Lockport talks way past Wheaton North
Hosts give out the right signals in 3-1 win
By Matt Le Cren
LOCKPORT – Communication.
It is such a simple concept, but it played a big role when Wheaton North traveled to Lockport on Thursday.
Simply put, the host Porters communicated, and the Falcons did not.
That was the main takeaway from Lockport’s 3-1 victory, in which the Porters rallied from an early 1-0 deficit and dominated most of the last 60 minutes.
Wheaton North (3-6-0) has now lost three-straight games and five of its last six.
“We’ve been really preaching to our girls that we need to complete a play, go all the way, play 80 minutes of good soccer,” Wheaton North assistant coach Taylor Heatherly said. “And I think with our team, if we don’t all commit to winning the 50-50 balls and if we don’t all commit to communications, if we don’t all commit to moving and covering, then we fall apart rather easily.”
That’s what happened against the Porters, who went down 1-0 when Wheaton North junior Kate Kortenhoeven blasted a 17-yard shot through the hands of goalkeeper Reagan Tompkins at the 31:26 mark of the first half.
That was Wheaton North’s first shot of the game. Unfortunately for the Falcons, it was also their high-water mark.
The Porters scored on two-consecutive shots less than three minutes apart to take the lead and controlled the match from then on.
“I feel like whenever we get down we always are able to come back, and that’s what is good about us,” Lockport junior Allyson Fischer said. “We definitely need to work on staying ahead instead of coming back for it, but we’re pretty good at coming back.”
Fischer earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match award for her relentless hustle on the left wing. She wasted no time getting to work, uncorking a shot just wide of the left post in the third minute and another with similar results four minutes later.
Fischer and Brooke Janeczek created havoc in the Wheaton North defense with their attacks around the ends.
It paid off with 24:02 to go in the opening half. Fischer got around the left end and fired a low line drive at Falcons goalkeeper Gabi Suazo, who made a diving save but gave up a rebound.
The ball popped up close to the goal line and Janeczek knocked in the equalizer.
“We’ve been working a lot on that in practice, like crossing the ball,” Fischer said. “I feel like that helps a lot, and then making our runs in the box and communicating. I feel like we’ve been connecting a lot more as we do that.”
Janeczek’s goal turned the tide solidly in Lockport’s direction. The Porters seized the lead when Allison Polinski ran onto a feed from the midfield, split two defenders at the top of the box and then toe-poked a shot past the charging Suazo with 21:19 to go before the break.
“When we face adversity right now, we seem to not know how to get back up,” Heatherly said. “We kind of get punched, and we seem to stay down.”
Kortenhoeven, who scored her first goal of the season, agreed.
“I think after the first goal that they scored we stopped communicating and that was really where we lost it,” Kortenhoeven said. “When we stop communicating, we just kind of fall apart.
“Everyone on our team is super talented, and so we’re just trying to figure out how to push through in those minutes when we need to most. We just need to come out stronger every game that we play and just come out and play with passion and to win.”
The Porters certainly did that and now have a two-game winning streak and some confidence to go with it.
“I think this is a really good win, because we won on Tuesday as well, so I feel like we’re just going to keep going after this one,” Fischer said. “We had a little rut but we’re coming out of it.”
Fischer was rewarded for her hustle as she netted her third goal of the season to finish the scoring with 26:40 left in the second half. This time Fischer made a run without the ball as Madisyn Hannion won a ball in the midfield and fed Lauren Pikulski for a counterattack up the right wing.
Pikulski drove to the right end line before sending a sharp cross in front to Fisher, who blew a blistering one-timer past Suazo.
Plays like that were inevitable in a game which was so one-sided in the center of the field.
“We keep losing the midfield,” Heatherly said. “We were making things a lot more complicated for ourselves because we wouldn’t win the 50-50s. Then we would have to chase, and because we were doing more chasing we were getting more tired and then we were getting flat feet.
“That’s where a lot of our breakdowns happened and we can’t seem to hold the ball and distribute as well.”
The other factor was the grass field, which is wider than Wheaton North’s turf field. That allowed the Porters to spread the field -- and space plus speed equaled trouble for the visitors.
“I think they utilized the width of the field and stretched us out,” Wheaton North midfielder Jaden Trometer said. “I think that was a big part of it.
“We got kind of lost in the midfield because our centers had to go hold in places where they shouldn’t. It was all over the place.”
While Trometer, a vocal and veteran presence, said switching from turf to grass is never easy, the Falcons need to get over that mental block to have success.
“Those (last) two (losses) kind of hit us in the back of the head, but I’m always telling our players, ‘Let’s go; pick it up,’” Trometer said. “It’s always a mental game. We’ve got to get over that hurdle.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton North
GK Gabi Suazo
D Cammy Carrico
D Morghin Klein
D Hannah Swider
D Anna Warfield
M Naimh Kane
M Jaden Trometer
M Christina Crochet
F Rose Quinn
F Addy Atkinson
F Kate Kortenhoeven
Lockport
GK Reagan Tompkins
D Sylvia Kordaczka
D Jamie Hansen
D Madisyn Hannion
D Lauren Pikulski
M Finley Travis
M Stephanie Quigley
M Brooke Janeczek
F Allyson Fischer
F Jenifer Latoza
F Allison Polinski
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Allyson Fischer, jr., F, Lockport
Hosts give out the right signals in 3-1 win
By Matt Le Cren
LOCKPORT – Communication.
