Freshman's late heroics lead
Lake Forest past Palatine
Doucette bags brace, 99th-minute goal gives Scouts 2-1 win
By Matt Misiek
LAKE FOREST- Every successful journey starts with a vision. In the world of optometry, 20/20 vision means you can see everything clearly up to 20 feet.
On the turf at Varsity Field on Tuesday night at Lake Forest High School, a new type of vision was born -- Class of 2020 vision, in the form of Lake Forest freshman Nicole Doucette.
Doucette’s two-goal performance included a superb goal in the 99th minute, which helped the fifth-seeded Scouts defeat 11th-seeded Palatine 2-1 in an IHSA tournament Class 3A Lake Forest Regional semifinal.
With the score tied at 1 in the second 10-minute period of extra time, Lake Forest senior midfielder Delaney Williams was able to work from the left-side to the middle of the field just outside the 18. From there she linked up with Doucette, who received the pass just inside the right edge of the 18 and fired a rocket shot into the top left corner of the net past Palatine goalkeeper Amaya Rivera.
“I barely remember what happened,” said an emotional Doucette, who garnered a hug from Lake Forest coach Ty Stuckslager while answering. “The ball was rolling. I didn’t have time to take a touch. I hit it first time. When I saw that ball go in, I said, 'Oh my God, we just won.'”
Not only did the shot erase bitter memories from a season-opening 4-1 loss to the Pirates, it set up another rematch for Lake Forest. The Scouts, ranked no. 9 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, will meet North Suburban Conference rival and 17th-ranked Lake Zurich at 7 p.m. Friday.
The fourth-seeded Bears, who defeated Lake Forest 2-0 on April 27, downed 13th-seed Hersey 7-0 in the opening semifinal.
Lake Forest's Williams was quick to praise Doucette, the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match.
“I knew Nicole was on fire,” said Williams. “She had great shots earlier along with the earlier goal. I was not quite in position to take the shot, so I thought I would give it to her to take a great shot.”
Senior defender and DePaul-bound team captain Gwen Walker also shared her immediate reaction in the moment and offered more praise for Doucette.
“I cried,” she said. “I saw my other captain, Hannah (Bell), almost fall. At halftime, she (Bell) was in tears because she wanted this so badly. I knew this team was something special, and I just wanted to hug all of them. I cried and ran in and hugged them all.”
“She (Doucette) is incredible. The way that she can play and hit a ball is unbelievable. We are so lucky to have her to finish those balls. Her work ethic and her desire to win is incredible and nothing like we have ever seen.”
Walker and Doucette teamed for the first goal for Lake Forest (12-4-1) in the 31st minute. After Williams crossed in a short free kick, the ball was cleared back to Walker, who fired a laser one-hop cross to the freshman midfielder left of goal. A quick touch and a left-footed drive went off the right post and past Rivera.
The late heroics overshadowed a spirited effort from Palatine (10-8-3), who had to overcome an early exit from their head coach Willie Filian.
Filian did not agree that the first Lake Forest goal should stand, stating that Doucette was offside, and was issued a yellow card. A minute later, after a yellow card was issued to freshman defender Melanie Simon, further discussion with the referee lead to a second yellow card for the coach. Assistant Charlie Gries took over the team for the remainder of the match.
“Extremely proud of the girls effort all game,” said Gries. “It was just the second half of the overtime. It’s in the pit of my stomach to lose the way we did. You have to give Lake Forest credit for the beautiful shot. We did the best we could, and it is unfortunate that the game ended the way it did.”
The Pirates, second place finishers in the Mid-Suburban League and an honorable mention member of the Top 25 this season, came out with the purpose in the second half. More offensive zone time with the ball produced opportunities. The equalizing goal came in the 57th minute.
Junior defender Sarah Jasonowicz worked the left side of the field after a free kick. She was able to cross into the 18 to a wide-open Gianna Valero, who slotted the ball past Scout goalkeeper Sophia DiVagno.
“I figured that the ball might come this direction,” said Valero. “I saw Sarah making the run, and it was a total team effort. It wasn’t just me, I was just in the right place at the right time.”
For Palatine, it was the close of the career for senior midfielder Mackenzie Filian. Filian courageously shared some of her thoughts on a memorable season.
“It’s been definitely the best year,” said Filian. “We are not always the fastest team, but we are always the scrappiest. And it is so fun to play with a team like this. They are going to go hard every single game.”
Filian also enjoyed playing with her sister, Chicagoland Soccer 2016 All-State midfielder Kacie Filian.
“We got the most wins out of all of my four years,” she said. “We were the closest as a team and playing with my sister in our last year playing together at Palatine was very special.”
For Lake Forest, the task turns to slow down a potent Lake Zurich attack, led by forward Rebecca Kubin, who had 28 goals entering Tuesday’s action.
“It’s going to be another fight,” said Walker. “This team will never, ever give up. Every game is a new competition and a new chance to be successful and win, and that’s what we will be looking to do.”
Starting lineups
Lake Forest
GK: Sophia DiVagno
D: Ella Marquart
D: Gwen Walker
D: Morgan Asmussen
D: Maggie Mick
MF: Hannah Bell
MF: Ingrid Falls
MF: Nicole Doucette
MF: Delaney Williams
MF: Alyssa Marquis
F: Mary Gregg
Palatine
GK: Amaya Rivera
D: Melanie Simon
D: Sarah Jasonowicz
D: Marissa Glaviano
D: Anja Jacobsen
MF: Mackenzie Filian
MF: Kacie Filian
MF: Serena Escalona
MF: Sarah Clancy
F: Kendall Kane
F: Alexis Ortega-Saa
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Nicole Doucette, fr., MF, Lake Forest
Officials: Robert Meulhim (center); V.J. Kumar; Alex Mavros
Lake Forest past Palatine
Doucette bags brace, 99th-minute goal gives Scouts 2-1 win
By Matt Misiek
LAKE FOREST- Every successful journey starts with a vision. In the world of optometry, 20/20 vision means you can see everything clearly up to 20 feet.
