Lake Park finds reward in risks
Lancers score 1st goals of season in tournament tie
By Bill Stone
GLEN ELLYN -- Sophomore midfielder AnnMarie Ahrens and her Lake Park teammates could have been hampered by thoughts of another one-goal shutout loss Thursday.
Ahrens had other ideas when she stole the ball from 25 yards from goal and almost instantaneously let the ball rip.
“Oh no, I thought about (scoring). I wanted one so bad. I wanted that shot so bad,” Ahrens said.
“I knew one of the things we’ve been talking about with the team is taking risks and that comes with shooting. You don’t know what’s going to happen with the ball. You shoot it. That’s what I did and lasered that ball into the upper 90.”
Ahrens’ goal with 22:37 remaining was the start of a good thing.
Lilli Giron followed with 16:23 left and the Lancers had their first goals of 2019 and a 2-2 tie with Oak Forest in the final round of Glenbard South’s four-team Raider Invitational.
Lake Park (0-4-1) also would have had its first victory of the season if not for being unable to clear a corner kick. The Bengals (0-4-2) scored with just 16.3 seconds left. Oak Forest is coming off a Class AA regional title in 2018, only the second in program history.
“It’s definitely going to hurt (not winning),” Ahrens said. “Coach (Sean Crosby) said we want this one to hurt. We want to use this for determination and motivation to work even harder for the next game. The last 16 seconds, it’s going to hurt but you just use it to motivate yourself to do even better.”
With their new-found confidence, the Lancers now prepare for their huge test Saturday at St. Charles North; The North Stars are ranked second in the Chicagoland Soccer rankings.
The goal from Ahrens, the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match, created a wild celebration and unleashed the emotions from four frustrating shutout losses – three of them 1-0.
“We all just bear hugged with everybody. I was crushed by everyone,” Giron said. “This game tells us that we definitely can score. We were so down on scoring. Everyone kept telling me every game, ‘You’re going to get it today.’ We finally got two goals today. Not just one, but two.”
The Lancers controlled play most of Thursday’s game and led 18-8 in shots (10-5 on goal). Yet after a scoreless first half, Oak Forest grabbed a 1-0 lead with 29:51 remaining.
“You go down 1-0, a lot of teams don’t come back from that. We didn’t respond that way. We fought hard and we got a lot of chances and two great shots,” said Crosby, now in his third season as Lake Park coach.
“We’ve been looking for goals this year and what a way to put them away, what a way to finally get on the scoresheet -- two phenomenal shots. Really impressed by that, but our ability to create those chances was really strong, too.”
Both Lake Park goals were beauties.
Ahrens had just missed connecting with senior forward Cyndi Martinez but stayed with the ball. The defender had control of the ball in the middle of the field facing her goal when Ahrens came along the right side for the steal and shot.
“I’m not going to lie. I don’t really know what happened,” Ahrens said. “(Martinez) tried to play me the pass but the other girl stepped in, but I was also right there. So I just took the one touch and ripped it.”
“It’s the greatest feeling in the world (seeing us score),” said Lake Park senior goalie and co-captain Sarah Yochem.
“A little bit (bittersweet). I wish we did (win) but we got our first goal of the season thanks to AnnMarie and our second goal of the season thanks to Lilli. I don’t think we could have asked for a better goal-scoring night. On the defensive, we could have asked for a better night, but offensively we couldn’t have asked for a better one.”
After surviving the first-goal celebration, Giron scored when sophomore midfielder Patty Lachowiez took the ball near the left end line and made a quick diagonal pass to Giron just outside the upper-left corner of the box.
Giron also put her blast into the upper-right corner of the net.
“I was right there. I just one touched it with the inside of my foot,” Giron said. “I was really frustrated with myself (previously). Our defense has really stepped up a lot more than the offense has. This is definitely our best offensive game by far. We’ve had triple, probably, the chances today than we have in any other game.”
Giron has been a proponent of the adopted team motto of taking chances. She agreed, though, that Ahrens’ ability to find the net contributed greatly to her following suit.
“I think I was on a rush of adrenaline when she scored. I ran right to her and hugged her,” Giron said. “Everybody was running on adrenaline, and when I scored I was running on adrenaline.”
