Heartbreak goal dooms Warren
Lily Sands' late goal gives Glenbrook South tournament title
By Rusty Silber
NORTHBROOOK -- For those who don't know much about the competitive, hard-driven side of Warren, maybe more teams should take a closer look at the Blue Devils.
They're a team that sits just north of the .500 level this season, but they have players who work hard every time they take the field.
Warren put forth its best foot forward with a title on the line in the Glenbrook Cup but fell to Glenbrook South 2-1 goal just before the game went to penalty kicks at Techny Field on Saturday.
Glenbrook South's Lilly Sands stole the show with the game-winner.
But Warren's Alexis Strothers more than made her presence felt. She solidified the Blue Devil back line in the sweeper role.
for the Blue Devils (8-7-2, 3-1 in the tournament) and one that takes on the sweeper role for the team.
The senior will play soccer next fall at Division II Wayne State College in Nebraska.
"It's exciting, and I knew I wanted to play soccer at the next level," Strothers said. "I really didn't care about what division to play in. I just wanted to play soccer.
"I do love the school, and it should give me a great education."
On Saturday in the title game, Strothers showed great workmanship and kept Glenbrook South off balance in the final third of the field.
"It was a rough one out there," Strothers said. "Lindsay (Ditmars) and I were able to work well together back there stopping the ball and dealing with the one-on-ones.
"Our team has given its all at this point. We've only gone up from where we started It's great to know the girls are working hard and moving up."
Glenbrook South (12-3-1, 4-0) got the game-winning golden goal from Sands, who broke free near the top of the box. She had a good look at the goal and finished it with 24 seconds left in the second overtime.
"My teammates told me that there wasn't much time left, so I knew it was pretty big," said Sands, Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match. "None of us really wanted to do PK's. It was super hard to get the ball back there. (Warren) was a super physical team.
"I wasn't able to beat them until the last one. It was a big goal. I've scored before, but not that big goal."
Glenbrook South (12-3-1) has won the tournament in five of the last six years and recorded their fourth straight Saturday. However, the Titans knew that they were going to have a tough match with Warren.
"This year it was a great game," Glenbrook South coach Seong Ha said. "They have a fabulous side and their record is very deceiving.
"If you look at their strength of schedule, they're a wonderful team from top to bottom. They're a handful, and they keep coming at you. I thought their midfielders were so punishing throughout the game. The work rate by both teams made it a good high school game."
The Blue Devils fell to the Titans in the title game for the second-straight year.
"It was a great one," Warren coach Ryan McCabe said. "It was a good test, and we found ourselves in a similar situation in regionals last year. (Glenbrook South) is well-coached and they're always a good team. It's nice to play against them."
Warren found itself down a goal in the second minute. The Titans' Kaily Bruch sent what looked like a cross that went off the back post into the net for a 1-0 lead.
But the Blue Devils know how to come back against tough teams. And they did it again Saturday.
"I think we're a quality team here," McCabe said. "The girls fight, and I've got a bunch of hard-working girls that put in a lot of time in the offseason, who like to compete and it really shows. That's why we can come back."
Warren found a way to even the match in the second half. Alliyah Parker sent a cross from the right side to Haley Brock for a volley-kick that tied the game 1-1 in the 50th minute.
The Blue Devils won its two other matches during the day to reach the finals. They shut out Glenbrook North 3-0 Saturday morning in the quarterfinals.
Next Warren took down 2015 Class 2A runner-up Normal West 6-1 with six unanswered goals, five in the second half.
Ellen Szostak scored her first hat trick and added an assist in the win. Grace Wiltgen had a goal and two assists, and Teagon Albert contributed a goal and assist. Abby Vrabel also scored.
Strothers had two assists and Kaitlyn Chomko and Ditmars also recorded helpers.
Starting lineups
Warren
GK-Liz Carrano
D-Alexis Strother
D-Lindsay Ditmars
D-Natalie McNally
D-Hannah Sislow
MF-Abby Vrabel
MF-Kaitlyn Chomko
MF-Alliyah Parker
MF-Rebecca Pineau
F-Grace Wiltgen
F-Teagon Albert
Glenbrook South
GK-Maude Tarbox
D-Heather Herrmann
D-Lauren Brennan
D-Madison Kane
D-Anne Brennan
MF-Kaily Bruch
MF-Abby Brown
MF-Cameron Beach
MF-Addie Lion
F-Olivia Peters
F-Lily Sands
MVP of the Match: Lily Sands, forward, Glenbrook South
Referees: Jay Weiss, Tim Esuri, Albert Khouri
Lily Sands' late goal gives Glenbrook South tournament title
By Rusty Silber
NORTHBROOOK -- For those who don't know much about the competitive, hard-driven side of Warren, maybe more teams should take a closer look at the Blue Devils.
