Chicagoland Soccer

Corsairs fall to Glenbrook South in regional title match

By Dan Santaromita

Carmel is a team that is usually dangerous on set pieces, but facing the formidable height and disciplined defense of Glenbrook South made creating anything from set pieces a difficult task.

The Corsairs, seeded fourth in the Palatine Sectional, had to go on the road for the Class 3A regional final in Glenview and face a red-hot team.

The No. 5 seed Titans entered with an 11-match win streak with nine straight shutouts and extended both streaks in a 2-0 win.

South (18-4-4) put the clamps on defensively and took its chances to advance to face Palatine in Tuesday's sectional semifinal.

The Corsairs (14-4-2) hung with the Titans in terms of possession but the difference was in the final third.

“I saw them play Wednesday and I knew they were probably going to be the best team we’ve played all year,” Carmel coach John Halloran said.

“I thought our defense played pretty well. They took advantage of their chances. When a team does that they’re most likely going to win.”

Ashley Orth got on the end of a free kick in the opening minutes of the match, which was played on a side field while the stadium field undergoes construction for an artificial turf field, but her open shot went high. Carmel struggled to get chances the rest of the half.

The Titans pounced just short of 10 minutes when Keeley Nolan finished Carolyn Nash’s low cross from the left flank. Nolan tucked her first touch shot into the side netting.

Neither team came close to scoring the rest of the half but it was clear that South was going to be difficult to score on.

“Their midfield gets back really well and they were fantastic in the middle on 50-50 balls,” Halloran said.

“Almost every goal kick and punt we struggled with. We’re shaking hands with them at the end and three quarters of their team is taller than I am.”

April Cronin burst through the middle of the Carmel defense early in the second half to make it a 2-0 lead. Shortly after that, Carmel lost senior defender Sarah McHugh to an ankle injury to make the comeback even more difficult.

In response, the Corsairs upped the pressure and was able to create a number of close calls. With about 15 minutes left, junior Bri Carlson hit an impressive half volley from outside the area, but it smacked against the bar and no Corsairs could get on the rebound.

Minutes later, Carmel would have touches inside the box on a pair of dangerous attacks, but couldn’t break down the Titans’ stout defense.

“Those girls knew what was coming,” Carlson said. “They read their plays. We have height but those girls were rudely tall.”

As is the case in the playoffs, a bounce here or there could have changed the match.

“We had a heck of a season,” Halloran said. “I’m really proud of our girls.

“They battled really hard in the second half and we rattled the crossbar on the one and we had that one that bounced around the six for about three touches so we could have easily gotten one back and really made a go of it. It just wasn’t our day.”

Five seniors ended their careers at Carmel in the loss. Along with McHugh, Caitlin Jung, Shannon Jung, Maggie Karich and Orth all left their mark on the Corsair program.

“Two of the Jung girls have been with us for four years,” Halloran said. “It’s going to be like there’s a hole when we get to camp this summer because they’ve just been around so long and the other ones have been great, too.

“Sarah obviously had a fantastic season and Maggie Karich was really kind of an unsung hero for us this year. Her leadership has been absolutely fantastic. She’s really kind of been the team mom within the team and Ashley Orth’s work ethic on the pitch is unmatched. I’ve never had a forward work as hard as she does.”

“Those seniors are just great,” Carlson said. “We’re going to really miss them. They’re the heart and soul of the team. They kept us going when we didn’t want to. The put us on their backs and this is how far we got. They were the reason we got here.”