Lemont does about face against Shepard
Indians win 1st of season behind sophomore Knutte’s hat-trick
By Steve Millar
CRESTWOOD – For Lemont, Thursday’s South Suburban Conference opener against Shepard represented a chance to start over after a tough first two games of the season.
The Indians are the reigning South Suburban Conference Blue Division champions, and that’s not something they intend to let go without a fight.
“I told the girls that the season really starts today with conference,” Lemont coach Rick Prangen said. “We want to defend our conference title. We have a certain amount of pride in that and these girls, especially the seniors, they want to carry on that tradition.”
Thursday was a good start. Sophomore forward Suzie Knutte recorded a hat-trick and the Indians rolled to a 4-0 win over Shepard at the Crestwood Club Soccer Field.
After falling 7-0 to Sandburg and 3-0 to Lincoln-Way West in the first two games, Lemont’s senior leaders looked to rally the Indians (1-2-0, 1-0-0.
“We needed to reiterate to the girls that this is our conference,” senior defender Trinity Hatton said. “We don’t lose. If we do, it’s a big shame on us seniors. We have to bring the team up as a whole.”
Knutte scored the first goal of her high school career – and the first goal for Lemont this season – just 87 seconds into the game.
Natalia Zalinski made a strong run down the right side of the field and played a cross toward the middle of the box. Knutte was there in front of the net to slam it home.
“After going 160 minutes without really being dangerous, getting a goal right away was very nice,” Prangen said. “I give our girls credit for that.”
Knutte said getting the opening goal so fast helped the Indians settle down.
“I was feeling pretty nervous coming here on the bus,” she said. “When we got that first goal it really felt good, and our momentum just built from there.”
Knutte made it 2-0 in the 12th minute as she got to the front of the net again, took a pass from Victoria Silvar and finished.
The Indians put nine shots on goal in the first half, but settled for the 2-0 lead going into halftime. Goalkeeper Justyna Staszel made seven of her eight saves in the opening 40 minutes to keep Shepard (0-1-1, 0-1-1) in the match.
“I give the girls credit for simplifying the game and trying to get the ball forward,” Prangen said. “The first two games we weren’t in front of goal too much. That showed because we had chances galore and probably should have made it 3-0 or 4-0 in the first half.
“It was hard to make adjustments to the dimensions of this field and how small it is. There’s nowhere to run, nowhere to play into. We had a freshman and two sophomores starting up-top for us, so that’s pretty young. I’d like to finish more, but we controlled most of the game and were pretty comfortable.”
Shepard stayed within 2-0 through the first 20 minutes of the second half, but Knutte completed her hat trick in the 61st minute, bodying in a cross from Silvar.
Knutte added an assist, dishing off to freshman Emma Amberg for a goal in the 68th minute to close the scoring.
Knutte did not play against Sandburg and was limited against Lincoln-Way West due to a hamstring injury, but she was ready to go Thursday.
“I was super hyped to get out here and play,” she said. “It was really nice, especially after not playing at all last year. This was my first conference game, finally, so it was really exciting to get those three goals and then assisting to my friend Emma.”
Silvar was happy to see the Indians rebound from the two losses.
“These conference games mean a lot to us,” she said. We have a history with Lemont High School, and we want to maintain that and keep our legacy going. Losing is never good, but you always want to bounce back and keep your head up.”
Hatton said the opening 7-0 loss to Sandburg was stunning for the Indians veterans and provided added motivation.
“We’ve never had that bad of a loss,” she said. “It really took a toll on me. I was like, ‘This is my team.’ I’m a defender. I needed to be the first one to take accountability for that loss. I told the team we just needed to work hard, and we had to keep building that bond.
“We’re trying to start new traditions because a lot of them are taken away from us right now, like we don’t get locker rooms or our shelters. We’re trying to bring in new things to make the team like a family. It’s coming along.”
Hatton, Gabby Koziel and Nicole Bobcik turned in a dominant performance on the backline, holding Shepard to two shots on goal. Michelle Nosal stopped both of those to record the shutout.
