Lake Park surge comes up inches short
Glenbard North holds off Lancers for 1-0 DVC win
By Ken Keenan
CAROL STREAM -- Lake Park gave all it had during an intense second half sequence, but in the end the Lancers fell to Glenbard North by a 1-0 tally Thursday night.
Pushing for the equalizer, Lake Park almost succeeded when sophomore forward Cynthia Martinez sliced through the Glenbard North defense and rifled a 20-yard blast off the crossbar with 3:40 left in the match. That was the best chance among many for Lake Park in the final 21 minutes, but Panthers' sophomore goalkeeper Karissa Chalus came up big each time to preserve the victory.
"It was definitely nervewracking," said Chalus, who earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors. "I enjoy having that action, but it does get to a do-or-die situation. You just have to pull it together and keep having trust in each other."
Though disappointed with the outcome, Lake Park head coach Sean Crosby was pleased that his troops battled their hearts out down the stretch.
"If that shot by (Martinez) is a foot lower, it's in," he said. "It's a tough break. But if we show that effort every day, you walk off happy. The urgency, the drive -- the girls were putting their nose to everything ... really pushing."
Both teams entered the match looking for their first win in DuPage Valley Conference play. Glenbard North improved to 2-6-1 overall with the win, and 1-4-0 in league play. Lake Park fell to 1-10-0, 0-5-0.
"We were hungry to get a goal ... wanted it so bad," said Lancers' junior midfielder Chloe Harris. "At halftime, we said we wanted it bad, and we gave it our all."
Fellow junior mid Jaclyn Lamz said, "We knew we could beat this team. We really wanted a DVC win, so we came out stronger in the second half."
The Panthers tallied the lone goal of the match in the 14th minute, courtesy of a sizzling, 30-yard free kick by senior midfielder Emma Martinez that sailed over the outstretched arms of Lake Park sophomore keeper Sarah Yochem.
"They caught us a little off guard, but it was placed very well," Crosby said. "It was a tough one to save."
Otherwise, opportunities were few and far between for both sides in the first half, which allowed the Panthers entered the break with the slim edge.
Glenbard North had a trio of chances to increase the margin early in the second half. With 33:50 to go, Martinez sent a long ball to junior mid Aurelia Carulli, but her 30-yard shot missed to the left.
Three minutes later, freshman mid Alexis Bolger tracked a corner kick by junior forward Rebecca Barretto and fired the ball off the side of the net from a wide angle. Soon after, Bolger bounced a shot wide on the doorstep.
From that point on, it was all Lake Park.
"In the first half, we possessed the ball pretty well ... had some nice possessions," said Glenbard North skipper Dave Stanfield. "In the second half, Lake Park was really pressing."
In the 59th minute, heady junior mid Bri McAloon sent a sharp cross to Lamz, who then unleashed a 10-yard shot that missed wide-right. Four minutes later, Chalus made a solid stop on a low, hard strike by McAloon.
Chalus then leaped to snag a wide-angle cross by Lamz with 17:15 remaining, and the Panthers' keeper also had the answer on a nifty turnaround shot in close quarters by Martinez in the 69th minute.
A nice passing sequence among Lake Park sophomore forward Sarah Catalano, Lamz and Harris led to a hard shot by Martinez that missed to the right with exactly 10 minutes to go.
With 8:10 showing, Chalus nabbed a corner try by junior mid Lauren Tarchala. Shortly before Martinez hit the crossbar, Chalus spoiled a header attempt by Martinez.
"Goalkeeper is the most difficult position to play," Stanfield said. "(Chalus has) come a long way, and she's still a sophomore."
Lake Park's final opportunity came on a 15-yard, scissors-like kick by junior defender Elizabeth Guenther with merely 90 seconds left.
"The hunger was there more," Crosby said. "Late in the game, we really pushed to get one. We were just a couple chances short."
"We were playing our game, not worrying about what (the Panthers) were doing," added Martinez. "We were all giving so much effort. All that effort built into chances."
But Chalus and Co. held the fort, and the Panthers celebrated their first DVC win of the year.
"It feels good and boosts everyone's confidence," Chalus said. "It will push us forward as we continue."
Carulli said, "Even though it was frantic in the end, we played well and held our shape. I'm pretty happy."
Stanfield was happy to escape with the win, and grateful that good fortune -- in the form of a crossbar -- was on the Panthers' side.
"It's a nice win -- absolutely a confidence-booster," he said. "We kept together, and we defended well. Plus, we got some luck. And you need luck now and again."
Starting lineups
Lake Park
G: Sarah Yochem
D: Elizabeth Guenther
D: Amber Sedwick
D: Stephanie Zachemski
D: Dana Skiera
D: Catherine Vitale
M: Francesca Ottolino
M: Jaclyn Lamz
M: Bri McAloon
M:Lauren Tarchala
F: Cynthia Martinez
Glenbard North
G: Karissa Chalus
D: Hannah Arista
D: Sara Malinowski
D: Jessica West
M: Alexis Bolger
M: Perla Kamami
M: Emma Martinez
M: Sofia Espana
M: Aurelia Carulli
F: Victoria Szklarczyk
F: Rebecca Barreto
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Karissa Chalus, so., GK, Glenbard North
Officials: Doug Neufeldt, Dylan Kramer, Nick Gavrila
Glenbard North holds off Lancers for 1-0 DVC win
By Ken Keenan
CAROL STREAM -- Lake Park gave all it had during an intense second half sequence, but in the end the Lancers fell to Glenbard North by a 1-0 tally Thursday night.
