Lane overcomes Jones for city crown
Indians' late spurt delivers 5-2 win, 3rd-consecutive CPL title
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- The score was tied, and the game was played at a feverish intensity. Great players unfolded with regularity from both sides -- keepers contorting and gymnastically throwing their bodies to make incredible saves and field players making deep runs and sharp passes.
And then Caryle Makuch saw her opportunity.
“A lot of us got into the huddle, when the time stopped for an injury. We were saying to calm down, and that we just needed to score,” Makuch said. “The only thing that was on my mind was trying to get it into the goal. We put the pressure up, and we played our game. At some point, we kind of got broken up.
“During that break, once we got focused, we kept going.”
Makuch controlled a rebound and drilled a sharp and dazzling ball from about 19 yards in the 69th minute that ignited a three-goal Indians flurry during a five-minute burst that catapulted no. 13 Lane to the scintillating 5-2 victory over Jones in the championship of the Chicago Public League tournament Thursday night at Lane Stadium.
In a night of standout performances and gut-rending turns by each side, Makuch had the greatest impact on the game. She earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match distinction for her goal and two assists.
Lane (16-2-3) captured its third-consecutive city title and won its 12th-consecutive game.
Jones’ accomplishment was also extraordinary, particularly when placed in context.
“We did things that nobody has ever done,” Jones coach Derek Bylsma said. “We came up from the 1st Division, came in second in Premier and went to the championship game. To get promoted from a different division and come and do what we did this year, there is no team that has ever done that. These girls should be really proud.
“People will see the score and think the game was a little different than it was. Lane played a great game. They are a great team. I think Lane knows what kind of game it was.”
On a night when everything played to the big game's advantage -- beautiful weather, an electric atmosphere and a pulsating crowd -- the Public League celebrated its best, brightest and the unsung. At halftime, more than 140 players from 35 programs were honored for making either all-city or all-academic teams.
The two best teams put on a fantastic show. Just as it should be, Lane and Jones were locked in an epic and beautifully designed city final marked by drama, conflict and the kind of throat-catching reversals that turn every inflection, touch or movement into something larger.
The game was a direct reversal of their regular season game. Jones jumped out to a 2-0 lead and the Indians fought back as the teams played to a 2-2 draw.
The roles inverted as Lane broke out to the early lead Jones countered with some intricate and dazzling shots. Lane maintained its balance and equilibrium and used its depth and superior possession time to wear out the Eagles (16-3-2).
“I think we kept pressuring, and we were trying our best to keep the ball on our (offensive) side of the field,” Makuch said.
The sophomore ignited the Indians’ hot start. In the sixth minute, working from the left flank, she advanced the ball and played a beautiful over-the-top through-ball that created a dangerous and direct line to the goal for sophomore midfielder Sydney Varga.
Jones’ dynamic and fearless sophomore keeper Devin Barry -- who earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match recognition for the regular season game between the teams -- angled quickly out of the box in an attempt to neutralize Varga’s advantage. Varga got the first touch on the ball.
“Caryle played the ball through and I ran onto it,” Varga said. “The ball was between me and Devin. I know Devin from travel soccer. We play together. It was a tough decision, but I really needed that goal. I went for the ball, and I hit it. And I also hit Devin, which I feel very badly about.”
Varga got just enough on the shot to direct inside the far post for the opening goal. Most damaging for the Eagles, Barry was injured in the collision. More problematic, Jones’ normal backup, Carly Klein, was also out with an injury.
Gillian Miller, the team’s athletic and skilled junior forward, was forced into an emergency role.
“The last thing she wanted to do was go and play keeper in front of all of those people, but she did a great job,” Bylsma said.
Miller made four excellent saves in the first half, including two off free kicks by Lane’s Sam Sorich.
Lane extended its lead to 2-0 in the 16th minute after junior midfielder Ayser Guvener converted a penalty kick. Guvener was tackled from behind inside the box.
With Barry out and the Indians dominating possession and shots on goal, the Eagles' prospects situation appeared bleak. This is a team, like its coach, that upends the standard narrative, relishing the role of the spoiler and improvising on the run.
