Shootout setback may serve
St. Francis down the road
10th-seeded Spartans fall to Huntley
By Steve Nemeth
HUNTLEY -- History is full of great achievements that followed disappointing setbacks.
St. Francis coach Jim Winslow has already instilled that lesson in his Spartans as evidenced by everyone’s desire to put a failed shootout in the rearview mirror and look ahead.
In terms of the 2016 PepsiCo Showdown, Tuesday’s quarterfinal in the Gatorade Bracket didn’t end in St. Francis’ favor. Host Huntley compiled a 4-2 edge in “kicks from the mark,” as the referee’s manual officially labels shootouts, and took the game that remained scoreless for 90 minutes.
The loss was the first for the Spartans (6-1-0), who are ranked no. 20 in the last Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
Huntley goalie Paige Renkosik earned MVP of the Match honors with consecutive PK stops to boost the Red Raiders (7-1-1), who are among the Chicagoland Soccer teams to watch.
The 2nd-seeded winner advanced and will play semifinal match on the road at 5 p.m. Thursday. They will meet no. 6 seed Downers Grove North, a 1-0 upset winner victor over 3rd-seeded Libertyville. St. Francis falls into the consolation pool and will travel to Prairie Ridge for a 4:30 p.m. match Thursday.
The ability to put disappointments behind them is one reason St. Francis will be aiming for a seventh regional plaque -- and they hope more -- come the 2016 postseason. As recent as 2013, St. Francis was 14-0 before losing its regular-season finale via a shootout. The Spartans still reached the sectionals that season.
The year prior, two-of-three setbacks came in tournaments and a sectional title triumph over rival Wheaton Academy avenged the Spartans’ only other loss. St. Francis went on to claim the state’s 2A crown.
“Huntley’s a really good team that knew how to use the width of its field, so today became a lesson for us on keeping our shape, adjusting our offense and defense to the field,” Kendra Pasquale said. “The only thing worse than losing is not learning from a loss. Through regulation and two overtimes we were evenly matched. This reinforces our need to capitalize on opportunities.”
That mentality of making the most of chances when faced with multiple games was another teaching scenario. Winslow thought St. Francis “took care of business” Monday night in posting a 5-1 triumph over Red Division foe Providence in order to improve to 2-0-0 in Girls Catholic Athletic Conference play.
“Turning around and facing another difficult opponent, a physical opponent, playing extra time, having a shootout, the combination of all those things is why we play in this tournament,” Winslow said. “We want challenges in order to pass tests down the road.”
Both offenses simply tried to find a path of attack -- be it down the middle or from the outside in. Very little came of it, and when it did goalies Tammy Syron, of St. Francis, and Renkosik, of Huntley, handled the chances with relative ease.
The Spartans threatened off a corner kick but Renkosik – a soccer signee by South Carolina’s Limestone College – punched it clear. The Red Raiders’ Victoria Padal had a try from the left wing seven seconds prior to halftime, but Syron calmly cradled the ball.
The second half featured a somewhat shaky start as a St. Francis cross was fumbled slightly by Renkosik before being cleared. At the opposite end, Padal’s boot off a scramble was spinning away from Syron and toward the net when Rachel Rahman extended a leg to get it off the goal line and upfield. Later in the half Rahman was on the sideline joking about her long legs being good for something before returning back to action.
“I thought our outside backs, McKenzie (Douglass) and Rachel kept getting better and better in terms of making an impact,” Winslow noted. “I’d say the better they go, the better we go as a team.”
The duo and fellow defensive starters Sarah Maller and Bridget Doran --- signed by Winona State while sister and senior midfielder Molly Doran was inked by Upper Iowa --- had to dig deep late in the match as Huntley ramped up its attack.
Syron raced out beyond the penalty box to kick a defensive clearance over the sideline to thwart one attack and calmly stopped a header by Tayah Owens off a Huntley corner kick with 5:20 left in regulation.
In the initial five minutes of sudden victory extra time, the Spartans’ Pasquale – now verbally committed to Illinois – dribbled through the Red Raider midfielder and into an attacking position before having her shot carom back off of her and over the endline.
Kaitlyn Joniak appeared to have a golden opportunity at the empty half of a net but the shot sailed wide right. In the second extra five minutes, Ally Sunter’s direct free-kick curved away from the far upper right corner.
“We may be a young and ambitious team, but we have a lot of potential we haven’t shown yet, and one thing people should know is that we never give up,” Pasquale added in reflecting on the Spartans’ 90-minute performance.
Having won the coin toss, St. Francis opted to shoot second for the five-versus-five series which meant Syron defended the goal to start against Huntley’s Brianna Wilder. The Red Raider senior tri-captain converted to the keeper’s left before Bridget Doran equalized to Renkosik’s right.
