Young defends divisional pride, bests Jones
Midfield star Schwartz directs 1-0 win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
BRIDGEVIEW — In Chicago Public League soccer culture, lines of demarcation matter.
Jones had played four teams from the Premier Division and had beaten each of them. Young knew that. The Dolphins wanted to uphold the higher held standards of the city’s top division.
“We really wanted to come out strong because we are in the Premier Division,” Young star midfielder Gaby Schwartz said. “We wanted to prove why we are in the Premier Division.”
Schwartz put on a dazzling early showcase and powered the Dolphins past Jones 1-0 with her goal in the 10th minute. Young concluded its regular season with a strong, and convincing, win in a game that was moved from the stadium to the auxiliary turf field Saturday at Toyota Park.
The game was switched due to concerns on the potential damage to the field after the Fire and DC United played under constant rain late Saturday. The Red Stars played on the field Sunday. Young players attended the game in special Fire-appointed box seats when they learned the game was going to be switched.
They found their own humor to deal with the disappointment.
“Somebody joked they were so excited to be playing at the field next to Toyota Park,” Schwartz said.
Young (11-7-1) came out with authority and purpose. The turf field, the typical practice facility for the Fire Academy, played fast. Young seized the early control.
The city’s top player, Schwartz attacked the heart of the Eagles’ interior. She relentlessly went at Jones by using her size, power and strong left foot to create constant pressure.
She drew a foul in the sixth minute. Her subsequent free kick was a scuddling low liner that achieved lift and hard speed and hit off Jones’ precocious freshman keeper Devin Barry. Young could not get the follow-up. The tone was set. Schwartz followed with another deep drive and a hard ball from the left edge about 14 yards out that Barry blocked.
“Their keeper made some good saves, a few shots that would have been goals in other games,” Young coach Spero Mandakas said.
Schwartz broke through with her 17th goal of the year in the 10th minute.
She punished the Eagles with one of her patented dives that generated so much force and velocity Barry’s deflection of the initial ball was not enough to prevent it from the back of the net.
“Last year we played them and it was a close game, and we did not want to let that happen again,” Schwartz said.
The early success only drove the team further, but to no avail.
“It showed them that we wanted it, and it set the tone for the battle with Gaby’s early goal,” defender Madison Ekern said. “As soon as we got the first one, we wanted another one.”
But Jones did not yield another goal or in its fight to try to find an equalizer.
Jones coach Derek Bylsma knows the importance of continuity, tradition and reputation.
“We have never beaten Young,” he said. “I think my first year we lost to them 13-1, so this is a team I have always had my eye on.”
Jones (10-5-1) won three-successive division titles that culminated with their elevation to the Premier Division a year ago. That group was in a transition period and the young talent struggled against the higher level competition. The team was relegated to the 1st Division North. The team regrouped and found its stride.
Zoe Wright, a tall and gifted forward, is one of the city’s top juniors. She is electric in space and has a powerful foot. She nearly produced the equalizer in the 23rd minute after a Young infraction gave the Eagles a free kick at top of the box. Wright hit a hard ball that just skimmed wide of the near post.
“We just knew we had to keep the pressure and counter attack when we had the opportunities,” Bylsma said.
Senior midfielder Bethany O’Grady also created some strong chances, helping the Eagles withstand the early Young assault. Young dominated the start. The rest was up for grabs.
“Last year when we played them it wa a high scoring game,” Young midfielder Sophie Leib-Neri said. “It was good to see them, because if we play them again we know they are going to attack.”
Junior forward Sandra Delgado, one of the Dolphins who just returned to action, had a strong shot just outside the box that floated just above the crossbar. Young is still putting its attack together, acclimating players returning from injury, like prized sophomore forward Sophie Putrim.
Just as the Dolphins welcomed back their entire roster, Gabrielle Cattan suffered a stress fracture in the game against Lane on Wednesday.
The team’s second leading scorer with nine goals, Cattan is expected to miss about two weeks.
Young has done a good job the entire season of plugging in holes. It has also led to inconsistent results. The Jones game manifested that, showing the team at its best and also demonstrating its tendency to let other teams off the hook.