Senior midfielder Jasmine Iturbe generated the bulk of the offensive pressure for Shepard. She had both of the Astros’ shots on goal, a bouncer from 35 yards in the first half and a looping free kick from 45 yards in the second half that required Nosal to make a tricky save.
“I think this was a great team for us to play against,” Shepard coach Susan Liva said. “I think we learned a lot from them as far as being aggressive and playing hard. This shows the girls like, ‘Hey, you’re on varsity now. You’ve got to step it up.’
“I’m happy with the effort we put in at the end of the game.”
Shepard opened the season with a 2-2 tie against Eisenhower on Wednesday and played for the second-consecutive night.
Liva, in her first season as the Astros’ head coach, is optimistic about the rest of the season.
“What I’ve liked is their energy and how connected they are as people with each other,” she said. “They are super positive. They want to get better, and they want to be a great team.
“We can use this loss as fuel to get that fire under their butts and get them moving. I think we’re going to have a great season. We’ve just got to get that fire going.”
Starting lineups
Lemont
GK – Michelle Nosal
D – Gabby Koziel
D – Nicole Bobcik
D – Trinity Hatton
MF – Paige Bingen
MF – Nina Pavlica
MF – Kailey Wasyliw
MF – Victoria Silvar
F – Suzie Knutte
F – Emma Amberg
F – Natalia Zalinski
Shepard
GK - Justyna Staszel
D - Elena Popovic
D - Gracie Kozeluh
D - Elizabeth Lappano
D - Caitlin Tymm
MF - Olivia Wasag
MF - Jasmine Iturbe
MF - Megan Kempczynski
MF - Leah Rizzo
F - Gabby Taylor
F - Natalie Nowak
Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match: Suzie Knutte, so. F, Lemont
Scoring summary
First half
Lemont – Knutte (Zalinski), 2nd minute
Lemont – Knutte (Silvar), 12th minute
Second half
Lemont – Knutte (Silvar), 61st minute
Lemont – Amberg (Knutte), 68th minute
Indians win 1st of season behind sophomore Knutte’s hat-trick
By Steve Millar
CRESTWOOD – For Lemont, Thursday’s South Suburban Conference opener against Shepard represented a chance to start over after a tough first two games of the season.
The Indians are the reigning South Suburban Conference Blue Division champions, and that’s not something they intend to let go without a fight.
“I told the girls that the season really starts today with conference,” Lemont coach Rick Prangen said. “We want to defend our conference title. We have a certain amount of pride in that and these girls, especially the seniors, they want to carry on that tradition.”
Thursday was a good start. Sophomore forward Suzie Knutte recorded a hat-trick and the Indians rolled to a 4-0 win over Shepard at the Crestwood Club Soccer Field.
After falling 7-0 to Sandburg and 3-0 to Lincoln-Way West in the first two games, Lemont’s senior leaders looked to rally the Indians (1-2-0, 1-0-0.
“We needed to reiterate to the girls that this is our conference,” senior defender Trinity Hatton said. “We don’t lose. If we do, it’s a big shame on us seniors. We have to bring the team up as a whole.”
Knutte scored the first goal of her high school career – and the first goal for Lemont this season – just 87 seconds into the game.
Natalia Zalinski made a strong run down the right side of the field and played a cross toward the middle of the box. Knutte was there in front of the net to slam it home.
“After going 160 minutes without really being dangerous, getting a goal right away was very nice,” Prangen said. “I give our girls credit for that.”
Knutte said getting the opening goal so fast helped the Indians settle down.
“I was feeling pretty nervous coming here on the bus,” she said. “When we got that first goal it really felt good, and our momentum just built from there.”
Knutte made it 2-0 in the 12th minute as she got to the front of the net again, took a pass from Victoria Silvar and finished.
The Indians put nine shots on goal in the first half, but settled for the 2-0 lead going into halftime. Goalkeeper Justyna Staszel made seven of her eight saves in the opening 40 minutes to keep Shepard (0-1-1, 0-1-1) in the match.
