Lyons takes down Benet
in clash of unbeatens
Lions win 1-0 in battle of 2019 Final Four teams
By Curt Herron
LISLE ---There aren't many teams that can get one goal in the opening half of a crucial match against an unbeaten team who believe that they may not need another to win.
But when a squad has only allowed one goal throughout an entire season, it's clear that kind of confidence can be justified.
Despite Benet's best efforts to get the equalizer, a Lyons goal in the 27th minute proved to be sufficient in the state's only clash of unbeatens during the IHSA’s Friday night schedule of sectional championships.
Jordan Lee-Caracci fired in a liner from 20 yards and her team's defense took over from there as the Lions won 1-0 over the host Redwings in the Class 3A Morton Sectional finals.
"I saw Kate (Fulscher) rip it, and I thought this is my time, so I cut it and had my chance and ripped it and it went slow-motion upper 90," Lee-Caracci said. "I have to give it to our backline. They're everything, and we would not have gotten this far if not for them. And no way would we be sectional champions.
"Maddie (McPartlin) and Elli (Kosanovich) have been playing for so long and their chemistry is phenomenal. And Ava (Pike) and Kate are on the wings and they trust each other so much, and I trust all of them. I could not ask for a better backline.
"Our team is tight, and we know each other in and out. We know where each other is going and what we want to do with the ball. We trust each other. I had high expectations and right from tryouts I knew that this team was going to be good, and that we were going to make it pretty far."
The victory advances the Lions (18-0-0) to Monday's Reavis Supersectional where they'll face Sandburg (18-1-0) at 4 p.m. To the winner goes a guarantee of a state trophy.
That match figures to be another defensive stalemate. Sandburg opened its season with 10-straight shutouts and have only allowed three goals this season.
The sectional title was the second in a row and 14th overall in Lyons’ rich history. Now they're just one step away from adding a fifth state trophy and hope they can improve upon their fourth-place in the last, full soccer season two years ago.
"It really helps when you have a backline like ours that communicates and is well-organized and just tough and skilled," Lions coach Bill Lanspeary said. "The goal lit a fire under them (Benet), and they came back with a vengeance and came at us hard.
"This team is a special group, on and off the field. When you have that type of chemistry off of the field, it translates on the field as well. Doing what we've already done has been special, but they want to keep it going. For sure, it's a great group."
Benet (18-1-0), who hoped to return to state after winning the Class AA title in 2019, was also no slouch defensively. The Redwings allowed just nine goals and posted 10 shutouts this season.
And the sectional championship hosts were also very good at scoring. They netted three or more goals in each of their last 15 matches and averaged more than five goals per game during that stretch.
"You're really going to have to earn a goal on them. It's very difficult to break them down. They're so organized, and they work so well as a unit," Redwings coach Gerard Oconer said. "Especially in the first half, they just beat us to every single 50/50 ball, because they anticipate everything very well.
"We have a tendency on our big, open field to just wear teams down a little bit in the second half. With the heat, I thought that's what happened a bit. And when it comes down to two really good teams in the state tournament, you need a little bit of luck."
Despite seeing his team's season end earlier than they had hoped, the Redwings coach was proud of what his team accomplished in a season where the IHSA’s success rule pushed them up to the state’s toughest class. Regardless, the Redwings battled to the end.
"This season was beyond anybodys' expectations," Oconer said. "To go undefeated with the kind of schedule that we have and to get to this game and play a team like LT and the way that we played them tough, it just speaks volumes about the character of these kids.
"Probably what impressed me the most about this group is that every single time that we had some adversity and went down, we responded right away. In all of our big wins, there was something where we'd either get behind or give up a tying goal but right away we'd come back.
"You play high soccer for these moments, and this atmosphere. For our kids who experienced it for the first time it was such a great learning experience. We hadn't lost in so long, so some times you need that learning experience."
Both sides had good chances in the early going. Lyons got attempts from Katie O'Malley, Eleanor Musgrove and Elli Kosanovich that were thwarted by keeper Shannon Clark. On the other side of the field, Jaimee Cibulka had the top opportunity for Benet, but goalie Izzy Lee made the stop.
After Lee-Caracci scored the match's lone goal, there were several other good scoring chances before the break, with Kosanovich and Lee-Caracci again applying pressure and Brinkley Douglas doing the same for the hosts.
"We knew what we had to do by watching film and doing our research," Lyons' Maddie McPartlin said. "We learned who we needed to look out for, and we just brought our best game against them. We couldn't have done anything less. I just love my backline; we're just a brick wall.
“Every single line works together, and we're all just playing for each other. The midfield and the forward presence is amazing. We just like to put pressure on to make them feel uncomfortable and to stop any movement going toward our defense.
"We all come from different clubs, but what's great is that we instantly clicked. We had to learn a little bit about how each other played, but once we learned that, the chemistry was already there. We all love each other and are best friends. It's amazing."
