Quinn rescues Lane from St. Ignatius
Sophomore sub scores late goals in 2-1 Chicago Cup stunner
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- Like the rest of her team, Eily Quinn no doubt felt cursed, or at the very least wondered just what final touch was necessary to score a goal against St. Ignatius.
Lane had some breathtaking opportunities, like a seventh-minute open net on a beautiful service that ended with the shot sailing over the bar. Quinn saw the crazy bounces firsthand as she bolted down the right alley and smashed a ball that hit off the post; the rebound went to Grace Dunaway, who had her follow-up get swallowed up by the hosts goalkeeper Emma Thompson.
Like the English teacher she is, Lane coach Michelle Vale came up with a vivid description of the disappointment the Indians felt. “I was rueing that we could not get past the goalie [Thompson],” Vale said. “She was stopping a lot of shots, and I was very impressed by her.”
The situation turned especially dire in the 63rd minute as the Wolfpack strung together a beautiful sequence for the first tally of the game. Star midfielder Ella Richards worked the left side and blasted a ball that bounded off Lane keeper Brianna Love; forward Hailey Laurenson buried the rebound for the 1-0 St. Ignatius lead.
“I looked at our players after that ball went into our net. I saw their heads up, and I saw that they were positive,” Vale said. “I didn’t see them getting down, and that was very uplifting to me as a coach. I knew I could count on them to rally.”
Quinn, a high-energy sophomore, led the charge off the bench.
The forward scored two virtually identical goals three minutes apart in the closing moments as the no. 14 Indians stunned host and no. 5 St. Ignatius 2-1 in the first semifinal of the Chicago Cup on Friday afternoon.
“I wanted it really badly,” Quinn said. “Everybody on the team really wanted it, and if you push until the end as you saw in our results, it can happen.”
The scheduled championship with Mother McAuley was canceled due to the heavy snow and rain on Saturday. With the Chicago Public League tournament set to kick off Monday, Lane and McAuley were declared co-champions.
The Mighty Macs defeated Lane’s rival Young on penalty kicks in the second semifinal.
Quinn scored in the 74th and 77th minutes, taking advantage of her speed and the Indians’ ability to punish the Wolfback backline by serving balls deep into their final third. Faced with the quandary of staying home to stop a breakaway or run off the line to get a touch, Thompson elected to try to get to the ball before Quinn could get her final touch.
“Normally I have a hard time getting around the keepers this year, but I was happy with the outcome today,” Quinn said. “I felt like I knew what the keeper was going to do, and I made my decision.”
Sophomore midfielder Lisa Rios played the first ball that Quinn made a jet burst to get to the ball and glide past Thompson. Senior forward Kayla Dutton assisted the game-winner.
In an exceptionally well-played game between the city’s two best teams, Lane (13-3-1) made the Wolfpack pay. St. Ignatius (12-2-2) suffered its second-consecutive loss but played virtually flawless soccer for much of the game and kept the electric Indians’ attack off-balance enough. Richards was her typical sensational self.
It was a signature win for the Indians in their first year of the tournament.
“I’d never take anything away from the perseverance and strength of St. Ignatius,” Vale said. “They were definitely a fun team to play against. I was very impressed with Richards and [forward] Maura Murphy.”
St. Ignatius held the slight edge in possession. Lane had the more dangerous chances. The Wolfpack had an earlier second half Richards goal disallowed by an offsides call. Lane senior keeper Brianna Love played her best game of the year, recording eight saves.
She made a stellar kick stop off a Richards’ breakaway in the first half that defender Sam Sorich was able to clear off the line. Quinn and Love shared the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match distinction.
“That team is good,” St. Ignatius coach Sean Palacios said. “I felt like we controlled a lot of the game. We didn’t dominate the game. No city game is easy. The only reason we don’t know that is because we are not in the [Public League].
“You put a Chicago school against a Chicago school, and there are no easy games.”
The game underscored the Indians’ greatest strength, their depth and the interchangeability of the personnel. Lane survived despite a rash of recent injuries. Carlye Makuch, a three-year starter able to play in the back or the midfield, suffered ligament damage in her elbow against Lincoln Park on Wednesday. Standout junior defender Zehra Halilic played only the first 10 minutes. Junior midfielder Melissa Garcia, another revelation in her first year on the varsity who was already playing with a protective brace on her knee, went down hard and had to be helped off the field.
“We have a whole team of amazing girls, and each player can come on the field and do what they need to do,” Quinn said. “Each person plays their role. We can have people coming in and out, and we are always going to have the consistency and effort.”
The two keepers were exceptional. Love made some superb stops, snaring another free kick from Richards in the second half. Thompson had seven saves, including a low, tough skidder from Sydney Varga in the first half.
Love had posted four-consecutive shutouts coming into the semifinal. Those were against overmatched teams and not one boasting the firepower of St. Ignatius.
“I think a weakness in my game this year has been on breakaways, and I took this game as a challenge to be able to step up,” Love said. “I am glad I was able to make those saves and rebounds, and my team was able to step in and help me out there.
If anything, Love said, St. Ignatius forced her to elevate her game.