The work by Lachowiez, one of the few varsity newcomers this season, typified the Lancers’ spirit. Roughly 40 seconds earlier, a nice passing combination with Giron and Martinez nearly gave Lachowiez a breakaway along left wing, but she couldn’t immediately gain control of the pass, and the Bengals’ backline recovered.
“Knowing I lost it the first chance I got, I knew I had to kind of find another way to cut it back and lay it off for another person and luckily Lilli was there,” Lachowiez said.
“I love it (on varsity). Only being here for a small time, I’ve really learned a lot. And I really feel like I’ve made really great relationships with all of the girls.”
Lake Park lost its first two tournament games by 1-0 scores to Riverside-Brookfield on Wednesday and the host Raiders on Monday. R-B defeated Glenbard South 1-0 in Thursday’s early match to claim the title with a 2-0-1 round-robin record.
Lake Park opened the season with a 3-0 home loss to Hersey March 13. The Lancers then lost 1-0 at Conant on March 16. The Cougars’ tally came around the 74th minute.
Goals also were hard to come by for the Lancers in 2018.
Eight returning players this season were full or part-time starters, but the squad also graduated 11 seniors.
The five-win 2018 season included three loses at the Raider Invitational by shutout with two 1-0 results. The Lancers were blanked in their first nine contests.
“From last year, we scored in our fifth game compared to our 10th (in 2018) so I think that was a huge confidence booster,” Yochem said. “I think our defense is a lot better this year. We’ve held the last three games. I think we’re going to take this game, build off of it going into St. Charles North and ride this goal-scoring stuff against a good team and then get back from spring break, work hard and hopefully get some more wins. I think (taking risks is) going to be our motto for the rest of the season.”
Sophomore midfielder Emma Thorne, a co-captain with Yochem, was slightly injured coming off a great basketball season. Crosby said he has been cautious easing her back into soccer action.
Thorne’s presence and midfield connection with Ahrens was evident. Thorne first entered off the bench in the 18th minute after the Lancers controlled play early but could not yield quality scoring chances.
Thorne and Giron used a nice passing combination to free sophomore Katie Schwegler along right wing for the team’s first shot on goal in the 20th minute.
Martinez then deflected an attempted clear ahead to Cecilia Defino, who put another shot on goal. Forty seconds later, Giron got open for a point-blank shot but goalie Raneen Betouni dove to her left and pushed the threat wide.
Schwegler preceded Thorne by minutes off the bench in the first half, and they entered together again in the 47th minute. All 15 Lancers saw action.
“Coming off the bench, what a spark plug (Thorne) was for us,” Crosby said. “(Thorne and Ahrens) play together a lot, and they’ve been playing together since they were young. They’ve got a great connection with each other. They’re very composed and calm on the ball.
“Emma can do a lot for us. She can defend as a center back. She can help in the attack. She has great body control, great ball control, good vision; when she works with AnnMarie in the middle of the field, it creates a lot of good chances for us.”
Oak Forest also showed great determination not only in scoring late but just battling back from a 6-0 loss to Glenbard South on Wednesday that included a hard rain in the waning moments.
Freshman Kara Mantia scored the equalizer after sophomore Rachel Balinao’s right-wing corner kick bounced around near the left post. Balinao also set up the Bengals’ first goal after she broke free along right wing. Her high ball to the far post found junior Olivia Earll, whose diagonal shot off one bounce barely eluded the diving Yochem.
Before Thursday, the Bengals’ lone goal came in Monday’s 1-1 tie with R-B. In the second half against the Lancers, they were down to one sub.
“We’ve put together a very hard schedule for the first two-and-a-half, three weeks of the season,” Oak Forest coach Pam Whitehead said. “We’ve had some tough losses but we’re learning about grit, learning about resiliency, learning about how good teams play.”
Seven to eight starters are back from the 2018 lineup that beat Washington 4-3 in the regional final before losing to Providence 7-1 in the Lemont Sectional semifinals.
Only three are seniors, but central defender and co-captain Christina Majercak will play at Illinois Institute of Technology and starting outside midfielder Kaylen Cooksey will play at St. Xavier University. Whitehead promoted two freshmen this season, Kara Mantia and twin sister Kayla, who also plays central defender.