Miller’s work in the goal and the Eagles’ own superb midfield with the multidimensional senior Zoe Wright, explosive Janai Cedeno and the tactical and precise shots of Dani Schulgasser altered the calculus. Jones found its rhythm and asserted its will over the Indians.
The need to shift Miller to the goal gave opportunities for talented freshman Martina Bianchi to get into the game. A natural left-footer, she has a huge shot and torques her ball with a berserk spin. She changed the game in the 32nd minute with a free kick from the left edge about 24 yards. The difficult to handle ball handcuffed Lane keeper Maggie Grossman for the Eagles’ first goal.
“I took a couple, and they turned out to be really nice,” Bianchi said.
Bursting with new energy and hope, Jones parlayed the goal into a more expanded attack.
“I think we started a little slowly in the first half, but we were able to re-start and get energized and get some wind in the second half,” Schulgasser said.
The senior midfielder keyed an explosive start to the second half. Jones emerged from the break fresh and spirited. Grossman nullified a Cedeno redirect initiated from a corner with a spectacular diving stop. Jones only gained in confidence. Moments later, Schulgasser was hit just outside the top of the box.
Schulgasser delivered her own mark on the game with a beautiful free kick from the the top of the box to knot the score at 2-apiece in the 45th minute.
“We just wanted to go out there and fight as hard as we did,” Schulgasser said. “Everybody put everything they had into this game. They knew it was a really important game for us to win. Lane is a very difficult team to play against, because they have such great possession. They forced us into chasing them, and that kind of tired us out.”
Until Lane’s dramatic closing burst, the balance of the second half saw riveting moments from both sides. Returned to the game in the second half, Barry stretched out for an extraordinary save in the 53rd minute.
Then another of Jones’ key players, Cedeno, was removed from the game following a brutal collision.
“I was really proud of our girls for fighting back,” Bylsma said. “We put a lot of pressure on them. We had a lot of corner kicks. We were bearing down on them. When Janai went down, you felt it turn. She just creates so much pressure on the other team, and we lost momentum there. She went down with about 16 or 17 left and that started to change things.”
More than 10 minutes remained after the Makuch goal. Momentum had shifted, and Jones was now struggling to equal the pace and speed of the Indians.
“We knew they were not just going to hand it to us,” Varga said. “When they tied it back up we had to dig deep within ourselves to find that extra push to get those three extra goals.”
Junior Lane midfielder Jazzmin Jordan finished inside the box in the 71st minute, beating Barry to the ball and creating just enough force on her shot that Barry’s deflection could not stop its forward progress. Makuch put the game out of reach in the 75th minute on a beautifully executed corner sequence. She served the ball to the near post and sophomore midfielder Alana Coffman punched it in with a header.
“The scoreline does not really tell the game,” Bylsma said
Jones proved its worth and value. Lane also impressed by transcending the burden of its own recent success. “Sometimes it is a lot of pressure to be the one who is favored to win and keep our title every year,” Makuch said.
“We just play through it, and that is what keeps us going,” she said
Five goals from five different players. Lane has just one senior, forward Lena Price-Johnson.
“Looking at my team, I know that I have a team that is young, but a very talented team with a lot of heart,” Lane coach Michelle Vale said. “They are good kids who really love each other and really love this game. I think that makes a big difference.
“The chemistry of this team is beautiful.”
Starting lineups
Jones
GK: Devin Barry
D: Gabriela Baxtrom
D: Charlotte Geissler
D: Izzy Kamba
MF: Dani Schulgasser
MF: Janai Cedeno
MF: Kassy Cortez
MF: Rachel Sohn
MF: Zoe Wright
F: Avery Kaplan
F: Gillian Miller
Lane
GK: Maggie Grossman
D: Leah Finkielsztein
D: Izzy Oganovich
D: Sam Sorich
D: Kinuko Mrozik
MF: Johanna Bozic
MF: Sydney Varga
MF: Alana Coffman
MF: Carlye Makuch
F: Lena Price-Johnson
F: Grace Dunaway
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Carlye Makuch, so., MF, Lane
Indians' late spurt delivers 5-2 win, 3rd-consecutive CPL title
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- The score was tied, and the game was played at a feverish intensity. Great players unfolded with regularity from both sides -- keepers contorting and gymnastically throwing their bodies to make incredible saves and field players making deep runs and sharp passes.