“It’s always fun to be able to make a lot of saves and be able to step up and play soccer rather than sit back in the goal,” she said. “Once we got the game to 1-1, we all felt confident that we could do something. It was definitely stressful, but were play well under pressure.”
Lane simply refused to back down, even after another point-blank miss on an open net when the Indians trailed 1-0 with just over 12 minutes remaining.
“It is hard to fight back from being down like that, especially late in the second half,” Quinn said. “We have the the strength in our team, and we fight for each other. We had a lot of opportunities in the beginning that didn’t fall, but we knew they were going to in the end.”
Vale saw a team come of age.
“I believe we make our own luck,” she said. “I’d never say that shots we missed were unlucky. I’d just say they did not fall in. I told all of my kids they have to keep their heads up and keep going. That is the important thing to realize. If you miss the first time, or the second or third time, you just keep going because eventually you get two in.”
The tournament has grown exponentially since a four-team field in the debut event two years ago. As a four-time defending city champion, Lane brought an extra level. Despite the back-to-back losses, St. Ignatius will be a force going forward.
Thompson was stellar, and the backline caused Lane problems in the final third. With Richards leading the attack and the continued growth of Laurenson and Murphy, this is a team on the rise.
“I don’t think our level dropped in the last eight minutes,” Palacios said. “I think what happened is that we had a couple of mistakes handling the ball in the air. Managing balls in the air at the end of the game is crucial.
“I thought we played with more confidence in the second half. It was just a lack of dealing with balls being serviced. We are going to learn from these games. We were not on against Young on Monday. Today we were, and when we play our game we are a formidable team.”
Starting lineups
Lane
GK: Brianna Love
D: Zehra Halilic
D: Alexis Dempsey
D: Samantha Sorich
D: Alana Coffman
MF: Camaron Niforos
MF: Melissa Garcia
MF: Johanna Bozic
MF: Sydney Varga
F: Grace Dunaway
F: Kayla Dutton
St. Ignatius
GK: Emma Thompson
D: Rachel Ryan
D: Keylan West
D: Kate Abdo
MF: Shay Reifert
MF: Grace Campbell
MF: Adrian Williams
MF: Ella Richards
MF: Maddie Flynn
F: Maura Murphy
F: Hailey Laurenson
Chicagoland Soccer co-MVPs of the Match: Eily Quinn, so., F, Lane
Brianna Love, sr., GK, Lane
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
St. Ignatius: Hailey Laurenson (Ella Richards), 63rd minute
Lane: Eily Quinn (Lisa Rios), 74th minute
Lane—Quinn (Kayla Dutton), 77th minute
Sophomore sub scores late goals in 2-1 Chicago Cup stunner
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- Like the rest of her team, Eily Quinn no doubt felt cursed, or at the very least wondered just what final touch was necessary to score a goal against St. Ignatius.
Lane had some breathtaking opportunities, like a seventh-minute open net on a beautiful service that ended with the shot sailing over the bar. Quinn saw the crazy bounces firsthand as she bolted down the right alley and smashed a ball that hit off the post; the rebound went to Grace Dunaway, who had her follow-up get swallowed up by the hosts goalkeeper Emma Thompson.
Like the English teacher she is, Lane coach Michelle Vale came up with a vivid description of the disappointment the Indians felt. “I was rueing that we could not get past the goalie [Thompson],” Vale said. “She was stopping a lot of shots, and I was very impressed by her.”
The situation turned especially dire in the 63rd minute as the Wolfpack strung together a beautiful sequence for the first tally of the game. Star midfielder Ella Richards worked the left side and blasted a ball that bounded off Lane keeper Brianna Love; forward Hailey Laurenson buried the rebound for the 1-0 St. Ignatius lead.
“I looked at our players after that ball went into our net. I saw their heads up, and I saw that they were positive,” Vale said. “I didn’t see them getting down, and that was very uplifting to me as a coach. I knew I could count on them to rally.”
Quinn, a high-energy sophomore, led the charge off the bench.
The forward scored two virtually identical goals three minutes apart in the closing moments as the no. 14 Indians stunned host and no. 5 St. Ignatius 2-1 in the first semifinal of the Chicago Cup on Friday afternoon.
“I wanted it really badly,” Quinn said. “Everybody on the team really wanted it, and if you push until the end as you saw in our results, it can happen.”
The scheduled championship with Mother McAuley was canceled due to the heavy snow and rain on Saturday. With the Chicago Public League tournament set to kick off Monday, Lane and McAuley were declared co-champions.
The Mighty Macs defeated Lane’s rival Young on penalty kicks in the second semifinal.
Quinn scored in the 74th and 77th minutes, taking advantage of her speed and the Indians’ ability to punish the Wolfback backline by serving balls deep into their final third. Faced with the quandary of staying home to stop a breakaway or run off the line to get a touch, Thompson elected to try to get to the ball before Quinn could get her final touch.
“Normally I have a hard time getting around the keepers this year, but I was happy with the outcome today,” Quinn said. “I felt like I knew what the keeper was going to do, and I made my decision.”
