Porta powers North
past South in Glenbrook Derby
Senior's hat-trick delivers 5-2 CSL South win
By Mike Garofola
NORTHBROOK -- In any conversation about Player of the Year honors, Margy Porta is sure to be discussed.
The Boston University-bound star forward for fourth-ranked Glenbrook North bagged three to help her club defeat rival Glenbrook South. However, it's not just her goal-scoring prowess that sets her apart. On Thursday night she displayed some of her many attributes: her work rate; dizzying runs through channels; remarkable composure; and two-footed acumen on the ball.
"We've played a lot of terrific teams thus far, many of them have great talent, but with all due respect to those players, Margy is the best that I've seen this spring," said Glenbrook South manager Mark Daniels after his club dropped a 5-2 contest Thursday night at William Lutz Stadium.
"Margy is clearly the best we've seen all year," added girls assistant and boys head coach Reggie Lara after watching Porta's second goal that increased the Spartans advantage to 4-0. “She is just a dynamic presence out there for them."
Porta, her long-time club teammate Morissa Lambert and Lily Denk proved once again to be a serious triple threat to opponents. The trio combined for four goals and an assist on the chilly night. Help from outside backs Nayia Sellas and Kat Sellas added to the magnificent night of entertaining soccer before an appreciative Senior Night crowd.
"Margy is truly a special player up-top. She is so much more strong than you think," said Spartans manager Tony Valsamis, whose club goes to Evanston on Tuesday in a game that will impact the Central Suburban League South Division race. “She can shed players easily, score goals, set-up others, will track back to wins balls and quickly distribute to others. Along with Morissa, our engine in the middle, and Lily up-top, we can put pressure on our opponents, and we look to continue doing so from here on out.”
There were no surprises for Glenbrook South (7-10-0, 1-3-0) after it made the 8+.8-mile drive.
"We knew coming in that they would come out with their guns blazing," said Titans senior Bella Gemignami. “We had to find a way to stop Margy and Morissa, but they are just so good, with and without the ball. They have a lot of other really good players that gave us some trouble tonight.”
Gemignani with her teammate Lilly O’Rourke, and Porta and Lambert posed for a picture after the game to mark the last time they would compete against each other in the Glenbrook Derby.
"Despite the result, I thought we played hard tonight," added Gemignami. “There was a lot of fight in all of us. We were able to put two in the back of the net, which was really good for our confidence.”
Porta got the home-side off to a flying start at three minutes when she ran freely to the back post to meet an inch-perfect corner from Lambert to produce a 1-0 lead.
Porta went wide moments later, before Lily Denk's clever run to the endline saw the senior drive a lovely ball into the six-yard box. Titans keeper Bella Crist redirected the send to the side, where O'Rourke parried the ball out of the area.
Glenbrook North (14-0-1, 3-0-1) enjoyed most of the play in the first quarter hour, except for a glorious opportunity for the visitors. Gemignani delivered a piercing early ball to Carolyn Camaranesi, however the assistant referee on the near touchline quickly raised his flag to dash the hopes of the junior.
The host’s Kate Rassin and Ella Panek pried open the Spartans in their own end to allow Denk to supply the second goal of the night in the 18th minute.
"With a team like Glenbrook North, that has so many weapons to throw at you, you can never relax or make a mistake in your own end," said Daniels. “On that second goal, we gave the ball away, and they quickly had the ball in our box.”
The visitors went close before the intermission when O'Rourke fired from 30 yards at the end of a counter that forced a save from keeper Taylor Brocato. Glenbrook North answered with a close-range effort from Emily Mastinter that Crist turned away.
"We kept the game close before the half, but we didn't possess as well as we can, or should have. They were very good at that, which gave us some trouble tonight," said senior Anna Durow, Glenbrook South’s outstanding center back, who proudly wears the captain’s armband for her club with Crist, Gemignani and O'Rourke.
"It's hard to lose this game to such a big rival. We've been playing better lately, but they were the better team tonight," added Durow.
Both sides brought plenty of new life into their attacks after the break. The visitors were more dangerous at the onset.
A counter driven by Meghan Noe and Audrey Langenbach required the attention of Nayla Sella to defuse the attack. Annie Philbin was required to do the same after a nicely played Langebach-to Ashley Ciss-to Noe combination caused a few uneasy moments for the Spartans faithful.
After Rachel Leiter rattled the bar for the home side, the game became suddenly wide open. A few minutes later the Spartans tripled their advantage when Ella Panek found the far inside netting with a looping attempt from the right side.
"You always feel like you’re in the game at 2-0, but that third goal really put us on our heels," said Daniels.
Bella Crist came to the rescue once more when she tipped another well-aimed Denk attempt over the bar. But the senior could do nothing when faced with the stone-cold finisher Porta, who put the writing on the wall with two brilliant goals wrapped around the Titans opener.
After a bit of trickery from Nayia Sellas created room at the end line, the junior found Porta, whose clinical finish was a marvel and made the score 4-0 in the 58th minute.
