York plays the aggressor
in victory over OPRF
Dukes dominate pace and possession against Huskies
By Patrick Z. McGavin
OAK PARK — A story of two teams told in emotions. York was angry and desperate to reverse its recent streak of unfortunate circumstances. Oak Park and River Forest was eager to prove its three-game winning streak told of a new beginning.
Call it the war for the roses. York earned its wish.
From the start, the Dukes played the role of aggressor and set the tone with pressure and high intensity. York started off strong with Jessica Bianchi's goal in the 13th minute and sustained the strong play with a 4-1 victory here Tuesday night in West Suburban Silver play.
Illustrating its dominant command of pace and possession, York (6-4-2, 2-2-0) held a 12-1 advantage in shots in the first half. In its two previous conference games, which the Dukes eventually lost on penalty kicks, York sought to reverse a trend of falling behind or struggling to generate offensive possibilities.
The Dukes manufactured six corner kicks in the first half, alternating short corners with traditional corner kicks to throw off the Huskies' defense. York took advantage of a porous Oak Park and River Forest middle, drawing on the wide-open spaces to hit and run.
"We lost two games last week on penalty kicks, and we didn't want to go there right now," York coach Donald Vana said. "The girls came out really hard. We prepared well, we watched some video and made some adjustments to our style of play.
"I was really pleased with the performance and the amount of pressure we placed on them."
Star senior forward Alyssa Kovatchis loosened up the interior of the Oak Park and River Forest defense, generating four shots in the first half by herself.
"Our coach talked about playing with passion, and that's what we did," Kovatchis said. "I was just trying to get opportunities for myself or the team."
Bianchi opened the scoring with a beautiful first half sequence. Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match drove down the right flank and caught a through ball from junior forward Madison Casey in stride that she punched in from about 5 yards out.
"I saw her, and she crossed it. I just ran through it and finished," Bianchi said. "Right from the start we played with high intensity because we lost those two conference games last week.
"We were disappointed with how those games ended, especially Lyons, where we were up late and we could not finish it off. It was important for us to start out strong, and we came out with a little bit of anger and a little bit of a chip on our shoulder."
Although York dominated play, the game remained just 1-0 at the break. Oak Park and River Forest goalkeeper Ava Trogus, a sophomore call-up, played exceptionally well and registered 12 saves for the Huskies (4-6-2, 1-2). A basketball point guard, Trogus demonstrated excellent speed, quickness and recovery time.
York's forward attack eventually wore down the Huskies. The Dukes broke open the match with two goals in a four-minute burst at the top of the second half. Sophomore midfielder Jenna Lundgren played a principal role in each score.
In the 45th minute, York worked a beautiful scoring sequence off one of its multiple corner kicks. With Kovatchis serving a ball into the box, athletic midfielder Madison Casey elevated for the quick first touch that Lundgren controlled and finished for the 2-0 advantage.
"That goal was extremely important," Lundgren said of her second goal of the season. "The first goal is the one that gets us going, but the second one continues the momentum, so it was really good that we scored there."
The manner in which the Dukes scored was also important, emphasizing the team's ability to generate goals off restarts and corner kicks.
"We've been working on corners lately," Kovatchis said. "I can get the long balls in, and we've got [midfielder] Emily Whitcomb and Madison Navarro to get those high balls or the rest of us for the followup."
York maintained its pressure and refused to yield. In the 49th minute, Lundgren was tackled from behind inside the box, and the Dukes were awarded a penalty kick. Kovatchis recorded her seventh goal of the year by drilling the ball into the lower left corner.
Oak Park and River Forest generated its best scoring chance at the start of the match, but normally accurate forward Julia Weiss saw her left-footed ball from about 12 yards skid just wide of the goal. That lost opportunity altered the dynamics of the match, Oak Park and River Forest coach Ignacio Ponce said.
The Huskies had won three-consecutive games by a combined margin of 18-1 after the team endured a slow start to its season. Oak Park and River Forest knew it was stepping up in the caliber of competition. The team's inability to stitch together any significant runs in the field of play was perplexing and disappointing, Ponce said.
As York began to substitute some of its front line players, Oak Park and River Forest finally mustered some possession. The Huskies did not generate their first corner attempt until the 60th minute. In the 63rd minute, junior forward Cristina Carlson took advantage of York keeper Ellen Foley's inability to clear the ball.
