Lockport studies history, doesn't repeat it
Memories of scoreless 2014 start aid 1-0 win
By Steve Millar
LISLE - Lockport senior Sam Calderaro remembers well how long it took the Porters to get on the scoreboard last season, when they opened the year with consecutive scoreless ties.
“That first goal of the season is the hardest one to get,” Calderaro said. “Coming out for the second half (Wednesday), we were pumped up. We knew we had to get at least one.”
Calderaro helped make it happen, beating two defenders into the box and setting up freshman Ally Fischer’s first high school goal – and the only goal of the night – as the Porters held off Lisle 1-0 in the season-opener for both teams at Benedictine University.
“I knew I had space to turn, so I turned full speed past the defender,” Calderaro said. “I looked up and tried to shoot, but it went far post and my girl Ally, she ran up and hit it in.”
For Fischer, one of a trio of freshmen starters for the Porters, the goal was almost too good to be true.
“I just kind of saw it coming and I was like, ‘Oh, might as well just go follow it’ and it just kind of happened,” she said. “I was pretty nervous going into this game because I’m playing with all new people. I know some people from club and stuff like that, but it’s completely different. In the first half, I was nervous the whole time. After the halftime talk, I was more calm and ready to go.”
As a whole, Lockport coach Todd Elkei was impressed with his youngsters. Lauren Pikulski and Stephanie Quigley, the other freshmen who started, were active in the Porters’ attack and consistently put pressure on the Lisle defense.
“Those three, they’re all very athletic and confident,” Elkei said. “They’ve been playing club for a long time. They’ve been in tough games.”
The Porters controlled possession throughout and spent a good amount of time in the attacking third in the first half, but could not find the back of the net.
Pikulski fired just wide on a good chance in the 25th minute, and Taylor Stortz had a strong strike from 30 yards out saved by Lisle goalkeeper Hannah Prindeville in the 34th minute.
“The first half, I thought we controlled possession,” Elkei said. “Even with some of our subs in there, we still connected passes, were playing two-touch, had good shape. Our three backs did a tremendous job all night of shutting them down.
“In the second half, we just talked about having that little extra oomph. We got the butterflies out, now let’s make something happen. Don’t be afraid to take someone one-on-one.”
Calderaro, Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match, took her coach’s words to heart and ignited the offense in the second half.
“Two or three times in the second half, Sammy got around the corner and made things happen,” Elkei said. “Her runs were all about attitude.”
The chemistry already seemed to be in place between the senior, Calderaro and the freshmen – Fischer, Quigley and Pikulski – up top.
“I think it’ll continue to progress throughout the season, but just for two weeks practicing, I feel like we’ve already jelled a lot as a team,” Calderaro said. “I think hopefully we’ll have a better offense than last year. A lot of us are getting to know how we all play together, so it’s a lot easier.”
After Fischer’s goal, the Porters nearly added to the lead on a couple of occasions.
With just over 20 minutes left in the contest, Fischer made a strong run down the right sideline and sent a cross to the middle of the box where Quigley flicked a header towards Allie Polinski. Polinski couldn’t get much on the shot, though, sending it wide.
Two minutes later off a corner, Quigley stole the ball from a defender and fired a shot that Prindeville saved.
The Porters dominated the second half as the ball barely entered their defensive half. When it did, defenders Jamie Hansen, Brooke Janeczek and Madiyson Hannion were there to shut down the Lions.
Lockport goalkeeper Cassidy Henson recorded one save for the shutout, stopping Calli Tomko on a rolling shot from 30 yards out in the final minute of the first half.
“It’s all about anticipating passes and knowing where they’re going and not giving them space to control the ball,” Hansen said. “I think this game went really well for us. We communicated well on the field and connected on a lot of passes. I thought we played a really good possession game.”
Starting the season with a win figures to provide a big confidence boost for a Porters squad that didn’t get its first victory until its six game of the season a year ago.
Lockport finished 7-10-4 with an extremely young squad in 2014. While the Porters are still young, Elkei feels they have strong leadership.
Calderaro, Stortz and Alexis Hernandez are the team’s senior starters. Meg Lesnefsky, Ugne Narbutaite, Kayla Sierzega and Johnna Gerona are the other seniors on the roster.
“This senior group is a great group,” Elkei said. “They’re great kids, great students and they’re just a lot of fun. Last year was kind of a learning experience for all of them and I don’t think they were very happy with losing so many close games and the way it ended (a 7-0 regional semifinal loss to Metea Valley).”
Hansen is confident 2015 will go much better.
“I think it’s going to be a good season,” she said. “I think every aspect of our team has its own strength. Our goalie is really good and our defense is solid. Our midfield is good at distributing the ball and our forwards are really aggressive. I’m excited about this team.”
Starting lineups:
Lockport
GK: Cassidy Henson
D: Brooke Janeczek
D: Jamie Hansen
D: Madiyson Hannion
M: Taylor Stortz
M: Allie Polinski
M: Stephanie Quigley
M: Alexis Hernandez
M: Ally Fischer
F: Sam Calderaro
F: Lauren Pikulski
Lisle
GK: Hannah Prindeville
D: Sarah Mogensen
D: Katelynn Weissinger
D: Julia Loveless
D: Francesca Wagoner
M: Kaitlyn Breann Hutchinson
M: Kelsey Liss
M: Calli Tomko
M: Kara Laue
F: Kelsey Kretman
F: Amy Tromp
MVP of the Match: Sam Calderaro, F, Lockport.
Officials: Steve Sarto; Konstantine Malacili.
