Jones gains city final with 1-0 win
Wright's PK leads Eagles past Payton
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- Jones sought a lifeline, a source of energy and a way to counter the aggressive and physical style Payton exerted over the Eagles. Payton had the better run of play, and the Eagles were only kept aloft by the terrific play of sophomore keeper Devin Barry.
Enter on the big stage senior midfielder Janai Cedeno. In a moment she turned things around. “She is fantastic, a game changer for us,” Jones coach Derek Bylsma said.
At the start of the second half, Cedeno provided just the kind of jolt and burst of excitement Jones was lacking. She put on the jets and broke through two Grizzlies’ defenders and drove some 40 yards down the right flank before serving a beautiful cross to Jones’ star midfielder Zoe Wright.
Wright timed her run brilliantly and hammered a short ball that smashed off the crossbar. The game remained tied, but in a flash the dynamic changed. Jones found its voice, and its style of play and dictated the run of play rather than constantly answering to what Payton created.
“In the first half, we were pressing, as individuals, but we needed to work together and for each other,” Cedeno said. “Definitely in the second half, after that run and picking up the pace and the energy we started playing for each other and picking up our game and pressing more to get to the goal.”
Cedeno issued the breakthrough and Wright delivered by converting a penalty kick in the 46th minute off a Payton illegal touch in the box that propelled the Eagles to the 1-0 victory in a Chicago Public League tournament semifinal Tuesday night at Lane.
Now, a program that had never advanced beyond the quarterfinal round of the city playoffs will meet two-time defending city champion and 13th-ranked Lane on Thursday night. Previously, Jones burst out to a 2-0 lead in the first 19 minutes only for Lane to storm back for the 2-2 draw in regular season play on April 3.
The Eagles (16-2-2), who finished second in the Premier Division after their promotion this season, advanced on the strength of Wright's 20th goal of the year. She also scored the game-winner in the Eagles’ 1-0 victory over Payton in Premier play on March 30th.
She drilled the low-liner inside the post, beyond the grasp of Payton keeper Hannah Lynn, who was quite exceptional for the Grizzlies (12-5-1).
Wright was the equivalent of a fighter knocked to the canvas who triumphantly gets back up to have a hand raised. Just before and after the goal, Wright was forced out of the game after she was hit in the back of the head and then endured a shot to the face with the ball.
“My head hurts a little bit,” Wright said. “We know Payton’s a physical team. I know we were both very aggressive, and we wanted to win today. The emotions were high. It was physical. I just told myself as I was walking up: ‘I will make this PK. I will make this PK. I will make this PK.’ I know it sounds crazy, but it usually works for me.”
Invariably every elite city game features a game within a game. This was no exception. The matchup involved a classic showdown between two great players, Wright and Payton star midfielder Vivian Gasca.
An all-stater, Gasca is an elite and skilled talent who helped orchestrated her team’s fierce pressure. Payton dominated the first 20 minutes.
Quick, explosive and very accurate from distance, Gasca hammered away at the Eagles’ interior.
“I think we definitely outplayed them in the first half, and had we gotten a goal or two it would have made things easier,” Gasca said. “It was a tough match. We gave it our all. Everybody worked very hard. That is all we can ask for of every teammate, and that is what the coaches asked for. Coming back from one, it brought us down a bit, but we kept fighting.”
Barry stopped Gasca twice in the first 10 minutes. Gasca has great burst and instinct for the ball. Jones struggled to contain her. Gasca and Wright play club together. She was no mystery.
“She is a tremendously good player,” Wright said. “I look up to her a lot. It is always fun to see her on the competitive field. She is awesome.”
In the most decisive action of the first half, Barry broke from the box and made a spectacular stop of a breakaway by Payton’s Mimi Hamada that allowed the Eagles to escape the first half unscathed.
“I honestly did not expect Payton to come out that strong,” Barry said. “It was a completely different game than when we played them in the regular season. I think we were caught off-guard, and it took us a while to settle down. In those first 20 minutes, I thought they were going to score. It felt like a goal was coming on.
“To go through the first half and not concede a goal was really good for us.”
Barry recorded seven saves as the Eagles registered their fourth shutout of the city tournament and 12th of the season.
“I was happy with our back three,” Bylsma said of defenders of Gabriela Baxtrom, Charlotte Geissler and Izzy Kamba. “We did not look very good in the first 20 minutes. Somehow we get away from our game. We settled in and started doing what we do. I believe we have a very good midfield, and I think that is where should be able to win the game.”
The electric jolt by Cedeno unleashed the Eagles. Payton had to account for her speed and the lanes suddenly opened. The build-up and pressure allowed the Eagles to combine and alter the rhythm of the game. The pressure led to the defining action, the handball in the box by a Payton defender that yielded Wright’s penalty kick.
“I think we finally started to believe that we could be more offensive,” Wright said. “We were not connecting. Then all of a sudden we got one run, and we got a taste for the attack. We just wanted to go for it.”
Payton did not surrender quietly. Gasca drilled a free kick from the left wing. Sophie Salem also impressed for the Grizzlies with her runs. Twice she nearly broke the Eagles’ back. That is how close the game was.
“I think we all played our hardest,” Salem said. “We really tried our hardest. It came down to, had we put one in, it was a different game, but we were just not able. We are still a strong team.”
Starting lineups
Payton
GK: Hannah Lynn
D: Lily Blender
D: Natalie Van Mell
D: Cami Grandjean
D: Brigitte Joyce
MF: Vivian Gasca
MF: Fiona O’Brien
MF:Mimi Hamada
MF: Hayley Williams
F: Maddie Clerkin
F: Sophie Salem
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
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Janai Cedeno, sr., MF, Jones
Wright's PK leads Eagles past Payton
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- Jones sought a lifeline, a source of energy and a way to counter the aggressive and physical style Payton exerted over the Eagles. Payton had the better run of play, and the Eagles were only kept aloft by the terrific play of sophomore keeper Devin Barry.