It is such a simple concept, but it played a big role when Wheaton North traveled to Lockport on Thursday.
Simply put, the host Porters communicated, and the Falcons did not.
That was the main takeaway from Lockport’s 3-1 victory, in which the Porters rallied from an early 1-0 deficit and dominated most of the last 60 minutes.
Wheaton North (3-6-0) has now lost three-straight games and five of its last six.
“We’ve been really preaching to our girls that we need to complete a play, go all the way, play 80 minutes of good soccer,” Wheaton North assistant coach Taylor Heatherly said. “And I think with our team, if we don’t all commit to winning the 50-50 balls and if we don’t all commit to communications, if we don’t all commit to moving and covering, then we fall apart rather easily.”
That’s what happened against the Porters, who went down 1-0 when Wheaton North junior Kate Kortenhoeven blasted a 17-yard shot through the hands of goalkeeper Reagan Tompkins at the 31:26 mark of the first half.
That was Wheaton North’s first shot of the game. Unfortunately for the Falcons, it was also their high-water mark.
The Porters scored on two-consecutive shots less than three minutes apart to take the lead and controlled the match from then on.
“I feel like whenever we get down we always are able to come back, and that’s what is good about us,” Lockport junior Allyson Fischer said. “We definitely need to work on staying ahead instead of coming back for it, but we’re pretty good at coming back.”
Fischer earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match award for her relentless hustle on the left wing. She wasted no time getting to work, uncorking a shot just wide of the left post in the third minute and another with similar results four minutes later.
Fischer and Brooke Janeczek created havoc in the Wheaton North defense with their attacks around the ends.
It paid off with 24:02 to go in the opening half. Fischer got around the left end and fired a low line drive at Falcons goalkeeper Gabi Suazo, who made a diving save but gave up a rebound.
The ball popped up close to the goal line and Janeczek knocked in the equalizer.
“We’ve been working a lot on that in practice, like crossing the ball,” Fischer said. “I feel like that helps a lot, and then making our runs in the box and communicating. I feel like we’ve been connecting a lot more as we do that.”
Janeczek’s goal turned the tide solidly in Lockport’s direction. The Porters seized the lead when Allison Polinski ran onto a feed from the midfield, split two defenders at the top of the box and then toe-poked a shot past the charging Suazo with 21:19 to go before the break.
“When we face adversity right now, we seem to not know how to get back up,” Heatherly said. “We kind of get punched, and we seem to stay down.”
Kortenhoeven, who scored her first goal of the season, agreed.
“I think after the first goal that they scored we stopped communicating and that was really where we lost it,” Kortenhoeven said. “When we stop communicating, we just kind of fall apart.
“Everyone on our team is super talented, and so we’re just trying to figure out how to push through in those minutes when we need to most. We just need to come out stronger every game that we play and just come out and play with passion and to win.”
The Porters certainly did that and now have a two-game winning streak and some confidence to go with it.
“I think this is a really good win, because we won on Tuesday as well, so I feel like we’re just going to keep going after this one,” Fischer said. “We had a little rut but we’re coming out of it.”
Fischer was rewarded for her hustle as she netted her third goal of the season to finish the scoring with 26:40 left in the second half. This time Fischer made a run without the ball as Madisyn Hannion won a ball in the midfield and fed Lauren Pikulski for a counterattack up the right wing.
Pikulski drove to the right end line before sending a sharp cross in front to Fisher, who blew a blistering one-timer past Suazo.
Plays like that were inevitable in a game which was so one-sided in the center of the field.
“We keep losing the midfield,” Heatherly said. “We were making things a lot more complicated for ourselves because we wouldn’t win the 50-50s. Then we would have to chase, and because we were doing more chasing we were getting more tired and then we were getting flat feet.
“That’s where a lot of our breakdowns happened and we can’t seem to hold the ball and distribute as well.”
The other factor was the grass field, which is wider than Wheaton North’s turf field. That allowed the Porters to spread the field -- and space plus speed equaled trouble for the visitors.
“I think they utilized the width of the field and stretched us out,” Wheaton North midfielder Jaden Trometer said. “I think that was a big part of it.
“We got kind of lost in the midfield because our centers had to go hold in places where they shouldn’t. It was all over the place.”
While Trometer, a vocal and veteran presence, said switching from turf to grass is never easy, the Falcons need to get over that mental block to have success.
“Those (last) two (losses) kind of hit us in the back of the head, but I’m always telling our players, ‘Let’s go; pick it up,’” Trometer said. “It’s always a mental game. We’ve got to get over that hurdle.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton North
GK Gabi Suazo
D Cammy Carrico
D Morghin Klein
D Hannah Swider
D Anna Warfield
M Naimh Kane
M Jaden Trometer
M Christina Crochet
F Rose Quinn
F Addy Atkinson
F Kate Kortenhoeven
Lockport
GK Reagan Tompkins
D Sylvia Kordaczka
D Jamie Hansen
D Madisyn Hannion
D Lauren Pikulski
M Finley Travis
M Stephanie Quigley
M Brooke Janeczek
F Allyson Fischer
F Jenifer Latoza
F Allison Polinski
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Allyson Fischer, jr., F, Lockport