Morton tops Trinity to keep win streak alive
Moreno, Franco and Loza pace 4-0 victory
By Ken Keenan
MELROSE PARK -- Sizzling Morton closed out the regular season in style, chalking up its its 11th win in a row with a 4-0 decision over host Trinity in nonconference play at Serpico Memorial Field Thursday night.
The Mustangs -- fresh off wrapping up the team's first-ever outright West Suburban Conference Gold Division title with a perfect 6-0-x league mark -- improved to 15-5-0 overall with the victory. Morton will begin postseason play in the IHSA Class 3A Lyons Regional with a semifinal match against Glenbard West at 6 p.m. May 15.
Led by the trio of sophomore forward Adriana Moreno, senior midfielder Jessica Franco and junior mid Medelin Loza, the Mustangs scored twice in the first half against Trinity and put the Blazers away with a pair of markers in the late going.
Moreno, Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match, potted both goals in the opening 40 minutes and added an assist on a tally by Franco in the 68th minute. Franco, in turn, counted the helper on Moreno's second goal. Loza assisted on the first goal and finished the scoring on a free kick with 10:40 remaining in the game.
"In the first half, we were a little sloppy," said Morton head coach Jim Bageanis. "Going against the (gusty) wind, we couldn't connect second and third balls. The wind helped us in the second half. We definitely had better possession, and we were playing to feet better as the game progressed."
Added Moreno: "We were a little off our game the first half. But we came back strong."
Trinity (7-15-0) had the first good look of the match when junior midfielder Natalia Guerra nabbed a long ball from junior defender Natalie Maite and missed wide-left from the right side in the 2nd minute.
Just two minutes later, Moreno -- in rather unusual fashion -- opened the scoring. Speeding ahead on a feed from Loza, Moreno collided with Blazers sophomore goalkeeper Jacqueline Ostiguin, who was well out of the box in an attempt to defend Moreno's charge.
As Ostinguin fell to the turf, Moreno blasted the ball into the wide-open cage from 35 yards. Unable to continue, Ostinguin departed to seek medical attention for an arm injury. She was replaced for the remainder of the match by junior Cristina Olmos, who started the game at forward.
Morton upped the lead to 2-0 on Moreno's second goal with 26:45 to go before halftime. After working a give-and-go with Franco, Moreno rocked a 20-yard shot into the top right corner.
Looking to counter, Trinity sophomore mid Caroline Leyden's wide-angle try from the right side was scooped up by Mustangs junior keeper Dayanna Gonzalez in the 14th minute. The Blazers had another crack when freshman defender/midfielder Bridget Whiteside was snuffed by Gonzalez on a 35-yard free kick with 21:10 left in the opening session, and also a minute later on a close-in shot from the right side by sophomore mid Jessica Olmos that hit the side of the net.
"We had some good opportunities," said Trinity skipper Kyle McClure, whose squad begins postseason play against the host Pride in the Class 2A Speer Regional semis at 6:30 p.m. May 14. "It would have been nice to score a goal. But I was OK with the game. For the most part, we played pretty good soccer."
Cristina Olmos kept Trinity within striking distance, making a nice save on a solid strike by Moreno in the 23rd minute and then turning away a low, 25-yard rocket by Morton junior forward Melanie Carranza.
"I thought Cristina did an excellent job coming in (for Ostiguin)," McClure said.
Morton's strong second half effort featured a bevy of chances. In the 43rd minute, Loza barely missed high from 20 yards; freshman mid Esmeralda Bautista sailed a drive wide-left from a wide angle in the 45th minute; Loza settled a corner kick by Moreno in the 46th minute and sent a left-footed shot wide-left; and Loza also misfired in-close with 30:10 remaining.
"We pushed harder in the second half," Franco said. "We were more confident."
Added Moreno: "The second half, we passed more ... talked more, communicated more together."
The Mustangs continued to attack, pressing Cristina Olmos into duty on several occasions. In the 62nd minute, Olmos stopped a 20-yard missile by Loza. Four minutes later, Olmos had the answer for a curling, 35-yard free kick by by Moreno. Olmos then made a dandy save to rob Moreno on a low laser with 13:30 showing.