Enter on the big stage senior midfielder Janai Cedeno. In a moment she turned things around. “She is fantastic, a game changer for us,” Jones coach Derek Bylsma said.
At the start of the second half, Cedeno provided just the kind of jolt and burst of excitement Jones was lacking. She put on the jets and broke through two Grizzlies’ defenders and drove some 40 yards down the right flank before serving a beautiful cross to Jones’ star midfielder Zoe Wright.
Wright timed her run brilliantly and hammered a short ball that smashed off the crossbar. The game remained tied, but in a flash the dynamic changed. Jones found its voice, and its style of play and dictated the run of play rather than constantly answering to what Payton created.
“In the first half, we were pressing, as individuals, but we needed to work together and for each other,” Cedeno said. “Definitely in the second half, after that run and picking up the pace and the energy we started playing for each other and picking up our game and pressing more to get to the goal.”
Cedeno issued the breakthrough and Wright delivered by converting a penalty kick in the 46th minute off a Payton illegal touch in the box that propelled the Eagles to the 1-0 victory in a Chicago Public League tournament semifinal Tuesday night at Lane.
Now, a program that had never advanced beyond the quarterfinal round of the city playoffs will meet two-time defending city champion and 13th-ranked Lane on Thursday night. Previously, Jones burst out to a 2-0 lead in the first 19 minutes only for Lane to storm back for the 2-2 draw in regular season play on April 3.
The Eagles (16-2-2), who finished second in the Premier Division after their promotion this season, advanced on the strength of Wright's 20th goal of the year. She also scored the game-winner in the Eagles’ 1-0 victory over Payton in Premier play on March 30th.
She drilled the low-liner inside the post, beyond the grasp of Payton keeper Hannah Lynn, who was quite exceptional for the Grizzlies (12-5-1).
Wright was the equivalent of a fighter knocked to the canvas who triumphantly gets back up to have a hand raised. Just before and after the goal, Wright was forced out of the game after she was hit in the back of the head and then endured a shot to the face with the ball.
“My head hurts a little bit,” Wright said. “We know Payton’s a physical team. I know we were both very aggressive, and we wanted to win today. The emotions were high. It was physical. I just told myself as I was walking up: ‘I will make this PK. I will make this PK. I will make this PK.’ I know it sounds crazy, but it usually works for me.”
Invariably every elite city game features a game within a game. This was no exception. The matchup involved a classic showdown between two great players, Wright and Payton star midfielder Vivian Gasca.
An all-stater, Gasca is an elite and skilled talent who helped orchestrated her team’s fierce pressure. Payton dominated the first 20 minutes.
Quick, explosive and very accurate from distance, Gasca hammered away at the Eagles’ interior.
“I think we definitely outplayed them in the first half, and had we gotten a goal or two it would have made things easier,” Gasca said. “It was a tough match. We gave it our all. Everybody worked very hard. That is all we can ask for of every teammate, and that is what the coaches asked for. Coming back from one, it brought us down a bit, but we kept fighting.”
Barry stopped Gasca twice in the first 10 minutes. Gasca has great burst and instinct for the ball. Jones struggled to contain her. Gasca and Wright play club together. She was no mystery.
“She is a tremendously good player,” Wright said. “I look up to her a lot. It is always fun to see her on the competitive field. She is awesome.”
In the most decisive action of the first half, Barry broke from the box and made a spectacular stop of a breakaway by Payton’s Mimi Hamada that allowed the Eagles to escape the first half unscathed.
“I honestly did not expect Payton to come out that strong,” Barry said. “It was a completely different game than when we played them in the regular season. I think we were caught off-guard, and it took us a while to settle down. In those first 20 minutes, I thought they were going to score. It felt like a goal was coming on.
“To go through the first half and not concede a goal was really good for us.”
Barry recorded seven saves as the Eagles registered their fourth shutout of the city tournament and 12th of the season.
“I was happy with our back three,” Bylsma said of defenders of Gabriela Baxtrom, Charlotte Geissler and Izzy Kamba. “We did not look very good in the first 20 minutes. Somehow we get away from our game. We settled in and started doing what we do. I believe we have a very good midfield, and I think that is where should be able to win the game.”
The electric jolt by Cedeno unleashed the Eagles. Payton had to account for her speed and the lanes suddenly opened. The build-up and pressure allowed the Eagles to combine and alter the rhythm of the game. The pressure led to the defining action, the handball in the box by a Payton defender that yielded Wright’s penalty kick.
“I think we finally started to believe that we could be more offensive,” Wright said. “We were not connecting. Then all of a sudden we got one run, and we got a taste for the attack. We just wanted to go for it.”
Payton did not surrender quietly. Gasca drilled a free kick from the left wing. Sophie Salem also impressed for the Grizzlies with her runs. Twice she nearly broke the Eagles’ back. That is how close the game was.
“I think we all played our hardest,” Salem said. “We really tried our hardest. It came down to, had we put one in, it was a different game, but we were just not able. We are still a strong team.”
Starting lineups
Payton
GK: Hannah Lynn
D: Lily Blender
D: Natalie Van Mell
D: Cami Grandjean
D: Brigitte Joyce
MF: Vivian Gasca
MF: Fiona O’Brien
MF:Mimi Hamada
MF: Hayley Williams
F: Maddie Clerkin
F: Sophie Salem
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
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Janai Cedeno, sr., MF, Jones