With Foley out of position, Carlson jumped on the ball, seized control from a defender and a made sharp one-touch from the left edge for the Huskies' only goal.
"I was able to pressure the goalie, and I hit it right there," Carlson said. "It's unfortunate it took a goal like that to get us going, but we were definitely more pumped up and we definitely had more opportunities than we did at the beginning."
The goal energized the Huskies, who suddenly looked emboldened and sharper in their offensive rhythm. Junior Patricia Heneghan also managed two strong attempts that Foley blocked.
The Huskies showed some toughness and mettle, the very qualities Ponce said went missing at the first three-quarters of the match. York withstood the run and countered in the 74th minute to put the game away. Casey flashed into the box and finished a header that returned the three-goal differential to the Dukes.
"I think everyone was nervous," Carlson said. "We knew they had a good record and they were a good team, but we went into the game a little too nervous, and it showed out there."
Ponce said the team's inability to generate consistent offensive possession doomed it from the start.
"They were more physical, they wanted the ball more than we did and we lacked the desire," he said. "Opportunities were there, a 50-50 chance, and it was a matter of us taking that opportunities or challenging them more for the ball.
"This game is all about a mind-set, and I even told them I thought we showed them too much respect."
Starting lineups
York
GK: Ellen Foley
D: Annalisa Lappo
D: Emily Mueller
D: Kaylin Kenny
D: Jenna Dvorak
M: Jenna Lundgren
M: Emily Whitcomb
M: Madison Navarro
F: Jessica Bianchi
F: Madison Casey
F: Alyssa Kovatchis
Oak Park and River Forest
GK: Ava Trogus
D: Chloe Beonsch
D: Jamie Heneghan
D: Brianne Bujnowski
D: Alex Kenoian
D: Penny Hawthorne
M: Hannah Sklar
M: Grace Huettel
M: Patricia Heneghan
F: Anna Eddelbuettel
F: Julia Weiss
Officials: Lukasz Zielinski, Mike Montani, Mike Glisovic
MVP of the Match: Jessica Bianchi, F, York
in victory over OPRF
Dukes dominate pace and possession against Huskies
By Patrick Z. McGavin
OAK PARK — A story of two teams told in emotions. York was angry and desperate to reverse its recent streak of unfortunate circumstances. Oak Park and River Forest was eager to prove its three-game winning streak told of a new beginning.
Call it the war for the roses. York earned its wish.
From the start, the Dukes played the role of aggressor and set the tone with pressure and high intensity. York started off strong with Jessica Bianchi's goal in the 13th minute and sustained the strong play with a 4-1 victory here Tuesday night in West Suburban Silver play.
Illustrating its dominant command of pace and possession, York (6-4-2, 2-2-0) held a 12-1 advantage in shots in the first half. In its two previous conference games, which the Dukes eventually lost on penalty kicks, York sought to reverse a trend of falling behind or struggling to generate offensive possibilities.
The Dukes manufactured six corner kicks in the first half, alternating short corners with traditional corner kicks to throw off the Huskies' defense. York took advantage of a porous Oak Park and River Forest middle, drawing on the wide-open spaces to hit and run.
"We lost two games last week on penalty kicks, and we didn't want to go there right now," York coach Donald Vana said. "The girls came out really hard. We prepared well, we watched some video and made some adjustments to our style of play.
"I was really pleased with the performance and the amount of pressure we placed on them."
Star senior forward Alyssa Kovatchis loosened up the interior of the Oak Park and River Forest defense, generating four shots in the first half by herself.
"Our coach talked about playing with passion, and that's what we did," Kovatchis said. "I was just trying to get opportunities for myself or the team."
Bianchi opened the scoring with a beautiful first half sequence. Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match drove down the right flank and caught a through ball from junior forward Madison Casey in stride that she punched in from about 5 yards out.
"I saw her, and she crossed it. I just ran through it and finished," Bianchi said. "Right from the start we played with high intensity because we lost those two conference games last week.
"We were disappointed with how those games ended, especially Lyons, where we were up late and we could not finish it off. It was important for us to start out strong, and we came out with a little bit of anger and a little bit of a chip on our shoulder."
