DGN continues streak, tops Hinsdale C.
Parker’s 5 points sparks emotional 3-1 road win
By Matt Le Cren
HINSDALE – Like many of her teammates, Downers Grove North senior Victoria Finklea was a friend of Beth Dunlap, the star setter of Downers Grove North’s girls volleyball team which finished second in the Class 4A state tournament in November.
Dunlap, 17, was killed in February when she was struck by an alleged impaired driver while crossing the street in the crosswalk in front of the school.
It’s been a tough couple of months for the Downers Grove North community, which has rallied around the theme “Beth Strong.”
So Finklea wanted to do something special in memory of Dunlap during Tuesday’s showdown with rival Hinsdale Central.
The 5-foot-1 forward did just that. She scored the first goal and helped the Trojans extend their unbeaten streak to five games with a 3-1 West Suburban Conference Silver Division victory at Dickinson Field. It was Finklea’s first goal of the season.
“Coming into it we knew it was a really, really big game,” Finklea said. “Personally, that goal meant a lot for me.
“I really wanted to come out here and perform well for Beth. That was my main motivation, and when that goal went in I was so happy.”
The goal came against the run of play with 8:43 left in the first half. Junior Alexis Parker dribbled into the right side of the box and centered to the top of the 6.
Freshman Ryan Wendt was in position on the near post but stepped over the ball, which made its way to the far post and the foot of the onrushing Finklea, who blasted it into the net.
“I saw her running,” Parker said. “I saw Ryan actually running to the front post, and I was like, ‘OK, I see Tori on the back side.’
“So I thought Ryan was going to hit it, but she dummied it. I was like, ‘I hope somebody is there on the backside,’ and then Tori came out of nowhere flying. She’s so quick, and I saw her hit it and I was like, 'Yes, that was perfect.”
Up until that point, Hinsdale Central (3-9-2, 2-2-0) held the upper hand, controlling the possession and peppering the Downers North net. The Red Devils wound up outshooting the Trojans 20-10, including 11-4 in the first half, but had nothing to show for it.
Parker, who finished with two goals and an assist to earn Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors, said Finklea’s strike was what turned the game around for the visitors.
“After Tori got that first goal I think the momentum just skyrocketed,” Parker said. “We were able to start playing better.
“Even though they did have more chances on goal, we were able to communicate more and come together. We started creating more in the second half. They definitely had more shots, but we were able to finish the few that we actually had.”
Parker was one big reason why the Trojans (6-7-1, 2-0-0) were able to do so. Wendt, a freshman who was recently elevated to varsity, was another.
Downers Grove North was still clinging to the 1-0 lead when Wendt delivered a long ball from the midfield that found Maggie Urbanski behind the defense.
Urbanski was in an offsides position and the linesman raised his flag, but the referee correctly overruled the call because Wendt’s pass deflected off a defender before continuing through.
That nullified the offsides. Urbanski ran into the box but her shot was blocked by Hinsdale Central goalie Fiona Fitzsimons.
The ball, however, went right to the trailer, Parker, who buried the rebound for a 2-0 lead with 10:07 left.
“Like I was telling the girls at halftime, they play like us,” Downers North coach Brian Papa said. “They play tight, and they’re not giving you room to pass the ball.
“So you have to loosen them up by putting the ball over the backline, which we did a little bit more in the second half. That opened things up a little bit, and we did have great opportunities. And we got a break on the deflection.”
The Red Devils can’t seem to catch a break, even though they have improved drastically since the start of the season.
The hosts were fortunate not to go down two goals in the first half as the Trojans’ Lindsay Ringbloom hit the outside of the left post with a 35-yard drive less than two minutes after Finklea scored.
But they couldn’t buy a break at the other end. Their best chance in the first half came with 2:25 to go when Olivia Rayis sprung Sarah Cernugel into the box. Cernugel stopped, turned and fired a 10-yard shot off the outside of the right post.
It was more of the same after intermission. Senior Caroline Lyman missed wide right on a 34-yard free kick and Grace Kalis lofted a 15-yard shot that landed on top of the net.
Downers Grove North goalie Blythe Braun made 11 saves and came close to registering the Trojans’ first shutout of the season. But the Missouri-bound Lyman foiled that bid when her 20-yard shot from the right wing skittered past Braun to cut North’s lead to 2-1 with 6:38 to go.
“I think it was a good boost to the intensity, especially right at the end of the game,” Lyman said. “But it would have helped to have gotten it a little earlier.”
