St. Francis serves notice
with win over Metea Valley
Pasquale provides offense in headturning 3-1 result
By Dave Owen
WHEATON – Any questions about whether St. Francis is ready for a Class 2A playoff run were answered quickly Thursday.
Sophomore Kendra Pasquale scored twice in the first 10 minutes, setting an immediate tone in the Spartans’ 3-1 win over defending Class 3A sectional finalist Metea Valley on St. Francis’ Senior Night.
“We knew coming out that they (Metea Valley) would be a good team,” said Pasquale, who added a second half goal for a hat trick en route to Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors.
“We knew we had to step up our game. Our seniors and captains really picked us up. Getting on the field we knew we had to play fast and quick and work off of each other. For me it was a right time, right place type of thing.”
Pasquale picked the right place in the net to send in her first goal, somehow sneaking a left-footed shot inside the post to put the Spartans (12-3-0) up 1-0.
“On the first one, we were all shocked,” Spartans coach Jim Winslow said. “The (Metea) keeper looked at it, and it somehow went just inside the near post.”
That seemingly wide-of-frame shot turned into a 1-0 St. Francis advantage. It was just part of a frustrating early stretch for Metea Valley (9-8-4).
Pasquale added to her team’s sizzling start in the 10th minute. After passes from Kaitlyn Joniak and Claire Hensley, Pasquale blasted a 16-yarder into the net for a 2-0 lead.
“The second one she roped,” Winslow said. “As soon as she hit it I turned to my assistant and said ‘That’s in.’ They found her up-top, she took one quick move and buried that.
“You give her an inch and she’ll take a mile, and she had more than an inch. She buried the first one and buried the second one, and that was kind of it. The second one puts them on their heels.
“For the first 20-25 minutes we were all over them,” Winslow added. “We’re athletic, we can play, and we’re fun to watch.”
The Mustangs had to deal with more Spartan attacks. In the 21st minute, Maggie O’Reilly drove in 1-v.-1 and sent a 15-yarder just wide of the left post. Then 15:50 before halftime, a great diving save by Metea Valley goalkeeper Amy Ahern denied Pasquale’s next big point-blank chance off a Rachel Rahman cross (with Mustang defender Katherine Wieland nicely clearing the rebound).
“We came out flat,” Metea Valley coach Chris Whaley said. “They had a lot of emotion coming out on Senior Night, and we did a poor job starting the game the first 10 minutes. But after that I thought we played well.
“We didn’t create enough chances in the first half and the start of the second, but once we started finding a little rhythm, we felt like we controlled the ball most of the game. But we didn’t create enough chances.”
St. Francis’ defense had a lot to do with that. The Spartans did an excellent job limiting Mustang star forward Jade Eriksen-Russo’s options in the final third.
“I thought it was really important to make sure everyone kept stepping up and getting everyone to keep the pressure up,” Spartans defender Brooke Roback said, “and to make sure we were watching those runs through and communicating as a back four and with the mids to close those gaps.”
Metea Valley’s bids to turn the tide late in the first half included Eriksen-Russo’s 34-yard shot on goal off a long Kiley McKee free-kick in the 31st minute.
Then two minutes later on Kelly Crowe’s nice send to the box, Spartan goalkeeper Tammy Syron just beat Eriksen-Russo to the loose ball and nicely kicked the ball upfield clear of danger.
“Once they got that second goal they were behind the ball, had a lot of people back and made it difficult for us,” Whaley said. “But we had two or three chances I would have liked to see us finish, and we didn’t.”
Beyond Pasquale’s amazing early offensive outburst, the St. Francis defense and midfielder Joniak were other game-changers.
“The back four was great,” Winslow said. “We played a lot of different kids back there and didn’t give anything up until the end, and that was when we were playing a lot of kids in the midfield and it’s hard for them to go into a game this fast against a team like Metea Valley.
“Kaitlyn Joniak deserves a huge mention – she played hard and tough for about 70 minutes. And in the second half, the first 20 minutes, she really set the table for us. It was her sitting back in, clogging balls and winning balls that allowed our skill kids to do what they do. She played a hard-nosed game. I’m sure she’s exhausted.”
