Jones breaks through in OT
Eagles advance to CPL semifinals with 1-0 win over Lincoln Park
By Hunter Tickel
CHICAGO -- The Martina Bianchi-to-Avery Kaplan connection came through on the game-winning sequence in Jones 1-0 overtime win over Lincoln Park on Saturday at Lane Stadium.
The Chicago Public League playoffs quarterfinal win earned the winners a match against top-seed Lane at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Brooks High School. It’s a rematch of the 2017 city title game.
Jones’ roster showed its skill in the pressure-packed victory.
“It’s like most goals -- you try to run through and get whatever touch you can,” Kaplan said. “I guess it kind of just worked out. I got a touch on it.
“We have a lot of depth on this team, so (opponents) never know what (they are) going to get. We have a lot of people who can take long throw-ins, and people that are versatile in the air.”
Bianchi, a sophomore midfielder, and Kaplan a junior forward, were knocking on the door for the majority of the second half, specifically on set pieces.
It wasn’t until the second minute of overtime when Bianchi picked up the ball for a throw-in on the left side and quickly found Kaplan down the line. Once it skipped past the last defender, she touched it past the keeper for the win.
“At first I thought the (defender) was going to stop it, but it went through her legs,” said Bianchi, who earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors. “Avery, I have a lot of trust in. When she had it at her feet, I knew it was going to go in. When I saw everyone cheering it was a relief.”
That ease came after the game lent itself to a case of déjà vu. The teams played to a scoreless draw on April 18.
“During the mid-stretch of the season, that is the type of game that we would lose,” said Jones coach Derek Bylsma said. “We had a four- or five-game stretch where we would have lost that game. This is the type of team that knows how to win a game like that.”
“Maybe it’s a local rivalry. Maybe it’s we are evenly matched,” said Lincoln Park coach Geoffrey Ruttenberg of the effort of his team and the nature of games at this time of the year. “Your season is pretty much over. We weren’t ready to be done.
“Now, we have a couple friendlies and then state.”
There were sparse chances for both teams in the first half, but there was one that was nearly finished in the 21st minute. Jones (12-5-3) switched the point of the attack to the right side where freshman midfielder Laura Rios lofted a bouncing ball behind the defense that Kaplan ran onto and smacked off the far post.
Junior forward Lauren Nichols was open in the box for the rebound but hit it well over the bar.
In the second half, Jones look destined to score.
One area where Lincoln Park struggled was to defend in the air on long throw-ins to Bianchi.
“She is one of the most talented people I have met in the air,” Kaplan said of her teammate. “She really knows how to get her body in front of other people and how to use to her head very well, specifically. She is perfect at getting that ball in, and she is a physical player so she is going to get that ball every time.”
A common theme throughout the half was Bianchi winning flicker headers in the box that led to dangerous chances that Jones couldn’t convert. The first chance came in the 47th minute.
“That’s kind of our thing,” Bianchi said. “We have a lot of plays where we are better in the air when we are closer to the goal. Winning a lot of these balls and getting them to Avery, even though we missed, was really good.”
Eleven minutes later, freshman midfielder Carmen Marshall found freshman midfielder Parker Ellis who played a ball to the back post. Lincoln Park freshman defender Aline Llano whiffed on the play, but the Lions escaped when Bianchi hit her point-blank shot at keeper Sarah Fichter.
In the 61st minute, sophomore midfielder Natalie Loos’ long throw was flicked in the six-yard box by Bianchi, but Kaplan couldn’t put a shot on frame.
Jones last quality effort in regulation came with three minutes left. Loos’ flick header got past the keeper, but sophomore forward Yadany Martinez couldn’t redirect it.
Credit Lincoln Park (11-5-3), which shut out Jones across 80 minutes despite being on their back heels almost the entire second half.
“I think we did pretty good as a team,” midfielder Rebecca Mercado said. “We played really hard, but it was a hot day. I think we gave it our all. I thought I gave it my all. I thought maybe I could have crossed it more and helped out more by getting it out to more players. It’s disappointing losing in overtime, but getting there is pretty impressive.”
They also played like a veteran team, despite having 13 freshmen on the roster. That, coupled with the program playing the Premier Division the past three years, has the Lions in a solid position. This was their first season back to the quarterfinals since 2015, according to Ruttenberg.
Jones is ready to forge ahead.
“It feels great, Lincoln Park is really good,” Bianchi said. “It was a really big accomplishment for them playing (82) minutes. We had a lot of shots.
“We were doing really well as a team. We were so close. If we had a couple more chances we could have got it during (regulation).”
Starting lineups
Lincoln Park
GK: Sarah Fichter
D: Dilys Johnson
D: Arysa Lescallet
D: Rita Sanabria
M: Francesca Milito
M: Lexi Moser
M: Rebecca Mercado
M: Madi Moser
M: Idalis Cardenas
F: Ellie Basich
F: Pippa Watts
Jones
GK: Devin Barry
D: Gabriella Baxtrom
D: Catherine Lorden
D: Laura Rios
D: Izzy Kamba
M: Natalie Loos
M: Martina Bianchi
M: Audrey Bruce
M: Sophia Jennerjahn
F: Gillian Miller
F: Avery Kaplan
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Martina Bianchi, so., M, Jones
Scoring summary
J 0 0 1 -- 1
LP 0 0 0 -- 0
Overtime
J: Kaplan (Bianchi) 82nd minute
Eagles advance to CPL semifinals with 1-0 win over Lincoln Park
By Hunter Tickel
CHICAGO -- The Martina Bianchi-to-Avery Kaplan connection came through on the game-winning sequence in Jones 1-0 overtime win over Lincoln Park on Saturday at Lane Stadium.
