North Stars edged by Whitefish Bay in Wisconsin opener

 

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By Curt Herron

After dropping a hard-fought match in a tough fashion, it could have been understandable if St. Charles North was disappointed about its performance north of the border on Friday.

But while the North Stars were being treated to a post-match meal by the Whitefish Bay program, the final outcome of the night seemed to pale in relation to the benefits of the trip.

And that's just how North coach Ruth Vostal chose to look at things after her squad suffered its first defeat following a 1-0 setback to the Blue Dukes in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin.

In a match where the Bay (4-1) had the better of the play through the initial 40 minutes and the North Stars (4-1) did the same in the final half, the lone goal was controversial.

Whitefish Bay was awarded a penalty kick in the 73rd minute when the referee ruled that Abby Starker had been fouled in the box, much to the chagrin of Vostal and her squad.

Lydia Kaminsky proceeded to connect on the subsequent penalty kick and the hosts held off a pair of late challenges by North to prevail in the well-played affair on a cool evening.

It was the first part of a two-day venture to Wisconsin for the North Stars, who take on another one of the Badger State's top teams, Divine Savior Holy Angels, this afternoon.

One of the keys for North, which features plenty of new faces to go along with the few returnees from last year's Class 3A third-place finisher, is the chance for players to bond.

In addition, the North Stars get the opportunity to see a different style of play which should no doubt provide benefits when they get into the heart of their upcoming schedule.

So although North saw its streak of three-straight shutouts halted due to the late score, there were still much to be encouraged by in part one of the trip to the Milwaukee-area.

"I thought that they dominated the first 40 and we dominated the second 40 and it's unfortunate that it wasn't decided on the field since I don't agree with that penalty kick," Vostal said. "I don't have a problem losing, but I think both teams fought and it was evenly-matched.

"We have only three returning starters in our lineup so we are trying to put a lot of emphasis on the girls coming together. We have great skill and great experience, but not necessarily together. So seeing different teams and styles is going to help us with teams from Illinois.

"Sammy Gage was incredible. Whether she's inside or forward, her leadership skills are great and she's dominating in the air. Lisa Manski was marking Kaminsky and shut her down pretty much the entire game. Their two top goal scorers weren't able to score in regular play, which was huge.

"I was also real pleased with our back four of KK Barr, Jorie Clawson, Kenzie Rose and Alex Gage because Whitefish Bay has some dangerous girls and they didn't have many great open shots. And Kendall Karr has been playing great for us in goal and made some good stops tonight."

The long bus ride to the suburb north of Milwaukee seemed to affect the North Stars, who came out a sluggish during the opening half and only managed a couple of good opportunities.

It was a different story after the break, however, as North kept up a steady amount of pressure on Bay keeper Sarah Platzer, who did a nice job of thwarting the visitor's efforts.

After watching his squad weather the storm from one of Illinois' best teams in the final 40 minutes, Bay coach Robert Williams was excited about being able to play a team like North.

"I told my girls that this was probably one of the best challenges that we're going to have all year," Williams said. "We know that they've played Divine Savior each year and that Ruth does a good job. So we knew that we would have to work hard since they're a really good team.

"It was a back-and-forth match, so we talked to our girls about maintaining and playing through mistakes. We have a tendency to make a mistake and then hang our heads, which leads to goals. And North made it tough on us since they hit the ball well, have speed and make good decisions.

"I wanted to get them on the schedule and we couldn't do that last year. We're a really young team in some spots so I thought that this would be a good test for us. We're trying to make our schedule tougher and we're not going to find teams that are much better than St. Charles North."

The last half saw plenty of good chances from both sides, starting with Sammy Gage firing a long free kick to Platzer and Kaminsky responding with a liner to North keeper Kendall Karr.

A short time later, Carleigh Dusek was denied on a line drive and Jorie Clawson cleared away a Bay shot before Gage lined a free kick over the net about 10 minutes into the new half.

Kirsten Brown chipped an attempt that went over Whitefish Bay's net and shortly after that, KK Barr sent in a shot from the side that was hauled in by the Blue Dukes' keeper.

Just before the midway point of the final half, Starker sent a liner that went wide of the net and Kaminsky was also a bit wide on a free kick from just beyond the top of the box.

After Kaminsky connected on the penalty kick, the North Stars had a pair of good chances, but Lauren Koehl was wide and Sophie Pohl sent a grounder that just rolled past the net.

Lisa Manski was given the task of stopping Kaminsky, who along with Starker presented a dangerous one-two punch, but the North Stars managed to keep both from causing too much havoc.

"This was one of the best teams that we've played so far, so we had to adjust to the speed of play and get used to the quicker pressure so that we could start playing together better," Manski said. "We need to play teams like this so we're ready for our harder games that are coming up.

"We're in our team rooms together and everyone is getting to know each other better, so a trip like this is good. Everyone has been working really hard so things have been going really well for us. Everyone may not have the most skill, but they're the hardest-workers I've played with."

In the opening half, neither squad had many good opportunities, but the Bay had more of the possession while the North Stars took awhile to get their game going after the long trip.

The hosts applied the first pressure as Kirstin Edwards sent an early line drive to Karr and later Kaminsky fired in a free kick that was also hauled in by the North Stars' keeper.

Not long after the midpoint of the initial half, North had perhaps its best chance of the first 40 minutes when Gage got free in front of the net but Platzer broke up the threat.