Drama queen Lee-Caracci
leads Lyons past Barrington
Senior scores 3rd-straight game-winner for 3A title shot
By Matt Le Cren
HOFFMAN ESTATES – Lyons senior forward Jordan Lee-Caracci has developed a habit.
Lee-Caracci’s teammates think it’s a great thing and hope she keeps it up for one more game. Her opponents must feel like they are listening to a broken record.
Lee-Caracci has taken a liking to scoring game-winning goals. For the third-consecutive game, she lifted the Lions to victory, this one a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Barrington at the Class 3A state semifinals Friday at Hoffman Estates.
Lyons (20-0-0) will try to complete a perfect season when it faces O’Fallon in the state championship game at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Hoffman Estates. A win would give the Lions their first state title. Their only previous appearance in the state final resulted in a 4-0 defeat to St. Charles in 1997.
“I’m going to be honest, I’m kind of used to it by now,” Lee-Caracci said. “It was my third one.
“The adrenaline just keeps pumping. I’m always ready for it and with my team behind me, I know that we can do it.”
Lee-Caracci, who also scored the game-winning goals against previously unbeaten Benet in the sectional final and in another come-from-behind win against Sandburg in the supersectional, broke a 1-1 tie with 17:24 left in the first half with a terrific strike.
Barrington attempted to clear a corner kick from Ava Dallavo, but Lions defender Elli Kosanovich intercepted it and ripped a hard ball through the box to Lee-Caracci, who blasted a volley into the net. The play took less than a second.
“I think me and Elli have a mental connection, because we’ve had so many assists and goals together,” Lee-Caracci said. “We made slight eye contact, and she knew I was right there. She hit it at my feet, and I just bombed it in.”
Though there was 57 minutes of work left to be done, the Lions were ahead to stay. The goal capped a furious 15 minutes of action that saw all of the scoring.
Barrington (17-2-2) struck first on a restart triggered, by all people, goalkeeper Coast Liapis.
The senior netminder sent a free kick from 70 yards out sailing into the top of the Lyons box, where Nicole Gwiasda headed it forward to Jen Devona, who finished from the edge of the 6 at the 32:31 mark of the first half.
It was just the third goal allowed this season by the Lions, who found themselves trailing for just the second time, though it was for the second-straight match.
But the deficit didn’t last long. Just 77 seconds later, Reese Komsthoeft got the equalizer, taking a feed from Dallavo and scoring from a crowd in front.
“It was a big momentum change,” Lions goalkeeper Izzy Lee said. “Because I think everybody was down for a second. But responding that quickly, we knew we were in the game, and we had a chance to win.”
Lee factor greatly in the win. The junior made a diving save on Riley Raynor just 21 seconds into the game and only got better from there, finishing with five saves, including three brilliant stops in the second half to keep the Lions in front.
With 25 minutes left, Lee dove to knock Lara Lubinsky’s open shot in the box around the right post. Then at the 6:50 mark, she went down to deny Gracie Stagnito’s drive from 35 yards.
But the real “keeper” of the bunch came with 48 seconds remaining, when Lee fully extended her 5-foot-10 frame to stop Raynor’s 17-yard blast, then quickly covered up the rebound.
How nervous was Lee in that moment?
“Definitely a lot,” she said. “I wasn’t even running, and I was out of breath.
“It all kind of happened at once, and I just kind of reacted. I just try to stay focused by communicating with my backline and always try to watch anything coming into the back.”
There was plenty coming from the Fillies, especially after intermission, but the Lions didn’t break.
“It was a great start,” Barrington coach Ryan Stengren said. “We scored, even though I don’t think our mentality was what it had been the last couple games.
“We looked really tentative in the beginning, and you saw more of what we are in the second half : aggressive; created a lot of chances. And their goalie was really good.
“Credit Lyons. They battled and played really well.”
Battling is what Lions coach Bill Lanspeary has come to expect from a roster bereft of Division I players but laden with talented athletes who know their roles and consistently make the correct plays.
“There are a special group, that’s for sure, and they’re fun,” Lanspeary said. “Nothing was easy. It was a battle back and forth. They won a lot of 50/50 balls, and they kept it in our end. Our backline held strong again.
“The goals that we had in the first half, the first one kind of helped swing the momentum back after giving up the first one. It was a great answer to that first five minutes where they got that goal, and then the second one was just a fantastic play by (Kosanovich and Lee-Caracci).”
Liapis made a fantastic play, too, keeping the Fillies in the game by denying Lee-Caracci on an eight-yard shot which she somehow tipped around the right post three minutes into the second half.