“In the first 10 minutes we got on them, and we need to keep that pressure and go,” Mandakas said. “They’re a good team, and we gave them a chance to get back into the game, and they took advantage of it. After the first 10-15 minutes, it was played pretty much up the rest of the way.”
Young has a striking fallback with Schwartz.
“What can you say?” Bylsma said. “She is a great player. She hits the ball really well, and she is very dangerous with her left foot.
“I think we worked really hard. We won a lot of the 50/50 balls, which is what you have to do when you play this team. We had a couple of good chances, a couple of good free kicks. I was proud of my girls. I was really happy with how we worked.”
As tends to happen, the season went by in a blur. Now both sides are preparing for the start of the city tournament, the most prestigious part of the Chicago high school soccer season.
“We were definitely using this game to get ready for the city playoffs,” Schwartz said.
“They’re potentially a team we will see again in the tournament. We’re definitely trying to find that rhythm again. We had it in the middle season. And maybe we lost it for a couple of games, and we are still trying to regain it so we can come in strong.”
Saturday's game and its unfortunate field change may turn out to be a temporary disappointment. Both teams are favored to win their pools in the start of Chicago Public League tournament group play Monday.
The teams are set to clash in the quarterfinal bracket. If the matchup plays out, Fire officials and representatives of the two schools are working to have the game played at Toyota Park.
Starters--
Jones--
GK: Devin Barry
D: Gabbie Baxtrom
D: Cassie Cortez
D: Dom Stanisz
D: Charlotte Geissler
MF: Dani Schulgasser
MF: Maddie Golitz
MF: Rachel Sohn
F: Bethany O’Grady
F: Zoe Wright
F: Gillian Miller
Young--
GK: Kyra Sadovi
D: Cameron Herman
D: Madison Ekern
D: Mariah Helm
D: Quinn Gorman
MF: Gaby Schwartz
MF: Sophie Leib-Neri
MF: Sarah Main
F: Keila Vega
F: Sarah Woods
F: Audrey Howaniec
MVP of the match: Gaby Schwartz, MF, Young
Midfield star Schwartz directs 1-0 win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
BRIDGEVIEW — In Chicago Public League soccer culture, lines of demarcation matter.
Jones had played four teams from the Premier Division and had beaten each of them. Young knew that. The Dolphins wanted to uphold the higher held standards of the city’s top division.
“We really wanted to come out strong because we are in the Premier Division,” Young star midfielder Gaby Schwartz said. “We wanted to prove why we are in the Premier Division.”
Schwartz put on a dazzling early showcase and powered the Dolphins past Jones 1-0 with her goal in the 10th minute. Young concluded its regular season with a strong, and convincing, win in a game that was moved from the stadium to the auxiliary turf field Saturday at Toyota Park.
The game was switched due to concerns on the potential damage to the field after the Fire and DC United played under constant rain late Saturday. The Red Stars played on the field Sunday. Young players attended the game in special Fire-appointed box seats when they learned the game was going to be switched.
They found their own humor to deal with the disappointment.
“Somebody joked they were so excited to be playing at the field next to Toyota Park,” Schwartz said.
Young (11-7-1) came out with authority and purpose. The turf field, the typical practice facility for the Fire Academy, played fast. Young seized the early control.
The city’s top player, Schwartz attacked the heart of the Eagles’ interior. She relentlessly went at Jones by using her size, power and strong left foot to create constant pressure.
She drew a foul in the sixth minute. Her subsequent free kick was a scuddling low liner that achieved lift and hard speed and hit off Jones’ precocious freshman keeper Devin Barry. Young could not get the follow-up. The tone was set. Schwartz followed with another deep drive and a hard ball from the left edge about 14 yards out that Barry blocked.
“Their keeper made some good saves, a few shots that would have been goals in other games,” Young coach Spero Mandakas said.
Schwartz broke through with her 17th goal of the year in the 10th minute.
She punished the Eagles with one of her patented dives that generated so much force and velocity Barry’s deflection of the initial ball was not enough to prevent it from the back of the net.
“Last year we played them and it was a close game, and we did not want to let that happen again,” Schwartz said.
