SCN makes (scoring) racket
in Tournament of Champions
5 players score in 6-2 win over Divine Savior Holy Angels
By John Bohnenkamp
BURLINGTON, Iowa — The noise from the busy first day of the Adidas Tournament of Champions was gone by the time St. Charles North took the field for the last match of Thursday’s schedule.
What everyone who had left missed was a lot of noise from the North Stars’ offense.
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St. Charles North, ranked sixth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, got goals from five players in a 6-2 pounding of Divine Savior Holy Angels High School from Milwaukee.
The North Stars fell behind 1-0 early in the match before dominating behind a relentless offensive and defensive attack.
“That was a little disappointing the way we started,” St. Charles North coach Brian Harks said. “It took a little bit to get those wheels in motion. One thing I was impressed with was our reaction to that early goal. When some teams start to get down on themselves, or bicker, I thought our girls reacted positively and started to turn it around.
“This team is funny. They play very well from behind. But they also do really well with the lead. Either way, the girls adapt well to the situation. Whatever the situation, they adapt.”
Gia Wahlberg noticed the change in her team.
“I thought it was we didn’t pressure, as a team, in the first couple of minutes, especially when they scored that goal,” said the sophomore, who scored two second half goals. “From there, we found that pressuring as a group, instead of just a forward or outside wing, that was kind of a difference.”
“We didn’t come out as strong,” agreed sophomore Hailey Rydberg, who had two assists. “I think that once we scored one goal, it motivated us to say, hey, we have to play hard all 80 minutes.”
Grace Lenz gave Divine Saviors Holy Angels the early 1-0 lead two minutes in with a deep kick that eluded North Stars goalkeeper Sami Sample.
But St. Charles North’s Lauren Muzzalupo tied the game moments later on a penalty kick, and then Lauren Neslund put the North Stars in the lead with a goal on a header off the corner-kick from Rydberg.
At that point, the North Stars kept attacking — they had 12 shots on goal in the first half.
Morgan Rerko delivered St. Charles North’s third goal on a rebound off a corner-kick, but DSHA got to within 3-2 just before halftime on a goal from Sarah McLeod.
Wahlberg put the North Stars in control in the second half, scoring twice in the first 16 minutes and earned Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match honors.
“It was nice, especially since I missed a couple of breakaways I should have had in the first half,” Wahlberg said of her two goals. “To finish in the second half, it was good.”
Amanda Czerniak finished the scoring with a goal 32 minutes in.
“Six goals is a pretty good night,” Harks said. “It’s been atypical if you look at our stats. But we had some girls play well, and (the goals were) distributed well. Six goals from five players, I thought that was great. That’s what you ask for.”
“When you have five different players score, it kind of just shows the versatility of the team," Wahlberg said. “We don’t have one player who is going to score all the goals, where you can mark just one player and you shut the team down. We have a lot of players on the team who are capable of scoring.”
“It’s nice knowing you have 11 on the field, you have more on the bench,” Rydberg said. “Even the ones coming in, we have players who can finish.”
St. Charles North is playing three matches in three days against some unfamiliar teams, but Harks said this is an important trip.
“I love the fact that we’re seeing some new teams, but some quality teams,” Harks said. “It’s nice, because it’s a change of pace — teams you don’t see normally, teams you don’t hear about in the newspapers on a daily basis.
"I also love coming here, it’s beautiful grass, a great venue. You’re away, and you’re secluded from everything else that’s going on at home, and we can just be together as a team.”
“It’s good, because in the high school season, you see the same teams every year,” Wahlberg said. “You come to this tournament, it’s fun to see new teams.”
“You get away from seeing the same teams,” Rydberg said. “And being together for the whole weekend, it brings you closer.”
Harks knows that while this can be a fun trip, there is work to be done.
“You know, I think the same thing we want to get out of any night,” Harks said when asked what he wants out of the weekend. “We want to challenge the girls to play a full 80 minutes, to get better at soccer, to learn from our mistakes, capitalize on our strengths and go out there and play a challenging team and achieve our goals.
“And we did that tonight.”
Starting line-ups
St. Charles North
GK: Sami Sample
D: Morgan Rerko
D: Lauren Neslund
D: Alison Wessel
D: Claire Berresi
D: Lauren Willis
MF: Elli Wahlberg
MF: Madison Kaufman
MF: Hailey Rydberg
MF: K.B. Kusswurn
F: Gia Wahlberg
Divine Savior Holy Angels
GK: Olivia Mysewski
D: Taylor Massie
D: Amanda Durst
D: Leah Kostos
D: Emily Tangney
D: Hannah Perlewitz
MF: Megan Crevoiserat
MF: Emily Crevoiserat
F: Grace Lenz
F: Elizabeth Snyder
F: Kelly Reilley
MVP of the Match: Gia Wahlberg, F, St. Charles North
in Tournament of Champions
5 players score in 6-2 win over Divine Savior Holy Angels
By John Bohnenkamp
BURLINGTON, Iowa — The noise from the busy first day of the Adidas Tournament of Champions was gone by the time St. Charles North took the field for the last match of Thursday’s schedule.
