Lyons capitalizes on chance,
tops Glenbard East
Twentieth-ranked Lions survive sharp Rams' upset bid
By Patrick Z. McGavin
LAGRANGE—Soccer is often easy to love though hard to figure out. The normal rules simply do not always correspond to actual results.
Exhibit A was the annual friendly between Glenbard East and Lyons. By almost every conceivable metric, Glenbard East was the superior team who enjoyed considerable advantages in possession time, shots on goal, positive activity and more consistent play.
"It certainly wasn't pretty on our end," Lyons coach Bill Lanspeary conceded.
Despite being outplayed, the no. 20 Lions survived as reserve senior midfielder Lindsey Allen made a balletic and impressive move to control a ball between two defenders, scissor the two and switch feet for a beautiful left-footed ball in the 29th minute that was the difference in the Lions' 1-0 home victory Saturday afternoon.
The Lions (10-5-3) were just a-day-and-a-half removed from their grueling and anguished 2-1 loss against rival Hinsdale Central in a penalty kick shootout that likely gave the Red Devils the West Suburban Silver title. Lanspeary cancelled practice Friday for the team to recuperate. Still, the emotional repercussions were plainly evident.
"It was more emotionally than physically difficult to get back out there because you have to get your head back into a certain mindset," junior forward Grace Salvino said. "Hinsdale was a tough loss. In one way, it was good to get back out there.
"We needed the win."
After the heavy rains on Friday and Saturday morning, the field played slow. Lyons was out of step and the Rams took the offensive. Glenbard East (11-9-2) was the more confident and aggressive team, undone by strange bounces of the ball.
Forward Brittany Paganucci hit the post in the eighth minute. Midfielder Holly Ward made a deep run down the left edge and fired a shot from about 14 yards out that required Lyons' standout keeper Lidia Breen to leave her feet in making a goal-saving stop.
"We went hard from the start," Ward said.
Allen, Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match, changed the dynamics in the 29th minute. Catherine Johnson served a ball down the right flank that midfielder Elizabeth Hall was the first to make a play on, pushing just enough of it for Allen to make a play on.
Allen came into the game without a goal in 2015.
"This season has not been my strongest, but I've had a lot of fun with the team," she said. "I was not really expecting to score there.
"I almost can't really explain how it happened. It's as if, magically, I was there, in the seams between the two defenders, and I just instinctively got just enough on the ball. I was excited to get the first one and get the ball moving, because I thought we'd score a lot more goals today.
"At least we got one."
Glenbard East was also startled by the scoring sequence.
"Their one chance was a loose ball," Ward said. "Nobody on our team got to it first, and they made a shot."
Soccer is often about controlling the unaccountable. Glenbard East coach Kent Overbey said he could not find any tactical faults in how his defense played.
"I didn't think our defense made a mistake the whole time," he said. "It's unfortunate the way the ball bounces. We were in a good position, we were marked up and they got a poke on the ball, and we couldn't get a clearance.
"That's the difference in the game."
Lyons' attack has been up and down, and Lanspeary said the team has sometimes lost focus following a goal.
"In the first half, I thought we played better," he said. "Sometimes we get a goal, and it's as if we take a deep breath and relax. They just came right at us.
"Our defense held up well enough, but still, we gave up way too many chances and we gave the ball away too much in the midfield and upfront. When you give the ball away like that, it created chances for them."
Glenbard East maintained its pressure and forced tempo. Breen gave way to Emily Johnson in the second half as Lanspeary sought to give some rest to some of his starters. The story remained the same — scintillating opportunities that resulted in near goals. Another Pagnucci ball veered wide, a Maria Berrum header off a corner went just off frame, and a ball by reserve forward Dana Plotke was just high.
Breen and Johnson combined to record seven saves for the Lions' shutout.
Glenbard East was satisfied wth its effort
"We definitely kept up with them," Ward said. "Obviously we didn't get the result we wanted, but if we ever see them again, we know we're going to play them 10 times harder and bring it out after them like we did today."
The game also had deeper significance, marking the sixth-consecutive year Lyons spotlighted breast cancer awareness and staged a fundraiser. Players on both sides wore pink-colored t-shirts. Both coaches played their entire roster. Overbey altered all three of his keepers.
"All three came up with big saves," he said. Directing the Rams' program in his eighth season, Overbey previously worked as an assistant at Lyons.
"It's a huge game to be a part of," he said. "We like to have our shirts and do our part for a good cause, but obviously we want to win games. We created a lot of chances, but unfortunately we couldn't put any of them away. The bottom line is you have to take advantage of your chances.
"If we're lucky enough to see them again, in a state tournament game, I'm confident we're going to be able to put some of them away."
Starting lineups
Glenbard East
GK: Haley Lydon
D: Katie Hansen
D: Maria Berrum
D: Jessie Camacho
M: Megan Mrazek
M: Holly Ward
M: Corie Ewoldt
M: Amanda Chlebek
M: Sammie Sarles
F: Brittany Paganucci
F: Jordyn Fulton
Lyons
GK: Lidia Breen
D: Katie Hamor
D: Sheila Murphy
D: Catherine Johnson
D: Isabelle Scott
D: Kim Vitek
M: Ivana Vukanic
M: Kristen Janicki
M: Jenna Fuller
F: Margaret Lynch
F: Grace Salvino
MVP of the Match: Lindsey Allen, M, Lyons
tops Glenbard East
Twentieth-ranked Lions survive sharp Rams' upset bid
By Patrick Z. McGavin
LAGRANGE—Soccer is often easy to love though hard to figure out. The normal rules simply do not always correspond to actual results.
