Lyons saved by its keeper against Warren
Breen's acrobatics lead to victory on penalty kicks
By Rusty Silber
SCHAUMBURG -- It's not often that a goalkeeper comes off the bench to save a game. Lyons' goalkeeper Lidia Breen did that with a spectacular effort of four-straight saves in penalty kicks Saturday morning.
"There's not really a formula for saving penalties," Breen said. "It's like go in there and try to relax. I feel like there's more pressure on the shooter because no one expects us to save them."
The heroics enabled second-seeded Lyons to hold off unseeded Warren (2-2-1) in a victory on penalty kicks in the teams Aquafinal Bracket opener of the PepsiCo Showdown at Olympic Park in Schaumburg.
After the game finished 2-2 through regulation and one 10-minute overtime, the Lions (4-0-2) won the shootout 2-0.
Breen started to get ready right before the final whistle of regulation and a 10-minute overtime. Breen is normally the starter for the Lions, but Emily Johnson got the call and made 6 saves.
As the captains of each team were taking the coin flip to see who would shoot first, Breen went to the goal opposite from where the shootout took place. There she warmed up, taking a series of rolling balls from an assistant coach in the goal.
Lyons got the opportunity to shoot first in the penalty kicks, and Isabelle Scott converted.
Breen calmly lined up and stopped the first Warren attempt with a dive to the right. After Lyons missed its second kick. Breen again made a diving stop to the other side.
The Lions made it 2-0 in the kicks when Margaret Lynch booted her chance home, before Breen took over again with a punch over the bar and another diving save.
"I just feel which way they're going to go," Breen said. "(The first one) was pretty important coming off the bench cold. Obviously I got a couple of balls thrown at me in a warmup. Getting me that first save gave me an adrenaline boost. It allowed me to be confident to make the other ones."
Oddly, Breen had done this before against Libertyville last year in the second round.
On Saturday, the Lions must have wondered whether they were going to be upset. Then came the penalty kicks.
"It was weird, at times. I thought we played pretty well," Lyons coach Bill Lanspeary said. "At other times, we just had breakdowns -- kind of mental and communication breakdowns.
"Sometimes with an early goal you relax and then you let them back in it. Hopefully we learned a little bit here today. We had no idea of what to expect of Warren coming in."
Margaret Lynch scored both goals for the Lions and now has four goals. Kristen Janicki and Grace Salvino earned the assists.
Warren got its goals from Valentina Rodriguez off a corner kick and the other off the foot of Natalie McNally after an Alliyah Parker assist.
"I feel like we outplayed (Lyons), but we didn't finish our chances," said Blue Devils midfielder Parker. "I thought we had the ball most of the game. Our team is starting to show what we can do as team. Our passing is really good, and our mentality is working well."
Warren as a team keeps getting better and better. This matchup against Lyons showed that they can take on one of the more talented teams in the tournament.
"It was good game, and I was really happy how the girls played," Warren coach Ryan McCabe said. "We had a couple of new faces, with some girls injured. I'm pleased on how we sorted things out on the fly against a real good opponent.
"We're still trying to sort out where the best place is for everyone to be. I think we made some good steps in this one, and we were really clicking in the second half. I thought we were pretty dangerous, with some shots off the post and some good saves by their keeper (Johnson)."
Lyons moves on to the Round of 16 to face Maine South on Tuesday. The Hawks got past No. 15 seed Huntley 1-0 in their opener.
Warren also will play its next game Tuesday in the consolation pool.
Starting lineups
Warren
GK-Liz Carrano
D-Jamie Kwon
D-Lindsey Ditmars
D- Hannah Sislow
D-Alex Strothers
MF-Corin Hill
MF-Natalie McNally
MF-Kaitlyn Chomko
MF-Abby Vrabel
F-Alliyah Parker
F-Grace Wiltgen
Lyons
GK-Emily Johnson
D-Sheila Murphy
D-Catherine Johnson
D-Isabelle Scott
D-Kim Vitek
D-Halee Stirrat
MF-Kristen Janicki
MF-Jenna Fuller
F-Grace Salvino
F-Mary Devine
F-Keira Frese
MVP of the Match: Lidia Breen, GK, Lyons
Breen's acrobatics lead to victory on penalty kicks
By Rusty Silber
SCHAUMBURG -- It's not often that a goalkeeper comes off the bench to save a game. Lyons' goalkeeper Lidia Breen did that with a spectacular effort of four-straight saves in penalty kicks Saturday morning.
