Barrington tops Neuqua Valley
in early battle of the titans
Spinell-Herr combination hits paydirt for 1-0 win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
BARRINGTON — What a way to raise the curtain on a new season already bristling with intrigue, excitement and the unexpected.
The early marquee showdown of Neuqua Valley and host Barrington, two of the state’s best teams, was delayed by the cold and disruptive weather patterns.
When the teams hit the field the game lived up to the hype. It featured highly-ranked programs prepared to assert their status and earn an authoritative start of the season expression.
While the air was heavy and cool, the play between Neuqua Valley and Barrington was pretty electric for a mid-March afternoon. It provided an early jolt and sharp contrast between the Wildcats’ impressive arsenal of weapons and the Fillies’ counterattack.
“We were very impressed with their skills and their attacking line,” Barrington midfielder Michayla Herr said. “We just knew we had to have a strong defense all the way across the field.”
The no. 2 Fillies nullified the Wildcats’ pincer attack with a suffocating defense, and playmakers Herr and Sophia Spinell collaborated on a beautiful goal in the 47th minute in a 1-0 victory over no. 4 Neuqua Valley on Saturday.
Herr earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors.
The game was sharply and terrifically played on both sides, underlining the confidence, skill and perseverance of two powerhouse programs that contested every action.
Barrington was originally scheduled to open the season on Monday against top-ranked Naperville North. That game was cancelled. The Neuqua Valley game, originally set for Thursday, became the high-profile opener for both programs.
“We were totally ready,” Spinell said. “We worked hard in all aspects of the game. Nobody took plays off. We played together ultimately, and that is what makes us so strong.”
The game had limited impact moments, traditionally speaking. Each side only manufactured four shots. The game was scintillating in other ways, the two sides asserting their own identities. Neuqua Valley, with its already imposing lineup buttressed by the return of several high-profile club players, enjoyed superior possession time.
Neuqua Valley (0-1-0) has size, speed and quickness. They were the faster team to the ball throughout the first half. Forward Haley Singer had the best first half scoring chance, a sharp one touch from the right flank from about 14 yards out that Fillies’ keeper Samantha Schmitz made a quick read on in denying.
“This was our first game, and we were trying to get a feel for things at the beginning of the game,” Singer said. “I think by the end we started to click a little bit more and figure things out. We do have a lot of talent, and there a lot of people who are giving a lot of passion, and that is going to make us stronger.”
Barrington has nine starters back from a 20-win team that felt it underachieved last year, the still haunting supersectional defeat against Huntley a cruel reminder of a season that ended prematurely. Coach Ryan Stengren, determined not to play it safe and experimenting with his combinations, went with five defenders to slow the Wildcats’ attack.
Spinell is a dynamite talent, a gamechanger who plays with fearlessness and the ability to impact the flow of a game. She had nine goals and a team-best 17 assists last year. She has great vision and anticipation skills and knows how to put her teammates in position.
Seizing the moment, she collected the ball on the left edge and made a fluid cross to Herr, who was beginning to break free.
“We were building it up,” Spinell said. “It started from the back. I got the ball and crossed it, and then a defender deflected it and Mickey was in the right place at the right time. The typical player that she is, she had beautiful placement.”
Herr made a slight hesitation move to freeze Wildcats’ keeper Yanel Ortiz before smashing in the low liner inside the far post with a one-touch laser.
“It was exciting,” Herr said. “It is one of the things we are working on, at the start of the season, to get opportunities and shots on goal.”
She also took advantage of a rare lapse by the Wildcats’ defense that permitted her too much open space and time to get the shot off. The score energized the Fillies (1-0-0). Spinell continued to attack, generating some wonderful build-up with Herr and Kayla Keck, one of a multitude of Barrington players who is a hybrid, listed as a defender though capable of shooting from distance.
Ortiz, who played the second half after Kasey Gillespie started the game, made a superb stop of a Spinell shot that preserved the tight score. Psychologically the game shifted clearly in the favor of the Fillies, who nullified the Wildcats’ superior possession.
“I think the game changed at halftime when it was tied, and we knew we had come out strong,” Herr said. “Once we scored it just made us even more motivated to keep pushing harder.”
If Spinell and Herr found a way to penetrate the Wildcats’ strong defense, Barrington defenders Haley Tausend and Jackie Batliner played equivalent dominant roles in denying Neuqua Valley’s potent attack.
