Chloe Cappas is used to success, but when an opportunity slips away, she’s able to put everything in proper perspective.
A junior forward at Deerfield, Cappas is learning to manage expectations.
In a Central Suburban North game against Vernon Hills on May 4, Cappas was a constant presence in the attacking third. She pressured the Cougars’ defense and got to the goal.
The Warriors lost 2-0, but Cappas has played long enough to see the larger picture.
“Even though the score was not what we wanted, I feel like this game is one of the best we have played this year,” Cappas said. “We worked very hard. We moved the ball across the field as a team. We had a lot of positive things out there.”
One of four returning starters from last year’s Class 2A state runner-up team, Cappas knows the process is as essential as the final result.
Chemistry and team cohesion are the prerequisites for success, she said. Cappas is capable of scoring in bunches. In the previous game against Maine West, she registered a hat trick in the first half.
Her ideal role is to make everybody around her better.
“I am not the kind of person who every single time I get it, I take it to shoot,” she said. “I am playing on the outside and I always look for crosses and the diagonal ball to the other side of the field.”
Melanie Imyak, a senior midfielder, is another returning starter. Cappas’ game is predicated on hard runs and trying to find seams in the opponent’s backline, and Imyak helps turn the Warriors’ defense into offense.
“Mirelle (Haas) and I have both played for four years, and we have both learned how to control the middle and move the ball from one end to the other as best as we can,” Imyak said.
Deerfield (8-7-4, 2-3-0 CSL North as of Monday) is a formidable team despite what its record suggests. Most of the Warriors’ games have come against Class 3A programs.
That regular-season experience proved to be essential in last year’s state tournament run. The team got hot at the right time and benefited from playing larger schools all season.
The game is all about confidence, Imyak said.
“Since we have been there before, we know how awesome it is to make it there to the end,” Imyak said. “That is the bonus that we have, of wanting it again. That helps us a lot and brings out our confidence. It does not always show up on the scoreboard, but we really do play well together on the field.”
Deerfield, the sixth seed in its own Class 2A sectional, could face third-seeded Vernon Hills in the regional finals. That game would be in Vernon Hills, but if the Warriors can survive, they’d have home-field advantage the next two rounds.
“I don’t know if we will get as far as we did last year, but just being with this team has made my year,” Cappas said.
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press