“Best save I’ve seen in my entire life,” Lee-Caracci said.
Ultimately, it wasn’t enough to save Barrington’s championship hopes. The loss ended a 13-game win streak and 16-game unbeaten streak (15-0-1). But the Fillies can still end their season with a win in the third place game against Libertyville at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Fremd. The Fillies are at the state finals for the fourth-straight season and sixth time in the past eight.
“I feel like we had a lot of good chances,” said Barrington senior defender Kate McGreevy, who along with Liapis and Devona played on the Fillies’ 2018 state championship team. “After we got scored on twice, we slowly picked ourselves up, but we just couldn’t put one away.
“Their goalie was really good, and they were really organized. But I thought overall we had a good effort.”
Stengren agreed.
“Credit our girls because we got knocked down and we showed some resiliency in the second half,” Stengren said. “We had some high-quality chances.
“I was really proud of our fight. The girls represented what we have done and what we’re about.
“I know they’re upset right now, but they shouldn’t be hanging their heads. We got back to the Final Four.”
For Lyons, it is on to the final, a place Lee-Caracci always thought her team would be.
“It feels so good,” Lee-Caracci said. “I’ve visualized this since Day 1.
“I knew this was coming, and I’m a senior. I’m so ready.”
Starting lineups
Lyons
GK Izzy Lee
D Maddie McPartlin
D Ava Pike
D Kate Fulscher
D Elli Kosanovich
M Avery Livingston
M Eleanor Musgrove
M Lily Mattern
F Jordan Lee-Caracci
F Ava Dallavo
F Reese Komsthoeft
Barrington
GK Coast Liapis
D Ella VanNess
D Gracie Stagnito
D Kate McGreevy
D Ellie Sanchez
M Nicole Gwiasda
M Jen Devona
M Brooke Brown
F Lara Lubinsky
F Riley Raynor
F Kate Lubinsky
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match:
Izzy Lee, jr., GK, Lyons
Scoring summary
First half
Barrington – Jen Devona (Nicole Gwiasda, Coast Liapis) 32:31 remaining
Lyons – Reese Komsthoeft (Ava Dallavo) 31:17 remaining
Lyons – Jordan Lee-Caracci (Elli Kosanovich) 17:24 remaining
Second half
No scoring
leads Lyons past Barrington
Senior scores 3rd-straight game-winner for 3A title shot
By Matt Le Cren
HOFFMAN ESTATES – Lyons senior forward Jordan Lee-Caracci has developed a habit.
Lee-Caracci’s teammates think it’s a great thing and hope she keeps it up for one more game. Her opponents must feel like they are listening to a broken record.
Lee-Caracci has taken a liking to scoring game-winning goals. For the third-consecutive game, she lifted the Lions to victory, this one a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Barrington at the Class 3A state semifinals Friday at Hoffman Estates.
Lyons (20-0-0) will try to complete a perfect season when it faces O’Fallon in the state championship game at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Hoffman Estates. A win would give the Lions their first state title. Their only previous appearance in the state final resulted in a 4-0 defeat to St. Charles in 1997.
“I’m going to be honest, I’m kind of used to it by now,” Lee-Caracci said. “It was my third one.
“The adrenaline just keeps pumping. I’m always ready for it and with my team behind me, I know that we can do it.”
Lee-Caracci, who also scored the game-winning goals against previously unbeaten Benet in the sectional final and in another come-from-behind win against Sandburg in the supersectional, broke a 1-1 tie with 17:24 left in the first half with a terrific strike.
Barrington attempted to clear a corner kick from Ava Dallavo, but Lions defender Elli Kosanovich intercepted it and ripped a hard ball through the box to Lee-Caracci, who blasted a volley into the net. The play took less than a second.
“I think me and Elli have a mental connection, because we’ve had so many assists and goals together,” Lee-Caracci said. “We made slight eye contact, and she knew I was right there. She hit it at my feet, and I just bombed it in.”
Though there was 57 minutes of work left to be done, the Lions were ahead to stay. The goal capped a furious 15 minutes of action that saw all of the scoring.
Barrington (17-2-2) struck first on a restart triggered, by all people, goalkeeper Coast Liapis.
The senior netminder sent a free kick from 70 yards out sailing into the top of the Lyons box, where Nicole Gwiasda headed it forward to Jen Devona, who finished from the edge of the 6 at the 32:31 mark of the first half.
It was just the third goal allowed this season by the Lions, who found themselves trailing for just the second time, though it was for the second-straight match.