On the turf at Varsity Field on Tuesday night at Lake Forest High School, a new type of vision was born -- Class of 2020 vision, in the form of Lake Forest freshman Nicole Doucette.
Doucette’s two-goal performance included a superb goal in the 99th minute, which helped the fifth-seeded Scouts defeat 11th-seeded Palatine 2-1 in an IHSA tournament Class 3A Lake Forest Regional semifinal.
With the score tied at 1 in the second 10-minute period of extra time, Lake Forest senior midfielder Delaney Williams was able to work from the left-side to the middle of the field just outside the 18. From there she linked up with Doucette, who received the pass just inside the right edge of the 18 and fired a rocket shot into the top left corner of the net past Palatine goalkeeper Amaya Rivera.
“I barely remember what happened,” said an emotional Doucette, who garnered a hug from Lake Forest coach Ty Stuckslager while answering. “The ball was rolling. I didn’t have time to take a touch. I hit it first time. When I saw that ball go in, I said, 'Oh my God, we just won.'”
Not only did the shot erase bitter memories from a season-opening 4-1 loss to the Pirates, it set up another rematch for Lake Forest. The Scouts, ranked no. 9 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, will meet North Suburban Conference rival and 17th-ranked Lake Zurich at 7 p.m. Friday.
The fourth-seeded Bears, who defeated Lake Forest 2-0 on April 27, downed 13th-seed Hersey 7-0 in the opening semifinal.
Lake Forest's Williams was quick to praise Doucette, the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match.
“I knew Nicole was on fire,” said Williams. “She had great shots earlier along with the earlier goal. I was not quite in position to take the shot, so I thought I would give it to her to take a great shot.”
Senior defender and DePaul-bound team captain Gwen Walker also shared her immediate reaction in the moment and offered more praise for Doucette.
“I cried,” she said. “I saw my other captain, Hannah (Bell), almost fall. At halftime, she (Bell) was in tears because she wanted this so badly. I knew this team was something special, and I just wanted to hug all of them. I cried and ran in and hugged them all.”
“She (Doucette) is incredible. The way that she can play and hit a ball is unbelievable. We are so lucky to have her to finish those balls. Her work ethic and her desire to win is incredible and nothing like we have ever seen.”
Walker and Doucette teamed for the first goal for Lake Forest (12-4-1) in the 31st minute. After Williams crossed in a short free kick, the ball was cleared back to Walker, who fired a laser one-hop cross to the freshman midfielder left of goal. A quick touch and a left-footed drive went off the right post and past Rivera.
The late heroics overshadowed a spirited effort from Palatine (10-8-3), who had to overcome an early exit from their head coach Willie Filian.
Filian did not agree that the first Lake Forest goal should stand, stating that Doucette was offside, and was issued a yellow card. A minute later, after a yellow card was issued to freshman defender Melanie Simon, further discussion with the referee lead to a second yellow card for the coach. Assistant Charlie Gries took over the team for the remainder of the match.
“Extremely proud of the girls effort all game,” said Gries. “It was just the second half of the overtime. It’s in the pit of my stomach to lose the way we did. You have to give Lake Forest credit for the beautiful shot. We did the best we could, and it is unfortunate that the game ended the way it did.”
The Pirates, second place finishers in the Mid-Suburban League and an honorable mention member of the Top 25 this season, came out with the purpose in the second half. More offensive zone time with the ball produced opportunities. The equalizing goal came in the 57th minute.
Junior defender Sarah Jasonowicz worked the left side of the field after a free kick. She was able to cross into the 18 to a wide-open Gianna Valero, who slotted the ball past Scout goalkeeper Sophia DiVagno.
“I figured that the ball might come this direction,” said Valero. “I saw Sarah making the run, and it was a total team effort. It wasn’t just me, I was just in the right place at the right time.”
For Palatine, it was the close of the career for senior midfielder Mackenzie Filian. Filian courageously shared some of her thoughts on a memorable season.
“It’s been definitely the best year,” said Filian. “We are not always the fastest team, but we are always the scrappiest. And it is so fun to play with a team like this. They are going to go hard every single game.”
Filian also enjoyed playing with her sister, Chicagoland Soccer 2016 All-State midfielder Kacie Filian.
“We got the most wins out of all of my four years,” she said. “We were the closest as a team and playing with my sister in our last year playing together at Palatine was very special.”
For Lake Forest, the task turns to slow down a potent Lake Zurich attack, led by forward Rebecca Kubin, who had 28 goals entering Tuesday’s action.
“It’s going to be another fight,” said Walker. “This team will never, ever give up. Every game is a new competition and a new chance to be successful and win, and that’s what we will be looking to do.”
Starting lineups
Lake Forest
GK: Sophia DiVagno
D: Ella Marquart
D: Gwen Walker
D: Morgan Asmussen
D: Maggie Mick
MF: Hannah Bell
MF: Ingrid Falls
MF: Nicole Doucette
MF: Delaney Williams
MF: Alyssa Marquis
F: Mary Gregg
Palatine
GK: Amaya Rivera
D: Melanie Simon
D: Sarah Jasonowicz
D: Marissa Glaviano
D: Anja Jacobsen
MF: Mackenzie Filian
MF: Kacie Filian
MF: Serena Escalona
MF: Sarah Clancy
F: Kendall Kane
F: Alexis Ortega-Saa
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Nicole Doucette, fr., MF, Lake Forest
Officials: Robert Meulhim (center); V.J. Kumar; Alex Mavros