If the defense doesn't have the upper hand in a soccer game, the next best thing is to bend, but not break.
That's the identity Evanston's women's national team has established so far in the 2024 season.
Embracing that philosophy, and without the mistakes that come with it, the undefeated Wildkits still managed a shutout victory Saturday, defeating Naperville North 1-0 and advancing to the 6th Annual Malnati's Deep Dish hosted by New Trier. – Won his first tournament win in the Classic. .
At the end of a grueling game that tested Kitts mentally and physically, Evanston dominated the premier “in-season” tournament in Illinois. They atoneed for the only blemish on their perfect record (9 wins, 0 losses, 1 draw) by defeating the North team, who had drawn 1-1 in their group game earlier in the week.
After earning runner-up honors last year and 2018, the Wildkits had no intention of settling for second place this time around. Senior Sydney Ross produced the only goal of the game with a left-footed shot in the 72nd minute.
“The competition in this tournament is really great,” Ross said. “We weren't satisfied with last year's results.” [4-1 loss to Lyons Township in the championship game] So this felt like a bit of unfinished business for us today.
“I know it was a difficult tournament and both teams were tired. I think we had more energy than them at the end.”
Ross broke the scoreless stalemate with a scramble in front of the North goal, beating Husky goaltender Olivia Ochsner with a close shot with 7:24 left in regulation. With the loss, the Huskies fell to 7-2-2 on the season.
“The ball came flying at me and was deflected by one of my defenders,” Ross said. “I just touched like a coach and hit hard.” [Franz] Calixto always tells us to do that. ”
“When you play this many games in such a short amount of time against such good competition, that's when the mental part really comes into play,” ETHS head coach Stacey Salgado said. “And the teams that win are the teams that are mentally restrained. They found little spurts at the last moment when we needed them.
“I can't say it was our greatest game. We had a lot of swerve, let alone break, but we still found a way to do it against a really good team. A team like Naperville North and 1 It's a tough tournament to have to play twice in a week. We really wanted to win. But at the same time, this is a learning match for us to find out what we need to work on to get better. there was.”
Limiting the number of mistakes made by a brand new defensive unit, with a new starting goaltender in senior Shea Lucas helping them out, is part of the “bend but don't break” mantra. And so far, Saturday's win marks the sixth shutout in 10 games, and the Wildkits have been able to cover for each other whenever those mistakes occur.
It's a remarkable start considering freshman Mayzlyn Kelly and sophomore Damilola Adeniyi are rookies on the back line and are still adjusting to the pace of varsity play.
But no one can fault their decision-making so far, and the 5-foot-8 Kelly and 5-foot-11 Adeniyi helped the Kitts match North's physicality in Saturday's rematch. .
“It bends, but it doesn’t break,” Kelly said. “We just kept trying and found a way to make it happen today. People say I'm a 'wall' defensively, but it's different when the ball goes over my head every once in a while.”
“There were some rough fouls against us today, maybe not accurate. But even when the going got tough, we stayed positive. We played really well today. , I think I played really strong. I played against a few of those girls at the club, and every time I play against someone else it gives me a little more insight into what their weaknesses are. can.
“I’m just here to work hard, support other girls and play the game I love.”
Salgado wants Kelly and Adeniyi to be the building blocks of his defense over the next three seasons.
“Both of those girls are strong and play with a lot of energy,” she said. “We're trying to get them to a point where they can own the final line. We gave them [North] We had some chances today and Shea made some great stops in the goal.
“They're both two-footed players. Mayzlin is a little stronger in the air. And they both have good speed.”
Lucas recorded four saves for the tournament champion. That included a game-saving effort midway through the first half when North's Claire Ducuc stepped off the defense and created the only breakthrough chance Lucas had on the way to the go-ahead goal.
The ETHS senior jumped out to block the shot, but the Huskies couldn't get a shot on the ensuing corner kick.
Naperville North benefited from five restarts inside its 30-yard line in the second half, but was unable to get a shot on goal on any of the chances.
“With a new back line like we have, it's made it interesting,” said Lucas, who served as a backup the past two seasons at the varsity level. “I'm really happy with how our defense has played lately.
“You can feel how this team works together before the game, during the game and after the game. Last year we lost here and we were a little down, but we knew we had a chance to win this year. The competition was great and we learned a lot from every game we played. I'm looking forward to the hard work it takes to play against a team like this. We will be more confident and more united.”