Memories of scoreless 2014 start aid 1-0 win
By Steve Millar
LISLE - Lockport senior Sam Calderaro remembers well how long it took the Porters to get on the scoreboard last season, when they opened the year with consecutive scoreless ties.
“That first goal of the season is the hardest one to get,” Calderaro said. “Coming out for the second half (Wednesday), we were pumped up. We knew we had to get at least one.”
Calderaro helped make it happen, beating two defenders into the box and setting up freshman Ally Fischer’s first high school goal – and the only goal of the night – as the Porters held off Lisle 1-0 in the season-opener for both teams at Benedictine University.
“I knew I had space to turn, so I turned full speed past the defender,” Calderaro said. “I looked up and tried to shoot, but it went far post and my girl Ally, she ran up and hit it in.”
For Fischer, one of a trio of freshmen starters for the Porters, the goal was almost too good to be true.
“I just kind of saw it coming and I was like, ‘Oh, might as well just go follow it’ and it just kind of happened,” she said. “I was pretty nervous going into this game because I’m playing with all new people. I know some people from club and stuff like that, but it’s completely different. In the first half, I was nervous the whole time. After the halftime talk, I was more calm and ready to go.”
As a whole, Lockport coach Todd Elkei was impressed with his youngsters. Lauren Pikulski and Stephanie Quigley, the other freshmen who started, were active in the Porters’ attack and consistently put pressure on the Lisle defense.
“Those three, they’re all very athletic and confident,” Elkei said. “They’ve been playing club for a long time. They’ve been in tough games.”
The Porters controlled possession throughout and spent a good amount of time in the attacking third in the first half, but could not find the back of the net.
Pikulski fired just wide on a good chance in the 25th minute, and Taylor Stortz had a strong strike from 30 yards out saved by Lisle goalkeeper Hannah Prindeville in the 34th minute.
“The first half, I thought we controlled possession,” Elkei said. “Even with some of our subs in there, we still connected passes, were playing two-touch, had good shape. Our three backs did a tremendous job all night of shutting them down.
“In the second half, we just talked about having that little extra oomph. We got the butterflies out, now let’s make something happen. Don’t be afraid to take someone one-on-one.”
Calderaro, Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match, took her coach’s words to heart and ignited the offense in the second half.
“Two or three times in the second half, Sammy got around the corner and made things happen,” Elkei said. “Her runs were all about attitude.”
The chemistry already seemed to be in place between the senior, Calderaro and the freshmen – Fischer, Quigley and Pikulski – up top.
“I think it’ll continue to progress throughout the season, but just for two weeks practicing, I feel like we’ve already jelled a lot as a team,” Calderaro said. “I think hopefully we’ll have a better offense than last year. A lot of us are getting to know how we all play together, so it’s a lot easier.”
After Fischer’s goal, the Porters nearly added to the lead on a couple of occasions.
With just over 20 minutes left in the contest, Fischer made a strong run down the right sideline and sent a cross to the middle of the box where Quigley flicked a header towards Allie Polinski. Polinski couldn’t get much on the shot, though, sending it wide.
Two minutes later off a corner, Quigley stole the ball from a defender and fired a shot that Prindeville saved.
The Porters dominated the second half as the ball barely entered their defensive half. When it did, defenders Jamie Hansen, Brooke Janeczek and Madiyson Hannion were there to shut down the Lions.
Lockport goalkeeper Cassidy Henson recorded one save for the shutout, stopping Calli Tomko on a rolling shot from 30 yards out in the final minute of the first half.
“It’s all about anticipating passes and knowing where they’re going and not giving them space to control the ball,” Hansen said. “I think this game went really well for us. We communicated well on the field and connected on a lot of passes. I thought we played a really good possession game.”
Starting the season with a win figures to provide a big confidence boost for a Porters squad that didn’t get its first victory until its six game of the season a year ago.
Lockport finished 7-10-4 with an extremely young squad in 2014. While the Porters are still young, Elkei feels they have strong leadership.
Calderaro, Stortz and Alexis Hernandez are the team’s senior starters. Meg Lesnefsky, Ugne Narbutaite, Kayla Sierzega and Johnna Gerona are the other seniors on the roster.
“This senior group is a great group,” Elkei said. “They’re great kids, great students and they’re just a lot of fun. Last year was kind of a learning experience for all of them and I don’t think they were very happy with losing so many close games and the way it ended (a 7-0 regional semifinal loss to Metea Valley).”
Hansen is confident 2015 will go much better.
“I think it’s going to be a good season,” she said. “I think every aspect of our team has its own strength. Our goalie is really good and our defense is solid. Our midfield is good at distributing the ball and our forwards are really aggressive. I’m excited about this team.”
Starting lineups:
Lockport
GK: Cassidy Henson
D: Brooke Janeczek
D: Jamie Hansen
D: Madiyson Hannion
M: Taylor Stortz
M: Allie Polinski
M: Stephanie Quigley
M: Alexis Hernandez
M: Ally Fischer
F: Sam Calderaro
F: Lauren Pikulski
Lisle
GK: Hannah Prindeville
D: Sarah Mogensen
D: Katelynn Weissinger
D: Julia Loveless
D: Francesca Wagoner
M: Kaitlyn Breann Hutchinson
M: Kelsey Liss
M: Calli Tomko
M: Kara Laue
F: Kelsey Kretman
F: Amy Tromp
MVP of the Match: Sam Calderaro, F, Lockport.
Officials: Steve Sarto; Konstantine Malacili.