The Red Devils had two cracks at the equalizer, but Braun made a leaping save on Samantha Guido’s 28-yard shot with 5:25 left, and Lyman missed wide right from 20 yards at the 3:12 mark.
The visitors iced the game with 40 seconds left when Wendt was dumped in the box, and Parker converted the ensuing penalty kick.
“This has been a pretty common theme for a lot of our games this year,” Lyman said. “We’ve all been really frustrated, and we’re trying to figure out the final third of the field and actually putting the ball in the net.
“We’ve done a good job possessing, and we did a good job defending. I think at the end of the day if we can’t get the ball in the back of the net, you can’t win.”
At least the Red Devils are increasing the number of shots they take and winning the possession battle, so much so that Hinsdale Central coach Tony Madonia was incredulous that his team scored only once.
“Seriously, how much better can we get without scoring, though?” Madonia said. “That’s kind of what it comes down to.”
Hinsdale Central’s rising offensive prowess has come at the same time Downers North has stepped up its defense, which leaked like a busted dam in the first month of the season.
“I can’t say enough about the girls in the back,” Papa said. “In our first nine games we gave up 26 goals. In the last five games we’ve given up 5 goals.
“Today we were so close to the shutout, so we’re tightening it up, and we’re doing it with youth.
“Overall, (the Red Devils) were shooting from well outside the 18. Overall, we were playing well. I had no gripes on how (the Trojans) are playing.”
Papa was especially happy with Finklea, who was a starter at the beginning of the season but now comes off the bench.
“We do a lot of film and I teach on the film," Papa said.
“I’m watching the kids who are watching. Today I had a couple kids not play, because they didn’t take the time to watch film.
“I will put a kid in who is putting the time in, and (Finklea) is watching film. She tries so hard. She’s not a great player, she doesn’t expect big things, but she hadn’t played in a while. She got an opportunity and she banged it home, right where it’s supposed to be.”
Finklea knows where she has to be when Parker has the ball. Parker is a natural goal-scorer, but she looks to dish as often as she aims to shoot.
“My thought when Parker gets the ball is to get somewhere near the goal,” Finklea said. “Wherever she is, it will soon be in front of the goal, and we have really good chemistry. I kind of have a feeling of what she’s going to do.”
The Trojans have a feeling they are on the verge of breaking out.
“I think we’re all jelling really well together,” Finklea said. “The team is kind of split between freshmen and seniors and then Alexis.
“I think the seniors are really stepping up and leading the underclassmen. We all trust each other. I think that’s the biggest thing.”
While perhaps not as far along as the Trojans, the Red Devils haven’t lost faith in one another, either, thanks in part to Lyman’s leadership.
“I think my role on the team is kind of getting everybody to realize that we do have the talent,” Lyman said. “We just have to finish.
“We have to put it all together and believe in ourselves. All of us seniors have been saying that it’s not too late to turn it around.”
Despite the result, Madonia enjoyed the match.
“I like playing against Downers Grove North because they’re always fun to play against and the camaraderie between the coaching staffs is always good,” Madonia said. “It’s good to be surrounded by good people.”
The Trojans can say the same thing thanks to Hinsdale Central’s classy postgame gesture. In a show of solidarity over Dunlap’s passing, each Red Devil gave a rose to a Downers Grove North player.
Finklea, who was fighting back tears at one point, said she appreciated the move, as did Parker.
“It was great,” Parker said. “Any team that has given us anything or just talked to us in general has been great.
“It means a lot to us just to hear something from other schools because that’s how we know everybody else cares.”
Starting lineups
Downers Grove North
GK Blythe Braun
D Rachael Wilson
D Kendall Hennelly
D Lindsey Good
M Lindsay Ringbloom
M Abbie Peterson
M Margaret Urbanski
M Julia Kramper
M Julia Bauer
F Ryan Wendt
F Alexis Parker
Hinsdale Central
GK Fiona Fitzsimons
D Sophie Simmons
D Lauren Oleferchik
D Samantha Moriarty
D Olivia Rayis
M Haley Paulsons
M Lindsey LeMay
M Caroline Lyman
F Haley Arnold
F Samantha Guido
F Sarah Cernugel
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Alexis Parker, jr., F, Downers Grove North
Scoring summary
First half
DGN – Victoria Finklea (Alexis Parker) 8:43
Second half
DGN – Parker 10:07
HC – Caroline Lyman 6:38
DGN – Parker (PK) :40
Parker’s 5 points sparks emotional 3-1 road win
By Matt Le Cren
HINSDALE – Like many of her teammates, Downers Grove North senior Victoria Finklea was a friend of Beth Dunlap, the star setter of Downers Grove North’s girls volleyball team which finished second in the Class 4A state tournament in November.
