced on the loose ball and tapped it home for a 1-0 lead.
After Elk Grove sophomore midfielder Kelly Walter (assisted by freshman midfielder Gabriella Mauro) knotted the score at 1-1 on a 30-yard floater over the head of Spartans' junior keeper Tammy Syron with 20:28 left in the first half, Pasquale struck again -- this time on a penalty kick. The sophomore set the table, stealing a ball deep in Grenadiers' territory and feeding freshman forward Hanna Rittenhouse, who was fouled in the box. Pasquale then delivered on the PK, shooting low left while Kandefer guessed right, giving St. Francis a 2-1 lead at the break.
"I believe in going hard to every ball, and it does pay off," said Pasquale, who leads the Spartans in scoring this season with five goals. "In the beginning (Tuesday night), we struggled a bit. Once we started playing our game, we took control from there. We work a lot on swinging and switching the ball in practice."
Winslow said, "(Pasquale) is a special player. And as good as she is, she works her tail off. In practice, it's the same way. But, we have more depth this year, so (opponents) can't just worry about Kendra."
Rittenhouse made it 3-1 in the 54th minute, tapping in a beautiful, left-footed cross from Pasquale, who found her fellow forward from a wide angle on the left side.
"Kendra (Pasquale) is a fantastic player," Rittenhouse said. "She always creates opportunities, and she's an amazing teammate. But, everyone up front has a strong foot, so we can get it outside and get crosses in. It's just good opportunities, and we're good at finishing them. That's a strength of ours."
Sophomore midfielder Kaitlin Joniak, who rifled a shot off the right post with 13:45 to go in the second half, said, "Kendra is always working hard and going for the ball. We work on sending balls outside and getting it back inside. But, we don't force it if it's not there."
With 24 minutes to go in the opening session, Rittenhouse served a pass to Pasquale from the left flank for a try, but Kandefer was equal to the task. Freshman forward Lauren Douglass then sent the rebound wide.
Less than a minute later, Joniak slid a pass to Paquale, who delivered a nifty cross from a wide angle to Rittenhouse for a shot that sailed over the crossbar. Shortly after Elk Grove tallied its lone goal, Pasquale missed wide right.
In the 22nd minute, Spartans' sophomore forward Maggie O'Reilly sent a wide-angle cross to soph defender Alex Preusser, who put a shot on goal from 30 yards out. Preusser had another opportunity about 90 seconds later, but Kandefer stopped that one as well.
Rittenhouse then banged a shot off the right post with 12:10 left in the first half, and senior defender Brooke Rohback unloaded a free kick that Kandefer snuffed with 4:25 to go before intermission. Pasquale missed wide right with a blast from 25 yards out in the 39th minute.
"(St. Francis) had some pace," said Elk Grove skipper Dan Klaus, whose team fell to 1-2-0 with the loss. "I thought we did a good job defending, but when you're in your own end a lot, things happen."
Grenadiers' defender/midfielder Bailey Smola did her best to help in the back, blocking shots and clearing balls away from danger on several occasions.
"As a whole, we need to make the defense better," Smola said. "We have to work together more. Staying aggressive is key."
Elk Grove had a chance in the 38th minute when sophomore forward Leila Aguilar put a bouncing shot on Syron, and had another on a wide-angle try by freshman defender Marissa Mauro that drifted wide with 36:20 left in the second half. With 5:10 to play, Mauro's attempt in close was smothered by Syron.
Sophomore middie Zoe Blomquist had the Grenadiers' final opportunity, which came with 2:50 left. But, she slipped in the box without getting a shot off.
"Those Elk Grove kids busted their tail for 80 minutes," Winslow said. "We're getting there, but we have a ways to go to be consistently good. We just have to do smart things more often. But, the perk with this group ... they get along, work hard and compete, and they've bought into what we want to do. And I think they're hungry. That might be the best part of it all."
Added Pasquale: "We're big on building chemistry, and the wins give us that extra drive to keep going."
Starting line-ups
Elk Grove
GK: Rachel Kandefer
D: Emma Simmons
D: Marissa Mauro
D: Emma Slattery
D: Bailey Smola
MF: Elizabeth McDaniel
MF: Zoe Blomquist
MF: Gabriella Mauro
MF: Kelly Walter
F: Amanda Sitkowski
F: Cassie Slattery
St. Francis
GK: Tammy Syron
D: Brooke Rohback
D: McKenzie Douglass
D: Rachel Rahman
D: Bridget Doran
MF: Claire Hensley
MF: Molly Doran
MF: Kaitlin Joniak
F: Lauren Douglass
F: Kendra Pasquale
F: Hannah Rittenhouse
MVP of the Match: Kendra Pasquale, F, St. Francis
Officials: Scott Lichtfuss, Tom Gudari, Constantin Malacili