Joniak played a huge role in Pasquale’s hat trick goal, which came with 26:54 left and completely derailed the Mustangs’ comeback hopes.
After a foul, Joniak sent a perfect 38-yard free kick deep into the box. Pasquale was on the other end in the crowd to put away a 6-yard header, making the lead 3-0.
That finish followed a pair of Spartan near-misses by an eyelash. Erin Peck sent a 15-yarder inches wide of the post with 30 minutes left, and Pasquale burst in left and sent a 12-yarder just wide of the far post at 28:30.
With 18:30 left, Hannah Rittenhouse just missed joining in the fun. In her first game back from injury, the freshman headed a Rahman corner kick off the football crossbar.
“I felt bad for Hannah,” Winslow said. “This is her first game back and everyone wanted her to score.”
After that close call, Metea Valley found reason for optimism going forward with its strong final offensive push.
An Eriksen-Russo 20-yard shot off a Sophia Majher pass with 15:50 left went just over the net. But with 10:09 left, Majher took a pass from Eriksen-Russo, burst up the middle and drilled a 15-yarder into the upper right corner of the net to cut the Spartan lead to 3-1.
“We were kind of slow and stagnant at the beginning,” Crowe said. “We didn’t get off to a good start, but I think we battled. And even though the score didn’t go in our favor, we played a really good game and put everything on the field.”
The Metea offensive push continued to the final horn. With 2:15 left, McKee’s 20-yard shot on a right-side attack was saved by Syron. Then with 1:30 to go, Syron came off her line to grab a 40-yard Crowe free kick into traffic.
That never-quit style provided a valuable final lesson for Metea Valley in what started as a disastrous night.
“We talked about it at halftime, that it’s a little bit of adversity and learning how to play from behind,” Whaley said.
“It’s continuing to play your game, but being aggressive and going for it. That’s a tough thing for kids to do, because a lot of times you see panic. I thought tonight they did a nice job of composing themselves and giving themselves a chance at coming back.
“It all comes down to, from here on out, eliminating those little mental errors that came up, winning a 50/50 ball in the box or somebody making an aggressive play. We didn’t get that tonight. That was the difference.”
The early game struggles and late comeback become good lessons for the Mustangs, as they prepare for a grueling sectional.
“I just feel it’s building blocks,” Crowe said. “We get through this and we know how this (loss) feels, and we don’t want to feel it again.”
St. Francis can’t get enough of its good feelings from Wednesday.
“I think it’s awesome that on our Senior Night we won against a 3A team,” Rahman said. “It definitely gives us a confidence boost and shows that we can execute well.”
Reflecting on her amazing start to the game and first high school hat trick, Pasquale admitted surprise over the margin of victory.
“I honestly didn’t expect this,” she said. “I knew they were going to be a very good team. This gives us a good boost in our last game entering into playoffs. It’s really going to prepare us and help us with that competition.
“A win will always boost your confidence, but this reassured us that we are this good and we are capable of beating a team like this when we work together and play our best.”
Playing well together has been key to success all spring.
“I’d say it’s the chemistry of our team,” Rahman said. “I think we work really hard in practice, and that shows in the game.”
Now clearly in peak form in mid-May, the Spartans appear set to make a long run in the Class 2A playoffs.
“If we can play with this intensity, we’re good,” Winslow said. “We’ll let it roll and whatever happens. But we can’t let up.”
To Roback, playing together will be key to producing bigger celebrations down the road.
“It’s really important to work as one unit instead of 11 individual players,” Roback said. “We just have to come out in every game and execute like this.”
Starting line-ups
Metea Valley
GK- Amy Ahern
D- Janay Robinson
D- Katherine Wieland
D- Kelly Crowe
D- Kiley McKee
MF- Maddie Morris
MF- Emily Lindbloom
MF- Chesney Wargo
MF- Abby Severson
F- Jade Eriksen-Russo
F- Taylor Rohm
St. Francis
GK- Tammy Syron
D- Brooke Roback
D- Elli Pointner
D- Rachel Rahman
D- Bridget Doran
MF- Claire Hensley
MF- Kaitlyn Joniak
MF- Molly Doran
MF- Kate LaMantia
F- Kendra Pasquale
F- Erin Peck
MVP of the Match: Kendra Pasquale, F, St. Francis
with win over Metea Valley
Pasquale provides offense in headturning 3-1 result
By Dave Owen
WHEATON – Any questions about whether St. Francis is ready for a Class 2A playoff run were answered quickly Thursday.