"There's not really a formula for saving penalties," Breen said. "It's like go in there and try to relax. I feel like there's more pressure on the shooter because no one expects us to save them."
The heroics enabled second-seeded Lyons to hold off unseeded Warren (2-2-1) in a victory on penalty kicks in the teams Aquafinal Bracket opener of the PepsiCo Showdown at Olympic Park in Schaumburg.
After the game finished 2-2 through regulation and one 10-minute overtime, the Lions (4-0-2) won the shootout 2-0.
Breen started to get ready right before the final whistle of regulation and a 10-minute overtime. Breen is normally the starter for the Lions, but Emily Johnson got the call and made 6 saves.
As the captains of each team were taking the coin flip to see who would shoot first, Breen went to the goal opposite from where the shootout took place. There she warmed up, taking a series of rolling balls from an assistant coach in the goal.
Lyons got the opportunity to shoot first in the penalty kicks, and Isabelle Scott converted.
Breen calmly lined up and stopped the first Warren attempt with a dive to the right. After Lyons missed its second kick. Breen again made a diving stop to the other side.
The Lions made it 2-0 in the kicks when Margaret Lynch booted her chance home, before Breen took over again with a punch over the bar and another diving save.
"I just feel which way they're going to go," Breen said. "(The first one) was pretty important coming off the bench cold. Obviously I got a couple of balls thrown at me in a warmup. Getting me that first save gave me an adrenaline boost. It allowed me to be confident to make the other ones."
Oddly, Breen had done this before against Libertyville last year in the second round.
On Saturday, the Lions must have wondered whether they were going to be upset. Then came the penalty kicks.
"It was weird, at times. I thought we played pretty well," Lyons coach Bill Lanspeary said. "At other times, we just had breakdowns -- kind of mental and communication breakdowns.
"Sometimes with an early goal you relax and then you let them back in it. Hopefully we learned a little bit here today. We had no idea of what to expect of Warren coming in."
Margaret Lynch scored both goals for the Lions and now has four goals. Kristen Janicki and Grace Salvino earned the assists.
Warren got its goals from Valentina Rodriguez off a corner kick and the other off the foot of Natalie McNally after an Alliyah Parker assist.
"I feel like we outplayed (Lyons), but we didn't finish our chances," said Blue Devils midfielder Parker. "I thought we had the ball most of the game. Our team is starting to show what we can do as team. Our passing is really good, and our mentality is working well."
Warren as a team keeps getting better and better. This matchup against Lyons showed that they can take on one of the more talented teams in the tournament.
"It was good game, and I was really happy how the girls played," Warren coach Ryan McCabe said. "We had a couple of new faces, with some girls injured. I'm pleased on how we sorted things out on the fly against a real good opponent.
"We're still trying to sort out where the best place is for everyone to be. I think we made some good steps in this one, and we were really clicking in the second half. I thought we were pretty dangerous, with some shots off the post and some good saves by their keeper (Johnson)."
Lyons moves on to the Round of 16 to face Maine South on Tuesday. The Hawks got past No. 15 seed Huntley 1-0 in their opener.
Warren also will play its next game Tuesday in the consolation pool.
Starting lineups
Warren
GK-Liz Carrano
D-Jamie Kwon
D-Lindsey Ditmars
D- Hannah Sislow
D-Alex Strothers
MF-Corin Hill
MF-Natalie McNally
MF-Kaitlyn Chomko
MF-Abby Vrabel
F-Alliyah Parker
F-Grace Wiltgen
Lyons
GK-Emily Johnson
D-Sheila Murphy
D-Catherine Johnson
D-Isabelle Scott
D-Kim Vitek
D-Halee Stirrat
MF-Kristen Janicki
MF-Jenna Fuller
F-Grace Salvino
F-Mary Devine
F-Keira Frese
MVP of the Match: Lidia Breen, GK, Lyons