New Trier takes down game Lane
Trevians prevail 1-0 on Weaver's 2nd half score
By Mike Garofola
NORTHFIELD -- Lane's unbeaten streak came to an end Saturday afternoon at Robert Naughton Field on the first day of the Lou Malnati's Deep Dish Classic.
The Indians (7-1-1) battled stoically with tourney host New Trier until succumbing to a stunning strike near the hour from Emma Weaver that gave the Trevians a hard-fought 1-0 victory.
"It's great to have a player like Emma," said teammate Lily Conley with a big smile while standing alongside the junior.
"Our goal is to win our own tournament this season, so this was a great way to start things out," added Weaver.
The Trevians (5-0-5) will host Stevenson on Monday as group play continues. Lane meets St. Francis at its soccer park on the Northwest Side of Chicago that same night.
"It always hurts when you lose, especially when it's the first loss of the season, but one of reasons we're in this tournament is to have the experience of playing teams outside of the Public League and to see how we measure up to really strong suburban teams, such as New Trier," offered Lane senior Grace Dunaway.
The Indians came into their tourney opener on the heels of back-to-back dominating performances in which the outscored Northside and Taft by a combined 11-0 goal differential to improve to 6-0-0 in the Chicago Public League Premier Division.
"I don't really feel as if teams in the city get very much respect, so I think part of being in this tournament is to show people we can play with some of the best teams around. From our effort today, we did just that," added Dunaway.
After riding a wave of success, the Trevians fresh off consecutive Class 3A second place state finishes and five-straight finals appearances, came into this season with a roster filled with plenty of fresh faces and uncertainty.
"During those three straight-state titles (2014-2016) and the last two seasons, we would usually have 46-48 years of experience on our varsity roster," said Trevians manager Jim Burnside. "This year, it's something like 18.
"We were looking at our schedule, and we're already one-third through our season. While we're still be a work in progress, I can say this group continues to work hard in order to get better."
It was clear from the opening whistle the home side would try its best to put the ball onto the foot of one of the state's best players in Weaver. When it did, the Trevians attack ran on pure octane.
The all-action Weaver ran the show with confidence and creativity. What the Trevians also did was put plenty of pressure on their opponents wherever and whenever they were in possession.
"We might be a really young team, but one of the things are coaching staff has been stressing is to (do) the little things as best as we can, and one of those is team defense, and pressuring the ball," said Conley.
Conley was one of three starters for the game who took the field in the Trevians first 11 for its championship match last June with Barrington.
"We lost some great players, so to fill those shoes is really difficult," she said. "But the younger players are beginning to play with more confidence with each game, so I know we'll continue to get better as the season goes on."
Lane were rarely an attacking threat during the first 20 minutes. The Trevians kept the Indians' middle-of-the-park stars, Camaron Niforos and Melissa Garcia, tightly marked. So it was their powers of containment that kept the four-time reigning city champs in this contest.
The backline unit of Alana Coffman, Zehra Halilic, Carlye Makuch and Julie Medina were stingy, organized and stubborn, while the squad's wonderful keeper Brianna Love proved sharp when called upon.
The aforementioned Dunaway began to single-handedly pry open the Trevians with her trickery and enterprising runs.
When the homeside gave away the ball in its own end, the Indians forward was all too happy to collect the loose ball and fire a left-footed
blast that forced keeper Courtney Charchut to turn it around the post for a corner.
Dunaway's effort in the 30th minute would signal a shift in confidence for the Indians, who enjoyed most of the play right up until the intermission. It was highlighted when Eily Quinn was sent through but was stopped by Charcut.
"Courtney did a wonderful job for us," said a proud Burnside. "She kept us in the game with some terrific work, including that save in the first half (on Quinn) when she parried the ball away.
Charcut, who was the back-up keeper to Meghan Dwyer on the 2018 state team, looked and played like a veteran with her command in the box, good vision, and fearless challenges when called into action.
"I've seen parts of games so far this season," said Charchut, a junior. "Even with that, I was a little nervous out there today, but my teammates in the back made it easy for me to settle in and do my job."
It was mostly one-way traffic in the direction of the Trevians after the break. The homeside created a quartet of deep throws, one of which spilled out to Weaver. Her 16-yard attempt was saved nicely by Love.
Weaver went close at 46 minutes, then again when a nice win by Conley saw the senior connect with Fallon Warshauer, whose quick touch gave Weaver another chance.
The work rate of Conley, Weaver and Ava Shah would continue to slow their midfield counterparts, as did the effort from Mia Sedgewick and Naya Rhee, who combined to keep the Indians attack from finding any rhythum.
"I thought we played with them the entire first half, but we were chasing the game more after the break because they played quick, and had more of the ball," said Dunaway, who was named Chicagoland Soccer's co-MVP of the Match along with Emma Weaver.
