Coach McCaulou Ready For Offense To Kick Into High Gear

The Lady Rams soccer team heads into Regionals with a 13-6 record overall and 8-4 in the Fox Valley Conference. Led by their suffocating defense and goalie Kat Dickson, these young ladies have raised expectations for the program at Grayslake Central.

Patch talked to Varsity Coach Mike McCaulou about his team and their prospects.

Patch: Coach, what is your assessment of the team this year?

McCaulou: I’m very pleased with our progress and the accomplishments of the team this year. They won the Rams Invite Tournament, captured the first conference championship in school history, beat Prairie Ridge for the first time in 5 or 6 years, and they beat Cary Grove for the first time ever.

We had 12 shutouts this year, broke the school record. We tied a school record for wins with 13. Last year the team was 13-8. We’ve advanced to four Regional Championship games, but lost them all. Obviously, we’re looking to take that first Regional Championship this year.

Patch: What are the strengths and weaknesses of this year’s team?

McCaulou: Our defense has really been the core of this team. We’re looking for some more offense in the post season. And I think if we get offense, at least two goals a game, it’s going to be really difficult to beat us. We’re not content with what we’ve done so far. There’s more for us to take. We’ve just got to keep believing in each other, supporting each other, doing the things our coaching staff are telling them and following the game plan.

Patch: Goalie Kat Dickson broke her own school record for shutouts?

McCaulou: Yes. She has 33 shutouts in her four years here which is the school record. She had 12 this year and 10 last year.

Patch: Your next opponent is Crystal Lake Central.

McCaulou: Right. We play here at 4 p.m. Wednesday. At 6 p.m., Grayslake North plays Woodstock North and the winner of that plays the winner of our game for the Regional Championship at 4 p.m. on Friday at GCHS. The winner of that match advances to the Lakes Sectional.

Patch: What does your team have to do to be successful Wednesday?

McCaulou: We have to create a lot of opportunities. We have to look up the field, continue to support the forwards. We need to move the ball around. The most important thing is to attack balls in the air offensively and defensively. We need to stay aggressive and dictate the play physically. We have to finish inside the 18-yard line and crash the goal. We have to finish our opportunities. We’re going to create a lot of opportunities, but we have to finish them. That’s the bottom line.

We need to finish early. The first 10-15 minutes we need to put the goal in and take the lead. It is so crucial for this team to get the lead. We have to put that goal in the back of the net and I don’t care how it goes in – shoulder, stomach, ear, nose, head. Get it over the goal line and get us the lead.

Patch: The girls talked about possessing the ball and seem to do a great job of doing that.

McCaulou: We do a great job of doing that, especially out of the back. Kat playing the ball up to the defenders and then to the midfielders. It’s the midfielders connecting to the forwards and then working on that final delivery into the goal. That’s where it breaks down for us at times. There’s time when we should be looking to take defenders one on one and we pass. There’s time when we should be looking to pass and we try to take defenders one on one. We need to read the field better and that comes with experience. We have a lot of games under our belts now, so that shouldn’t be an issue. At this point there’s not much as a coaching staff that we can teach them technically. Now it’s just a matter of execution.

Patch: Does Emily Schrader take most of your corner kicks?

McCaulou: Emily does, Kelly Jay takes corner kicks, and Allison Mitchell takes corner kicks.

Patch: Who is your best threat to score on a header from those kicks?

McCaulou: Skyler Jessop. She’s an athlete and she doesn’t mind mixing it up and getting physical. Every team needs a scrapper like that. But we’re going to need everybody to step it up and bring their "A" game.

Patch: What can you tell us about Alex Wilson?

McCaulou: Alex Wilson is an absolute bruiser. If she was consistent and believed in herself like our coaching staff does she could be a dominant player. We get on her to perform, perform, perform because we have seen her do that a very high level. There’s time that you’ll see her and go "Wow!

Patch: It seems that she could be an All Conference player.

McCaulou: Absolutely. She needs to bring her "A" game every time. If she plays like she did against Huntley and Jacobs she could be All Conference easily.

Patch: Emily Schrader is a real force, too.

McCaulou: Same thing. Emily can beat players one on one. She needs to continue working on her left foot and cutting the ball in. She needs to use her pace to her advantage because sometimes she doesn’t do that. Emily's  a great player and just needs to believe in herself. Coach Russ and myself believe in her. She’s on the varsity team for a reason.

Patch: Who do you think will win the other semi?

McCaulou: Grayslake North. Woodstock North is good defensively but they don’t have much offensively. I could see it being a 2-0 game for Grayslake North. North has done a good job the second half of the season with their offense. They would love to play us again and I think it would make for a great Regional Championship match.

Patch: Should be a great matchup.

McCaulou: The motto for us is "One game at time." You can’t overlook any team because it’s one and done if you lose.

Patch: If things work out and you win your Regional and your first Sectional match, do you think that is going to inspire confidence in your team to go a long way in the tournament?

McCaulou: If the girls play as hard and as smart defensively as they did against Cary Grove or Prairie Ridge and offensively like they did against Grayslake North the first time we played them, finishing our chances, this team could definitely be playing for a few more weeks. I have a good feeling that whoever wins our Sectional is going to be playing downstate. Whether it’s us, Lakes, Wauconda, Vernon Hills or Richmond Burton, they have a good chance in the Barrington Super Sectional.

Patch: How big of an asset has Assistant Coach Bethany Russ been?

McCaulou: She has been fantastic. Her specialty, if you want to give her one, is attacking. She works with our forwards on their runs, when to show, when to hold up the ball, how to make their peal offs to the near and forward posts.

Patch: Now she is a former graduate and played for you. How would you describe Bethany Russ as a player?

McCaulou: She played forward for us. She was a target player for us and she had a knack for scoring goals. She scored 27 goals her senior year that is still the record here for girls and no one has even come close.

Here’s the thing about Bethany, she had a desire to not lose and compete and she would beat defenders one on one. If we could get any of our players to step up like she did and finish in the final third of the field, we could do the same things. We’re really missing a player like her these days, over the last 5 years especially. Our girls need to have the confidence to do that.

Patch: She played at Illinois State for four years?

McCaulou: She was a preferred walk on initially. Bethany had to try out for the team her freshman year and after that year earned a scholarship. She had a great college career there. Her team won the conference and was one game away from going to the NCAA tournament when they lost on penalty kicks. She left the school as the fourth leading point scorer (assists and goals each are one point).

Patch: And then she returned to Central.

McCaulou: She was hired in my department and teaches P.E. and Driver’s Ed and coaches soccer and basketball.

Patch: Does she talk with the girls about her experiences at Central and how you prepared her for success?

McCaulou: Not really. She’s very modest about her career. She’s very humble. I actually talk more about her efforts. I’m sure that there were younger players who were impressed by her and wanted to be like her. We need more kids to think like that – about how they are going to leave their mark.

Patch: Are you growing the beard like the hockey players and not shaving until you win the state tournament?

McCaulou: No. Actually I’m shaving it tonight because I have the Senior Awards Banquet.

History is going to be made at 4 p.m. Wednesday night and 4 p.m. Friday night at William C. Eiserman Stadium as the Lady Rams seek to win their first ever Regional Championship. The matches are being held right here in Grayslake. Let the girls know that our community proudly recognizes their efforts and accomplishments by packing the stands and giving them a true home field advantage. Please bring your daughters (sons, too) to see this amazing group of young ladies. The intensity and excitement will be amazing and is not to be missed. Do not pass up this opportunity to witness community history as it is being made!