Exhibit A was the annual friendly between Glenbard East and Lyons. By almost every conceivable metric, Glenbard East was the superior team who enjoyed considerable advantages in possession time, shots on goal, positive activity and more consistent play.
"It certainly wasn't pretty on our end," Lyons coach Bill Lanspeary conceded.
Despite being outplayed, the no. 20 Lions survived as reserve senior midfielder Lindsey Allen made a balletic and impressive move to control a ball between two defenders, scissor the two and switch feet for a beautiful left-footed ball in the 29th minute that was the difference in the Lions' 1-0 home victory Saturday afternoon.
The Lions (10-5-3) were just a-day-and-a-half removed from their grueling and anguished 2-1 loss against rival Hinsdale Central in a penalty kick shootout that likely gave the Red Devils the West Suburban Silver title. Lanspeary cancelled practice Friday for the team to recuperate. Still, the emotional repercussions were plainly evident.
"It was more emotionally than physically difficult to get back out there because you have to get your head back into a certain mindset," junior forward Grace Salvino said. "Hinsdale was a tough loss. In one way, it was good to get back out there.
"We needed the win."
After the heavy rains on Friday and Saturday morning, the field played slow. Lyons was out of step and the Rams took the offensive. Glenbard East (11-9-2) was the more confident and aggressive team, undone by strange bounces of the ball.
Forward Brittany Paganucci hit the post in the eighth minute. Midfielder Holly Ward made a deep run down the left edge and fired a shot from about 14 yards out that required Lyons' standout keeper Lidia Breen to leave her feet in making a goal-saving stop.
"We went hard from the start," Ward said.
Allen, Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match, changed the dynamics in the 29th minute. Catherine Johnson served a ball down the right flank that midfielder Elizabeth Hall was the first to make a play on, pushing just enough of it for Allen to make a play on.
Allen came into the game without a goal in 2015.
"This season has not been my strongest, but I've had a lot of fun with the team," she said. "I was not really expecting to score there.
"I almost can't really explain how it happened. It's as if, magically, I was there, in the seams between the two defenders, and I just instinctively got just enough on the ball. I was excited to get the first one and get the ball moving, because I thought we'd score a lot more goals today.
"At least we got one."
Glenbard East was also startled by the scoring sequence.
"Their one chance was a loose ball," Ward said. "Nobody on our team got to it first, and they made a shot."
Soccer is often about controlling the unaccountable. Glenbard East coach Kent Overbey said he could not find any tactical faults in how his defense played.
"I didn't think our defense made a mistake the whole time," he said. "It's unfortunate the way the ball bounces. We were in a good position, we were marked up and they got a poke on the ball, and we couldn't get a clearance.
"That's the difference in the game."
Lyons' attack has been up and down, and Lanspeary said the team has sometimes lost focus following a goal.
"In the first half, I thought we played better," he said. "Sometimes we get a goal, and it's as if we take a deep breath and relax. They just came right at us.
"Our defense held up well enough, but still, we gave up way too many chances and we gave the ball away too much in the midfield and upfront. When you give the ball away like that, it created chances for them."
Glenbard East maintained its pressure and forced tempo. Breen gave way to Emily Johnson in the second half as Lanspeary sought to give some rest to some of his starters. The story remained the same — scintillating opportunities that resulted in near goals. Another Pagnucci ball veered wide, a Maria Berrum header off a corner went just off frame, and a ball by reserve forward Dana Plotke was just high.
Breen and Johnson combined to record seven saves for the Lions' shutout.
Glenbard East was satisfied wth its effort
"We definitely kept up with them," Ward said. "Obviously we didn't get the result we wanted, but if we ever see them again, we know we're going to play them 10 times harder and bring it out after them like we did today."
The game also had deeper significance, marking the sixth-consecutive year Lyons spotlighted breast cancer awareness and staged a fundraiser. Players on both sides wore pink-colored t-shirts. Both coaches played their entire roster. Overbey altered all three of his keepers.
"All three came up with big saves," he said. Directing the Rams' program in his eighth season, Overbey previously worked as an assistant at Lyons.
"It's a huge game to be a part of," he said. "We like to have our shirts and do our part for a good cause, but obviously we want to win games. We created a lot of chances, but unfortunately we couldn't put any of them away. The bottom line is you have to take advantage of your chances.
"If we're lucky enough to see them again, in a state tournament game, I'm confident we're going to be able to put some of them away."
Starting lineups
Glenbard East
GK: Haley Lydon
D: Katie Hansen
D: Maria Berrum
D: Jessie Camacho
M: Megan Mrazek
M: Holly Ward
M: Corie Ewoldt
M: Amanda Chlebek
M: Sammie Sarles
F: Brittany Paganucci
F: Jordyn Fulton
Lyons
GK: Lidia Breen
D: Katie Hamor
D: Sheila Murphy
D: Catherine Johnson
D: Isabelle Scott
D: Kim Vitek
M: Ivana Vukanic
M: Kristen Janicki
M: Jenna Fuller
F: Margaret Lynch
F: Grace Salvino
MVP of the Match: Lindsey Allen, M, Lyons