Sophomore midfielder Lisa Rios played the first ball that Quinn made a jet burst to get to the ball and glide past Thompson. Senior forward Kayla Dutton assisted the game-winner.
In an exceptionally well-played game between the city’s two best teams, Lane (13-3-1) made the Wolfpack pay. St. Ignatius (12-2-2) suffered its second-consecutive loss but played virtually flawless soccer for much of the game and kept the electric Indians’ attack off-balance enough. Richards was her typical sensational self.
It was a signature win for the Indians in their first year of the tournament.
“I’d never take anything away from the perseverance and strength of St. Ignatius,” Vale said. “They were definitely a fun team to play against. I was very impressed with Richards and [forward] Maura Murphy.”
St. Ignatius held the slight edge in possession. Lane had the more dangerous chances. The Wolfpack had an earlier second half Richards goal disallowed by an offsides call. Lane senior keeper Brianna Love played her best game of the year, recording eight saves.
She made a stellar kick stop off a Richards’ breakaway in the first half that defender Sam Sorich was able to clear off the line. Quinn and Love shared the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match distinction.
“That team is good,” St. Ignatius coach Sean Palacios said. “I felt like we controlled a lot of the game. We didn’t dominate the game. No city game is easy. The only reason we don’t know that is because we are not in the [Public League].
“You put a Chicago school against a Chicago school, and there are no easy games.”
The game underscored the Indians’ greatest strength, their depth and the interchangeability of the personnel. Lane survived despite a rash of recent injuries. Carlye Makuch, a three-year starter able to play in the back or the midfield, suffered ligament damage in her elbow against Lincoln Park on Wednesday. Standout junior defender Zehra Halilic played only the first 10 minutes. Junior midfielder Melissa Garcia, another revelation in her first year on the varsity who was already playing with a protective brace on her knee, went down hard and had to be helped off the field.
“We have a whole team of amazing girls, and each player can come on the field and do what they need to do,” Quinn said. “Each person plays their role. We can have people coming in and out, and we are always going to have the consistency and effort.”
The two keepers were exceptional. Love made some superb stops, snaring another free kick from Richards in the second half. Thompson had seven saves, including a low, tough skidder from Sydney Varga in the first half.
Love had posted four-consecutive shutouts coming into the semifinal. Those were against overmatched teams and not one boasting the firepower of St. Ignatius.
“I think a weakness in my game this year has been on breakaways, and I took this game as a challenge to be able to step up,” Love said. “I am glad I was able to make those saves and rebounds, and my team was able to step in and help me out there.
If anything, Love said, St. Ignatius forced her to elevate her game.
“It’s always fun to be able to make a lot of saves and be able to step up and play soccer rather than sit back in the goal,” she said. “Once we got the game to 1-1, we all felt confident that we could do something. It was definitely stressful, but were play well under pressure.”
Lane simply refused to back down, even after another point-blank miss on an open net when the Indians trailed 1-0 with just over 12 minutes remaining.
“It is hard to fight back from being down like that, especially late in the second half,” Quinn said. “We have the the strength in our team, and we fight for each other. We had a lot of opportunities in the beginning that didn’t fall, but we knew they were going to in the end.”
Vale saw a team come of age.
“I believe we make our own luck,” she said. “I’d never say that shots we missed were unlucky. I’d just say they did not fall in. I told all of my kids they have to keep their heads up and keep going. That is the important thing to realize. If you miss the first time, or the second or third time, you just keep going because eventually you get two in.”
The tournament has grown exponentially since a four-team field in the debut event two years ago. As a four-time defending city champion, Lane brought an extra level. Despite the back-to-back losses, St. Ignatius will be a force going forward.
Thompson was stellar, and the backline caused Lane problems in the final third. With Richards leading the attack and the continued growth of Laurenson and Murphy, this is a team on the rise.
“I don’t think our level dropped in the last eight minutes,” Palacios said. “I think what happened is that we had a couple of mistakes handling the ball in the air. Managing balls in the air at the end of the game is crucial.
“I thought we played with more confidence in the second half. It was just a lack of dealing with balls being serviced. We are going to learn from these games. We were not on against Young on Monday. Today we were, and when we play our game we are a formidable team.”
Starting lineups
Lane
GK: Brianna Love
D: Zehra Halilic
D: Alexis Dempsey
D: Samantha Sorich
D: Alana Coffman
MF: Camaron Niforos
MF: Melissa Garcia
MF: Johanna Bozic
MF: Sydney Varga
F: Grace Dunaway
F: Kayla Dutton
St. Ignatius
GK: Emma Thompson
D: Rachel Ryan
D: Keylan West
D: Kate Abdo
MF: Shay Reifert
MF: Grace Campbell
MF: Adrian Williams
MF: Ella Richards
MF: Maddie Flynn
F: Maura Murphy
F: Hailey Laurenson
Chicagoland Soccer co-MVPs of the Match: Eily Quinn, so., F, Lane
Brianna Love, sr., GK, Lane
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
St. Ignatius: Hailey Laurenson (Ella Richards), 63rd minute
Lane: Eily Quinn (Lisa Rios), 74th minute
Lane—Quinn (Kayla Dutton), 77th minute