The Bengals also face a big test Saturday at Joliet Central.
“Our whole thing is we have to step up and play teams at the level that we will face in sectionals or we’ll never go. You can’t just have an easy schedule,” Whitehead said.
Crosby and the Lancers are hoping the success they enjoyed Thursday that help them continue playing at a higher level.
“We’ve come away having tough transitions in finding and creating attack. One thing we need to encourage as coaches and the players need to believe in we take risks inside and around the attacking third and things will happen for you,” Crosby said.
“That shot that AnnMarie takes is a deep shot. It’s an absolute risk and put in a phenomenal spot. That’s something we definitely encourage. And Lilli the same thing. It’s a strike from a deep spot. They get rewarded for taking risks, and I hope that continues. It’s great to see them execute that on the field today.”
Starting lineups
Oak Forest
G – Raneen Betouni
D – Francis Chavez
D – Kayla Mantia
D – Christina Majercak
D – Kelly Barrientos
M – Emily Bertucci
M – Isabelle Deanne
M – Amelia Price
M – Kaylen Cooksey
F – Rachel Balinao
F – Olivia Earll
Lake Park
G – Sarah Yochem
D – Francesca Ottolino
D – Sophie Giron
D – Olivia Wroblewski
D – Sarah Novak
M – Patty Lachowiez
M – Alexis Morris
M – Cecilia Defino
M – AnnMarie Ahrens
F – Lilli Giron
F – Cyndi Martinez
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: AnnMarie Ahrens, soph., M, Lake Park
Game summary
Scoring
Oak Forest 0 2 – 2
Lake Park 0 2 – 2
First half
No scoring
Second half
Oak Forest: Olivia Earll (Rachel Balinao) 50:09
Lake Park: AnnMarie Ahrens 57:23
Lake Park: Lilli Giron (Patty Lachowiez) 63:37
Oak Forest: Kara Mantia 79:43
Goalkeeers (saves)
Oak Forest: Raneen Betouni (8)
Lake Park: Sarah Yochem (2)
Shots (on goal)
Lake Park 9 (4)
Oak Forest 8 (5)
Corner kicks
Lake Park 5
Oak Forest 3
Lancers score 1st goals of season in tournament tie
By Bill Stone
GLEN ELLYN -- Sophomore midfielder AnnMarie Ahrens and her Lake Park teammates could have been hampered by thoughts of another one-goal shutout loss Thursday.
Ahrens had other ideas when she stole the ball from 25 yards from goal and almost instantaneously let the ball rip.
“Oh no, I thought about (scoring). I wanted one so bad. I wanted that shot so bad,” Ahrens said.
“I knew one of the things we’ve been talking about with the team is taking risks and that comes with shooting. You don’t know what’s going to happen with the ball. You shoot it. That’s what I did and lasered that ball into the upper 90.”
Ahrens’ goal with 22:37 remaining was the start of a good thing.
Lilli Giron followed with 16:23 left and the Lancers had their first goals of 2019 and a 2-2 tie with Oak Forest in the final round of Glenbard South’s four-team Raider Invitational.
Lake Park (0-4-1) also would have had its first victory of the season if not for being unable to clear a corner kick. The Bengals (0-4-2) scored with just 16.3 seconds left. Oak Forest is coming off a Class AA regional title in 2018, only the second in program history.
“It’s definitely going to hurt (not winning),” Ahrens said. “Coach (Sean Crosby) said we want this one to hurt. We want to use this for determination and motivation to work even harder for the next game. The last 16 seconds, it’s going to hurt but you just use it to motivate yourself to do even better.”
With their new-found confidence, the Lancers now prepare for their huge test Saturday at St. Charles North; The North Stars are ranked second in the Chicagoland Soccer rankings.
The goal from Ahrens, the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match, created a wild celebration and unleashed the emotions from four frustrating shutout losses – three of them 1-0.
“We all just bear hugged with everybody. I was crushed by everyone,” Giron said. “This game tells us that we definitely can score. We were so down on scoring. Everyone kept telling me every game, ‘You’re going to get it today.’ We finally got two goals today. Not just one, but two.”
The Lancers controlled play most of Thursday’s game and led 18-8 in shots (10-5 on goal). Yet after a scoreless first half, Oak Forest grabbed a 1-0 lead with 29:51 remaining.