Neuqua Valley has dangerous parts in forwards Singer, Ryan Gareis and Schylar Kingsley. The rangy and quick Kingsley was particularly dangerous at initiating the attack. Barrington responded in kind, and Tausend and Batliner were particularly disruptive at closing down space.
In the 65th minute, Gareis cut against the grain in moving between two defenders and delivered a shot on frame from about 17 yards with velocity and strong pace that Schmitz stabbed in front of the goal.
“That was one of our only chances, and I wanted to get a shot off,” Gareis said. “We talked at halftime that we wanted to show them that we could get shots off. They pressured us really tightly, and we wanted to get as many opportunities as possible.
“I do wish I placed it differently. It went right towards the goalie, and I’d have liked to curve it more toward the far post.”
Gareis played with the Wildcats as a freshman. After two years playing club exclusively, the South Carolina recruit is one reason the Wildcats have generated so much excitement. Despite the setback, Neuqua Valley revealed a team on the cusp of something special.
“It was a seamless transition getting along with everybody,” she said. “We talked about the beginning that we do have a lot of talent. It's just about clicking with the team. We have a lot of high-level players and it just learning and getting to know how we all play and learning to play together.”
The coaches saw areas of concern. It was hard to not walk away deeply impressed at so high level a game right off the bat.
“There are a lot of things we need to work on, both offensively and defensively,” Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau said. “We only had four shots, and we have to do better than that. Our service on the flanks were not all that great.
“It’s also March.”
Starting lineups
Neuqua Valley
GK: Kasey Gillespie
D: Jenna Lafferty
D: Kailey Serna
D: Nicole Mondi
MF: Veda Tappin
MF: Alyssa Bombacino
MF: Erin Sweda
MF: Hailey Furio
F: Haley Singer
F: Schylar Kingsley
F: Ryan Gareis
Barrington
GK: Samantha Schmitz
D: Jackie Batliner
D: Kayla Keck
D: Lauren Caffe
D: Haley Tausend
D: Madi Rosen
MF: Ellie Stodola
MF: Michayla Herr
MF: Ashley Prell
MF: Sydney Bowling
F: Sophia Spinell
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Michayla Herr, jr., MF, Barrington
in early battle of the titans
Spinell-Herr combination hits paydirt for 1-0 win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
BARRINGTON — What a way to raise the curtain on a new season already bristling with intrigue, excitement and the unexpected.
The early marquee showdown of Neuqua Valley and host Barrington, two of the state’s best teams, was delayed by the cold and disruptive weather patterns.
When the teams hit the field the game lived up to the hype. It featured highly-ranked programs prepared to assert their status and earn an authoritative start of the season expression.
While the air was heavy and cool, the play between Neuqua Valley and Barrington was pretty electric for a mid-March afternoon. It provided an early jolt and sharp contrast between the Wildcats’ impressive arsenal of weapons and the Fillies’ counterattack.
“We were very impressed with their skills and their attacking line,” Barrington midfielder Michayla Herr said. “We just knew we had to have a strong defense all the way across the field.”
The no. 2 Fillies nullified the Wildcats’ pincer attack with a suffocating defense, and playmakers Herr and Sophia Spinell collaborated on a beautiful goal in the 47th minute in a 1-0 victory over no. 4 Neuqua Valley on Saturday.
Herr earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors.
The game was sharply and terrifically played on both sides, underlining the confidence, skill and perseverance of two powerhouse programs that contested every action.
Barrington was originally scheduled to open the season on Monday against top-ranked Naperville North. That game was cancelled. The Neuqua Valley game, originally set for Thursday, became the high-profile opener for both programs.
“We were totally ready,” Spinell said. “We worked hard in all aspects of the game. Nobody took plays off. We played together ultimately, and that is what makes us so strong.”
The game had limited impact moments, traditionally speaking. Each side only manufactured four shots. The game was scintillating in other ways, the two sides asserting their own identities. Neuqua Valley, with its already imposing lineup buttressed by the return of several high-profile club players, enjoyed superior possession time.
Neuqua Valley (0-1-0) has size, speed and quickness. They were the faster team to the ball throughout the first half. Forward Haley Singer had the best first half scoring chance, a sharp one touch from the right flank from about 14 yards out that Fillies’ keeper Samantha Schmitz made a quick read on in denying.