Dunlap, 17, was killed in February when she was struck by an alleged impaired driver while crossing the street in the crosswalk in front of the school.
It’s been a tough couple of months for the Downers Grove North community, which has rallied around the theme “Beth Strong.”
So Finklea wanted to do something special in memory of Dunlap during Tuesday’s showdown with rival Hinsdale Central.
The 5-foot-1 forward did just that. She scored the first goal and helped the Trojans extend their unbeaten streak to five games with a 3-1 West Suburban Conference Silver Division victory at Dickinson Field. It was Finklea’s first goal of the season.
“Coming into it we knew it was a really, really big game,” Finklea said. “Personally, that goal meant a lot for me.
“I really wanted to come out here and perform well for Beth. That was my main motivation, and when that goal went in I was so happy.”
The goal came against the run of play with 8:43 left in the first half. Junior Alexis Parker dribbled into the right side of the box and centered to the top of the 6.
Freshman Ryan Wendt was in position on the near post but stepped over the ball, which made its way to the far post and the foot of the onrushing Finklea, who blasted it into the net.
“I saw her running,” Parker said. “I saw Ryan actually running to the front post, and I was like, ‘OK, I see Tori on the back side.’
“So I thought Ryan was going to hit it, but she dummied it. I was like, ‘I hope somebody is there on the backside,’ and then Tori came out of nowhere flying. She’s so quick, and I saw her hit it and I was like, 'Yes, that was perfect.”
Up until that point, Hinsdale Central (3-9-2, 2-2-0) held the upper hand, controlling the possession and peppering the Downers North net. The Red Devils wound up outshooting the Trojans 20-10, including 11-4 in the first half, but had nothing to show for it.
Parker, who finished with two goals and an assist to earn Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors, said Finklea’s strike was what turned the game around for the visitors.
“After Tori got that first goal I think the momentum just skyrocketed,” Parker said. “We were able to start playing better.
“Even though they did have more chances on goal, we were able to communicate more and come together. We started creating more in the second half. They definitely had more shots, but we were able to finish the few that we actually had.”
Parker was one big reason why the Trojans (6-7-1, 2-0-0) were able to do so. Wendt, a freshman who was recently elevated to varsity, was another.
Downers Grove North was still clinging to the 1-0 lead when Wendt delivered a long ball from the midfield that found Maggie Urbanski behind the defense.
Urbanski was in an offsides position and the linesman raised his flag, but the referee correctly overruled the call because Wendt’s pass deflected off a defender before continuing through.
That nullified the offsides. Urbanski ran into the box but her shot was blocked by Hinsdale Central goalie Fiona Fitzsimons.
The ball, however, went right to the trailer, Parker, who buried the rebound for a 2-0 lead with 10:07 left.
“Like I was telling the girls at halftime, they play like us,” Downers North coach Brian Papa said. “They play tight, and they’re not giving you room to pass the ball.
“So you have to loosen them up by putting the ball over the backline, which we did a little bit more in the second half. That opened things up a little bit, and we did have great opportunities. And we got a break on the deflection.”
The Red Devils can’t seem to catch a break, even though they have improved drastically since the start of the season.
The hosts were fortunate not to go down two goals in the first half as the Trojans’ Lindsay Ringbloom hit the outside of the left post with a 35-yard drive less than two minutes after Finklea scored.
But they couldn’t buy a break at the other end. Their best chance in the first half came with 2:25 to go when Olivia Rayis sprung Sarah Cernugel into the box. Cernugel stopped, turned and fired a 10-yard shot off the outside of the right post.
It was more of the same after intermission. Senior Caroline Lyman missed wide right on a 34-yard free kick and Grace Kalis lofted a 15-yard shot that landed on top of the net.
Downers Grove North goalie Blythe Braun made 11 saves and came close to registering the Trojans’ first shutout of the season. But the Missouri-bound Lyman foiled that bid when her 20-yard shot from the right wing skittered past Braun to cut North’s lead to 2-1 with 6:38 to go.
“I think it was a good boost to the intensity, especially right at the end of the game,” Lyman said. “But it would have helped to have gotten it a little earlier.”