“You go down 1-0, a lot of teams don’t come back from that. We didn’t respond that way. We fought hard and we got a lot of chances and two great shots,” said Crosby, now in his third season as Lake Park coach.
“We’ve been looking for goals this year and what a way to put them away, what a way to finally get on the scoresheet -- two phenomenal shots. Really impressed by that, but our ability to create those chances was really strong, too.”
Both Lake Park goals were beauties.
Ahrens had just missed connecting with senior forward Cyndi Martinez but stayed with the ball. The defender had control of the ball in the middle of the field facing her goal when Ahrens came along the right side for the steal and shot.
“I’m not going to lie. I don’t really know what happened,” Ahrens said. “(Martinez) tried to play me the pass but the other girl stepped in, but I was also right there. So I just took the one touch and ripped it.”
“It’s the greatest feeling in the world (seeing us score),” said Lake Park senior goalie and co-captain Sarah Yochem.
“A little bit (bittersweet). I wish we did (win) but we got our first goal of the season thanks to AnnMarie and our second goal of the season thanks to Lilli. I don’t think we could have asked for a better goal-scoring night. On the defensive, we could have asked for a better night, but offensively we couldn’t have asked for a better one.”
After surviving the first-goal celebration, Giron scored when sophomore midfielder Patty Lachowiez took the ball near the left end line and made a quick diagonal pass to Giron just outside the upper-left corner of the box.
Giron also put her blast into the upper-right corner of the net.
“I was right there. I just one touched it with the inside of my foot,” Giron said. “I was really frustrated with myself (previously). Our defense has really stepped up a lot more than the offense has. This is definitely our best offensive game by far. We’ve had triple, probably, the chances today than we have in any other game.”
Giron has been a proponent of the adopted team motto of taking chances. She agreed, though, that Ahrens’ ability to find the net contributed greatly to her following suit.
“I think I was on a rush of adrenaline when she scored. I ran right to her and hugged her,” Giron said. “Everybody was running on adrenaline, and when I scored I was running on adrenaline.”
The work by Lachowiez, one of the few varsity newcomers this season, typified the Lancers’ spirit. Roughly 40 seconds earlier, a nice passing combination with Giron and Martinez nearly gave Lachowiez a breakaway along left wing, but she couldn’t immediately gain control of the pass, and the Bengals’ backline recovered.
“Knowing I lost it the first chance I got, I knew I had to kind of find another way to cut it back and lay it off for another person and luckily Lilli was there,” Lachowiez said.
“I love it (on varsity). Only being here for a small time, I’ve really learned a lot. And I really feel like I’ve made really great relationships with all of the girls.”
Lake Park lost its first two tournament games by 1-0 scores to Riverside-Brookfield on Wednesday and the host Raiders on Monday. R-B defeated Glenbard South 1-0 in Thursday’s early match to claim the title with a 2-0-1 round-robin record.
Lake Park opened the season with a 3-0 home loss to Hersey March 13. The Lancers then lost 1-0 at Conant on March 16. The Cougars’ tally came around the 74th minute.
Goals also were hard to come by for the Lancers in 2018.
Eight returning players this season were full or part-time starters, but the squad also graduated 11 seniors.
The five-win 2018 season included three loses at the Raider Invitational by shutout with two 1-0 results. The Lancers were blanked in their first nine contests.
“From last year, we scored in our fifth game compared to our 10th (in 2018) so I think that was a huge confidence booster,” Yochem said. “I think our defense is a lot better this year. We’ve held the last three games. I think we’re going to take this game, build off of it going into St. Charles North and ride this goal-scoring stuff against a good team and then get back from spring break, work hard and hopefully get some more wins. I think (taking risks is) going to be our motto for the rest of the season.”
Sophomore midfielder Emma Thorne, a co-captain with Yochem, was slightly injured coming off a great basketball season. Crosby said he has been cautious easing her back into soccer action.
Thorne’s presence and midfield connection with Ahrens was evident. Thorne first entered off the bench in the 18th minute after the Lancers controlled play early but could not yield quality scoring chances.
Thorne and Giron used a nice passing combination to free sophomore Katie Schwegler along right wing for the team’s first shot on goal in the 20th minute.