Senior Alyssa Kaufman went high but under the crossbar on Huntley’s second attempt before Pasquale answered with an equalizer inside the post to her left.
Red Raider senior Ally Sunter blasted the ball enough to carry beyond Syron’s hand while the Spartans’ Claire Hensley had her try captured by Renkosik for a 3-2 Huntley edge after three tries.
A fourth senior, Yulissa Stolis, boosted the Red Raider cause with a shot that also eluded Syron.
“Shootouts are what I consider my strongest point as a goalie. I’ve had three for St. Francis, and this is my first loss and the first time I didn’t have a save,” Syron said. “As a goalie you try to read the shooter’s cues and go with your instinct.
“The one to my left side I just needed to get my second hand there, and it’s tipped wide. The other one I misread. As a keeper, you stay confident and focus for the next one, and that’s what I plan to do.”
After Solis’ success, Renkosik dove to her right to block the Spartans’ fourth attempt for an insurmountable advantage at 4-2 in favor of Huntley.
“This win gives us a lot of confidence going forward,” Renkosik insisted. “We beat a good team, there was a lot of intensity to the match and even though this wasn’t our best effort, we came through with a victory.”
The triumph was as elating as the feeling of joy after converting her try, according to Sunter.
“You can’t go up there thinking you’re not going to make it, but I have to admit I felt some pressure, and it was a little scary,” Sunter recalled. “I thought their keeper was cheating a little and switched my thinking to go the other way, but she actually got back there. Thankfully I hit it hard enough, and seeing it get to the back of the net is so gratifying.”
Solis admitted her excitement grew greater once Renkosik made her save.
“I made up mind on where I’d shoot and focused on kicking it hard. It was exciting to convert and felt even better knowing it helped us win. We’re proud to get every victory we can,” Solis said.
Huntley, which moved up from preseason 18 to 16 before slipping into the “Look Out For” list for the last three weeks, is now on a seven-game win streak since starting the year with a 1-0 loss and a 2-2 draw.
“Today we were lucky to get the win. I thought they were the better team,” Huntley coach Kris Grabner said. “We didn’t have our legs, and it showed on offense. Our ability to move off the ball was a struggle, and we even literally tripped over the ball at times.
“To come out with a win is a big deal, because they are a well-coached team with a lot of skill and speed. Often our offense stars, but Paige was our number one star, (defender) Erin (Gaitsch) was number two and the rest of the defense was number three.”
Starting lineups
St. Francis
GK: Tammy Syron
D: Rachel Rahman
D: Sarah Maller
D: Bridge Doran
D: McKenzie Douglass
MF: Kaitlyn Joniak
MF: Molly Doran
MF: Claire Hensley
F: Kendra Pasquale
F: Kate LaMantia
F: Erin Peck
Huntley
GK: Paige Renkosik
D: Erin Gaitsch
D: Tayah Owens
D: Samantha Heustis
D: Madison Doty
MF: Victoria Padal
MF: Taryn Jakubowksi
MF: Brianna Wilder
MF: Ally Sunter
MF: Brenna Keegan
F: Alyssa Kaufman
MVP of the Match: Paige Renkosik, GK, Huntley
Referees: Steve Sarto, Scott Fillmore, Scott Gessert
Huntley 0, St. Francis 0 (Huntleys wins PKs 4-2)
1 2 ot1 ot2 St F
St. Francis 0 0 0 0 2 --- 0
Huntley 0 0 0 0 4 --- 1
SHOTS
SF 2 – 5 – 1 – 1 ---- 9
Huntley 4 – 6 – 0 – 1 --- 11
SHOTS ON GOAL
SF 1 – 2 – 1 – 0 ---- 4
Huntley 3 – 4 – 0 – 1 --- 8
SAVES
SF (Syron [Rahman]) 3 – 3[1] – 0 – 1 --- 8
Huntley (Renkosik) 1 – 2 – 1 – 0 --- 4
FROM THE MARK SHOOTOUT
SF (Syron) vs. Huntley (Renkosik) H - SF
Huntley -- Wilder good inside keeper’s left 1 – 0
SF -- B. Doran good beyond keeper’s right 1 – 1
Huntley -- Kaufman good up and under crossbar 2 – 1
SF -- Pasquale good beyond keeper’s right 2 – 2
Huntley -- Al. Sunter good past keeper’s left 3 – 2
SF -- Hensley caught by keeper moving left 3 – 2
Huntley -- Solis blast slips past keeper’s left 4 – 2
SF -- Joniak blocked by keeper moving right 4 -- 2
St. Francis down the road
10th-seeded Spartans fall to Huntley
By Steve Nemeth
HUNTLEY -- History is full of great achievements that followed disappointing setbacks.
