Loyola gets the 'W',
St. Francis gets respect
Devin Burns stars again for new no. 1 Ramblers
By Matt Le Cren
WHEATON – Only six minutes had elapsed when Loyola scored on the first shot of the game Monday night.
It was a familiar sight, too. Senior Devin Burns sent a laser of a lead pass up the right wing to sophomore Stephanie Ramsay, who blew past a defender and beat St. Francis goalkeeper Tammy Syron for her 13th goal of the season.
Most onlookers, and the Ramblers themselves, thought it was the beginning of another easy Loyola victory.
It wasn’t.
Loyola didn’t score again for another 53 minutes and the outcome was still in doubt with seven minutes remaining before the top-ranked Ramblers walked out of Kuhn Memorial Stadium with a 4-0 Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Red Division victory.
While the Ramblers (12-0-2, 5-0-0) all but wrapped up another GCAC title, the host Spartans (7-3-0, 2-1-0) earned a lot of respect.
“They were terrific,” Loyola coach Craig Snower said. “They challenged us as much as any team has challenged us all year.
“They played great soccer. Their runs are terrific, they attack with 11 people. Every part of what they do is good.
“That’s a team that’s going to be a very successful addition to our conference. I think they’re going to compete for the conference title on a regular basis.”
The Spartans showed no ill effects from Saturday’s disappointing 3-0 loss to Maine South, a game that saw freshman forward Hannah Rittenhouse go down with a knee injury.
Rittenhouse’s injury isn’t as serious as first feared, but she will miss at least two weeks. But even without their second-leading scorer, the Spartans put up an incredible fight against the heavily favored Ramblers.
Ramsay’s goal turned out to be more important than anyone thought at the time.
“It was pretty important to get the goal in the beginning,” Ramsay said. “We kind of held on throughout the first half and then in the second half we kind of broke through.
“(The goal) definitely was motivation, and it kind of kept me going to know that we were winning in the first half.”
Conventional wisdom would have the Spartans deflated by conceding so early and the Ramblers on the prowl for more.
Ironically, the reverse was true. Loyola did try to use their vaunted passing game and front-line speed to press their advantage, but the St. Francis defense shut them down and Syron was up to the task, making three saves and also ranging 40 yards off her line to break up one rush.
Eventually, the Spartans started to control the ball more, with both sides showcasing outstanding ability to connect passes.
“They really held us off in the first half, I thought, with their tactical work,” Burns said. “They did an amazing job tactically and we were having a hard time getting it back to our midfielders because they were all just really tight on us. It was hard to find other players on the field.”
Perhaps because they had the lead, the Ramblers were content to let the Spartans possess in the midfield.
“I think once we got the goal we kind of settled down a little too much, thought we kind of had the game because we got (the lead) early,” Burns said. “We didn’t really expect them to keep flying at us, so we were a little surprised, but we kept fighting.”
St. Francis never really threatened the Loyola defense and did not have a shot through the first 60 minutes and managed only two. The first came off the foot of freshman Jill DiTusa, whose 23-yard shot was deflected by a defender and caught by Loyola goalkeeper Maggie Avery.
Just 33 seconds later, the Ramblers took advantage of a mistake by Syron to double their lead.
Syron came out of the right side of her penalty area to play a ball as Burns tried to get to it. Syron had time to kick it out of bounds but waited too long and the Iowa-bound Burns stole it and moved into the box.
Syron tackled Burns from behind, drawing a yellow card. Loyola defender Lauren Chrisman converted the ensuing penalty kick for her first goal of the season, beating back-up goalkeeper Kayla Vega, who was forced into action because of Syron’s yellow card, with 19:02 remaining.
“If we don’t mess around with it in the back and just put it in the parking lot, it’s a 1-0 game and we’re down their throat,” said St. Francis coach Jim Winslow, who kept Syron on the bench for the remainder of the game. “We shot ourselves in the foot.
“I feel bad because I put Kayla in a very untenable situation, going in cold on a PK and dealing with the rest of it.”
Burns had narrowly missed scoring earlier on similar play, hitting the left post with a shot following a steal.
“Of course I heard Craig yelling, ‘Keep going,’ so I kept going and then I saw (Syron) take a bad touch,” Burns said. “I just touched around her and then I saw four girls come right in front of the goal, so I took a touch to the side and I felt someone come behind me and just tackle me.”
Burns finished the Spartans at the 6:45 mark, notching her 16th goal on a beautifully placed breakaway into the right side netting. Just 35 seconds later, senior K.K. Phelan tied Burns for the team scoring lead and capped the scoring on another breakaway, with Vega bobbling the shot over the goal line.