The ever-present Gemignani delivered a response when she took a long throw from Mia DeMattia and surprised the home side and dashed their hopes for a clean-sheet bid in the 61st minute.
However, Porta saved her best for last. At full speed with the ball, she raced free of her challengers before unloading an unstoppable left-footed missile into the back of the net.
Langenbach closed the scoring on a rebound goal after O'Rourke's 35-yard, well-paced free kick around the Glenbrook North wall bounded off of Brocato.
"We had our hands full with Porta, Lambert and Denk, but on the flipside, we played hard. Bella was terrific in goal for us, Anna (Durow) and Mia (DeMattia) were very good for us along the back," said Daniels.
“That is a very good team with some very talented individual players. We could get another chance at them in a regional final if we can get past Highland Park, but that's in a couple of weeks. We'll get back to work and get ready for a very busy final stretch ahead of us."
Glenbrook South got back on the winning track with a 1-0 home win vs. St. Ignatius on April 29. Starting Tuesday, they play three games in five days before their Central Suburban League cross-over game finishes the regular-season on May 10.
Glenbrook North will forge ahead.
"Our first 20 minutes tonight was very good, as were portions of the second half as well, but we'll have to be better when we play Evanston next week," said Valsamis.
"I feel very fortunate to have three first class attacking players in Porta, Lambert, and Denk, who is going to the University of Kentucky in the fall, but likely will not play there.
"With Margy playing at Boston University, and Morissa in the same conference at American University, I'll have to plan to get out East to see them play against one another."
Starting lineups
Glenbrook South (4-4-2)
G- Bella Crist
D- Ashley Crist
D- Anna Durow
D- Mia DeMattia
D- Cristina Papadatos
M- Payton Davidson
M- Lilly O'Rourke
M- Carolyn Cameranesi
M- Audrey Langenbach
F- Bella Gemignani
F- Meghan Noe
Glenbrook North (4-3-3)
G- Taylor Brocato
D- Nayia Sellas
D- Annie Philbin
D- Dani Gichner
D- Kat Sellas
M- Ella Panek
M- Morissa Lambert
M- Rachel Leiter
F- Lily Denk
F- Margy Porta
F- Kate Rassin
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Margy Porta, sr., F, Glenbrook North
Referee: Ninos Alexander
Scoring summary
First half
GBN: Porta (Lambert) 3'
GBN: Denk (Panek) 18'
Secondd half
GBN: Panek (Porta) 52'
GBN: Porta (Sellas) 58'
GBS: Gemignani (DeMattia) 61'
GBN: Porta (Panek) 70'
GBS: Langenbach (O'Rourke) 71'
past South in Glenbrook Derby
Senior's hat-trick delivers 5-2 CSL South win
By Mike Garofola
NORTHBROOK -- In any conversation about Player of the Year honors, Margy Porta is sure to be discussed.
The Boston University-bound star forward for fourth-ranked Glenbrook North bagged three to help her club defeat rival Glenbrook South. However, it's not just her goal-scoring prowess that sets her apart. On Thursday night she displayed some of her many attributes: her work rate; dizzying runs through channels; remarkable composure; and two-footed acumen on the ball.
"We've played a lot of terrific teams thus far, many of them have great talent, but with all due respect to those players, Margy is the best that I've seen this spring," said Glenbrook South manager Mark Daniels after his club dropped a 5-2 contest Thursday night at William Lutz Stadium.
"Margy is clearly the best we've seen all year," added girls assistant and boys head coach Reggie Lara after watching Porta's second goal that increased the Spartans advantage to 4-0. “She is just a dynamic presence out there for them."
Porta, her long-time club teammate Morissa Lambert and Lily Denk proved once again to be a serious triple threat to opponents. The trio combined for four goals and an assist on the chilly night. Help from outside backs Nayia Sellas and Kat Sellas added to the magnificent night of entertaining soccer before an appreciative Senior Night crowd.
"Margy is truly a special player up-top. She is so much more strong than you think," said Spartans manager Tony Valsamis, whose club goes to Evanston on Tuesday in a game that will impact the Central Suburban League South Division race. “She can shed players easily, score goals, set-up others, will track back to wins balls and quickly distribute to others. Along with Morissa, our engine in the middle, and Lily up-top, we can put pressure on our opponents, and we look to continue doing so from here on out.”
There were no surprises for Glenbrook South (7-10-0, 1-3-0) after it made the 8+.8-mile drive.
"We knew coming in that they would come out with their guns blazing," said Titans senior Bella Gemignami. “We had to find a way to stop Margy and Morissa, but they are just so good, with and without the ball. They have a lot of other really good players that gave us some trouble tonight.”
Gemignani with her teammate Lilly O’Rourke, and Porta and Lambert posed for a picture after the game to mark the last time they would compete against each other in the Glenbrook Derby.
"Despite the result, I thought we played hard tonight," added Gemignami. “There was a lot of fight in all of us. We were able to put two in the back of the net, which was really good for our confidence.”
Porta got the home-side off to a flying start at three minutes when she ran freely to the back post to meet an inch-perfect corner from Lambert to produce a 1-0 lead.