Martinez then deflected an attempted clear ahead to Cecilia Defino, who put another shot on goal. Forty seconds later, Giron got open for a point-blank shot but goalie Raneen Betouni dove to her left and pushed the threat wide.
Schwegler preceded Thorne by minutes off the bench in the first half, and they entered together again in the 47th minute. All 15 Lancers saw action.
“Coming off the bench, what a spark plug (Thorne) was for us,” Crosby said. “(Thorne and Ahrens) play together a lot, and they’ve been playing together since they were young. They’ve got a great connection with each other. They’re very composed and calm on the ball.
“Emma can do a lot for us. She can defend as a center back. She can help in the attack. She has great body control, great ball control, good vision; when she works with AnnMarie in the middle of the field, it creates a lot of good chances for us.”
Oak Forest also showed great determination not only in scoring late but just battling back from a 6-0 loss to Glenbard South on Wednesday that included a hard rain in the waning moments.
Freshman Kara Mantia scored the equalizer after sophomore Rachel Balinao’s right-wing corner kick bounced around near the left post. Balinao also set up the Bengals’ first goal after she broke free along right wing. Her high ball to the far post found junior Olivia Earll, whose diagonal shot off one bounce barely eluded the diving Yochem.
Before Thursday, the Bengals’ lone goal came in Monday’s 1-1 tie with R-B. In the second half against the Lancers, they were down to one sub.
“We’ve put together a very hard schedule for the first two-and-a-half, three weeks of the season,” Oak Forest coach Pam Whitehead said. “We’ve had some tough losses but we’re learning about grit, learning about resiliency, learning about how good teams play.”
Seven to eight starters are back from the 2018 lineup that beat Washington 4-3 in the regional final before losing to Providence 7-1 in the Lemont Sectional semifinals.
Only three are seniors, but central defender and co-captain Christina Majercak will play at Illinois Institute of Technology and starting outside midfielder Kaylen Cooksey will play at St. Xavier University. Whitehead promoted two freshmen this season, Kara Mantia and twin sister Kayla, who also plays central defender.
The Bengals also face a big test Saturday at Joliet Central.
“Our whole thing is we have to step up and play teams at the level that we will face in sectionals or we’ll never go. You can’t just have an easy schedule,” Whitehead said.
Crosby and the Lancers are hoping the success they enjoyed Thursday that help them continue playing at a higher level.
“We’ve come away having tough transitions in finding and creating attack. One thing we need to encourage as coaches and the players need to believe in we take risks inside and around the attacking third and things will happen for you,” Crosby said.
“That shot that AnnMarie takes is a deep shot. It’s an absolute risk and put in a phenomenal spot. That’s something we definitely encourage. And Lilli the same thing. It’s a strike from a deep spot. They get rewarded for taking risks, and I hope that continues. It’s great to see them execute that on the field today.”
Starting lineups
Oak Forest
G – Raneen Betouni
D – Francis Chavez
D – Kayla Mantia
D – Christina Majercak
D – Kelly Barrientos
M – Emily Bertucci
M – Isabelle Deanne
M – Amelia Price
M – Kaylen Cooksey
F – Rachel Balinao
F – Olivia Earll
Lake Park
G – Sarah Yochem
D – Francesca Ottolino
D – Sophie Giron
D – Olivia Wroblewski
D – Sarah Novak
M – Patty Lachowiez
M – Alexis Morris
M – Cecilia Defino
M – AnnMarie Ahrens
F – Lilli Giron
F – Cyndi Martinez
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: AnnMarie Ahrens, soph., M, Lake Park
Game summary
Scoring
Oak Forest 0 2 – 2
Lake Park 0 2 – 2
First half
No scoring
Second half
Oak Forest: Olivia Earll (Rachel Balinao) 50:09
Lake Park: AnnMarie Ahrens 57:23
Lake Park: Lilli Giron (Patty Lachowiez) 63:37
Oak Forest: Kara Mantia 79:43
Goalkeeers (saves)
Oak Forest: Raneen Betouni (8)
Lake Park: Sarah Yochem (2)
Shots (on goal)
Lake Park 9 (4)
Oak Forest 8 (5)
Corner kicks
Lake Park 5
Oak Forest 3