And then Caryle Makuch saw her opportunity.
“A lot of us got into the huddle, when the time stopped for an injury. We were saying to calm down, and that we just needed to score,” Makuch said. “The only thing that was on my mind was trying to get it into the goal. We put the pressure up, and we played our game. At some point, we kind of got broken up.
“During that break, once we got focused, we kept going.”
Makuch controlled a rebound and drilled a sharp and dazzling ball from about 19 yards in the 69th minute that ignited a three-goal Indians flurry during a five-minute burst that catapulted no. 13 Lane to the scintillating 5-2 victory over Jones in the championship of the Chicago Public League tournament Thursday night at Lane Stadium.
In a night of standout performances and gut-rending turns by each side, Makuch had the greatest impact on the game. She earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match distinction for her goal and two assists.
Lane (16-2-3) captured its third-consecutive city title and won its 12th-consecutive game.
Jones’ accomplishment was also extraordinary, particularly when placed in context.
“We did things that nobody has ever done,” Jones coach Derek Bylsma said. “We came up from the 1st Division, came in second in Premier and went to the championship game. To get promoted from a different division and come and do what we did this year, there is no team that has ever done that. These girls should be really proud.
“People will see the score and think the game was a little different than it was. Lane played a great game. They are a great team. I think Lane knows what kind of game it was.”
On a night when everything played to the big game's advantage -- beautiful weather, an electric atmosphere and a pulsating crowd -- the Public League celebrated its best, brightest and the unsung. At halftime, more than 140 players from 35 programs were honored for making either all-city or all-academic teams.
The two best teams put on a fantastic show. Just as it should be, Lane and Jones were locked in an epic and beautifully designed city final marked by drama, conflict and the kind of throat-catching reversals that turn every inflection, touch or movement into something larger.
The game was a direct reversal of their regular season game. Jones jumped out to a 2-0 lead and the Indians fought back as the teams played to a 2-2 draw.
The roles inverted as Lane broke out to the early lead Jones countered with some intricate and dazzling shots. Lane maintained its balance and equilibrium and used its depth and superior possession time to wear out the Eagles (16-3-2).
“I think we kept pressuring, and we were trying our best to keep the ball on our (offensive) side of the field,” Makuch said.
The sophomore ignited the Indians’ hot start. In the sixth minute, working from the left flank, she advanced the ball and played a beautiful over-the-top through-ball that created a dangerous and direct line to the goal for sophomore midfielder Sydney Varga.
Jones’ dynamic and fearless sophomore keeper Devin Barry -- who earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match recognition for the regular season game between the teams -- angled quickly out of the box in an attempt to neutralize Varga’s advantage. Varga got the first touch on the ball.
“Caryle played the ball through and I ran onto it,” Varga said. “The ball was between me and Devin. I know Devin from travel soccer. We play together. It was a tough decision, but I really needed that goal. I went for the ball, and I hit it. And I also hit Devin, which I feel very badly about.”
Varga got just enough on the shot to direct inside the far post for the opening goal. Most damaging for the Eagles, Barry was injured in the collision. More problematic, Jones’ normal backup, Carly Klein, was also out with an injury.
Gillian Miller, the team’s athletic and skilled junior forward, was forced into an emergency role.
“The last thing she wanted to do was go and play keeper in front of all of those people, but she did a great job,” Bylsma said.
Miller made four excellent saves in the first half, including two off free kicks by Lane’s Sam Sorich.
Lane extended its lead to 2-0 in the 16th minute after junior midfielder Ayser Guvener converted a penalty kick. Guvener was tackled from behind inside the box.
With Barry out and the Indians dominating possession and shots on goal, the Eagles' prospects situation appeared bleak. This is a team, like its coach, that upends the standard narrative, relishing the role of the spoiler and improvising on the run.