The Red Devils had two cracks at the equalizer, but Braun made a leaping save on Samantha Guido’s 28-yard shot with 5:25 left, and Lyman missed wide right from 20 yards at the 3:12 mark.
The visitors iced the game with 40 seconds left when Wendt was dumped in the box, and Parker converted the ensuing penalty kick.
“This has been a pretty common theme for a lot of our games this year,” Lyman said. “We’ve all been really frustrated, and we’re trying to figure out the final third of the field and actually putting the ball in the net.
“We’ve done a good job possessing, and we did a good job defending. I think at the end of the day if we can’t get the ball in the back of the net, you can’t win.”
At least the Red Devils are increasing the number of shots they take and winning the possession battle, so much so that Hinsdale Central coach Tony Madonia was incredulous that his team scored only once.
“Seriously, how much better can we get without scoring, though?” Madonia said. “That’s kind of what it comes down to.”
Hinsdale Central’s rising offensive prowess has come at the same time Downers North has stepped up its defense, which leaked like a busted dam in the first month of the season.
“I can’t say enough about the girls in the back,” Papa said. “In our first nine games we gave up 26 goals. In the last five games we’ve given up 5 goals.
“Today we were so close to the shutout, so we’re tightening it up, and we’re doing it with youth.
“Overall, (the Red Devils) were shooting from well outside the 18. Overall, we were playing well. I had no gripes on how (the Trojans) are playing.”
Papa was especially happy with Finklea, who was a starter at the beginning of the season but now comes off the bench.
“We do a lot of film and I teach on the film," Papa said.
“I’m watching the kids who are watching. Today I had a couple kids not play, because they didn’t take the time to watch film.
“I will put a kid in who is putting the time in, and (Finklea) is watching film. She tries so hard. She’s not a great player, she doesn’t expect big things, but she hadn’t played in a while. She got an opportunity and she banged it home, right where it’s supposed to be.”
Finklea knows where she has to be when Parker has the ball. Parker is a natural goal-scorer, but she looks to dish as often as she aims to shoot.
“My thought when Parker gets the ball is to get somewhere near the goal,” Finklea said. “Wherever she is, it will soon be in front of the goal, and we have really good chemistry. I kind of have a feeling of what she’s going to do.”
The Trojans have a feeling they are on the verge of breaking out.
“I think we’re all jelling really well together,” Finklea said. “The team is kind of split between freshmen and seniors and then Alexis.
“I think the seniors are really stepping up and leading the underclassmen. We all trust each other. I think that’s the biggest thing.”
While perhaps not as far along as the Trojans, the Red Devils haven’t lost faith in one another, either, thanks in part to Lyman’s leadership.
“I think my role on the team is kind of getting everybody to realize that we do have the talent,” Lyman said. “We just have to finish.
“We have to put it all together and believe in ourselves. All of us seniors have been saying that it’s not too late to turn it around.”
Despite the result, Madonia enjoyed the match.
“I like playing against Downers Grove North because they’re always fun to play against and the camaraderie between the coaching staffs is always good,” Madonia said. “It’s good to be surrounded by good people.”
The Trojans can say the same thing thanks to Hinsdale Central’s classy postgame gesture. In a show of solidarity over Dunlap’s passing, each Red Devil gave a rose to a Downers Grove North player.
Finklea, who was fighting back tears at one point, said she appreciated the move, as did Parker.
“It was great,” Parker said. “Any team that has given us anything or just talked to us in general has been great.
“It means a lot to us just to hear something from other schools because that’s how we know everybody else cares.”
Starting lineups
Downers Grove North
GK Blythe Braun
D Rachael Wilson
D Kendall Hennelly
D Lindsey Good
M Lindsay Ringbloom
M Abbie Peterson
M Margaret Urbanski
M Julia Kramper
M Julia Bauer
F Ryan Wendt
F Alexis Parker
Hinsdale Central
GK Fiona Fitzsimons
D Sophie Simmons
D Lauren Oleferchik
D Samantha Moriarty
D Olivia Rayis
M Haley Paulsons
M Lindsey LeMay
M Caroline Lyman
F Haley Arnold
F Samantha Guido
F Sarah Cernugel
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Alexis Parker, jr., F, Downers Grove North
Scoring summary
First half
DGN – Victoria Finklea (Alexis Parker) 8:43
Second half
DGN – Parker 10:07
HC – Caroline Lyman 6:38
DGN – Parker (PK) :40