There were numerous threatening attempts to start the final half with Ava Dallavo having a pair and Lee-Caracci adding another for the Lions and Rachel Burns and Cibulka countering for the hosts.
The final 15 minutes featured a variety of good scoring chances for both sides. The Redwings heightened their attack as the Lions focused on defending but also weren't averse to picking up an insurance score.
Bailey Abbott, Nora Hanson and Cibulka all had opportunities for the Redwings while Lily Mattern and Avery Livingston responded with the best threats for the Lions.
"We have a really good group that knows exactly how each other works and how to move off of each other," Livingston said. "And I think that we do a great job of finding each other and making sure that the plays look pretty. For a lot of us, this is our first year of playing varsity so we have a lot to prove. We want to get to the same point that we were at a couple of years ago."
The Redwings had four players back who were members of the 2019 championship team -- seniors Brooke Pullen, Paige Neri and Cibulka, and junior Katie Lewellyan. That group won 25-straight matches since the start of their state run two years ago.
So while there was disappointment on the Benet pitch after this special season ended earlier than hoped, the future looks very bright with many of the Redwings who competed Friday coming back.
"We knew that this was going to be a very tough team so at the end of the day, we needed to play our game," Pullen said. “I think a lot of us left it all out there on the field today.
"Jaimee is so quick but so are they, and they were able to shut her down which was impressive since you don't see a lot of people being able to do that.
"Going into this season, we thought that this would be a transition and rebuilding year. But after the first practice, we got our eyes opened and we were like, 'Wow, we can go pretty far.' We started putting the pieces together like it was a little puzzle, and we figured what worked for us. Our strength was the outside flanks and our speed."
Starting lineups
Lyons
G - Izzy Lee
D - Maddie McPartlin
D - Elli Kosanovich
D - Kate Fulscher
D - Ava Pike
M - Eleanor Musgrove
M - Lily Mattern
M - Avery Livingston
F - Jordan Lee-Caracci
F - Ava Dallavo
F - Reese Komsthoeft
Benet
G - Shannon Clark
D - Brooke Pullen
D - Nora Hanson
D - Annastacia Thiel
D - Sadie Starbenz
M - Katie Lewellyan
M - Rachel Burns
M - Brinkley Douglas
M - Mariana Pinto
F - Jaimee Cibulka
F - Anna Casmere
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Jordan Lee- Caracci, sr., F, Lyons
Scoring summary
First half
L - Lee-Caracci (Fulscher), 27
Second half
No scoring
in clash of unbeatens
Lions win 1-0 in battle of 2019 Final Four teams
By Curt Herron
LISLE ---There aren't many teams that can get one goal in the opening half of a crucial match against an unbeaten team who believe that they may not need another to win.
But when a squad has only allowed one goal throughout an entire season, it's clear that kind of confidence can be justified.
Despite Benet's best efforts to get the equalizer, a Lyons goal in the 27th minute proved to be sufficient in the state's only clash of unbeatens during the IHSA’s Friday night schedule of sectional championships.
Jordan Lee-Caracci fired in a liner from 20 yards and her team's defense took over from there as the Lions won 1-0 over the host Redwings in the Class 3A Morton Sectional finals.
"I saw Kate (Fulscher) rip it, and I thought this is my time, so I cut it and had my chance and ripped it and it went slow-motion upper 90," Lee-Caracci said. "I have to give it to our backline. They're everything, and we would not have gotten this far if not for them. And no way would we be sectional champions.
"Maddie (McPartlin) and Elli (Kosanovich) have been playing for so long and their chemistry is phenomenal. And Ava (Pike) and Kate are on the wings and they trust each other so much, and I trust all of them. I could not ask for a better backline.
"Our team is tight, and we know each other in and out. We know where each other is going and what we want to do with the ball. We trust each other. I had high expectations and right from tryouts I knew that this team was going to be good, and that we were going to make it pretty far."
The victory advances the Lions (18-0-0) to Monday's Reavis Supersectional where they'll face Sandburg (18-1-0) at 4 p.m. To the winner goes a guarantee of a state trophy.
That match figures to be another defensive stalemate. Sandburg opened its season with 10-straight shutouts and have only allowed three goals this season.
The sectional title was the second in a row and 14th overall in Lyons’ rich history. Now they're just one step away from adding a fifth state trophy and hope they can improve upon their fourth-place in the last, full soccer season two years ago.
"It really helps when you have a backline like ours that communicates and is well-organized and just tough and skilled," Lions coach Bill Lanspeary said. "The goal lit a fire under them (Benet), and they came back with a vengeance and came at us hard.
"This team is a special group, on and off the field. When you have that type of chemistry off of the field, it translates on the field as well. Doing what we've already done has been special, but they want to keep it going. For sure, it's a great group."
Benet (18-1-0), who hoped to return to state after winning the Class AA title in 2019, was also no slouch defensively. The Redwings allowed just nine goals and posted 10 shutouts this season.
