Carmel's makeshift lineup brings the heat vs. Prairie Ridge

By Gary Larsen

You can raise your hand all you like but the best way to let someone know you’re making a run is still with your lungs.

“She was screaming,” Carmel’s Ashley Orth said of teammate Brianne Carlson. “She wanted the ball and I knew she was there, so I faked it outside and then one-touched it to her. I didn’t see her but I knew she was there. She was there on the same play earlier but I missed her, so this time I knew she was going to be there.”

Orth’s serve from the left side and Carlson’s finish from the right broke a scoreless tie in Wednesday’s second half between host Carmel and visiting Prairie Ridge in Mundelein.

Orth added a head shot goal of her own, off a Maggie Karich free kick, en route to the Corsair’s season-opening 2-0 win.

“I’m extremely proud,” Carmel coach John Halloran said. “They played with a ton of energy. They were all over the place, so I’m very happy. We only had four kids who ever started a varsity game before, so it was trial by fire and they came out. I was hoping for just what they gave us, which was energy. Their fitness level was fantastic and they kept it up the entire way through.”

Playing without seniors Lauren Bowles, Kelly Trillhaase, Jessica Petermann, Shannon Kouba, and sophomore Meegan Johnston for assorted reasons, the Corsairs played with energy and grit throughout.

“We were pretty proud of the way we worked together and how the younger girls stepped up to help us out,” Carmel junior Sarah McHugh said. “We only had one senior (Helen Wagner) out there so we all had to kind of step up and play those roles.”

McHugh, Wagner, Caitlin Jung, and Shannon Jung were the only Corsairs on the field that had previously started for Halloran.

Early kickball gave way quickly to a Carmel team aiming to find chemistry in the attack, among a core of varsity newcomers. Sophomore goalkeeper Katie Larson fielded a few shots from distance in a scoreless first half, and stayed aggressive off her line to the final buzzer.

“She was our number three goalkeeper last year, she worked hard in the off-season, worked hard with her club trainer, and boy did she make a big jump,” Halloran said of Larson.

It took Carmel 56 minutes to break the ice and it started with a lead pass from McHugh in back to a streaking Orth up the left side. Orth’s cross and Carlson’s finish effectively gave the Corsairs all the scoring they’d need, with Larson and Carmel’s back line on their way to a shutout.

McHugh played forward for Halloran all of last season but he was forced to start her at central defender on Wednesday. McHugh has played a defensive midfielder’s role for 10 years in club soccer, and the big, athletic, and skilled junior shined on the back line against Prairie Ridge.

“She was fantastic,” Halloran said. “She read the game great and she could be dominant at that position.”

McHugh destroyed plays when needed, collected balls and distributed from the back, and played in the thick of things with an edge. “I knew what to expect and I like being aggressive, so being in back helps me do that,” McHugh said.

Chasing a 1-0 deficit, a big and physical Prairie Ridge team turned up the heat after Carlson’s goal, but the Corsairs didn’t flinch.

“I thought we handled it really well, especially considering that our entire team is about eighty-five pounds,” Halloran said. “We got rid of the ball quick, we got it off our foot, we didn’t hold on and get caught in possession. And our front players battled all day. That’s what created the chances for us.”

Orth epitomized Carmel’s blue-collar play in getting her side its second goal. The junior fought for a ball and earned a foul at the edge of the penalty area, setting up Karich’s free kick. Orth set up on the far side, elevated, and buried a head shot under the crossbar at the far post.

“She earned the foul and then she scored the goal. You can’t ask for more than that,” Halloran said. “Ashley Orth was tremendous today, I thought Bri Carlson did a nice job and (freshman) Sadie Jung was really active in her first varsity game.”

“You have to trust the girls that are out there and some girls definitely showed today that we can trust them. Even though some of them don’t have the strongest technical foundation, they’ll go out and bust chops.”