New Trier finally broke the Indians stubborn resistence as the hour grew near with Weaver's brilliant solo effort. She dribbled out of trouble and unloaded a 16-yard cracker past the outstretched gloves of an airborne Love.
"We lost a lot of goals from our 2018 team (nearly 72%)," said Burnside. "So to have a player like Emma, who can put them in from just about anywhere and at anytime, is a blessing."
With the dynamic duo of Niforos and Garcia on the bench, Lane nearly found the equalizer on a free kick from Coffman at 59 minutes.
The senior sent a well-aimed angled serve from the far touchline to the back post where a Medina header would go just wide.
Later Charchut came far off her line without hesitation in order to stop the charge of Quinn and Niforos, who came close to producing a 1-v.-1 with the Trevians keeper.
New Trier's Sedgewick went wide at 73 minutes, then hit a rebound cannon wide after Heidi Bianucci's free kick drive from distance rattled the bar.
The final three minutes kept both sides on edge. Lane's Dunaway, Alexis Dempsey and Quinn all had a chance to equalize, but New Trier held them at bay.
"It was a good win for us, and we showed we can play quality soccer in the second half, but we can be a lot better," said Weaver, who was quick to praise teammates Shah and Warshauer for their efforts.
While Weaver's goal was all that seperated these two fine clubs, it still left Dunaway with a half-glass-full feeling afterwards.
"We had a few moments when we fell apart in the second half which led to the loss which rarely feels very good," said Dunaway. "But as I said before, we all know (now) we can play with the best, and that's something we'll take going forward and all throughout this coming week."
Starting lineups
Lane (4-4-2)
G- Brianna Love
D- Zehra Halilic
D- Alana Coffman
D- Carlye Makuch
D- Julie Medina
M- Sydney Varga
M- Melissa Garcia
M- Camaron Niforos
M- Lisa Rios
F- Kayla Dutton
F- Grace Dunaway
New Trier (4-5-1)
G- Courtney Charchut
D- Heidi Bianucci
D- Julia Goldish
D- Josie Crumley
D- Ava Shah
M- Kate Sawdey
M- Maggie Gifford
M- Emma Weaver
M- Lily Conley
M- Mia Sedgewick
F- Fallon Warshauer
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match: Grace Dunaway, sr., F, Lane
Emma Weaver, jr., MF/F, New Trier
Referee: Lukasz Zielinski
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
New Trier: Weaver 59'
Trevians prevail 1-0 on Weaver's 2nd half score
By Mike Garofola
NORTHFIELD -- Lane's unbeaten streak came to an end Saturday afternoon at Robert Naughton Field on the first day of the Lou Malnati's Deep Dish Classic.
The Indians (7-1-1) battled stoically with tourney host New Trier until succumbing to a stunning strike near the hour from Emma Weaver that gave the Trevians a hard-fought 1-0 victory.
"It's great to have a player like Emma," said teammate Lily Conley with a big smile while standing alongside the junior.
"Our goal is to win our own tournament this season, so this was a great way to start things out," added Weaver.
The Trevians (5-0-5) will host Stevenson on Monday as group play continues. Lane meets St. Francis at its soccer park on the Northwest Side of Chicago that same night.
"It always hurts when you lose, especially when it's the first loss of the season, but one of reasons we're in this tournament is to have the experience of playing teams outside of the Public League and to see how we measure up to really strong suburban teams, such as New Trier," offered Lane senior Grace Dunaway.
The Indians came into their tourney opener on the heels of back-to-back dominating performances in which the outscored Northside and Taft by a combined 11-0 goal differential to improve to 6-0-0 in the Chicago Public League Premier Division.
"I don't really feel as if teams in the city get very much respect, so I think part of being in this tournament is to show people we can play with some of the best teams around. From our effort today, we did just that," added Dunaway.
After riding a wave of success, the Trevians fresh off consecutive Class 3A second place state finishes and five-straight finals appearances, came into this season with a roster filled with plenty of fresh faces and uncertainty.
"During those three straight-state titles (2014-2016) and the last two seasons, we would usually have 46-48 years of experience on our varsity roster," said Trevians manager Jim Burnside. "This year, it's something like 18.
"We were looking at our schedule, and we're already one-third through our season. While we're still be a work in progress, I can say this group continues to work hard in order to get better."
It was clear from the opening whistle the home side would try its best to put the ball onto the foot of one of the state's best players in Weaver. When it did, the Trevians attack ran on pure octane.
The all-action Weaver ran the show with confidence and creativity. What the Trevians also did was put plenty of pressure on their opponents wherever and whenever they were in possession.
"We might be a really young team, but one of the things are coaching staff has been stressing is to (do) the little things as best as we can, and one of those is team defense, and pressuring the ball," said Conley.