Avery collected the shutout for the Ramblers, who now have 13 shutouts and have allowed only one goal.
“They’re no. 1 for a reason but we went toe-to-toe with them,” Winslow said. “Ultimately tonight, Loyola put away their opportunities, and we had some that we didn’t, but we shot ourselves in the foot on little things. From there to there we were good and then we’d miss a pass here or be too rushed.”
But the buzz afterward was how clean both sides played and how tough the Spartans played.
“They play a lot like we do, where they play out of the back, so it was kind of hard for me (because) I have to mark their outside back,” Ramsay noted. “So I have to run all the way with her and the run all the way back with her, so that was kind of tough.”
The Spartans lost consecutive games for the first time this season, but they showed their toughness in defeat.
“I think after that loss on Saturday everybody was just motivated,” St. Francis senior Brooke Roback said. “We came out here and wanted to give everything we had.
“We kept our composure and just said every ball we’ve got to pressure in and keep it together. I think this showed us a little bit of what we can do and motivated us to keep our heads up and keep fighting.”
Winslow knows good things can happen when the Spartans do that.
“We can play with anybody,” Winslow said. “I don’t have any doubts about that.
“We have to want to play and be willing to. We can’t shy away from stuff, and we can’t put our hands in the air and go, ‘Well, I’m tired so I’m not going to put forth the effort.’
“Saturday night Maine South was good, and we were bad and that’s not a good combination. Tonight we came out and played hard, and that’s what I asked the kids to do.”
Starting line-ups
Loyola
GK: Maggie Avery
D: Lauren Chrisman
D: Alex Yasko
D: Ryan Flanagan
D: Riley Burns
MF: Natalie Joyce
MF: Cate Shellenback
MF: Bella Broccolo
F: K.K. Phelan
F: Devin Burns
F: Stephanie Ramsay
St. Francis
GK: Tammy Syron
D: Brooke Roback
D: McKenzie Douglass
D: Rachel Rahman
D: Bridget Doran
MF: Kaitlyn Joniak
MF: Molly Doran
F: Kendra Pasquale
F: Erin Peck
F: Kate LaMantia
MVP of the Match: Devin Burns, F, Loyola.
St. Francis gets respect
Devin Burns stars again for new no. 1 Ramblers
By Matt Le Cren
WHEATON – Only six minutes had elapsed when Loyola scored on the first shot of the game Monday night.
It was a familiar sight, too. Senior Devin Burns sent a laser of a lead pass up the right wing to sophomore Stephanie Ramsay, who blew past a defender and beat St. Francis goalkeeper Tammy Syron for her 13th goal of the season.
Most onlookers, and the Ramblers themselves, thought it was the beginning of another easy Loyola victory.
It wasn’t.
Loyola didn’t score again for another 53 minutes and the outcome was still in doubt with seven minutes remaining before the top-ranked Ramblers walked out of Kuhn Memorial Stadium with a 4-0 Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Red Division victory.
While the Ramblers (12-0-2, 5-0-0) all but wrapped up another GCAC title, the host Spartans (7-3-0, 2-1-0) earned a lot of respect.
“They were terrific,” Loyola coach Craig Snower said. “They challenged us as much as any team has challenged us all year.
“They played great soccer. Their runs are terrific, they attack with 11 people. Every part of what they do is good.
“That’s a team that’s going to be a very successful addition to our conference. I think they’re going to compete for the conference title on a regular basis.”
The Spartans showed no ill effects from Saturday’s disappointing 3-0 loss to Maine South, a game that saw freshman forward Hannah Rittenhouse go down with a knee injury.
Rittenhouse’s injury isn’t as serious as first feared, but she will miss at least two weeks. But even without their second-leading scorer, the Spartans put up an incredible fight against the heavily favored Ramblers.
Ramsay’s goal turned out to be more important than anyone thought at the time.
“It was pretty important to get the goal in the beginning,” Ramsay said. “We kind of held on throughout the first half and then in the second half we kind of broke through.
“(The goal) definitely was motivation, and it kind of kept me going to know that we were winning in the first half.”
Conventional wisdom would have the Spartans deflated by conceding so early and the Ramblers on the prowl for more.
Ironically, the reverse was true. Loyola did try to use their vaunted passing game and front-line speed to press their advantage, but the St. Francis defense shut them down and Syron was up to the task, making three saves and also ranging 40 yards off her line to break up one rush.