Olmos had little chance on Morton's next strike, a 20-yard riser by Franco that clipped the crossbar and tucked inside the net with 12:01 to go. Moreno earned the assist.
Two minutes, later, the Mustangs struck in similar fashion when Loza's 30-yard free kick slipped in over Olmos to conclude the scoring.
Trinity had one last chance to break the goose-egg, but Guerra's free kick from the left side sailed wide-right with 20 seconds left.
"It was frustrating in the second half," Guerra said. "We had to play the ball a lot more from the back. Our defense is much better this year, but we need to pass the ball more and control more."
The defeat was Trinity's sixth in a row.
"The losses are hard, but we try to keep each other up with a positive attitude and get better each game," Cristina Olmos said.
McClure said it's all part of a learning process for his young crew, which features only two seniors: midfielder Christina Martinez and defender Tabitha Mucci.
"Playing good teams this season, like Morton, has prepared us well for the playoffs," McClure said. "And that's what it's all about."
Morton
G: Dayanna Gonzalez
D: Lorena Jaimes
D: Joanna Solano
D: Julissa Solano
D: Esperanza Aranda
M: Jessica Franco
M: Medelin Loza
M: Mayte Gongora
M: Esmeralda Bautista
F: Adriana Moreno
F: Melanie Carranza
Trinity
G: Jacqueline Ostiguin
D: Bridget Whiteside
D: Natalie Maite
D: Antonella Rivoir
D: Tabitha Mucci
M: Caroline Leyden
M: Isabella Whitlock
M: Josephine Poe
M: Grace McCaughey
M: Jessica Olmos
F: Cristina Olmos
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Adriana Moreno, so., F, Morton
Scoring summary
First half
Morton: Adriana Moreno (assisted by Medelin Loza) in 4th minute
Morton: Moreno (assisted by Jessica Franco) in 14th minute
Second half
Morton: Franco (assisted by Moreno) in 68th minute
Morton: Loza (unassisted) in 70th minute
Moreno, Franco and Loza pace 4-0 victory
By Ken Keenan
MELROSE PARK -- Sizzling Morton closed out the regular season in style, chalking up its its 11th win in a row with a 4-0 decision over host Trinity in nonconference play at Serpico Memorial Field Thursday night.
The Mustangs -- fresh off wrapping up the team's first-ever outright West Suburban Conference Gold Division title with a perfect 6-0-x league mark -- improved to 15-5-0 overall with the victory. Morton will begin postseason play in the IHSA Class 3A Lyons Regional with a semifinal match against Glenbard West at 6 p.m. May 15.
Led by the trio of sophomore forward Adriana Moreno, senior midfielder Jessica Franco and junior mid Medelin Loza, the Mustangs scored twice in the first half against Trinity and put the Blazers away with a pair of markers in the late going.
Moreno, Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match, potted both goals in the opening 40 minutes and added an assist on a tally by Franco in the 68th minute. Franco, in turn, counted the helper on Moreno's second goal. Loza assisted on the first goal and finished the scoring on a free kick with 10:40 remaining in the game.
"In the first half, we were a little sloppy," said Morton head coach Jim Bageanis. "Going against the (gusty) wind, we couldn't connect second and third balls. The wind helped us in the second half. We definitely had better possession, and we were playing to feet better as the game progressed."
Added Moreno: "We were a little off our game the first half. But we came back strong."
Trinity (7-15-0) had the first good look of the match when junior midfielder Natalia Guerra nabbed a long ball from junior defender Natalie Maite and missed wide-left from the right side in the 2nd minute.
Just two minutes later, Moreno -- in rather unusual fashion -- opened the scoring. Speeding ahead on a feed from Loza, Moreno collided with Blazers sophomore goalkeeper Jacqueline Ostiguin, who was well out of the box in an attempt to defend Moreno's charge.
As Ostinguin fell to the turf, Moreno blasted the ball into the wide-open cage from 35 yards. Unable to continue, Ostinguin departed to seek medical attention for an arm injury. She was replaced for the remainder of the match by junior Cristina Olmos, who started the game at forward.
