Notre Dame (Peoria) uses
PK to edge Lemont for 3rd place
Slomba delivers in 69th minute to give Irish best state finish
By Mike Garofola
NAPERVILLE -- Notre Dame (Peoria) and Lemont gave the audience at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium at North Central College quite a show Saturday morning with 80 hard-fought minutes of soccer. Notre Dame emerged with a 1-0 victory to bring home its first-ever third place trophy, the third overall in program history.
Kristen Slomba delivered the eventual game-winner when she converted a 69th minute penalty kick. The opportunity came after a handball was somehow detected in a crowd of players just inside the top of the 18-yard box. The call sent the Irish captain to the spot for her big moment.
"It's so nice to come away from the tournament with a win. (Nobody) likes to play for third place, and even more so, lose your last two games of the season. So right now, it feels real good to end our season on a high note," said the affable senior, who is off to St. Ambrose College in the fall.
The conversion made for a happy coach.
"I cannot tell you how proud of this team I am right now," said a relieved Matt Blackford, who has a record of 219-42-19 in 11 years at the Peoria school.
"You're always fearful of what the attitude of your team will be after losing that semifinal (a 4-1 loss to Glenwood on Friday) and just exactly how the girls will come out on a Saturday morning and play.
"We had a long talk at the hotel, and we challenged (them) to come out and play with pride, and for themselves (and) that third place trophy. And they did exactly that, against a very good Lemont team, which deserves a well done from us for their terrific effort themselves."
The Irish (19-5-4) played Glenwood to a 0-0 draw earlier in the season. The rematch did not mirror the earlier game.
"That wasn't us on Friday," said Blackford.
"We consider ourselves to be kind of a blue collar team, but we didn't show any of that in (that) game, so our first day here at the tournament ended in disappointment.'
The same could be said for the Lemont faithful, who watched a very young Indians club drop a hard-fought 2-1 semifinal match with eventual state champion, Carmel, who defeated Glenwood 1-0 Saturday afternoon to claim the Mundelein school's first state soccer title.
Lemont didn't get the script it hoped for in the final two games of the season.
"Obviously, you always want to progress and get yourselves in the state final game when your here - nobody comes here WANTING to play in the third place game," said Lemont manager Rick Prangen. "But the girls somehow got through it, and although we were a little ragged at times, just as the game was, I thought the girls fought hard, right up until the end, and although it was decided on a less than favorable call against us, the effort was just tremendous from this team."
It was clear during the first half hour that both sides were still suffering from post-semifinal fatigue -- each club struggled to connect and possess, while playing far more direct than each would normally in the first 30 minutes.
The flow of the game was further interrupted by chippy play that led to eight yellow card bookings.
With 10 minutes left in the first half, both sides got into the game and played some lovely soccer.
Lemont's terrific freshman, Mairead Ruane whipped a well-paced corner into the box, which forced the Irish to clear off the line at 31 minutes. Four minutes later on defense, her fearless teammate and keeper Michelle Jerantowski held onto the ball despite being run over by Notre Dame's hard-charging Haley Salander, who had hoped to catch-up to Tori Timmerman's serve.
This late exchange seemed to bring more energy to each club after the intermission.
Lemont's McKenna Gardner, with a little time and space unloaded a nicely struck shot that Jenna Ashley saved. Moments later, the Notre Dame keeper hauled in Ruane's inward-swinging corner in a crowd of players from both sides.
The speed of play was gradually soaring higher, as was the temperature on the stadium turf, and the final 20 minutes of regulation provided plenty of thrills and up-and-down play, even for the casual observer.
In search of the first goal of the game, both clubs threw extra players forward, confident that their back third could be defended with fewer numbers.
Elizabeth Sheely's work rate helped the Irish to a corner in the 64th minute, but once again, Jerantowski was there to answer the call and pulled in Slomba's corner serve.
In the 68th minute, Lemont's Gardner found Aleksandra Mihalovic on the tail-end of a mazy run, but her close range smash was turned around by Ashley, as was another corner by the Indians.
Off the counter, Notre Dame earned a corner for Slomba. After a collision following her serve to the top of the box, and after a long pause by the center official, Slomba was put on the spot for her heroic finish.
Lemont was unhappy with the call.
"It was a 50-50 game up until that hand-ball call, which we obviously didn't agree with," said a disappointed Prangen long after the match. "And it's just a shame a game like this, which was played with so much emotion and energy by both teams, had to be decided like that."
The Indian's Ruane had two more good looks on frame as regulation neared it conclusion. But Notre Dame, as they did when put under pressure all game, stayed water-tight along the back to finish off the victory.
That led to a third place celebration for the Irish.
