Photos courtesy of Harrison Bull

 

Red Devils blank Trojans to kick off WSC Silver play

 

 

By Curt Herron

When your team competes in a rugged league like the West Suburban Conference's Silver Division, it's critical that they play well defensively.

That's one of the big reasons why Hinsdale Central coach Michael Smith is so pleased by what he's seen from his squad during the early going.

The Red Devils have allowed just one goal during their initial five matches and they have now posted shutouts in their last three outings.

Their run of good defensive work continued on Tuesday when they played host to Downers Grove North in the WSC Silver opener for both sides.

Hinsdale moved in front for good in the seventh minute and then limited the Trojans to few chances during a 3-0 victory at Centennial Field.

"What I like is that we've been playing well and at the same time we haven't been giving goals up," Smith said. "If we're building for the next few weeks and the toward the postseason, you don't want to give goals away. And the West Suburban is a tough conference because you know that you'll have to play well in every game.

"Our back line was Erin Smith at left back, Kat Treankler at left-sided center back, right-sided center back Katie Camden and right back Christa Kuhlman, as well as Jenny Saviski, who stepped on off the bench. All five of those girls were impressive on defense today.

"I was happy to see how Downers Grove North improved from last year to this year. They have a new young coach and it's clear that he has them organized and playing a certain way and I'm sure in the years to come they'll be a team that will push us that much more. I was just happy that we were able to push back a little today."

While the Red Devils (4-0-1, 1-0) had good reason to be proud of their defensive effort, the same can also be said of their opponents.

The Trojans (1-3, 0-1) didn't allow the hosts to have that many opportunities and yielded a third goal during the final minutes of play.

Although first-year coach Bob Calder's squad has allowed just eight goals, they've scored half that many and been shut out three times.

"Hinsdale Central had a very good game," Calder said. "We were looking to do what we wanted offensively but we didn't quite get there today. We got the ball through a couple of times but we need to start getting a little bit more selfish offensively. We got the ball to where we needed to get it, but we weren't pulling the trigger.

"The win over Curie was a good one and I hoped that it would get us going offensively but then we lost 1-0 to Trinity but the weather wasn't great and we had some opportunities and they just didn't go our way. We've had a lot of cancellations and moves and that has kind of prevented us from what we were trying to do offensively.

"I've been really impressed with our possession this year. Even though this was a 3-0 loss, I felt that we possessed the ball for a good portion and played in their half a lot. Hopefully we can use the positive signs of good possession and pretty good defensive efforts and turning them into wins."

Beside seeing how his squad performed defensively, Smith is pleased with with the Red Devils' play all over the field and their chemistry.

"Alison Cerny and Jenn Jarmy, our wingers, give us great movement off of the ball and are constantly trying to find those angles to get the ball where there's checking back or to make diagonal runs," said Smith, whose squad has outscored opponents by a 15-1 margin.

"Attacking mid is a new position for Casey May but she's a soccer player who we can play anywhere and she can be an impact player there while Caitlin Smith is our controlling mid and is great and changing the point of attack and very composed on the ball.

"I like the way that our girls talk to each other. It's always very encouraging and positive and you want to play for teammates who talk to you in that manner. I love the fact that they've all bought into what we're doing and that they want the team to be successful."

Meanwhile, the new Trojans coach was encouraged about his team's play defensively and like his counterpart, feels that he has a close squad.

"I was really impressed with our defensive today," Calder said. "Even though it was 3-0, I thought we were sound. They didn't have too many good scoring opportunities, maybe about four, and they were able to put three of them away.

"Kaitlin Gunderson is new this year and is playing well in the middle and Emma Krick is also in the middle and is a very solid player who does a good job of keeping possession for us. Our two outside backs, Megan Treichel and Arlinda Osmani, have really stepped up and played mature soccer.

"This is a really good group of girls but they're very, very young. They're all working together and trying to improve together and it's working so far. This was only our fourth game so we're looking to continue to improve."

Hinsdale started off strongly in the match, as Alison Cerny was denied on a pair of attempts by keeper Christina Siddu in the early going.

The Red Devils moved in front for good in the seventh minute when Meghan Schick sent a pass to Casey May, who connected from close range.

North responded to that score with a pair of long efforts from Emma Krick but Red Devil freshman keeper Katy Coseglia hauled in both tries.

Cerny nearly made it a 2-0 match in the 13th minute but her try hit the crossbar. The one-goal lead lasted until shortly before the break.

In the 36th minute, Hinsdale added to its advantage when Jenn Jarmy got past defenders and then drew the keeper out for an open-net score.

"This was our first match on this surface and when you go from turf to grass and grass to turf there are always those hiccups, especially early in the season with this field kind of thawing out," Smith said. "But we told the girls that it doesn't matter what the surface is like, we play like winners and winners find a way to be successful.

"What we talked about both before and during the game is that it's a mentality and that you have to continue to find ways to be successful. What I liked was that Downers Drove North made sure that we finished the game and it was great that we had to finish it. The intensity level on our side never decreased.

"Our subs who stepped on the field added something positive to the game and you want to have your subs push your starters so that you can have the competitive environment that's for the good of them all. We know that all 18 of our field players could be starters so that depth allows us to keep pushing teams all the way to the end."

There were a few opportunities shortly after the intermission, with May being denied by Siddu and Megan Treichel clearing a try by Cerny.

North's best chance in the final half came shortly after the midway mark when Bridget Keys had a short shot but it went wide of the mark.

Not long after Emily LaRocque was thwarted on a close-range effort, Cerny found Schick, who scored in the 78th minute to wrap things up.

Hinsdale has two matches at Centennial Field to close out the week. They host Plainfield North on Thursday and Glenbard East on Saturday.

The Trojans have a pair of road contests this weekend. They play at Riverside-Brookfield on Friday and are at Lemont the following day.