Handful of Fillies Score in Soccer Victory

For most offensive minded soccer players, five matches without a goal is considered a drought, when you are Barrington’s senior Emily Hyde, five matches may seem like an eternity.

“It was so nice to finally score,” said Hyde who will be playing at Miami of Ohio next year.  “The last few games I was trying so hard to put one away.”

With Barrington at a 3-1 goal advantage over MSL W divisional rival Hoffman Estates, Hyde managed to find space near the Hawks net that left her in a one-on-one with the goalie.

“I saw the goalie coming,” Hyde said of her first goal of the young season.  “I touched it to the side and then just put it away.”

“It’s been a long time coming and she has been pressing a lot,” Fillies coach Ryan Stengren said of Hyde’s battle to get back to full strength.  “She’s coming off mono from last season, had a stress fracture in her foot and then she hurt her ankle which meant she didn’t play much during the club season; so basically she is coming back now and she is still producing.”

Hyde wasn’t the only Barrington player to score in the Fillies 4-2 victory over Hoffman.  After the Hawks took an early 1-0 lead, Barrington’s freshman, Elli Ackermann scored a goal off of fellow freshman Mia Calamari’s corner kick which knotted the game at 1.

“These freshmen are gaining confidence and that’s great,” Stengren said of the underclassmen that have really been holding their own.  “They just keep getting better in practice and games.”

“And Elli has been so dangerous for us lately,” Stengren went on to say of the team's leading scorer (3 for the season).

Barrington (4-1) took the lead at 2-1, an advantage they would control the rest of the game, as junior Sara Condon scored off of an assist from junior Catie Curran.

The Fillies essentially locked up the game by scoring off of another Calamari assist from a corner kick, this time setting up teammate senior defenderEmmelie Hierdes.

“They are doing really well; each and every one of them has really been stepping up to the plate and we have big plans for the freshman.”  Hyde said of the freshman play she has seen so far this season.  “This is a great group of girls and everyone is meshing well."

Late in the second half the Hawks would score again on Mary Pettit’s second goal of the night.  Pettit’s goal came just moments after Hyde’s goal and kept the match close.  However, Barrington’s defense locked down to secure the match victory and gave the Fillies their first conference win of the season.

“We moved the ball around better today and did a lot of things I was happy with,” Stengren said of the team’s overall performance especially during play in the final third of the field.  “We were a bit lackadaisical in our end and that is uncharacteristic of us; we normally keep a clean sheet so we will need to tighten that up."

Barrington’s inability to keep a clean sheet wasn’t an issue at the April 6 match against Hoffman Estates but Stengren feels it is important, especially when you contend with the state’s top teams, like Neuqua Valley (ranked third in the country).

Barrington’s only blemish this season came against the soccer powerhouse in a 3-0 home loss, but the game was actually closer than the score indicated.

“It was kind of a weird game because they scored a goal on a fluke play that usually doesn’t happen,” Stengren said.  “They are a very good team and we kept it closer than the score indicated, and we had two red cards which didn’t help.”

“Hopefully this is a wake-up call,” Stengren went on to say.  “We can use this as a measuring stick and close the gap; hopefully we get a chance to play them again.”

Stengren wasn’t the only Fillies team member using the match against Neuqua Valley as a barometer for the team’s long term success.

“Since that game we have realized what we need to do to step-up and get to that level,” Hyde said.  “We’re doing well; we’ve been practicing hard, and we are on the right track.”