What everyone who had left missed was a lot of noise from the North Stars’ offense.
t
St. Charles North, ranked sixth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, got goals from five players in a 6-2 pounding of Divine Savior Holy Angels High School from Milwaukee.
The North Stars fell behind 1-0 early in the match before dominating behind a relentless offensive and defensive attack.
“That was a little disappointing the way we started,” St. Charles North coach Brian Harks said. “It took a little bit to get those wheels in motion. One thing I was impressed with was our reaction to that early goal. When some teams start to get down on themselves, or bicker, I thought our girls reacted positively and started to turn it around.
“This team is funny. They play very well from behind. But they also do really well with the lead. Either way, the girls adapt well to the situation. Whatever the situation, they adapt.”
Gia Wahlberg noticed the change in her team.
“I thought it was we didn’t pressure, as a team, in the first couple of minutes, especially when they scored that goal,” said the sophomore, who scored two second half goals. “From there, we found that pressuring as a group, instead of just a forward or outside wing, that was kind of a difference.”
“We didn’t come out as strong,” agreed sophomore Hailey Rydberg, who had two assists. “I think that once we scored one goal, it motivated us to say, hey, we have to play hard all 80 minutes.”
Grace Lenz gave Divine Saviors Holy Angels the early 1-0 lead two minutes in with a deep kick that eluded North Stars goalkeeper Sami Sample.
But St. Charles North’s Lauren Muzzalupo tied the game moments later on a penalty kick, and then Lauren Neslund put the North Stars in the lead with a goal on a header off the corner-kick from Rydberg.
At that point, the North Stars kept attacking — they had 12 shots on goal in the first half.
Morgan Rerko delivered St. Charles North’s third goal on a rebound off a corner-kick, but DSHA got to within 3-2 just before halftime on a goal from Sarah McLeod.
Wahlberg put the North Stars in control in the second half, scoring twice in the first 16 minutes and earned Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match honors.
“It was nice, especially since I missed a couple of breakaways I should have had in the first half,” Wahlberg said of her two goals. “To finish in the second half, it was good.”
Amanda Czerniak finished the scoring with a goal 32 minutes in.
“Six goals is a pretty good night,” Harks said. “It’s been atypical if you look at our stats. But we had some girls play well, and (the goals were) distributed well. Six goals from five players, I thought that was great. That’s what you ask for.”
“When you have five different players score, it kind of just shows the versatility of the team," Wahlberg said. “We don’t have one player who is going to score all the goals, where you can mark just one player and you shut the team down. We have a lot of players on the team who are capable of scoring.”
“It’s nice knowing you have 11 on the field, you have more on the bench,” Rydberg said. “Even the ones coming in, we have players who can finish.”
St. Charles North is playing three matches in three days against some unfamiliar teams, but Harks said this is an important trip.
“I love the fact that we’re seeing some new teams, but some quality teams,” Harks said. “It’s nice, because it’s a change of pace — teams you don’t see normally, teams you don’t hear about in the newspapers on a daily basis.
"I also love coming here, it’s beautiful grass, a great venue. You’re away, and you’re secluded from everything else that’s going on at home, and we can just be together as a team.”
“It’s good, because in the high school season, you see the same teams every year,” Wahlberg said. “You come to this tournament, it’s fun to see new teams.”
“You get away from seeing the same teams,” Rydberg said. “And being together for the whole weekend, it brings you closer.”
Harks knows that while this can be a fun trip, there is work to be done.
“You know, I think the same thing we want to get out of any night,” Harks said when asked what he wants out of the weekend. “We want to challenge the girls to play a full 80 minutes, to get better at soccer, to learn from our mistakes, capitalize on our strengths and go out there and play a challenging team and achieve our goals.
“And we did that tonight.”
Starting line-ups
St. Charles North
GK: Sami Sample
D: Morgan Rerko
D: Lauren Neslund
D: Alison Wessel
D: Claire Berresi
D: Lauren Willis
MF: Elli Wahlberg
MF: Madison Kaufman
MF: Hailey Rydberg
MF: K.B. Kusswurn
F: Gia Wahlberg
Divine Savior Holy Angels
GK: Olivia Mysewski
D: Taylor Massie
D: Amanda Durst
D: Leah Kostos
D: Emily Tangney
D: Hannah Perlewitz
MF: Megan Crevoiserat
MF: Emily Crevoiserat
F: Grace Lenz
F: Elizabeth Snyder
F: Kelly Reilley
MVP of the Match: Gia Wahlberg, F, St. Charles North