But the deficit didn’t last long. Just 77 seconds later, Reese Komsthoeft got the equalizer, taking a feed from Dallavo and scoring from a crowd in front.
“It was a big momentum change,” Lions goalkeeper Izzy Lee said. “Because I think everybody was down for a second. But responding that quickly, we knew we were in the game, and we had a chance to win.”
Lee factor greatly in the win. The junior made a diving save on Riley Raynor just 21 seconds into the game and only got better from there, finishing with five saves, including three brilliant stops in the second half to keep the Lions in front.
With 25 minutes left, Lee dove to knock Lara Lubinsky’s open shot in the box around the right post. Then at the 6:50 mark, she went down to deny Gracie Stagnito’s drive from 35 yards.
But the real “keeper” of the bunch came with 48 seconds remaining, when Lee fully extended her 5-foot-10 frame to stop Raynor’s 17-yard blast, then quickly covered up the rebound.
How nervous was Lee in that moment?
“Definitely a lot,” she said. “I wasn’t even running, and I was out of breath.
“It all kind of happened at once, and I just kind of reacted. I just try to stay focused by communicating with my backline and always try to watch anything coming into the back.”
There was plenty coming from the Fillies, especially after intermission, but the Lions didn’t break.
“It was a great start,” Barrington coach Ryan Stengren said. “We scored, even though I don’t think our mentality was what it had been the last couple games.
“We looked really tentative in the beginning, and you saw more of what we are in the second half : aggressive; created a lot of chances. And their goalie was really good.
“Credit Lyons. They battled and played really well.”
Battling is what Lions coach Bill Lanspeary has come to expect from a roster bereft of Division I players but laden with talented athletes who know their roles and consistently make the correct plays.
“There are a special group, that’s for sure, and they’re fun,” Lanspeary said. “Nothing was easy. It was a battle back and forth. They won a lot of 50/50 balls, and they kept it in our end. Our backline held strong again.
“The goals that we had in the first half, the first one kind of helped swing the momentum back after giving up the first one. It was a great answer to that first five minutes where they got that goal, and then the second one was just a fantastic play by (Kosanovich and Lee-Caracci).”
Liapis made a fantastic play, too, keeping the Fillies in the game by denying Lee-Caracci on an eight-yard shot which she somehow tipped around the right post three minutes into the second half.
“Best save I’ve seen in my entire life,” Lee-Caracci said.
Ultimately, it wasn’t enough to save Barrington’s championship hopes. The loss ended a 13-game win streak and 16-game unbeaten streak (15-0-1). But the Fillies can still end their season with a win in the third place game against Libertyville at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Fremd. The Fillies are at the state finals for the fourth-straight season and sixth time in the past eight.
“I feel like we had a lot of good chances,” said Barrington senior defender Kate McGreevy, who along with Liapis and Devona played on the Fillies’ 2018 state championship team. “After we got scored on twice, we slowly picked ourselves up, but we just couldn’t put one away.
“Their goalie was really good, and they were really organized. But I thought overall we had a good effort.”
Stengren agreed.
“Credit our girls because we got knocked down and we showed some resiliency in the second half,” Stengren said. “We had some high-quality chances.
“I was really proud of our fight. The girls represented what we have done and what we’re about.
“I know they’re upset right now, but they shouldn’t be hanging their heads. We got back to the Final Four.”
For Lyons, it is on to the final, a place Lee-Caracci always thought her team would be.
“It feels so good,” Lee-Caracci said. “I’ve visualized this since Day 1.
“I knew this was coming, and I’m a senior. I’m so ready.”
Starting lineups
Lyons
GK Izzy Lee
D Maddie McPartlin
D Ava Pike
D Kate Fulscher
D Elli Kosanovich
M Avery Livingston
M Eleanor Musgrove
M Lily Mattern
F Jordan Lee-Caracci
F Ava Dallavo
F Reese Komsthoeft
Barrington
GK Coast Liapis
D Ella VanNess
D Gracie Stagnito
D Kate McGreevy
D Ellie Sanchez
M Nicole Gwiasda
M Jen Devona
M Brooke Brown
F Lara Lubinsky
F Riley Raynor
F Kate Lubinsky
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match:
Izzy Lee, jr., GK, Lyons
Scoring summary
First half
Barrington – Jen Devona (Nicole Gwiasda, Coast Liapis) 32:31 remaining
Lyons – Reese Komsthoeft (Ava Dallavo) 31:17 remaining
Lyons – Jordan Lee-Caracci (Elli Kosanovich) 17:24 remaining
Second half
No scoring