And the sectional championship hosts were also very good at scoring. They netted three or more goals in each of their last 15 matches and averaged more than five goals per game during that stretch.
"You're really going to have to earn a goal on them. It's very difficult to break them down. They're so organized, and they work so well as a unit," Redwings coach Gerard Oconer said. "Especially in the first half, they just beat us to every single 50/50 ball, because they anticipate everything very well.
"We have a tendency on our big, open field to just wear teams down a little bit in the second half. With the heat, I thought that's what happened a bit. And when it comes down to two really good teams in the state tournament, you need a little bit of luck."
Despite seeing his team's season end earlier than they had hoped, the Redwings coach was proud of what his team accomplished in a season where the IHSA’s success rule pushed them up to the state’s toughest class. Regardless, the Redwings battled to the end.
"This season was beyond anybodys' expectations," Oconer said. "To go undefeated with the kind of schedule that we have and to get to this game and play a team like LT and the way that we played them tough, it just speaks volumes about the character of these kids.
"Probably what impressed me the most about this group is that every single time that we had some adversity and went down, we responded right away. In all of our big wins, there was something where we'd either get behind or give up a tying goal but right away we'd come back.
"You play high soccer for these moments, and this atmosphere. For our kids who experienced it for the first time it was such a great learning experience. We hadn't lost in so long, so some times you need that learning experience."
Both sides had good chances in the early going. Lyons got attempts from Katie O'Malley, Eleanor Musgrove and Elli Kosanovich that were thwarted by keeper Shannon Clark. On the other side of the field, Jaimee Cibulka had the top opportunity for Benet, but goalie Izzy Lee made the stop.
After Lee-Caracci scored the match's lone goal, there were several other good scoring chances before the break, with Kosanovich and Lee-Caracci again applying pressure and Brinkley Douglas doing the same for the hosts.
"We knew what we had to do by watching film and doing our research," Lyons' Maddie McPartlin said. "We learned who we needed to look out for, and we just brought our best game against them. We couldn't have done anything less. I just love my backline; we're just a brick wall.
“Every single line works together, and we're all just playing for each other. The midfield and the forward presence is amazing. We just like to put pressure on to make them feel uncomfortable and to stop any movement going toward our defense.
"We all come from different clubs, but what's great is that we instantly clicked. We had to learn a little bit about how each other played, but once we learned that, the chemistry was already there. We all love each other and are best friends. It's amazing."
There were numerous threatening attempts to start the final half with Ava Dallavo having a pair and Lee-Caracci adding another for the Lions and Rachel Burns and Cibulka countering for the hosts.
The final 15 minutes featured a variety of good scoring chances for both sides. The Redwings heightened their attack as the Lions focused on defending but also weren't averse to picking up an insurance score.
Bailey Abbott, Nora Hanson and Cibulka all had opportunities for the Redwings while Lily Mattern and Avery Livingston responded with the best threats for the Lions.
"We have a really good group that knows exactly how each other works and how to move off of each other," Livingston said. "And I think that we do a great job of finding each other and making sure that the plays look pretty. For a lot of us, this is our first year of playing varsity so we have a lot to prove. We want to get to the same point that we were at a couple of years ago."
The Redwings had four players back who were members of the 2019 championship team -- seniors Brooke Pullen, Paige Neri and Cibulka, and junior Katie Lewellyan. That group won 25-straight matches since the start of their state run two years ago.
So while there was disappointment on the Benet pitch after this special season ended earlier than hoped, the future looks very bright with many of the Redwings who competed Friday coming back.
"We knew that this was going to be a very tough team so at the end of the day, we needed to play our game," Pullen said. “I think a lot of us left it all out there on the field today.
"Jaimee is so quick but so are they, and they were able to shut her down which was impressive since you don't see a lot of people being able to do that.
"Going into this season, we thought that this would be a transition and rebuilding year. But after the first practice, we got our eyes opened and we were like, 'Wow, we can go pretty far.' We started putting the pieces together like it was a little puzzle, and we figured what worked for us. Our strength was the outside flanks and our speed."
Starting lineups
Lyons
G - Izzy Lee
D - Maddie McPartlin
D - Elli Kosanovich
D - Kate Fulscher
D - Ava Pike
M - Eleanor Musgrove
M - Lily Mattern
M - Avery Livingston
F - Jordan Lee-Caracci
F - Ava Dallavo
F - Reese Komsthoeft
Benet
G - Shannon Clark
D - Brooke Pullen
D - Nora Hanson
D - Annastacia Thiel
D - Sadie Starbenz
M - Katie Lewellyan
M - Rachel Burns
M - Brinkley Douglas
M - Mariana Pinto
F - Jaimee Cibulka
F - Anna Casmere
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Jordan Lee- Caracci, sr., F, Lyons
Scoring summary
First half
L - Lee-Caracci (Fulscher), 27
Second half
No scoring