Although York dominated play, the game remained just 1-0 at the break. Oak Park and River Forest goalkeeper Ava Trogus, a sophomore call-up, played exceptionally well and registered 12 saves for the Huskies (4-6-2, 1-2). A basketball point guard, Trogus demonstrated excellent speed, quickness and recovery time.
York's forward attack eventually wore down the Huskies. The Dukes broke open the match with two goals in a four-minute burst at the top of the second half. Sophomore midfielder Jenna Lundgren played a principal role in each score.
In the 45th minute, York worked a beautiful scoring sequence off one of its multiple corner kicks. With Kovatchis serving a ball into the box, athletic midfielder Madison Casey elevated for the quick first touch that Lundgren controlled and finished for the 2-0 advantage.
"That goal was extremely important," Lundgren said of her second goal of the season. "The first goal is the one that gets us going, but the second one continues the momentum, so it was really good that we scored there."
The manner in which the Dukes scored was also important, emphasizing the team's ability to generate goals off restarts and corner kicks.
"We've been working on corners lately," Kovatchis said. "I can get the long balls in, and we've got [midfielder] Emily Whitcomb and Madison Navarro to get those high balls or the rest of us for the followup."
York maintained its pressure and refused to yield. In the 49th minute, Lundgren was tackled from behind inside the box, and the Dukes were awarded a penalty kick. Kovatchis recorded her seventh goal of the year by drilling the ball into the lower left corner.
Oak Park and River Forest generated its best scoring chance at the start of the match, but normally accurate forward Julia Weiss saw her left-footed ball from about 12 yards skid just wide of the goal. That lost opportunity altered the dynamics of the match, Oak Park and River Forest coach Ignacio Ponce said.
The Huskies had won three-consecutive games by a combined margin of 18-1 after the team endured a slow start to its season. Oak Park and River Forest knew it was stepping up in the caliber of competition. The team's inability to stitch together any significant runs in the field of play was perplexing and disappointing, Ponce said.
As York began to substitute some of its front line players, Oak Park and River Forest finally mustered some possession. The Huskies did not generate their first corner attempt until the 60th minute. In the 63rd minute, junior forward Cristina Carlson took advantage of York keeper Ellen Foley's inability to clear the ball.
With Foley out of position, Carlson jumped on the ball, seized control from a defender and a made sharp one-touch from the left edge for the Huskies' only goal.
"I was able to pressure the goalie, and I hit it right there," Carlson said. "It's unfortunate it took a goal like that to get us going, but we were definitely more pumped up and we definitely had more opportunities than we did at the beginning."
The goal energized the Huskies, who suddenly looked emboldened and sharper in their offensive rhythm. Junior Patricia Heneghan also managed two strong attempts that Foley blocked.
The Huskies showed some toughness and mettle, the very qualities Ponce said went missing at the first three-quarters of the match. York withstood the run and countered in the 74th minute to put the game away. Casey flashed into the box and finished a header that returned the three-goal differential to the Dukes.
"I think everyone was nervous," Carlson said. "We knew they had a good record and they were a good team, but we went into the game a little too nervous, and it showed out there."
Ponce said the team's inability to generate consistent offensive possession doomed it from the start.
"They were more physical, they wanted the ball more than we did and we lacked the desire," he said. "Opportunities were there, a 50-50 chance, and it was a matter of us taking that opportunities or challenging them more for the ball.
"This game is all about a mind-set, and I even told them I thought we showed them too much respect."
Starting lineups
York
GK: Ellen Foley
D: Annalisa Lappo
D: Emily Mueller
D: Kaylin Kenny
D: Jenna Dvorak
M: Jenna Lundgren
M: Emily Whitcomb
M: Madison Navarro
F: Jessica Bianchi
F: Madison Casey
F: Alyssa Kovatchis
Oak Park and River Forest
GK: Ava Trogus
D: Chloe Beonsch
D: Jamie Heneghan
D: Brianne Bujnowski
D: Alex Kenoian
D: Penny Hawthorne
M: Hannah Sklar
M: Grace Huettel
M: Patricia Heneghan
F: Anna Eddelbuettel
F: Julia Weiss
Officials: Lukasz Zielinski, Mike Montani, Mike Glisovic
MVP of the Match: Jessica Bianchi, F, York