Sophomore Kendra Pasquale scored twice in the first 10 minutes, setting an immediate tone in the Spartans’ 3-1 win over defending Class 3A sectional finalist Metea Valley on St. Francis’ Senior Night.
“We knew coming out that they (Metea Valley) would be a good team,” said Pasquale, who added a second half goal for a hat trick en route to Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors.
“We knew we had to step up our game. Our seniors and captains really picked us up. Getting on the field we knew we had to play fast and quick and work off of each other. For me it was a right time, right place type of thing.”
Pasquale picked the right place in the net to send in her first goal, somehow sneaking a left-footed shot inside the post to put the Spartans (12-3-0) up 1-0.
“On the first one, we were all shocked,” Spartans coach Jim Winslow said. “The (Metea) keeper looked at it, and it somehow went just inside the near post.”
That seemingly wide-of-frame shot turned into a 1-0 St. Francis advantage. It was just part of a frustrating early stretch for Metea Valley (9-8-4).
Pasquale added to her team’s sizzling start in the 10th minute. After passes from Kaitlyn Joniak and Claire Hensley, Pasquale blasted a 16-yarder into the net for a 2-0 lead.
“The second one she roped,” Winslow said. “As soon as she hit it I turned to my assistant and said ‘That’s in.’ They found her up-top, she took one quick move and buried that.
“You give her an inch and she’ll take a mile, and she had more than an inch. She buried the first one and buried the second one, and that was kind of it. The second one puts them on their heels.
“For the first 20-25 minutes we were all over them,” Winslow added. “We’re athletic, we can play, and we’re fun to watch.”
The Mustangs had to deal with more Spartan attacks. In the 21st minute, Maggie O’Reilly drove in 1-v.-1 and sent a 15-yarder just wide of the left post. Then 15:50 before halftime, a great diving save by Metea Valley goalkeeper Amy Ahern denied Pasquale’s next big point-blank chance off a Rachel Rahman cross (with Mustang defender Katherine Wieland nicely clearing the rebound).
“We came out flat,” Metea Valley coach Chris Whaley said. “They had a lot of emotion coming out on Senior Night, and we did a poor job starting the game the first 10 minutes. But after that I thought we played well.
“We didn’t create enough chances in the first half and the start of the second, but once we started finding a little rhythm, we felt like we controlled the ball most of the game. But we didn’t create enough chances.”
St. Francis’ defense had a lot to do with that. The Spartans did an excellent job limiting Mustang star forward Jade Eriksen-Russo’s options in the final third.
“I thought it was really important to make sure everyone kept stepping up and getting everyone to keep the pressure up,” Spartans defender Brooke Roback said, “and to make sure we were watching those runs through and communicating as a back four and with the mids to close those gaps.”
Metea Valley’s bids to turn the tide late in the first half included Eriksen-Russo’s 34-yard shot on goal off a long Kiley McKee free-kick in the 31st minute.
Then two minutes later on Kelly Crowe’s nice send to the box, Spartan goalkeeper Tammy Syron just beat Eriksen-Russo to the loose ball and nicely kicked the ball upfield clear of danger.
“Once they got that second goal they were behind the ball, had a lot of people back and made it difficult for us,” Whaley said. “But we had two or three chances I would have liked to see us finish, and we didn’t.”
Beyond Pasquale’s amazing early offensive outburst, the St. Francis defense and midfielder Joniak were other game-changers.
“The back four was great,” Winslow said. “We played a lot of different kids back there and didn’t give anything up until the end, and that was when we were playing a lot of kids in the midfield and it’s hard for them to go into a game this fast against a team like Metea Valley.
“Kaitlyn Joniak deserves a huge mention – she played hard and tough for about 70 minutes. And in the second half, the first 20 minutes, she really set the table for us. It was her sitting back in, clogging balls and winning balls that allowed our skill kids to do what they do. She played a hard-nosed game. I’m sure she’s exhausted.”
Joniak played a huge role in Pasquale’s hat trick goal, which came with 26:54 left and completely derailed the Mustangs’ comeback hopes.
