Chicagoland Soccer

Foss goal keeps Cougars in MSL West contention
By Mike Garofola

With the finishing touch of a high-profile striker, backline star Kelsey Foss ensured that her mates from Conant were still in the race for the top spot in the MSL West division.

The four-year star drove a blistering 30-yard cracker through a sea of players and past Hersey keeper Morgan Harris to give the Cougars (14-3-0, 9-1-0) a 2-1 lead, which would hold up for the next 36 minutes to keep the home-side level with Barrington heading into the last match of the regular season.

Quite simply, the Cougars will need help from Prospect on Friday in its game with Barrington, while Jason Franco's side looks to defeat Hoffman Estates. This scenario would put Conant three points clear of the Fillies, and a place in next week's MSL Soccer Bowl. If both clubs finish even, Barrington will go through because of its earlier 3-0 victory over Conant.

Thursday’s game was important to MSL East champion Hersey for different reasons. "This was a big game for both of us," said Hersey manager Brad Abel.

"Conant obviously needed a win to stay with Barrington, and for us, we didn't want to go until the championship game with two straight defeats, while also, maybe more importantly, wanting to stay as sharp as possible for that game.

"It was a very good game, and one that provided plenty of excitement, and chances for both sides, and the last 30 minutes had so much energy, pace and great play from both sides. It was all good, except for the final result."

The Cougars, like so many area sides this spring, have had their fair share of injuries, especially of late when it was announced that its fine young sophomore MF Bianca Madonia will have surgery to repair her ACL, and most recently, a concussion to junior Alyssa Altosino, during the recent match with Downers Grove South.

Franco's not-so-deep bench, already stretched thin due to the aforementioned injuries, would provide the spark his club would need against the Hersey on Tuesday evening, giving a big Senior Night crowd plenty to cheer about all throughout.

“Sidney (O'Keefe), Brittany (Hoffman) and Kayla Severinsen were each terrific tonight, and maybe without their inspired play, we're not able to come away with a win," admitted Franco.

Installed in place of Altosino alongside veteran Chrissy Rosales, Hoffman's presence in the first-11 gave the Cougars some size and ball-winning ability, while providing several quality passes and holding power.

"Brittany did a great job all night in the middle,” Rosales said. “She won balls, defended really well, and just played really hard, and along with Sidney and Kayla, they just stepped-up their play on a night when we needed it the most." Rosales was one of eight seniors honored during a brief ceremony at intermission.

"We needed everyone tonight to step up and play their best, and Brittany, Sidney, Kayla and Courtney O'Keefe all came off the bench and did a terrific job for us," added Foss, who will be on to Winona State next fall to continue her playing career.

The Cougars would dictate the pace off the whistle in what would be a well-played and officiated 80 minutes of entertaining soccer on an unusually warm evening.

Conant freshman Leah Celarek, who is fast becoming a dangerous player on her own while being the ultimate complimentary running mate alongside Cougars star Courtney Raetzman, helped energize the attack of the home-side, which was freshened up by senior Sam Armando, who began the night up top in Franco's first-11.

The Cougars had a lucky escape in the opening minutes when Hersey’s Kaitlyn Smetana was sent free on the left side, but her attempt went under the charging Haley Anderson and off the far post in the 3rd minute to keep things scoreless at the time.

Both sides came out with plenty of pace and energy in its attack, 50-50 challenges and when tackling, as it was apparent to all that each club was playing to win, albeit for different reasons.

"We didn't want to go into the MSL Bowl with two straight losses, if we could help it, and, as I said before, it's important to keep everything at a high level, both mentally and physically," said Abel.

"We couldn't control anything that Barrington would do tonight, or on Friday at Prospect, so we had to just take care of our own business, and then see what happens afterward,” Franco said.

The home side mounted some pressure with brief spells of magnificent attacking soccer, moving the ball quickly, while using width to create a handful of chances on frame and the Huskies’ fine freshmen keeper, Morgan Harris.

Altosino had a go after a patient build-up from Hoffman, Rosales and Celarek, and later, Raetzman weaved her way through traffic before laying a nice ball off to Rosales in close, that if not defended well by the Huskies, could have put the opportunistic Rosales in on Harris.

Conant’s Katie Lomas left with an ankle injury at 22 minutes, and was replaced by the aforementioned Severinsen, and the junior didn't miss a beat while on the backline. She joined the Cougars’ attack, as did Kim Trinco on frequent runs forward, to help add another weapon in the attack.

Hersey earned its first corner of the match at 24 minutes, which resulted in Nicole Pietro spraying her header wide after meeting Lauren Gierman's serve into the box, but that would be it for the visitors who would count heavily on its backline of Olivia Stasiuk, Emily Moody, Sara Magnuson and Kayla Knauss to stay water-tight in its defending of one of the top scoring teams in the area.

"We defended a lot in that first half, and never really got much of anything going until after the break, and then, I thought we played 30 good minutes of soccer out of the 40," offered Abel.

Conant’s Sammi van de Linde was the sole architect of the first goal of the game, somehow keeping the play alive at the far flag before breaking free of her marker and sending a superb ball to the far post. Celarek moved into position to hit a fierce header just inside the post for her 8th goal of the year.

The 39th-minute goal stunned Hersey, but -- as it has become part of their trademark -- the Huskies roared back to draw even, three minutes into the second period.

Pietro ran into the box and stayed unmarked long enough to redirect her header of a Casey Weyhrich's pinpoint serve to pull the Huskies back into the match.

"Nikki's goal was a big one for us, and helped give us a really big boost when we needed it, but we gave away that goal really quick," said Weyhrich.

Moments after the restart, Foss collected a loose ball near the mid-line, and quickly ran forward before unleashing a powerfully-driven right-footed strike through several players from both sides, and into the back of the net past the helpless Harris, who had no time to react to save.

"I played forward with Raetzman with the Sockers when I was younger, but they moved me to the back because they said I was too big to play up top," laughed Foss.

Altosino would nearly find the back of the net herself when her low drive dropped as it neared Harris, who stayed with the well-paced shot nonetheless to make the save.

The Foss goal would open things up for both sides, as the Huskies more urgently pushed forward in their search to draw even, while the hosts looked to double the lead to end the hopes of their guests.

Altosino and Stasiuk went head-to-head on a 50-50 ball which sent both to the sidelines for good in the 54th minute, and before play resumed Raetzman and Rosales, in a show of great sportsmanship, went to the Hersey bench to give Stasiuk a hug and a wish for a speedy return.

Both coaches would say later that each player would be evaluated and checked for concussions today.

Abel would move Boyle to the back to replace his top defender, and the switch would greatly influence the Huskies attack, without one of the best midfielders in the area.

Sidney's O'Keefe's snap-shot from in close forced a terrific reaction save by Harris after the double injury, and then it was Conant's Haley Anderson's turn when the freshman keeper smothered a potential shot on frame after Smetana and Meg Cerniglia helped create a corner.

The final 10 minutes before time continued was played at a high speed, from box-to-box, but Foss and her mates kept everything far enough away from Anderson to help secure a big victory for the Cougars.

"We really needed this one tonight, and we got it because of the effort everyone gave tonight. Now we have to take care of Hoffman, and wait to see if we get some help from Prospect on Friday," said Foss.