“I give the girls credit for simplifying the game and trying to get the ball forward,” Prangen said. “The first two games we weren’t in front of goal too much. That showed because we had chances galore and probably should have made it 3-0 or 4-0 in the first half.
“It was hard to make adjustments to the dimensions of this field and how small it is. There’s nowhere to run, nowhere to play into. We had a freshman and two sophomores starting up-top for us, so that’s pretty young. I’d like to finish more, but we controlled most of the game and were pretty comfortable.”
Shepard stayed within 2-0 through the first 20 minutes of the second half, but Knutte completed her hat trick in the 61st minute, bodying in a cross from Silvar.
Knutte added an assist, dishing off to freshman Emma Amberg for a goal in the 68th minute to close the scoring.
Knutte did not play against Sandburg and was limited against Lincoln-Way West due to a hamstring injury, but she was ready to go Thursday.
“I was super hyped to get out here and play,” she said. “It was really nice, especially after not playing at all last year. This was my first conference game, finally, so it was really exciting to get those three goals and then assisting to my friend Emma.”
Silvar was happy to see the Indians rebound from the two losses.
“These conference games mean a lot to us,” she said. We have a history with Lemont High School, and we want to maintain that and keep our legacy going. Losing is never good, but you always want to bounce back and keep your head up.”
Hatton said the opening 7-0 loss to Sandburg was stunning for the Indians veterans and provided added motivation.
“We’ve never had that bad of a loss,” she said. “It really took a toll on me. I was like, ‘This is my team.’ I’m a defender. I needed to be the first one to take accountability for that loss. I told the team we just needed to work hard, and we had to keep building that bond.
“We’re trying to start new traditions because a lot of them are taken away from us right now, like we don’t get locker rooms or our shelters. We’re trying to bring in new things to make the team like a family. It’s coming along.”
Hatton, Gabby Koziel and Nicole Bobcik turned in a dominant performance on the backline, holding Shepard to two shots on goal. Michelle Nosal stopped both of those to record the shutout.
Senior midfielder Jasmine Iturbe generated the bulk of the offensive pressure for Shepard. She had both of the Astros’ shots on goal, a bouncer from 35 yards in the first half and a looping free kick from 45 yards in the second half that required Nosal to make a tricky save.
“I think this was a great team for us to play against,” Shepard coach Susan Liva said. “I think we learned a lot from them as far as being aggressive and playing hard. This shows the girls like, ‘Hey, you’re on varsity now. You’ve got to step it up.’
“I’m happy with the effort we put in at the end of the game.”
Shepard opened the season with a 2-2 tie against Eisenhower on Wednesday and played for the second-consecutive night.
Liva, in her first season as the Astros’ head coach, is optimistic about the rest of the season.
“What I’ve liked is their energy and how connected they are as people with each other,” she said. “They are super positive. They want to get better, and they want to be a great team.
“We can use this loss as fuel to get that fire under their butts and get them moving. I think we’re going to have a great season. We’ve just got to get that fire going.”
Starting lineups
Lemont
GK – Michelle Nosal
D – Gabby Koziel
D – Nicole Bobcik
D – Trinity Hatton
MF – Paige Bingen
MF – Nina Pavlica
MF – Kailey Wasyliw
MF – Victoria Silvar
F – Suzie Knutte
F – Emma Amberg
F – Natalia Zalinski
Shepard
GK - Justyna Staszel
D - Elena Popovic
D - Gracie Kozeluh
D - Elizabeth Lappano
D - Caitlin Tymm
MF - Olivia Wasag
MF - Jasmine Iturbe
MF - Megan Kempczynski
MF - Leah Rizzo
F - Gabby Taylor
F - Natalie Nowak
Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match: Suzie Knutte, so. F, Lemont
Scoring summary
First half
Lemont – Knutte (Zalinski), 2nd minute
Lemont – Knutte (Silvar), 12th minute
Second half
Lemont – Knutte (Silvar), 61st minute
Lemont – Amberg (Knutte), 68th minute