After a foul, Joniak sent a perfect 38-yard free kick deep into the box. Pasquale was on the other end in the crowd to put away a 6-yard header, making the lead 3-0.
That finish followed a pair of Spartan near-misses by an eyelash. Erin Peck sent a 15-yarder inches wide of the post with 30 minutes left, and Pasquale burst in left and sent a 12-yarder just wide of the far post at 28:30.
With 18:30 left, Hannah Rittenhouse just missed joining in the fun. In her first game back from injury, the freshman headed a Rahman corner kick off the football crossbar.
“I felt bad for Hannah,” Winslow said. “This is her first game back and everyone wanted her to score.”
After that close call, Metea Valley found reason for optimism going forward with its strong final offensive push.
An Eriksen-Russo 20-yard shot off a Sophia Majher pass with 15:50 left went just over the net. But with 10:09 left, Majher took a pass from Eriksen-Russo, burst up the middle and drilled a 15-yarder into the upper right corner of the net to cut the Spartan lead to 3-1.
“We were kind of slow and stagnant at the beginning,” Crowe said. “We didn’t get off to a good start, but I think we battled. And even though the score didn’t go in our favor, we played a really good game and put everything on the field.”
The Metea offensive push continued to the final horn. With 2:15 left, McKee’s 20-yard shot on a right-side attack was saved by Syron. Then with 1:30 to go, Syron came off her line to grab a 40-yard Crowe free kick into traffic.
That never-quit style provided a valuable final lesson for Metea Valley in what started as a disastrous night.
“We talked about it at halftime, that it’s a little bit of adversity and learning how to play from behind,” Whaley said.
“It’s continuing to play your game, but being aggressive and going for it. That’s a tough thing for kids to do, because a lot of times you see panic. I thought tonight they did a nice job of composing themselves and giving themselves a chance at coming back.
“It all comes down to, from here on out, eliminating those little mental errors that came up, winning a 50/50 ball in the box or somebody making an aggressive play. We didn’t get that tonight. That was the difference.”
The early game struggles and late comeback become good lessons for the Mustangs, as they prepare for a grueling sectional.
“I just feel it’s building blocks,” Crowe said. “We get through this and we know how this (loss) feels, and we don’t want to feel it again.”
St. Francis can’t get enough of its good feelings from Wednesday.
“I think it’s awesome that on our Senior Night we won against a 3A team,” Rahman said. “It definitely gives us a confidence boost and shows that we can execute well.”
Reflecting on her amazing start to the game and first high school hat trick, Pasquale admitted surprise over the margin of victory.
“I honestly didn’t expect this,” she said. “I knew they were going to be a very good team. This gives us a good boost in our last game entering into playoffs. It’s really going to prepare us and help us with that competition.
“A win will always boost your confidence, but this reassured us that we are this good and we are capable of beating a team like this when we work together and play our best.”
Playing well together has been key to success all spring.
“I’d say it’s the chemistry of our team,” Rahman said. “I think we work really hard in practice, and that shows in the game.”
Now clearly in peak form in mid-May, the Spartans appear set to make a long run in the Class 2A playoffs.
“If we can play with this intensity, we’re good,” Winslow said. “We’ll let it roll and whatever happens. But we can’t let up.”
To Roback, playing together will be key to producing bigger celebrations down the road.
“It’s really important to work as one unit instead of 11 individual players,” Roback said. “We just have to come out in every game and execute like this.”
Starting line-ups
Metea Valley
GK- Amy Ahern
D- Janay Robinson
D- Katherine Wieland
D- Kelly Crowe
D- Kiley McKee
MF- Maddie Morris
MF- Emily Lindbloom
MF- Chesney Wargo
MF- Abby Severson
F- Jade Eriksen-Russo
F- Taylor Rohm
St. Francis
GK- Tammy Syron
D- Brooke Roback
D- Elli Pointner
D- Rachel Rahman
D- Bridget Doran
MF- Claire Hensley
MF- Kaitlyn Joniak
MF- Molly Doran
MF- Kate LaMantia
F- Kendra Pasquale
F- Erin Peck
MVP of the Match: Kendra Pasquale, F, St. Francis