The early success only drove the team further, but to no avail.
“It showed them that we wanted it, and it set the tone for the battle with Gaby’s early goal,” defender Madison Ekern said. “As soon as we got the first one, we wanted another one.”
But Jones did not yield another goal or in its fight to try to find an equalizer.
Jones coach Derek Bylsma knows the importance of continuity, tradition and reputation.
“We have never beaten Young,” he said. “I think my first year we lost to them 13-1, so this is a team I have always had my eye on.”
Jones (10-5-1) won three-successive division titles that culminated with their elevation to the Premier Division a year ago. That group was in a transition period and the young talent struggled against the higher level competition. The team was relegated to the 1st Division North. The team regrouped and found its stride.
Zoe Wright, a tall and gifted forward, is one of the city’s top juniors. She is electric in space and has a powerful foot. She nearly produced the equalizer in the 23rd minute after a Young infraction gave the Eagles a free kick at top of the box. Wright hit a hard ball that just skimmed wide of the near post.
“We just knew we had to keep the pressure and counter attack when we had the opportunities,” Bylsma said.
Senior midfielder Bethany O’Grady also created some strong chances, helping the Eagles withstand the early Young assault. Young dominated the start. The rest was up for grabs.
“Last year when we played them it wa a high scoring game,” Young midfielder Sophie Leib-Neri said. “It was good to see them, because if we play them again we know they are going to attack.”
Junior forward Sandra Delgado, one of the Dolphins who just returned to action, had a strong shot just outside the box that floated just above the crossbar. Young is still putting its attack together, acclimating players returning from injury, like prized sophomore forward Sophie Putrim.
Just as the Dolphins welcomed back their entire roster, Gabrielle Cattan suffered a stress fracture in the game against Lane on Wednesday.
The team’s second leading scorer with nine goals, Cattan is expected to miss about two weeks.
Young has done a good job the entire season of plugging in holes. It has also led to inconsistent results. The Jones game manifested that, showing the team at its best and also demonstrating its tendency to let other teams off the hook.
“In the first 10 minutes we got on them, and we need to keep that pressure and go,” Mandakas said. “They’re a good team, and we gave them a chance to get back into the game, and they took advantage of it. After the first 10-15 minutes, it was played pretty much up the rest of the way.”
Young has a striking fallback with Schwartz.
“What can you say?” Bylsma said. “She is a great player. She hits the ball really well, and she is very dangerous with her left foot.
“I think we worked really hard. We won a lot of the 50/50 balls, which is what you have to do when you play this team. We had a couple of good chances, a couple of good free kicks. I was proud of my girls. I was really happy with how we worked.”
As tends to happen, the season went by in a blur. Now both sides are preparing for the start of the city tournament, the most prestigious part of the Chicago high school soccer season.
“We were definitely using this game to get ready for the city playoffs,” Schwartz said.
“They’re potentially a team we will see again in the tournament. We’re definitely trying to find that rhythm again. We had it in the middle season. And maybe we lost it for a couple of games, and we are still trying to regain it so we can come in strong.”
Saturday's game and its unfortunate field change may turn out to be a temporary disappointment. Both teams are favored to win their pools in the start of Chicago Public League tournament group play Monday.
The teams are set to clash in the quarterfinal bracket. If the matchup plays out, Fire officials and representatives of the two schools are working to have the game played at Toyota Park.
Starters--
Jones--
GK: Devin Barry
D: Gabbie Baxtrom
D: Cassie Cortez
D: Dom Stanisz
D: Charlotte Geissler
MF: Dani Schulgasser
MF: Maddie Golitz
MF: Rachel Sohn
F: Bethany O’Grady
F: Zoe Wright
F: Gillian Miller
Young--
GK: Kyra Sadovi
D: Cameron Herman
D: Madison Ekern
D: Mariah Helm
D: Quinn Gorman
MF: Gaby Schwartz
MF: Sophie Leib-Neri
MF: Sarah Main
F: Keila Vega
F: Sarah Woods
F: Audrey Howaniec
MVP of the match: Gaby Schwartz, MF, Young