Porta went wide moments later, before Lily Denk's clever run to the endline saw the senior drive a lovely ball into the six-yard box. Titans keeper Bella Crist redirected the send to the side, where O'Rourke parried the ball out of the area.
Glenbrook North (14-0-1, 3-0-1) enjoyed most of the play in the first quarter hour, except for a glorious opportunity for the visitors. Gemignani delivered a piercing early ball to Carolyn Camaranesi, however the assistant referee on the near touchline quickly raised his flag to dash the hopes of the junior.
The host’s Kate Rassin and Ella Panek pried open the Spartans in their own end to allow Denk to supply the second goal of the night in the 18th minute.
"With a team like Glenbrook North, that has so many weapons to throw at you, you can never relax or make a mistake in your own end," said Daniels. “On that second goal, we gave the ball away, and they quickly had the ball in our box.”
The visitors went close before the intermission when O'Rourke fired from 30 yards at the end of a counter that forced a save from keeper Taylor Brocato. Glenbrook North answered with a close-range effort from Emily Mastinter that Crist turned away.
"We kept the game close before the half, but we didn't possess as well as we can, or should have. They were very good at that, which gave us some trouble tonight," said senior Anna Durow, Glenbrook South’s outstanding center back, who proudly wears the captain’s armband for her club with Crist, Gemignani and O'Rourke.
"It's hard to lose this game to such a big rival. We've been playing better lately, but they were the better team tonight," added Durow.
Both sides brought plenty of new life into their attacks after the break. The visitors were more dangerous at the onset.
A counter driven by Meghan Noe and Audrey Langenbach required the attention of Nayla Sella to defuse the attack. Annie Philbin was required to do the same after a nicely played Langebach-to Ashley Ciss-to Noe combination caused a few uneasy moments for the Spartans faithful.
After Rachel Leiter rattled the bar for the home side, the game became suddenly wide open. A few minutes later the Spartans tripled their advantage when Ella Panek found the far inside netting with a looping attempt from the right side.
"You always feel like you’re in the game at 2-0, but that third goal really put us on our heels," said Daniels.
Bella Crist came to the rescue once more when she tipped another well-aimed Denk attempt over the bar. But the senior could do nothing when faced with the stone-cold finisher Porta, who put the writing on the wall with two brilliant goals wrapped around the Titans opener.
After a bit of trickery from Nayia Sellas created room at the end line, the junior found Porta, whose clinical finish was a marvel and made the score 4-0 in the 58th minute.
The ever-present Gemignani delivered a response when she took a long throw from Mia DeMattia and surprised the home side and dashed their hopes for a clean-sheet bid in the 61st minute.
However, Porta saved her best for last. At full speed with the ball, she raced free of her challengers before unloading an unstoppable left-footed missile into the back of the net.
Langenbach closed the scoring on a rebound goal after O'Rourke's 35-yard, well-paced free kick around the Glenbrook North wall bounded off of Brocato.
"We had our hands full with Porta, Lambert and Denk, but on the flipside, we played hard. Bella was terrific in goal for us, Anna (Durow) and Mia (DeMattia) were very good for us along the back," said Daniels.
“That is a very good team with some very talented individual players. We could get another chance at them in a regional final if we can get past Highland Park, but that's in a couple of weeks. We'll get back to work and get ready for a very busy final stretch ahead of us."
Glenbrook South got back on the winning track with a 1-0 home win vs. St. Ignatius on April 29. Starting Tuesday, they play three games in five days before their Central Suburban League cross-over game finishes the regular-season on May 10.
Glenbrook North will forge ahead.
"Our first 20 minutes tonight was very good, as were portions of the second half as well, but we'll have to be better when we play Evanston next week," said Valsamis.
"I feel very fortunate to have three first class attacking players in Porta, Lambert, and Denk, who is going to the University of Kentucky in the fall, but likely will not play there.
"With Margy playing at Boston University, and Morissa in the same conference at American University, I'll have to plan to get out East to see them play against one another."
Starting lineups
Glenbrook South (4-4-2)
G- Bella Crist
D- Ashley Crist
D- Anna Durow
D- Mia DeMattia
D- Cristina Papadatos
M- Payton Davidson
M- Lilly O'Rourke
M- Carolyn Cameranesi
M- Audrey Langenbach
F- Bella Gemignani
F- Meghan Noe
Glenbrook North (4-3-3)
G- Taylor Brocato
D- Nayia Sellas
D- Annie Philbin
D- Dani Gichner
D- Kat Sellas
M- Ella Panek
M- Morissa Lambert
M- Rachel Leiter
F- Lily Denk
F- Margy Porta
F- Kate Rassin
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Margy Porta, sr., F, Glenbrook North
Referee: Ninos Alexander
Scoring summary
First half
GBN: Porta (Lambert) 3'
GBN: Denk (Panek) 18'
Secondd half
GBN: Panek (Porta) 52'
GBN: Porta (Sellas) 58'
GBS: Gemignani (DeMattia) 61'
GBN: Porta (Panek) 70'
GBS: Langenbach (O'Rourke) 71'