Grens get past Palatine on Stram-to-Wary connection
By Gary Larsen

Emily Wary is an athlete, which allows Elk Grove coach Dan Klaus to play her all over the field. And one of the chief reasons that long-time defender Wary isn’t needed on the backline wears No. 15 for the Grens.

“Because of the way Jocelyn Potratz has played at center back, we’ve been able to push different people up to create more offense,” Klaus said. “We’ve been able to mix and match, and move parts around.”

With Potratz and the Elk Grove girls in back pitching a shutout in front of keeper Melissa Solorio, Wary scored the game’s lone goal in a 1-0 win over Palatine on Wednesday, on a play built on pure hustle by teammate Sarah Stram.

Stram busted up the left flank nearly to the endline and centered a perfect pass to Wary in the game’s 53rd minute. With a big net in front of her and the time and space to hammer a shot from 8 yards out, Wary fought off the urge to stretch the back netting and instead went the route of composure, calmly passing the ball inside the near post.

Wary finished as though she’s been a goalscorer all her life – which she hasn’t.

“I started the year playing defense, then I moved to forward, and now mid,” Wary said. “Coaches have been telling me that you don’t get extra points for kicking it as hard as you can so that’s what I had going through my mind. Sarah’s got a great foot, she found me there, and I just placed it in.”

Through 10 minutes of the MSL contest, Elk Grove (6-3-0, 4-2) had to contend with a Palatine team that was getting the ball wide on the right side, reaching the endline, and serving more balls to the goalmouth with more regularity than Klaus wanted to see.

“It was a lethargic start,” he said. “But as all the coaches know around here, it’s been hard to develop any kind of rhythm or continuity because of the weather we’ve had.”

The Grens began pushing into the attacking third thereafter. They earned a corner kick at 25 minutes that resulted in Stram sending a shot high of frame, Nikki Zaino served a ball from the left side that a teammate headed on to no avail, and Stram battled up the right flank and earned another corner at 30 minutes.

Palatine keeper Rachel Rhodes saved a Stram shot from 18 yards out at 31 minutes and Zaino hit a hard shot at 33 minutes from the left side that Rhodes saved at the near post to preserve a scoreless tie to halftime.

Rhodes saved a Wary head shot at the post at 44 minutes, set up by a Potratz freekick, and Palatine threatened at 46 minutes when Gina Falato shot from 20 yards out and forced Grens keeper Melissa Solorio to dive to her right to make the stop.

The Stram-to-Wary goal came next.

“Stram made a hell of a run endline and Emily stayed composed. We’ve talked about locking the ankle, taking a short little swing, and finding the center of the ball and that’s what she did,” Klaus said.

Solorio made the save of the game at the 61-minute mark. Falato hit a shot off the crossbar and the ball found the ground at the post, with a Palatine player there to hit a follow-up shot from point-blank range. Solorio dove right and stopped it, and the Grens cleared quickly cleared it out.

“She’s always there when we need her,” Potratz said of Solorio. “I love having everybody back there and it’s a lot of fun being able to play and communicate with those girls. It’s mainly a team effort and we work really well together.”

Solorio’s diving stop thwarted what proved to be the Pirates’ best scoring chance of the second half, as Solorio, Potratz, Alexis Olague, Alyson Czyzewski, and Stephanie Solis went on to post the team’s sixth shutout of the season.

Those six shutouts have accounted for all six of the Grens’ wins this season.

“I thought Solis and Allie Czyzewski were real good on the outside in back, and it’s nice to see Alexis back after being injured earlier this season,” Klaus said.

Klaus was also pleased with the day’s work put in at midfield by Kelly Regan, “and the two freshmen – Cassie Slattery and Elizabeth McDaniel – were good sharing the outside mid spot.”

After Wary’s goal, Klaus moved Stram to the backline to help ensure the shutout. The game’s final 20 minutes saw senior outside mid Kelly Naughton make three strong runs with the ball to the endline, twice earning corner kicks and once serving to the far post, where Wary sent a good chance at a second goal just wide.

The senior Wary has enjoyed the chance to roam all over the field thus far in the season.

“This was my first time playing mid so it’s a lot different. You have to get back and forth so I feel like I’m spinning around a lot,” Wary said. “You have to be completely ready on both sides. At forward you’re pushing with all your might forward but at mid you’ve got to be ready for anything.”