Miller’s work in the goal and the Eagles’ own superb midfield with the multidimensional senior Zoe Wright, explosive Janai Cedeno and the tactical and precise shots of Dani Schulgasser altered the calculus. Jones found its rhythm and asserted its will over the Indians.
The need to shift Miller to the goal gave opportunities for talented freshman Martina Bianchi to get into the game. A natural left-footer, she has a huge shot and torques her ball with a berserk spin. She changed the game in the 32nd minute with a free kick from the left edge about 24 yards. The difficult to handle ball handcuffed Lane keeper Maggie Grossman for the Eagles’ first goal.
“I took a couple, and they turned out to be really nice,” Bianchi said.
Bursting with new energy and hope, Jones parlayed the goal into a more expanded attack.
“I think we started a little slowly in the first half, but we were able to re-start and get energized and get some wind in the second half,” Schulgasser said.
The senior midfielder keyed an explosive start to the second half. Jones emerged from the break fresh and spirited. Grossman nullified a Cedeno redirect initiated from a corner with a spectacular diving stop. Jones only gained in confidence. Moments later, Schulgasser was hit just outside the top of the box.
Schulgasser delivered her own mark on the game with a beautiful free kick from the the top of the box to knot the score at 2-apiece in the 45th minute.
“We just wanted to go out there and fight as hard as we did,” Schulgasser said. “Everybody put everything they had into this game. They knew it was a really important game for us to win. Lane is a very difficult team to play against, because they have such great possession. They forced us into chasing them, and that kind of tired us out.”
Until Lane’s dramatic closing burst, the balance of the second half saw riveting moments from both sides. Returned to the game in the second half, Barry stretched out for an extraordinary save in the 53rd minute.
Then another of Jones’ key players, Cedeno, was removed from the game following a brutal collision.
“I was really proud of our girls for fighting back,” Bylsma said. “We put a lot of pressure on them. We had a lot of corner kicks. We were bearing down on them. When Janai went down, you felt it turn. She just creates so much pressure on the other team, and we lost momentum there. She went down with about 16 or 17 left and that started to change things.”
More than 10 minutes remained after the Makuch goal. Momentum had shifted, and Jones was now struggling to equal the pace and speed of the Indians.
“We knew they were not just going to hand it to us,” Varga said. “When they tied it back up we had to dig deep within ourselves to find that extra push to get those three extra goals.”
Junior Lane midfielder Jazzmin Jordan finished inside the box in the 71st minute, beating Barry to the ball and creating just enough force on her shot that Barry’s deflection could not stop its forward progress. Makuch put the game out of reach in the 75th minute on a beautifully executed corner sequence. She served the ball to the near post and sophomore midfielder Alana Coffman punched it in with a header.
“The scoreline does not really tell the game,” Bylsma said
Jones proved its worth and value. Lane also impressed by transcending the burden of its own recent success. “Sometimes it is a lot of pressure to be the one who is favored to win and keep our title every year,” Makuch said.
“We just play through it, and that is what keeps us going,” she said
Five goals from five different players. Lane has just one senior, forward Lena Price-Johnson.
“Looking at my team, I know that I have a team that is young, but a very talented team with a lot of heart,” Lane coach Michelle Vale said. “They are good kids who really love each other and really love this game. I think that makes a big difference.
“The chemistry of this team is beautiful.”
Starting lineups
Jones
GK: Devin Barry
D: Gabriela Baxtrom
D: Charlotte Geissler
D: Izzy Kamba
MF: Dani Schulgasser
MF: Janai Cedeno
MF: Kassy Cortez
MF: Rachel Sohn
MF: Zoe Wright
F: Avery Kaplan
F: Gillian Miller
Lane
GK: Maggie Grossman
D: Leah Finkielsztein
D: Izzy Oganovich
D: Sam Sorich
D: Kinuko Mrozik
MF: Johanna Bozic
MF: Sydney Varga
MF: Alana Coffman
MF: Carlye Makuch
F: Lena Price-Johnson
F: Grace Dunaway
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Carlye Makuch, so., MF, Lane