Warren hits division
speed bump in Libertyville
Blue Devils fall out of ranks of undefeated teams in NSC Lake
By Rusty Silber
LIBERTYVILLE -- Warren had been sitting in a great spot on top of the North Suburban Conference Lake Division with an unbeaten record. Then the Blue Devils travelled to always-tough Libertyville on Thursday night.
Warren’s perch held less of a view at the end of the match. The Blue Devils (7-5-1, 3-1-0) fell decisively 3-0 to Libertyville and opened the door for the division title to Lake Zurich (2-0-1 in league play) with Stevenson (2-1-1) and their hosts (2-1-0) still in the hunt.
"Everybody is good, and it's always tough to win our side of the conference if you have a loss," Warren coach Ryan McCabe said. "We've played a lot of good teams this year, and we should come out and play better than this."
Warren entered the match without one of its starters – leading scorer Ellen Szostak is out with a fractured foot – and it showed. The Blue Devils' couldn't put together much of an offensive attack. Libertyville's defense held together, while Libertyville keeper Jordan Hertzier made 4 stops and earned the clean sheet.
"Injuries, obviously hurt, but my girls know how to play and the reserves, when they come in, know how to play," McCabe said. "We know what we’re supposed to do.
“For whatever reason we're on the second foot every time. We're not handling the 50/50 balls or the pressure. It just wasn't there in this one. It doesn't have anything to do with the youth, it's more with the mental preparation."
Libertyville's Taylor Underwood assisted on all 3 goals. She was named the Chicagoland Prep Soccer MVP of the Match for her efforts.
"Assists are very big because it sets up the whole play," Underwood said. "It really does make things happen. It's something we work on in practice -- to connect the ball a lot."
She set up the Wildcats' first goal in the 20th minute with a shot on goal that turned into teammate Jackie Widmark’s rebound score for a 1-0 lead.
Then, Libertyville took control with two goals in a 2-minute span in the second half. Underwood found Maddie Olson on the right side of the penalty area. Olson placed the ball into the corner for the 2-0 lead in the 50th minute.
On the final score, Underwood moved the ball to Annie Thompson on the run outside of the box. Thompson controlled the ball, made a move to her right, beat a defender and lofted the ball under the crossbar to conclude the scoring.
The Blue Devils’ backline struggled with Libertyville’s game-long pressure. Sweeper Lindsay Ditmars witnessed it first-hand.
"When (Libertyville) was attacking, they were very good at seeing where everyone was moving into an open spot," Ditmars said. "As a defender, you’re looking around you and looking at them. It was difficult, because they were very skillful on the ball. They were able to move us around, and that's how they were able to score the goals."
Warren has seen some very good competition throughout Chicagoland so far including PepsiCo Showdown losses to top 10-ranked foes Hinsdale Central and Lyons. But the battle in the North Suburban Conference Lake Division shows that there is plenty of talent in Lake County.
“(Libertyville) was one of the tougher teams we've seen," Ditmars said. "They're very skillful and their center back (Ellen Daugerdas) was able to break down our forwards. That's why I feel we weren't able to get one in the back of the net.”
Grinnell College-bound Sanjun Hornewer was one of the Blue Devils who had a hard time getting the ball into the final third of the field.
"(Libertyville's) defense works really well," Hornewer said. "They were composed really well. It was really hard to get the ball to the outside, because they had an outside back or an outside midfielder right in there. It felt like I always had somebody on me."
In comparison to other teams Warren has seen this year Hornewer was impressed with the Wildcats.
"They had real strong center backs with real good organization," Hornewer said. "They just had very good communication throughout their lines. It was very good on their part."
Nagging injuries have plagued the Blue Devils. But it's something the team keeps working through.
"It's really hard to recover between games," Hornewer said. "We don't have a lot of time, but we just have to push through it with the season."
McCabe has some ideas that can help out with the players at this time of year, like different variations of practice. It has helped in past games, but did not take hold against Libertyville.
"We're trying to rest their legs a little bit," McCabe said. "Instead of practice, we're doing a lot of walk-throughs and trying to get them mentally prepared. It does work most of the time. Apparently, it didn't work in this game. It was a frustrating loss."
All is not lost for Warren. The Blue Devils can still take the title if they win out in the division. That would require victories against Lake Forest on April 26 and Lake Zurich on May 3.
Starting line-ups
Libertyville
GK: Jordan Hertzier
D: Ellie Daugerdas
D: Morgan Verbeten
D: Alex Hauser
D: Julia Neiween
MF: Taylor Underwood
MF: Mekenna Yoor
MF: Jackie Widmark
MF: Danielle Pacholski
F: Maddie Olson
F: Annie Thompson
Warren
GK: Skylar Reilly
D: Baylie Mabett
D: Lindsay Ditmars
D: Becca Pineau
D: Maddie Gryzik
MF: Kaitlyn Chomko
MF: Natalie McNally
MF: Sangjun Hornewer
MF: Kayla Malaker
F: Teagon Albert
F: Alliyah Parker
Player of the Match: Taylor Underwood, MF, Libertyville
Referees: Machowski Mauros (center); Dana Joras, Alex Mavros
speed bump in Libertyville
Blue Devils fall out of ranks of undefeated teams in NSC Lake
By Rusty Silber
LIBERTYVILLE -- Warren had been sitting in a great spot on top of the North Suburban Conference Lake Division with an unbeaten record. Then the Blue Devils travelled to always-tough Libertyville on Thursday night.
