Tigers blank York to advance to Pepsi Showdown finals

 

 

By Curt Herron

With Plainfield North enjoying its best start in school history, the squad pointed to another important first that they wanted to achieve.

And that was to earn its initial appearance in the championship match of the Pepsi Showdown after falling in the semifinals last season.

Boosted by the extra incentive, coach Jane Crowe's squad played with a purpose when they stepped on Schaumburg's Olympic Park on Saturday.

While York hoped to continue its exciting run through the tournament, the Tigers will be moving on following their 2-0 semifinal victory.

North got first-half goals from Shayna Dheel and Ashley Handwork, off of assists from Kaela Leskovar and Heather Handwork, to take control.

Then it was up to the defense of Brooke Polonus, Nikki Auble, Tate Barney and Karsyn Stirrett and keeper Erin Wren to post a ninth shutout.

One of the highlights of the squad's 11th straight victory was the fact that it held York (7-3-1) scoreless for the first time this year.

The Tigers meet up with Buffalo Grove, which beat New Trier 1-0 in the other semifinal, in next Sunday's noon title match at Toyota Park.

"There was so much excitement about this tournament and trying to get the opportunity to play at Toyota Park," Crowe said. "I know that one of the girls' goals was to do that. We've played some good teams and every team has shown us some things that we need to work on.

"I thought that we connected our passes a lot better than we did in our last game. We adjusted to the wind and we kept the ball on the ground a lot better than we have this week. We also attacked from a lot of different places.

"York pushed forward a ton in the second half and we didn't just want to hang back and defend for a whole half. So I thought that we did a good job of continuing to play our game, even with them pushing forward. Our biggest challenge is to keep getting better and this is another chance for us to improve."

While Ashley Handwork once again managed to find the net, the Tigers have definitely looked to others to score, and that's a big strength.

"This year we've talked a lot about not making Ashley have to do as much," Crowe said. "She comes out and scores a goal in almost every game but we want other people to be able to do things, too.

"And I think that's helped to make us a good team. Teams have tried to focus on Ashley and make it difficult to get her the ball, but then we have other people who step up around her and that's why we've been successful so far."

The Dukes had scored 27 goals in the first 10 matches, including eight in tournament wins over Deerfield, Loyola Academy and Glenbrook South.

But Wren came up with some nice stops and her defense, which has yielded just three goals all year, kept York from getting many good chances.

"Our backline was kind of a question mark coming into this year because we graduated a couple and have two freshman playing there," Crowe said. "But Tate and Karsyn have jumped into it as freshman and Nikki and Brooke are our veterans and lead back there."

While Crowe was pleased by her side's determination to reach the championship of the 32-team competition, her counterpart was disappointed.

York coach Krzysztof Halupka didn't feel that the Dukes played at the same level as they had in their three previous tournament victories.

"In the end, this was a semifinal game and you have to come ready for it," Halupka said. "I don't think that we did a good enough job of figuring out what we needed to do to win. I don't think that we marked well or were first to the ball.

"We defended as individuals in stretches instead of as a team and we didn't get forward enough and didn't have a corner kick. No matter who you're playing against, all of those things help you win. It really was not our best day and that's a shame.

"We didn't play well in a game where I thought it was fair that we could have won. We had beaten some good teams coming into this. It was a disappointing day and the girls are going to leave with a bitter taste in their mouth because they had an opportunity to get to the final and it slipped away."

North struck for the only goal that it would need in the 14th minute when Leskovar sent a cross to Dheel, who connected on a short try.

A few minutes after that, the Dukes had one of their best early chances but Ellie Ordonez sent a shot which went just wide of the mark.

The Tigers had most of the best opportunities in the first half, keeping York's Annabelle Lansdowne busy on the cold and windy afternoon.

York's keeper had to halt a line drive from Erin Chynoweth and then stopped an attempt from Leskovar as time wound down toward the break.

But North collected its second score in the 38th minute when the Handworks teamed up with Heather finding Ashley for a close-range effort.

Ashley Handwork hoped to add another Tiger goal before the halftime whistle sounded but Lansdowne managed to halt her shot from the side.

"This was a great win for us," said Barney, who is a freshman along with Stirrett. "It's awesome to be able to play with this group of girls to do our best and try to improve each week. It's great being a freshman on this team and I'm looking forward to the next three years here.

"Our communication is key on defense and that's one of our strengths and we're also really close. It's really exciting to be playing in the Pepsi finals, especially as a freshman. The quality that I like most about our team is how close we are and how hard that we work together."

The Dukes were more threatening during the final 40 minutes, but Wren and her defense kept them at bay to maintain the two-goal lead.

York's Bryce Banuelos was denied shortly after the break and then Heather Handwork had a pair of shots which were thwarted by Lansdowne.

A few minutes later, the sides exchanged efforts as Dheel had a try cleared by Edith Flores and Alyssa Kovatchis lined one over the net.

North challenged a few times following the half's midpoint, with Sara Stevens and Ashley Handwork both being denied on short attempts.

The Dukes looked like they might finally avoid the shutout in the final minutes but Wren made a diving save on a shot from Kovatchis.

Although North has plenty of veterans leading the way, another key to its memorable start are the efforts of a talented freshman class.

It's safe to say that with the great start and trip to the Pepsi Showdown finals, the short-term and long-term future is very bright.

"It's great that we get to play in the championship game at Toyota Park," said freshman Sam Elster. "It will be a great experience for us, and especially for the freshman since we're young, so we'll build on it. It's awesome to be playing with so many great players this year.

"Our skills all complement each other really well and we get along really well on and off of the field. Our possession is key in our play and allows us to create goal-scoring opportunities. We all work for each other on this team. It's great to see how much success we're having."

North also plays at Plainfield East and hosts Plainfield South this week while York travels to Oak Park and River Forest on Tuesday.