Morton upped the lead to 2-0 on Moreno's second goal with 26:45 to go before halftime. After working a give-and-go with Franco, Moreno rocked a 20-yard shot into the top right corner.
Looking to counter, Trinity sophomore mid Caroline Leyden's wide-angle try from the right side was scooped up by Mustangs junior keeper Dayanna Gonzalez in the 14th minute. The Blazers had another crack when freshman defender/midfielder Bridget Whiteside was snuffed by Gonzalez on a 35-yard free kick with 21:10 left in the opening session, and also a minute later on a close-in shot from the right side by sophomore mid Jessica Olmos that hit the side of the net.
"We had some good opportunities," said Trinity skipper Kyle McClure, whose squad begins postseason play against the host Pride in the Class 2A Speer Regional semis at 6:30 p.m. May 14. "It would have been nice to score a goal. But I was OK with the game. For the most part, we played pretty good soccer."
Cristina Olmos kept Trinity within striking distance, making a nice save on a solid strike by Moreno in the 23rd minute and then turning away a low, 25-yard rocket by Morton junior forward Melanie Carranza.
"I thought Cristina did an excellent job coming in (for Ostiguin)," McClure said.
Morton's strong second half effort featured a bevy of chances. In the 43rd minute, Loza barely missed high from 20 yards; freshman mid Esmeralda Bautista sailed a drive wide-left from a wide angle in the 45th minute; Loza settled a corner kick by Moreno in the 46th minute and sent a left-footed shot wide-left; and Loza also misfired in-close with 30:10 remaining.
"We pushed harder in the second half," Franco said. "We were more confident."
Added Moreno: "The second half, we passed more ... talked more, communicated more together."
The Mustangs continued to attack, pressing Cristina Olmos into duty on several occasions. In the 62nd minute, Olmos stopped a 20-yard missile by Loza. Four minutes later, Olmos had the answer for a curling, 35-yard free kick by by Moreno. Olmos then made a dandy save to rob Moreno on a low laser with 13:30 showing.
Olmos had little chance on Morton's next strike, a 20-yard riser by Franco that clipped the crossbar and tucked inside the net with 12:01 to go. Moreno earned the assist.
Two minutes, later, the Mustangs struck in similar fashion when Loza's 30-yard free kick slipped in over Olmos to conclude the scoring.
Trinity had one last chance to break the goose-egg, but Guerra's free kick from the left side sailed wide-right with 20 seconds left.
"It was frustrating in the second half," Guerra said. "We had to play the ball a lot more from the back. Our defense is much better this year, but we need to pass the ball more and control more."
The defeat was Trinity's sixth in a row.
"The losses are hard, but we try to keep each other up with a positive attitude and get better each game," Cristina Olmos said.
McClure said it's all part of a learning process for his young crew, which features only two seniors: midfielder Christina Martinez and defender Tabitha Mucci.
"Playing good teams this season, like Morton, has prepared us well for the playoffs," McClure said. "And that's what it's all about."
Morton
G: Dayanna Gonzalez
D: Lorena Jaimes
D: Joanna Solano
D: Julissa Solano
D: Esperanza Aranda
M: Jessica Franco
M: Medelin Loza
M: Mayte Gongora
M: Esmeralda Bautista
F: Adriana Moreno
F: Melanie Carranza
Trinity
G: Jacqueline Ostiguin
D: Bridget Whiteside
D: Natalie Maite
D: Antonella Rivoir
D: Tabitha Mucci
M: Caroline Leyden
M: Isabella Whitlock
M: Josephine Poe
M: Grace McCaughey
M: Jessica Olmos
F: Cristina Olmos
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Adriana Moreno, so., F, Morton
Scoring summary
First half
Morton: Adriana Moreno (assisted by Medelin Loza) in 4th minute
Morton: Moreno (assisted by Jessica Franco) in 14th minute
Second half
Morton: Franco (assisted by Moreno) in 68th minute
Morton: Loza (unassisted) in 70th minute