Warren’s perch held less of a view at the end of the match. The Blue Devils (7-5-1, 3-1-0) fell decisively 3-0 to Libertyville and opened the door for the division title to Lake Zurich (2-0-1 in league play) with Stevenson (2-1-1) and their hosts (2-1-0) still in the hunt.
"Everybody is good, and it's always tough to win our side of the conference if you have a loss," Warren coach Ryan McCabe said. "We've played a lot of good teams this year, and we should come out and play better than this."
Warren entered the match without one of its starters – leading scorer Ellen Szostak is out with a fractured foot – and it showed. The Blue Devils' couldn't put together much of an offensive attack. Libertyville's defense held together, while Libertyville keeper Jordan Hertzier made 4 stops and earned the clean sheet.
"Injuries, obviously hurt, but my girls know how to play and the reserves, when they come in, know how to play," McCabe said. "We know what we’re supposed to do.
“For whatever reason we're on the second foot every time. We're not handling the 50/50 balls or the pressure. It just wasn't there in this one. It doesn't have anything to do with the youth, it's more with the mental preparation."
Libertyville's Taylor Underwood assisted on all 3 goals. She was named the Chicagoland Prep Soccer MVP of the Match for her efforts.
"Assists are very big because it sets up the whole play," Underwood said. "It really does make things happen. It's something we work on in practice -- to connect the ball a lot."
She set up the Wildcats' first goal in the 20th minute with a shot on goal that turned into teammate Jackie Widmark’s rebound score for a 1-0 lead.
Then, Libertyville took control with two goals in a 2-minute span in the second half. Underwood found Maddie Olson on the right side of the penalty area. Olson placed the ball into the corner for the 2-0 lead in the 50th minute.
On the final score, Underwood moved the ball to Annie Thompson on the run outside of the box. Thompson controlled the ball, made a move to her right, beat a defender and lofted the ball under the crossbar to conclude the scoring.
The Blue Devils’ backline struggled with Libertyville’s game-long pressure. Sweeper Lindsay Ditmars witnessed it first-hand.
"When (Libertyville) was attacking, they were very good at seeing where everyone was moving into an open spot," Ditmars said. "As a defender, you’re looking around you and looking at them. It was difficult, because they were very skillful on the ball. They were able to move us around, and that's how they were able to score the goals."
Warren has seen some very good competition throughout Chicagoland so far including PepsiCo Showdown losses to top 10-ranked foes Hinsdale Central and Lyons. But the battle in the North Suburban Conference Lake Division shows that there is plenty of talent in Lake County.
“(Libertyville) was one of the tougher teams we've seen," Ditmars said. "They're very skillful and their center back (Ellen Daugerdas) was able to break down our forwards. That's why I feel we weren't able to get one in the back of the net.”
Grinnell College-bound Sanjun Hornewer was one of the Blue Devils who had a hard time getting the ball into the final third of the field.
"(Libertyville's) defense works really well," Hornewer said. "They were composed really well. It was really hard to get the ball to the outside, because they had an outside back or an outside midfielder right in there. It felt like I always had somebody on me."
In comparison to other teams Warren has seen this year Hornewer was impressed with the Wildcats.
"They had real strong center backs with real good organization," Hornewer said. "They just had very good communication throughout their lines. It was very good on their part."
Nagging injuries have plagued the Blue Devils. But it's something the team keeps working through.
"It's really hard to recover between games," Hornewer said. "We don't have a lot of time, but we just have to push through it with the season."
McCabe has some ideas that can help out with the players at this time of year, like different variations of practice. It has helped in past games, but did not take hold against Libertyville.
"We're trying to rest their legs a little bit," McCabe said. "Instead of practice, we're doing a lot of walk-throughs and trying to get them mentally prepared. It does work most of the time. Apparently, it didn't work in this game. It was a frustrating loss."
All is not lost for Warren. The Blue Devils can still take the title if they win out in the division. That would require victories against Lake Forest on April 26 and Lake Zurich on May 3.
Starting line-ups
Libertyville
GK: Jordan Hertzier
D: Ellie Daugerdas
D: Morgan Verbeten
D: Alex Hauser
D: Julia Neiween
MF: Taylor Underwood
MF: Mekenna Yoor
MF: Jackie Widmark
MF: Danielle Pacholski
F: Maddie Olson
F: Annie Thompson
Warren
GK: Skylar Reilly
D: Baylie Mabett
D: Lindsay Ditmars
D: Becca Pineau
D: Maddie Gryzik
MF: Kaitlyn Chomko
MF: Natalie McNally
MF: Sangjun Hornewer
MF: Kayla Malaker
F: Teagon Albert
F: Alliyah Parker
Player of the Match: Taylor Underwood, MF, Libertyville
Referees: Machowski Mauros (center); Dana Joras, Alex Mavros
