Rams on the short end of a 2-1 loss to Highland Park
By Dan Santaromita

 

CLICK HERE FOR RAMS' TEAM PAGE

Sometimes the only way to explain a loss is that the other team simply scored more goals.

Glenbard East outplayed Highland Park in many facets of the game, but didn’t have as many goals to show for it on Wednesday. A pair of mistakes in the back in the first half proved costly for the Rams despite putting twice as many shots on frame. The Giants walked away 2-1 winners in the opener of the Niles West Invite.

After the loss coach Kent Overbey tried to explain the result.

“We felt we outplayed them,” Overbey said. “They had some speed up top and we’ve been off for nine days after a big start to the first half of our season. We lost two different players in our last game to Naperville North so we were shuffling and trying to fill spaces. No excuses, they outplayed us in the first half and that was the difference. The field is smaller than we’re used to and we weren’t able to utilize the possession we’d like to play and get our forwards in behind and that was the difference.”

The match was played on a back field at Niles West and the Giants adjusted better to the smaller grass field in the first half. The Rams (7-6-2) tried to play over the top to Lindsey Paganucci and Jess DeJong through the HP defense early, but were unable to make the connections to the forwards.

“They’re really good at playing one v one and getting in behind, but we’ve been trying to adjust to playing more controlled on the ground kind of play,” sophomore defender Kelly Ravenscraft said. “We’re used to playing on a bigger field where we’re able to pass long and hard and able to play the entire field. On a smaller field you really just have to play the ground, play small, play feet.”

After the teams settled into the match the pace slowed until Highland Park hit for a pair of quick strikes.

A hard shot was launched at freshman Rams’ goalkeeper Rachel Anderson (6 saves), who blocked it away but only right to the feet of Lauren Daly, who tapped in the opening goal.

About five minutes later Daly displayed a much more difficult finish. An early cross from the right put Daly in behind the Rams’ defense and she hit a well-placed shot on her first touch high into the net.

“We came out really flat, really slow,” Ravenscraft said. “We just took a break and it was kind of getting back into the rhythm. It’s really hard when we start in the beginning making mistakes and then try to build up momentum from there. It’s a lot easier in the second half when we were able to start really strong from the beginning and then be able to score.”

The Rams came out of the break and dominated the play, but Giants’ keeper Amanda Skurie (14 saves) made some nice stops to preserve the lead and frustrate East.

East created a sequence of shots about 10 minutes into the half that was symbolic of the Rams’ day in front of goal. First DeJong hit a shot that rattled the crossbar. She won the rebound header and got it past Skurie, who was off her line following the initial shot, but the attempt was cleared off the line by a defender. Finally another attempt by Andi Erguven was saved by Skurie to end the frantic sequence.

Jessie Grumstrup moved up from defense later in the half to energize the Rams’ attack and vindicated the move by scoring a goal following a similar scramble in the box that left Grumstrup with an open net to shoot at.

There were still 15 minutes left to get the equalizer, but it did not come and Overbey was left wishing his team had played all 80 like they did the second half.

“We weren’t prepared mentally for the first half and at halftime we talked about it and were able to make some adjustments in terms of just our personal energy,” the coach said. “Unfortunately you give a team like that two goals in the first half and then a small field without room to get in behind and pump balls behind there’s nothing you can do to make it back.”

Defensively, the Rams held off any counter attack attempts from HP in the second half, even after Grumstrup went forward. Meghan Mumenthal, alongside Ravenscraft, was solid at the right back position.

“Our defense did a good job after we woke up,” Overbey said. “I thought Meghan Mumenthal, a senior outside back, played just an incredible game defensively. She’s been a three-year starter for us and she’s one of those players that you don’t forget about but you expect such a high level of play that sometimes the only time you notice is when she’s not at that level. For her that’s very rare.”

The Rams, now winless in the last five matches after going undefeated through the season’s first six, have three more matches in the tournament including Rockford Lutheran on Thursday. Overbey is looking for the team to rack up as many wins as possible before sectional seeding comes out.

The tournament could also be a way to snap East out of the funk before returning to DuPage Valley Conference play. The Rams are currently 0-3-1 in the league.

“They’re definitely better teams that we’re going up against and I think that we’re able to rise to the challenge and even though we haven’t gotten the win we really put them to the test and we’ve been able to challenge throughout,” Ravenscraft said. “It’s sad that we haven’t been able to put one in and really get over the top of them, but I think if we keep pushing we’ll be able to break through one of these times.”