St. Francis coach Jim Winslow has already instilled that lesson in his Spartans as evidenced by everyone’s desire to put a failed shootout in the rearview mirror and look ahead.
In terms of the 2016 PepsiCo Showdown, Tuesday’s quarterfinal in the Gatorade Bracket didn’t end in St. Francis’ favor. Host Huntley compiled a 4-2 edge in “kicks from the mark,” as the referee’s manual officially labels shootouts, and took the game that remained scoreless for 90 minutes.
The loss was the first for the Spartans (6-1-0), who are ranked no. 20 in the last Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
Huntley goalie Paige Renkosik earned MVP of the Match honors with consecutive PK stops to boost the Red Raiders (7-1-1), who are among the Chicagoland Soccer teams to watch.
The 2nd-seeded winner advanced and will play semifinal match on the road at 5 p.m. Thursday. They will meet no. 6 seed Downers Grove North, a 1-0 upset winner victor over 3rd-seeded Libertyville. St. Francis falls into the consolation pool and will travel to Prairie Ridge for a 4:30 p.m. match Thursday.
The ability to put disappointments behind them is one reason St. Francis will be aiming for a seventh regional plaque -- and they hope more -- come the 2016 postseason. As recent as 2013, St. Francis was 14-0 before losing its regular-season finale via a shootout. The Spartans still reached the sectionals that season.
The year prior, two-of-three setbacks came in tournaments and a sectional title triumph over rival Wheaton Academy avenged the Spartans’ only other loss. St. Francis went on to claim the state’s 2A crown.
“Huntley’s a really good team that knew how to use the width of its field, so today became a lesson for us on keeping our shape, adjusting our offense and defense to the field,” Kendra Pasquale said. “The only thing worse than losing is not learning from a loss. Through regulation and two overtimes we were evenly matched. This reinforces our need to capitalize on opportunities.”
That mentality of making the most of chances when faced with multiple games was another teaching scenario. Winslow thought St. Francis “took care of business” Monday night in posting a 5-1 triumph over Red Division foe Providence in order to improve to 2-0-0 in Girls Catholic Athletic Conference play.
“Turning around and facing another difficult opponent, a physical opponent, playing extra time, having a shootout, the combination of all those things is why we play in this tournament,” Winslow said. “We want challenges in order to pass tests down the road.”
Both offenses simply tried to find a path of attack -- be it down the middle or from the outside in. Very little came of it, and when it did goalies Tammy Syron, of St. Francis, and Renkosik, of Huntley, handled the chances with relative ease.
The Spartans threatened off a corner kick but Renkosik – a soccer signee by South Carolina’s Limestone College – punched it clear. The Red Raiders’ Victoria Padal had a try from the left wing seven seconds prior to halftime, but Syron calmly cradled the ball.
The second half featured a somewhat shaky start as a St. Francis cross was fumbled slightly by Renkosik before being cleared. At the opposite end, Padal’s boot off a scramble was spinning away from Syron and toward the net when Rachel Rahman extended a leg to get it off the goal line and upfield. Later in the half Rahman was on the sideline joking about her long legs being good for something before returning back to action.
“I thought our outside backs, McKenzie (Douglass) and Rachel kept getting better and better in terms of making an impact,” Winslow noted. “I’d say the better they go, the better we go as a team.”
The duo and fellow defensive starters Sarah Maller and Bridget Doran --- signed by Winona State while sister and senior midfielder Molly Doran was inked by Upper Iowa --- had to dig deep late in the match as Huntley ramped up its attack.
Syron raced out beyond the penalty box to kick a defensive clearance over the sideline to thwart one attack and calmly stopped a header by Tayah Owens off a Huntley corner kick with 5:20 left in regulation.
In the initial five minutes of sudden victory extra time, the Spartans’ Pasquale – now verbally committed to Illinois – dribbled through the Red Raider midfielder and into an attacking position before having her shot carom back off of her and over the endline.
Kaitlyn Joniak appeared to have a golden opportunity at the empty half of a net but the shot sailed wide right. In the second extra five minutes, Ally Sunter’s direct free-kick curved away from the far upper right corner.
“We may be a young and ambitious team, but we have a lot of potential we haven’t shown yet, and one thing people should know is that we never give up,” Pasquale added in reflecting on the Spartans’ 90-minute performance.
Having won the coin toss, St. Francis opted to shoot second for the five-versus-five series which meant Syron defended the goal to start against Huntley’s Brianna Wilder. The Red Raider senior tri-captain converted to the keeper’s left before Bridget Doran equalized to Renkosik’s right.