Pushing for the equalizer, Lake Park almost succeeded when sophomore forward Cynthia Martinez sliced through the Glenbard North defense and rifled a 20-yard blast off the crossbar with 3:40 left in the match. That was the best chance among many for Lake Park in the final 21 minutes, but Panthers' sophomore goalkeeper Karissa Chalus came up big each time to preserve the victory.
"It was definitely nervewracking," said Chalus, who earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors. "I enjoy having that action, but it does get to a do-or-die situation. You just have to pull it together and keep having trust in each other."
Though disappointed with the outcome, Lake Park head coach Sean Crosby was pleased that his troops battled their hearts out down the stretch.
"If that shot by (Martinez) is a foot lower, it's in," he said. "It's a tough break. But if we show that effort every day, you walk off happy. The urgency, the drive -- the girls were putting their nose to everything ... really pushing."
Both teams entered the match looking for their first win in DuPage Valley Conference play. Glenbard North improved to 2-6-1 overall with the win, and 1-4-0 in league play. Lake Park fell to 1-10-0, 0-5-0.
"We were hungry to get a goal ... wanted it so bad," said Lancers' junior midfielder Chloe Harris. "At halftime, we said we wanted it bad, and we gave it our all."
Fellow junior mid Jaclyn Lamz said, "We knew we could beat this team. We really wanted a DVC win, so we came out stronger in the second half."
The Panthers tallied the lone goal of the match in the 14th minute, courtesy of a sizzling, 30-yard free kick by senior midfielder Emma Martinez that sailed over the outstretched arms of Lake Park sophomore keeper Sarah Yochem.
"They caught us a little off guard, but it was placed very well," Crosby said. "It was a tough one to save."
Otherwise, opportunities were few and far between for both sides in the first half, which allowed the Panthers entered the break with the slim edge.
Glenbard North had a trio of chances to increase the margin early in the second half. With 33:50 to go, Martinez sent a long ball to junior mid Aurelia Carulli, but her 30-yard shot missed to the left.
Three minutes later, freshman mid Alexis Bolger tracked a corner kick by junior forward Rebecca Barretto and fired the ball off the side of the net from a wide angle. Soon after, Bolger bounced a shot wide on the doorstep.
From that point on, it was all Lake Park.
"In the first half, we possessed the ball pretty well ... had some nice possessions," said Glenbard North skipper Dave Stanfield. "In the second half, Lake Park was really pressing."
In the 59th minute, heady junior mid Bri McAloon sent a sharp cross to Lamz, who then unleashed a 10-yard shot that missed wide-right. Four minutes later, Chalus made a solid stop on a low, hard strike by McAloon.
Chalus then leaped to snag a wide-angle cross by Lamz with 17:15 remaining, and the Panthers' keeper also had the answer on a nifty turnaround shot in close quarters by Martinez in the 69th minute.
A nice passing sequence among Lake Park sophomore forward Sarah Catalano, Lamz and Harris led to a hard shot by Martinez that missed to the right with exactly 10 minutes to go.
With 8:10 showing, Chalus nabbed a corner try by junior mid Lauren Tarchala. Shortly before Martinez hit the crossbar, Chalus spoiled a header attempt by Martinez.
"Goalkeeper is the most difficult position to play," Stanfield said. "(Chalus has) come a long way, and she's still a sophomore."
Lake Park's final opportunity came on a 15-yard, scissors-like kick by junior defender Elizabeth Guenther with merely 90 seconds left.
"The hunger was there more," Crosby said. "Late in the game, we really pushed to get one. We were just a couple chances short."
"We were playing our game, not worrying about what (the Panthers) were doing," added Martinez. "We were all giving so much effort. All that effort built into chances."
But Chalus and Co. held the fort, and the Panthers celebrated their first DVC win of the year.
"It feels good and boosts everyone's confidence," Chalus said. "It will push us forward as we continue."
Carulli said, "Even though it was frantic in the end, we played well and held our shape. I'm pretty happy."
Stanfield was happy to escape with the win, and grateful that good fortune -- in the form of a crossbar -- was on the Panthers' side.
"It's a nice win -- absolutely a confidence-booster," he said. "We kept together, and we defended well. Plus, we got some luck. And you need luck now and again."
Starting lineups
Lake Park
G: Sarah Yochem
D: Elizabeth Guenther
D: Amber Sedwick
D: Stephanie Zachemski
D: Dana Skiera
D: Catherine Vitale
M: Francesca Ottolino
M: Jaclyn Lamz
M: Bri McAloon
M:Lauren Tarchala
F: Cynthia Martinez
Glenbard North
G: Karissa Chalus
D: Hannah Arista
D: Sara Malinowski
D: Jessica West
M: Alexis Bolger
M: Perla Kamami
M: Emma Martinez
M: Sofia Espana
M: Aurelia Carulli
F: Victoria Szklarczyk
F: Rebecca Barreto
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Karissa Chalus, so., GK, Glenbard North
Officials: Doug Neufeldt, Dylan Kramer, Nick Gavrila