Conley was one of three starters for the game who took the field in the Trevians first 11 for its championship match last June with Barrington.
"We lost some great players, so to fill those shoes is really difficult," she said. "But the younger players are beginning to play with more confidence with each game, so I know we'll continue to get better as the season goes on."
Lane were rarely an attacking threat during the first 20 minutes. The Trevians kept the Indians' middle-of-the-park stars, Camaron Niforos and Melissa Garcia, tightly marked. So it was their powers of containment that kept the four-time reigning city champs in this contest.
The backline unit of Alana Coffman, Zehra Halilic, Carlye Makuch and Julie Medina were stingy, organized and stubborn, while the squad's wonderful keeper Brianna Love proved sharp when called upon.
The aforementioned Dunaway began to single-handedly pry open the Trevians with her trickery and enterprising runs.
When the homeside gave away the ball in its own end, the Indians forward was all too happy to collect the loose ball and fire a left-footed
blast that forced keeper Courtney Charchut to turn it around the post for a corner.
Dunaway's effort in the 30th minute would signal a shift in confidence for the Indians, who enjoyed most of the play right up until the intermission. It was highlighted when Eily Quinn was sent through but was stopped by Charcut.
"Courtney did a wonderful job for us," said a proud Burnside. "She kept us in the game with some terrific work, including that save in the first half (on Quinn) when she parried the ball away.
Charcut, who was the back-up keeper to Meghan Dwyer on the 2018 state team, looked and played like a veteran with her command in the box, good vision, and fearless challenges when called into action.
"I've seen parts of games so far this season," said Charchut, a junior. "Even with that, I was a little nervous out there today, but my teammates in the back made it easy for me to settle in and do my job."
It was mostly one-way traffic in the direction of the Trevians after the break. The homeside created a quartet of deep throws, one of which spilled out to Weaver. Her 16-yard attempt was saved nicely by Love.
Weaver went close at 46 minutes, then again when a nice win by Conley saw the senior connect with Fallon Warshauer, whose quick touch gave Weaver another chance.
The work rate of Conley, Weaver and Ava Shah would continue to slow their midfield counterparts, as did the effort from Mia Sedgewick and Naya Rhee, who combined to keep the Indians attack from finding any rhythum.
"I thought we played with them the entire first half, but we were chasing the game more after the break because they played quick, and had more of the ball," said Dunaway, who was named Chicagoland Soccer's co-MVP of the Match along with Emma Weaver.
New Trier finally broke the Indians stubborn resistence as the hour grew near with Weaver's brilliant solo effort. She dribbled out of trouble and unloaded a 16-yard cracker past the outstretched gloves of an airborne Love.
"We lost a lot of goals from our 2018 team (nearly 72%)," said Burnside. "So to have a player like Emma, who can put them in from just about anywhere and at anytime, is a blessing."
With the dynamic duo of Niforos and Garcia on the bench, Lane nearly found the equalizer on a free kick from Coffman at 59 minutes.
The senior sent a well-aimed angled serve from the far touchline to the back post where a Medina header would go just wide.
Later Charchut came far off her line without hesitation in order to stop the charge of Quinn and Niforos, who came close to producing a 1-v.-1 with the Trevians keeper.
New Trier's Sedgewick went wide at 73 minutes, then hit a rebound cannon wide after Heidi Bianucci's free kick drive from distance rattled the bar.
The final three minutes kept both sides on edge. Lane's Dunaway, Alexis Dempsey and Quinn all had a chance to equalize, but New Trier held them at bay.
"It was a good win for us, and we showed we can play quality soccer in the second half, but we can be a lot better," said Weaver, who was quick to praise teammates Shah and Warshauer for their efforts.
While Weaver's goal was all that seperated these two fine clubs, it still left Dunaway with a half-glass-full feeling afterwards.
"We had a few moments when we fell apart in the second half which led to the loss which rarely feels very good," said Dunaway. "But as I said before, we all know (now) we can play with the best, and that's something we'll take going forward and all throughout this coming week."
Starting lineups
Lane (4-4-2)
G- Brianna Love
D- Zehra Halilic
D- Alana Coffman
D- Carlye Makuch
D- Julie Medina
M- Sydney Varga
M- Melissa Garcia
M- Camaron Niforos
M- Lisa Rios
F- Kayla Dutton
F- Grace Dunaway
New Trier (4-5-1)
G- Courtney Charchut
D- Heidi Bianucci
D- Julia Goldish
D- Josie Crumley
D- Ava Shah
M- Kate Sawdey
M- Maggie Gifford
M- Emma Weaver
M- Lily Conley
M- Mia Sedgewick
F- Fallon Warshauer
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match: Grace Dunaway, sr., F, Lane
Emma Weaver, jr., MF/F, New Trier
Referee: Lukasz Zielinski
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
New Trier: Weaver 59'