Senior Alyssa Kaufman went high but under the crossbar on Huntley’s second attempt before Pasquale answered with an equalizer inside the post to her left.
Red Raider senior Ally Sunter blasted the ball enough to carry beyond Syron’s hand while the Spartans’ Claire Hensley had her try captured by Renkosik for a 3-2 Huntley edge after three tries.
A fourth senior, Yulissa Stolis, boosted the Red Raider cause with a shot that also eluded Syron.
“Shootouts are what I consider my strongest point as a goalie. I’ve had three for St. Francis, and this is my first loss and the first time I didn’t have a save,” Syron said. “As a goalie you try to read the shooter’s cues and go with your instinct.
“The one to my left side I just needed to get my second hand there, and it’s tipped wide. The other one I misread. As a keeper, you stay confident and focus for the next one, and that’s what I plan to do.”
After Solis’ success, Renkosik dove to her right to block the Spartans’ fourth attempt for an insurmountable advantage at 4-2 in favor of Huntley.
“This win gives us a lot of confidence going forward,” Renkosik insisted. “We beat a good team, there was a lot of intensity to the match and even though this wasn’t our best effort, we came through with a victory.”
The triumph was as elating as the feeling of joy after converting her try, according to Sunter.
“You can’t go up there thinking you’re not going to make it, but I have to admit I felt some pressure, and it was a little scary,” Sunter recalled. “I thought their keeper was cheating a little and switched my thinking to go the other way, but she actually got back there. Thankfully I hit it hard enough, and seeing it get to the back of the net is so gratifying.”
Solis admitted her excitement grew greater once Renkosik made her save.
“I made up mind on where I’d shoot and focused on kicking it hard. It was exciting to convert and felt even better knowing it helped us win. We’re proud to get every victory we can,” Solis said.
Huntley, which moved up from preseason 18 to 16 before slipping into the “Look Out For” list for the last three weeks, is now on a seven-game win streak since starting the year with a 1-0 loss and a 2-2 draw.
“Today we were lucky to get the win. I thought they were the better team,” Huntley coach Kris Grabner said. “We didn’t have our legs, and it showed on offense. Our ability to move off the ball was a struggle, and we even literally tripped over the ball at times.
“To come out with a win is a big deal, because they are a well-coached team with a lot of skill and speed. Often our offense stars, but Paige was our number one star, (defender) Erin (Gaitsch) was number two and the rest of the defense was number three.”
Starting lineups
St. Francis
GK: Tammy Syron
D: Rachel Rahman
D: Sarah Maller
D: Bridge Doran
D: McKenzie Douglass
MF: Kaitlyn Joniak
MF: Molly Doran
MF: Claire Hensley
F: Kendra Pasquale
F: Kate LaMantia
F: Erin Peck
Huntley
GK: Paige Renkosik
D: Erin Gaitsch
D: Tayah Owens
D: Samantha Heustis
D: Madison Doty
MF: Victoria Padal
MF: Taryn Jakubowksi
MF: Brianna Wilder
MF: Ally Sunter
MF: Brenna Keegan
F: Alyssa Kaufman
MVP of the Match: Paige Renkosik, GK, Huntley
Referees: Steve Sarto, Scott Fillmore, Scott Gessert
Huntley 0, St. Francis 0 (Huntleys wins PKs 4-2)
1 2 ot1 ot2 St F
St. Francis 0 0 0 0 2 --- 0
Huntley 0 0 0 0 4 --- 1
SHOTS
SF 2 – 5 – 1 – 1 ---- 9
Huntley 4 – 6 – 0 – 1 --- 11
SHOTS ON GOAL
SF 1 – 2 – 1 – 0 ---- 4
Huntley 3 – 4 – 0 – 1 --- 8
SAVES
SF (Syron [Rahman]) 3 – 3[1] – 0 – 1 --- 8
Huntley (Renkosik) 1 – 2 – 1 – 0 --- 4
FROM THE MARK SHOOTOUT
SF (Syron) vs. Huntley (Renkosik) H - SF
Huntley -- Wilder good inside keeper’s left 1 – 0
SF -- B. Doran good beyond keeper’s right 1 – 1
Huntley -- Kaufman good up and under crossbar 2 – 1
SF -- Pasquale good beyond keeper’s right 2 – 2
Huntley -- Al. Sunter good past keeper’s left 3 – 2
SF -- Hensley caught by keeper moving left 3 – 2
Huntley -- Solis blast slips past keeper’s left 4 – 2
SF -- Joniak blocked by keeper moving right 4 -- 2