Eventually, the Spartans started to control the ball more, with both sides showcasing outstanding ability to connect passes.
“They really held us off in the first half, I thought, with their tactical work,” Burns said. “They did an amazing job tactically and we were having a hard time getting it back to our midfielders because they were all just really tight on us. It was hard to find other players on the field.”
Perhaps because they had the lead, the Ramblers were content to let the Spartans possess in the midfield.
“I think once we got the goal we kind of settled down a little too much, thought we kind of had the game because we got (the lead) early,” Burns said. “We didn’t really expect them to keep flying at us, so we were a little surprised, but we kept fighting.”
St. Francis never really threatened the Loyola defense and did not have a shot through the first 60 minutes and managed only two. The first came off the foot of freshman Jill DiTusa, whose 23-yard shot was deflected by a defender and caught by Loyola goalkeeper Maggie Avery.
Just 33 seconds later, the Ramblers took advantage of a mistake by Syron to double their lead.
Syron came out of the right side of her penalty area to play a ball as Burns tried to get to it. Syron had time to kick it out of bounds but waited too long and the Iowa-bound Burns stole it and moved into the box.
Syron tackled Burns from behind, drawing a yellow card. Loyola defender Lauren Chrisman converted the ensuing penalty kick for her first goal of the season, beating back-up goalkeeper Kayla Vega, who was forced into action because of Syron’s yellow card, with 19:02 remaining.
“If we don’t mess around with it in the back and just put it in the parking lot, it’s a 1-0 game and we’re down their throat,” said St. Francis coach Jim Winslow, who kept Syron on the bench for the remainder of the game. “We shot ourselves in the foot.
“I feel bad because I put Kayla in a very untenable situation, going in cold on a PK and dealing with the rest of it.”
Burns had narrowly missed scoring earlier on similar play, hitting the left post with a shot following a steal.
“Of course I heard Craig yelling, ‘Keep going,’ so I kept going and then I saw (Syron) take a bad touch,” Burns said. “I just touched around her and then I saw four girls come right in front of the goal, so I took a touch to the side and I felt someone come behind me and just tackle me.”
Burns finished the Spartans at the 6:45 mark, notching her 16th goal on a beautifully placed breakaway into the right side netting. Just 35 seconds later, senior K.K. Phelan tied Burns for the team scoring lead and capped the scoring on another breakaway, with Vega bobbling the shot over the goal line.
Avery collected the shutout for the Ramblers, who now have 13 shutouts and have allowed only one goal.
“They’re no. 1 for a reason but we went toe-to-toe with them,” Winslow said. “Ultimately tonight, Loyola put away their opportunities, and we had some that we didn’t, but we shot ourselves in the foot on little things. From there to there we were good and then we’d miss a pass here or be too rushed.”
But the buzz afterward was how clean both sides played and how tough the Spartans played.
“They play a lot like we do, where they play out of the back, so it was kind of hard for me (because) I have to mark their outside back,” Ramsay noted. “So I have to run all the way with her and the run all the way back with her, so that was kind of tough.”
The Spartans lost consecutive games for the first time this season, but they showed their toughness in defeat.
“I think after that loss on Saturday everybody was just motivated,” St. Francis senior Brooke Roback said. “We came out here and wanted to give everything we had.
“We kept our composure and just said every ball we’ve got to pressure in and keep it together. I think this showed us a little bit of what we can do and motivated us to keep our heads up and keep fighting.”
Winslow knows good things can happen when the Spartans do that.
“We can play with anybody,” Winslow said. “I don’t have any doubts about that.
“We have to want to play and be willing to. We can’t shy away from stuff, and we can’t put our hands in the air and go, ‘Well, I’m tired so I’m not going to put forth the effort.’
“Saturday night Maine South was good, and we were bad and that’s not a good combination. Tonight we came out and played hard, and that’s what I asked the kids to do.”
Starting line-ups
Loyola
GK: Maggie Avery
D: Lauren Chrisman
D: Alex Yasko
D: Ryan Flanagan
D: Riley Burns
MF: Natalie Joyce
MF: Cate Shellenback
MF: Bella Broccolo
F: K.K. Phelan
F: Devin Burns
F: Stephanie Ramsay
St. Francis
GK: Tammy Syron
D: Brooke Roback
D: McKenzie Douglass
D: Rachel Rahman
D: Bridget Doran
MF: Kaitlyn Joniak
MF: Molly Doran
F: Kendra Pasquale
F: Erin Peck
F: Kate LaMantia
MVP of the Match: Devin Burns, F, Loyola.