“This was our first game, and we were trying to get a feel for things at the beginning of the game,” Singer said. “I think by the end we started to click a little bit more and figure things out. We do have a lot of talent, and there a lot of people who are giving a lot of passion, and that is going to make us stronger.”
Barrington has nine starters back from a 20-win team that felt it underachieved last year, the still haunting supersectional defeat against Huntley a cruel reminder of a season that ended prematurely. Coach Ryan Stengren, determined not to play it safe and experimenting with his combinations, went with five defenders to slow the Wildcats’ attack.
Spinell is a dynamite talent, a gamechanger who plays with fearlessness and the ability to impact the flow of a game. She had nine goals and a team-best 17 assists last year. She has great vision and anticipation skills and knows how to put her teammates in position.
Seizing the moment, she collected the ball on the left edge and made a fluid cross to Herr, who was beginning to break free.
“We were building it up,” Spinell said. “It started from the back. I got the ball and crossed it, and then a defender deflected it and Mickey was in the right place at the right time. The typical player that she is, she had beautiful placement.”
Herr made a slight hesitation move to freeze Wildcats’ keeper Yanel Ortiz before smashing in the low liner inside the far post with a one-touch laser.
“It was exciting,” Herr said. “It is one of the things we are working on, at the start of the season, to get opportunities and shots on goal.”
She also took advantage of a rare lapse by the Wildcats’ defense that permitted her too much open space and time to get the shot off. The score energized the Fillies (1-0-0). Spinell continued to attack, generating some wonderful build-up with Herr and Kayla Keck, one of a multitude of Barrington players who is a hybrid, listed as a defender though capable of shooting from distance.
Ortiz, who played the second half after Kasey Gillespie started the game, made a superb stop of a Spinell shot that preserved the tight score. Psychologically the game shifted clearly in the favor of the Fillies, who nullified the Wildcats’ superior possession.
“I think the game changed at halftime when it was tied, and we knew we had come out strong,” Herr said. “Once we scored it just made us even more motivated to keep pushing harder.”
If Spinell and Herr found a way to penetrate the Wildcats’ strong defense, Barrington defenders Haley Tausend and Jackie Batliner played equivalent dominant roles in denying Neuqua Valley’s potent attack.
Neuqua Valley has dangerous parts in forwards Singer, Ryan Gareis and Schylar Kingsley. The rangy and quick Kingsley was particularly dangerous at initiating the attack. Barrington responded in kind, and Tausend and Batliner were particularly disruptive at closing down space.
In the 65th minute, Gareis cut against the grain in moving between two defenders and delivered a shot on frame from about 17 yards with velocity and strong pace that Schmitz stabbed in front of the goal.
“That was one of our only chances, and I wanted to get a shot off,” Gareis said. “We talked at halftime that we wanted to show them that we could get shots off. They pressured us really tightly, and we wanted to get as many opportunities as possible.
“I do wish I placed it differently. It went right towards the goalie, and I’d have liked to curve it more toward the far post.”
Gareis played with the Wildcats as a freshman. After two years playing club exclusively, the South Carolina recruit is one reason the Wildcats have generated so much excitement. Despite the setback, Neuqua Valley revealed a team on the cusp of something special.
“It was a seamless transition getting along with everybody,” she said. “We talked about the beginning that we do have a lot of talent. It's just about clicking with the team. We have a lot of high-level players and it just learning and getting to know how we all play and learning to play together.”
The coaches saw areas of concern. It was hard to not walk away deeply impressed at so high level a game right off the bat.
“There are a lot of things we need to work on, both offensively and defensively,” Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau said. “We only had four shots, and we have to do better than that. Our service on the flanks were not all that great.
“It’s also March.”
Starting lineups
Neuqua Valley
GK: Kasey Gillespie
D: Jenna Lafferty
D: Kailey Serna
D: Nicole Mondi
MF: Veda Tappin
MF: Alyssa Bombacino
MF: Erin Sweda
MF: Hailey Furio
F: Haley Singer
F: Schylar Kingsley
F: Ryan Gareis
Barrington
GK: Samantha Schmitz
D: Jackie Batliner
D: Kayla Keck
D: Lauren Caffe
D: Haley Tausend
D: Madi Rosen
MF: Ellie Stodola
MF: Michayla Herr
MF: Ashley Prell
MF: Sydney Bowling
F: Sophia Spinell
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Michayla Herr, jr., MF, Barrington