They're a team that sits just north of the .500 level this season, but they have players who work hard every time they take the field.
Warren put forth its best foot forward with a title on the line in the Glenbrook Cup but fell to Glenbrook South 2-1 goal just before the game went to penalty kicks at Techny Field on Saturday.
Glenbrook South's Lilly Sands stole the show with the game-winner.
But Warren's Alexis Strothers more than made her presence felt. She solidified the Blue Devil back line in the sweeper role.
for the Blue Devils (8-7-2, 3-1 in the tournament) and one that takes on the sweeper role for the team.
The senior will play soccer next fall at Division II Wayne State College in Nebraska.
"It's exciting, and I knew I wanted to play soccer at the next level," Strothers said. "I really didn't care about what division to play in. I just wanted to play soccer.
"I do love the school, and it should give me a great education."
On Saturday in the title game, Strothers showed great workmanship and kept Glenbrook South off balance in the final third of the field.
"It was a rough one out there," Strothers said. "Lindsay (Ditmars) and I were able to work well together back there stopping the ball and dealing with the one-on-ones.
"Our team has given its all at this point. We've only gone up from where we started It's great to know the girls are working hard and moving up."
Glenbrook South (12-3-1, 4-0) got the game-winning golden goal from Sands, who broke free near the top of the box. She had a good look at the goal and finished it with 24 seconds left in the second overtime.
"My teammates told me that there wasn't much time left, so I knew it was pretty big," said Sands, Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match. "None of us really wanted to do PK's. It was super hard to get the ball back there. (Warren) was a super physical team.
"I wasn't able to beat them until the last one. It was a big goal. I've scored before, but not that big goal."
Glenbrook South (12-3-1) has won the tournament in five of the last six years and recorded their fourth straight Saturday. However, the Titans knew that they were going to have a tough match with Warren.
"This year it was a great game," Glenbrook South coach Seong Ha said. "They have a fabulous side and their record is very deceiving.
"If you look at their strength of schedule, they're a wonderful team from top to bottom. They're a handful, and they keep coming at you. I thought their midfielders were so punishing throughout the game. The work rate by both teams made it a good high school game."
The Blue Devils fell to the Titans in the title game for the second-straight year.
"It was a great one," Warren coach Ryan McCabe said. "It was a good test, and we found ourselves in a similar situation in regionals last year. (Glenbrook South) is well-coached and they're always a good team. It's nice to play against them."
Warren found itself down a goal in the second minute. The Titans' Kaily Bruch sent what looked like a cross that went off the back post into the net for a 1-0 lead.
But the Blue Devils know how to come back against tough teams. And they did it again Saturday.
"I think we're a quality team here," McCabe said. "The girls fight, and I've got a bunch of hard-working girls that put in a lot of time in the offseason, who like to compete and it really shows. That's why we can come back."
Warren found a way to even the match in the second half. Alliyah Parker sent a cross from the right side to Haley Brock for a volley-kick that tied the game 1-1 in the 50th minute.
The Blue Devils won its two other matches during the day to reach the finals. They shut out Glenbrook North 3-0 Saturday morning in the quarterfinals.
Next Warren took down 2015 Class 2A runner-up Normal West 6-1 with six unanswered goals, five in the second half.
Ellen Szostak scored her first hat trick and added an assist in the win. Grace Wiltgen had a goal and two assists, and Teagon Albert contributed a goal and assist. Abby Vrabel also scored.
Strothers had two assists and Kaitlyn Chomko and Ditmars also recorded helpers.
Starting lineups
Warren
GK-Liz Carrano
D-Alexis Strother
D-Lindsay Ditmars
D-Natalie McNally
D-Hannah Sislow
MF-Abby Vrabel
MF-Kaitlyn Chomko
MF-Alliyah Parker
MF-Rebecca Pineau
F-Grace Wiltgen
F-Teagon Albert
Glenbrook South
GK-Maude Tarbox
D-Heather Herrmann
D-Lauren Brennan
D-Madison Kane
D-Anne Brennan
MF-Kaily Bruch
MF-Abby Brown
MF-Cameron Beach
MF-Addie Lion
F-Olivia Peters
F-Lily Sands
MVP of the Match: Lily Sands, forward, Glenbrook South
Referees: Jay Weiss, Tim Esuri, Albert Khouri