"I was happy for the entire team, but especially all of the seniors," began Slomba.
"So many of us have known each other since third grade, and to see all of us come through, and finish up like this is something that I'll remember forever. We had all of those dad's parties, and so many 'inside' jokes we all shared and laughed about. It's just been a wonderful time playing here, and I am glad to have been a part of it."
Slomba's teammate, and good friend, Elizabeth Shealy will also attend St. Ambrose.
For Lemont, with its roster filled with so many freshmen, the future looks brighter than ever for Prangen, who has a 300-151-19 record and earned a second, third and two fourth place state trophies at the school. Departing senior and team captain Savannah Brija thinks the Indians will remain a team to be reckoned with.
"We had (8) freshmen on this team, and we still got to the state finals," said Brija, who will begin her studies towards a physical therapy degree at Ithaca College in New York next fall. "It's amazing to do that with so many young players, but it says a lot about how good this team can be for the next couple of years.
"It was hard at first to be playing in this game, instead of the final, but you realize you're just one of four teams still playing this late in the season. It becomes a really special thing for all of us (because) you know there's so many other teams and players who wish they could be here."
Prangen hopes for a return trip to the finals and another shot at that elusive state title. It may come sooner than later.
"We had 5-6 freshmen out there at one time, and we never missed a beat," he said. "(Sometimes) our youth and inexperience would come into play, such as today when the play got more physical."
"If they continue to work hard, we should have a good chance to be back next season."
Starting lineups
Lemont
GK- Michelle Jerantowski
D- Ashley Matthews
D- Savannah Brija
D- Sara Knoepfle
D- Lauren Devlin
MF- Lindsey Mazur
MF- Jacqueline Aleman
MF- Mairead Ruane
MF- Carli Bernele
F- Aleksandra Mihailovic
F- Madelyn Bernele
Notre Dame (Peoria)
GK- Jenna Ashley
D- Emily Polonus
D- Elizabeth Shealy
D- Kiele Anderson
D- Kenna Carew
MF- Liz Frampton
MF- Kristen Slomba
MF- Elizabeth Mills
MF- Bridget Schuler
F- Savanna Fleeman
F- Macy Martin
MVP of the Match: Kristen Slomba, MF, Notre Dame.
Officials: Doug Huey (center), Bill Niemeyer (assistant), Steve Osborne (assistant), Jay Weis (fourth).
PK to edge Lemont for 3rd place
Slomba delivers in 69th minute to give Irish best state finish
By Mike Garofola
NAPERVILLE -- Notre Dame (Peoria) and Lemont gave the audience at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium at North Central College quite a show Saturday morning with 80 hard-fought minutes of soccer. Notre Dame emerged with a 1-0 victory to bring home its first-ever third place trophy, the third overall in program history.
Kristen Slomba delivered the eventual game-winner when she converted a 69th minute penalty kick. The opportunity came after a handball was somehow detected in a crowd of players just inside the top of the 18-yard box. The call sent the Irish captain to the spot for her big moment.
"It's so nice to come away from the tournament with a win. (Nobody) likes to play for third place, and even more so, lose your last two games of the season. So right now, it feels real good to end our season on a high note," said the affable senior, who is off to St. Ambrose College in the fall.
The conversion made for a happy coach.
"I cannot tell you how proud of this team I am right now," said a relieved Matt Blackford, who has a record of 219-42-19 in 11 years at the Peoria school.
"You're always fearful of what the attitude of your team will be after losing that semifinal (a 4-1 loss to Glenwood on Friday) and just exactly how the girls will come out on a Saturday morning and play.
"We had a long talk at the hotel, and we challenged (them) to come out and play with pride, and for themselves (and) that third place trophy. And they did exactly that, against a very good Lemont team, which deserves a well done from us for their terrific effort themselves."
The Irish (19-5-4) played Glenwood to a 0-0 draw earlier in the season. The rematch did not mirror the earlier game.
"That wasn't us on Friday," said Blackford.
"We consider ourselves to be kind of a blue collar team, but we didn't show any of that in (that) game, so our first day here at the tournament ended in disappointment.'
The same could be said for the Lemont faithful, who watched a very young Indians club drop a hard-fought 2-1 semifinal match with eventual state champion, Carmel, who defeated Glenwood 1-0 Saturday afternoon to claim the Mundelein school's first state soccer title.
Lemont didn't get the script it hoped for in the final two games of the season.
"Obviously, you always want to progress and get yourselves in the state final game when your here - nobody comes here WANTING to play in the third place game," said Lemont manager Rick Prangen. "But the girls somehow got through it, and although we were a little ragged at times, just as the game was, I thought the girls fought hard, right up until the end, and although it was decided on a less than favorable call against us, the effort was just tremendous from this team."