The Chicago Public League playoffs quarterfinal win earned the winners a match against top-seed Lane at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Brooks High School. It’s a rematch of the 2017 city title game.
Jones’ roster showed its skill in the pressure-packed victory.
“It’s like most goals -- you try to run through and get whatever touch you can,” Kaplan said. “I guess it kind of just worked out. I got a touch on it.
“We have a lot of depth on this team, so (opponents) never know what (they are) going to get. We have a lot of people who can take long throw-ins, and people that are versatile in the air.”
Bianchi, a sophomore midfielder, and Kaplan a junior forward, were knocking on the door for the majority of the second half, specifically on set pieces.
It wasn’t until the second minute of overtime when Bianchi picked up the ball for a throw-in on the left side and quickly found Kaplan down the line. Once it skipped past the last defender, she touched it past the keeper for the win.
“At first I thought the (defender) was going to stop it, but it went through her legs,” said Bianchi, who earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors. “Avery, I have a lot of trust in. When she had it at her feet, I knew it was going to go in. When I saw everyone cheering it was a relief.”
That ease came after the game lent itself to a case of déjà vu. The teams played to a scoreless draw on April 18.
“During the mid-stretch of the season, that is the type of game that we would lose,” said Jones coach Derek Bylsma said. “We had a four- or five-game stretch where we would have lost that game. This is the type of team that knows how to win a game like that.”
“Maybe it’s a local rivalry. Maybe it’s we are evenly matched,” said Lincoln Park coach Geoffrey Ruttenberg of the effort of his team and the nature of games at this time of the year. “Your season is pretty much over. We weren’t ready to be done.
“Now, we have a couple friendlies and then state.”
There were sparse chances for both teams in the first half, but there was one that was nearly finished in the 21st minute. Jones (12-5-3) switched the point of the attack to the right side where freshman midfielder Laura Rios lofted a bouncing ball behind the defense that Kaplan ran onto and smacked off the far post.
Junior forward Lauren Nichols was open in the box for the rebound but hit it well over the bar.
In the second half, Jones look destined to score.
One area where Lincoln Park struggled was to defend in the air on long throw-ins to Bianchi.
“She is one of the most talented people I have met in the air,” Kaplan said of her teammate. “She really knows how to get her body in front of other people and how to use to her head very well, specifically. She is perfect at getting that ball in, and she is a physical player so she is going to get that ball every time.”
A common theme throughout the half was Bianchi winning flicker headers in the box that led to dangerous chances that Jones couldn’t convert. The first chance came in the 47th minute.
“That’s kind of our thing,” Bianchi said. “We have a lot of plays where we are better in the air when we are closer to the goal. Winning a lot of these balls and getting them to Avery, even though we missed, was really good.”
Eleven minutes later, freshman midfielder Carmen Marshall found freshman midfielder Parker Ellis who played a ball to the back post. Lincoln Park freshman defender Aline Llano whiffed on the play, but the Lions escaped when Bianchi hit her point-blank shot at keeper Sarah Fichter.
In the 61st minute, sophomore midfielder Natalie Loos’ long throw was flicked in the six-yard box by Bianchi, but Kaplan couldn’t put a shot on frame.
Jones last quality effort in regulation came with three minutes left. Loos’ flick header got past the keeper, but sophomore forward Yadany Martinez couldn’t redirect it.
Credit Lincoln Park (11-5-3), which shut out Jones across 80 minutes despite being on their back heels almost the entire second half.
“I think we did pretty good as a team,” midfielder Rebecca Mercado said. “We played really hard, but it was a hot day. I think we gave it our all. I thought I gave it my all. I thought maybe I could have crossed it more and helped out more by getting it out to more players. It’s disappointing losing in overtime, but getting there is pretty impressive.”
They also played like a veteran team, despite having 13 freshmen on the roster. That, coupled with the program playing the Premier Division the past three years, has the Lions in a solid position. This was their first season back to the quarterfinals since 2015, according to Ruttenberg.
Jones is ready to forge ahead.
“It feels great, Lincoln Park is really good,” Bianchi said. “It was a really big accomplishment for them playing (82) minutes. We had a lot of shots.
“We were doing really well as a team. We were so close. If we had a couple more chances we could have got it during (regulation).”
Starting lineups
Lincoln Park
GK: Sarah Fichter
D: Dilys Johnson
D: Arysa Lescallet
D: Rita Sanabria
M: Francesca Milito
M: Lexi Moser
M: Rebecca Mercado
M: Madi Moser
M: Idalis Cardenas
F: Ellie Basich
F: Pippa Watts
Jones
GK: Devin Barry
D: Gabriella Baxtrom
D: Catherine Lorden
D: Laura Rios
D: Izzy Kamba
M: Natalie Loos
M: Martina Bianchi
M: Audrey Bruce
M: Sophia Jennerjahn
F: Gillian Miller
F: Avery Kaplan
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Martina Bianchi, so., M, Jones
Scoring summary
J 0 0 1 -- 1
LP 0 0 0 -- 0
Overtime
J: Kaplan (Bianchi) 82nd minute