It was clear during the first half hour that both sides were still suffering from post-semifinal fatigue -- each club struggled to connect and possess, while playing far more direct than each would normally in the first 30 minutes.
The flow of the game was further interrupted by chippy play that led to eight yellow card bookings.
With 10 minutes left in the first half, both sides got into the game and played some lovely soccer.
Lemont's terrific freshman, Mairead Ruane whipped a well-paced corner into the box, which forced the Irish to clear off the line at 31 minutes. Four minutes later on defense, her fearless teammate and keeper Michelle Jerantowski held onto the ball despite being run over by Notre Dame's hard-charging Haley Salander, who had hoped to catch-up to Tori Timmerman's serve.
This late exchange seemed to bring more energy to each club after the intermission.
Lemont's McKenna Gardner, with a little time and space unloaded a nicely struck shot that Jenna Ashley saved. Moments later, the Notre Dame keeper hauled in Ruane's inward-swinging corner in a crowd of players from both sides.
The speed of play was gradually soaring higher, as was the temperature on the stadium turf, and the final 20 minutes of regulation provided plenty of thrills and up-and-down play, even for the casual observer.
In search of the first goal of the game, both clubs threw extra players forward, confident that their back third could be defended with fewer numbers.
Elizabeth Sheely's work rate helped the Irish to a corner in the 64th minute, but once again, Jerantowski was there to answer the call and pulled in Slomba's corner serve.
In the 68th minute, Lemont's Gardner found Aleksandra Mihalovic on the tail-end of a mazy run, but her close range smash was turned around by Ashley, as was another corner by the Indians.
Off the counter, Notre Dame earned a corner for Slomba. After a collision following her serve to the top of the box, and after a long pause by the center official, Slomba was put on the spot for her heroic finish.
Lemont was unhappy with the call.
"It was a 50-50 game up until that hand-ball call, which we obviously didn't agree with," said a disappointed Prangen long after the match. "And it's just a shame a game like this, which was played with so much emotion and energy by both teams, had to be decided like that."
The Indian's Ruane had two more good looks on frame as regulation neared it conclusion. But Notre Dame, as they did when put under pressure all game, stayed water-tight along the back to finish off the victory.
That led to a third place celebration for the Irish.
"I was happy for the entire team, but especially all of the seniors," began Slomba.
"So many of us have known each other since third grade, and to see all of us come through, and finish up like this is something that I'll remember forever. We had all of those dad's parties, and so many 'inside' jokes we all shared and laughed about. It's just been a wonderful time playing here, and I am glad to have been a part of it."
Slomba's teammate, and good friend, Elizabeth Shealy will also attend St. Ambrose.
For Lemont, with its roster filled with so many freshmen, the future looks brighter than ever for Prangen, who has a 300-151-19 record and earned a second, third and two fourth place state trophies at the school. Departing senior and team captain Savannah Brija thinks the Indians will remain a team to be reckoned with.
"We had (8) freshmen on this team, and we still got to the state finals," said Brija, who will begin her studies towards a physical therapy degree at Ithaca College in New York next fall. "It's amazing to do that with so many young players, but it says a lot about how good this team can be for the next couple of years.
"It was hard at first to be playing in this game, instead of the final, but you realize you're just one of four teams still playing this late in the season. It becomes a really special thing for all of us (because) you know there's so many other teams and players who wish they could be here."
Prangen hopes for a return trip to the finals and another shot at that elusive state title. It may come sooner than later.
"We had 5-6 freshmen out there at one time, and we never missed a beat," he said. "(Sometimes) our youth and inexperience would come into play, such as today when the play got more physical."
"If they continue to work hard, we should have a good chance to be back next season."
Starting lineups
Lemont
GK- Michelle Jerantowski
D- Ashley Matthews
D- Savannah Brija
D- Sara Knoepfle
D- Lauren Devlin
MF- Lindsey Mazur
MF- Jacqueline Aleman
MF- Mairead Ruane
MF- Carli Bernele
F- Aleksandra Mihailovic
F- Madelyn Bernele
Notre Dame (Peoria)
GK- Jenna Ashley
D- Emily Polonus
D- Elizabeth Shealy
D- Kiele Anderson
D- Kenna Carew
MF- Liz Frampton
MF- Kristen Slomba
MF- Elizabeth Mills
MF- Bridget Schuler
F- Savanna Fleeman
F- Macy Martin
MVP of the Match: Kristen Slomba, MF, Notre Dame.
Officials: Doug Huey (center), Bill Niemeyer (assistant), Steve Osborne (assistant), Jay Weis (fourth).