Metea Valley finds way past
Glenbard West, takes tourney title
Lange goals delivers 1-0 win, Kickoff Classic crown
By Bobby Narang
GLEN ELLYN -- Frustrations started to mount on both sides early in the second half of the final night of the Wheaton North Kickoff Classic on Thursday.
Metea Valley, especially sophomore forward Lucy Burk, had numerous chances in the first half to score. Glenbard West looked to continue its ranked upset streak after a 1-0 win over no. 15 Benet in its previous game, but struggled mounting an offensive attack in the first 60-plus minutes.
On a night with a constant drizzle and a seeming possible threat of snow, Metea Valley junior forward Jordan Lange finally broke the ice with a stunning, highlight-reel goal. The Mustangs, who sit at no. 10 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, held on to earn a significant early-season prize thanks to Lange and a solid effort on defense.
The goal ended the deadlock with 10:35 remaining and gave the Mustangs a 1-0 win. By beating the Hilltoppers (2-2-0), the Mustangs (4-0-1) claimed the title of the highly competitive four-game tournament.
Metea Valley coach Chris Whaley credited his players for playing aggressively throughout the 80-minute match. The Mustangs bounced back from a 2-2 draw against Plainfield North.
“We tied on Tuesday night, but part of it was a late goal,” Whaley said. “We just didn’t play very good soccer. We didn’t play our best, and we weren’t organized defensively and gave up a couple of goals that I didn’t like.
"Tonight, to come in here and get a good win against a very good Glenbard West team is a good sign. Defensively, we were organized and played well. The whole backline was awesome: Addison Wargo; Justyce King; Kaylee Bannack; Alyssa Parrilli; and Kyleigh Jannisch.”
Senior goalie Julia Straub also played well for the Mustangs. She weathered a late push by the Hilltoppers to record the clean-sheet after four saves, including a slow roller with 15 seconds left.
Glenbard West coach Adam Szyszko said his players showed a lot of heart by not letting the frustrations of the late goal affect their play.
“This tournament is top quality,” Szyszko said. “There are no bad teams in this tournament.
“Sandburg is struggling, but they were a supersectional team last year. “That shows you how good this tournament is, and all the teams are coached well.
“You have to bring it. For an early season tournament, this was a great test. I’m happy with 2-2-0, but more happy we performed every game. We saw a lot of bright spots.”
The Hilltoppers opened the tourney with a 3-1 win over Sandburg, lost 4-0 to Wheaton North and defeated Benet 1-0 before losing to the Mustangs.
“This is a very determined group, tough group. Wee throw a lot of challenges at them, and they responded,” Szyszko said. “It was a cold, wet and dreary night. We had a bad result, but we held our heads up high. We played well. They made a play.
“At this level, the level we want to play at, it comes down to a player makes a play. (Lange) make a good move and finish.”
With NCAA basketball's Sweet 16s taking the stage on national television and the extensive basketball coaching background of Szyszko (Hinsdale Central, Glenbard South, Guerin, Driscoll, Gordon Tech), Lange showed off her dribbling skills with an eye-catching play on the winning goal.
The junior, who has already scored seven goals this season, had a brilliant move on a one-on-one breakaway against Glenbard West goalie Ava Callaway — think a left to right crossover — to get wide open for the goal.
Instead of a layup, Lange knocked in a wide-open shot from 12 yards. Just 26 seconds seconds before, Glenbard West nearly scored on a goal, but Straub made a nice save that set up a quick transition to the game-winner.
“Leanne (Barrett) just tapped the ball into the air, and I just kind of turned with it and started running to get a breakaway,” Lange said. “I tapped it past the goalie and kept composed and shot it. It felt good. After Tuesday’s game, we really wanted to win today and show that we can bounce back.”
Burk said she was particularly happy to see Lange’s shot find the back of the net. The sophomore had three quality chances in the first half to score.
Her best attempt came with 27:30 left in the first half, when her shot from 18 yards hit the far post.
“Everyone was playing me with perfect balls, and I should’ve finished them, even the one that hit the post,” Burk said. “It was kind of like Jordan’s goal, where I was kind of on a breakaway, but had a weird angle. I had to curve it past the goalie. I just didn’t get enough spin on it, and it hit the post in a weird way.”
Burk said she was happy that the Mustangs were able to string together a few quality wins to pull out the tourney title.
“We’ve started a few games kind of rocky and just had to work it out, but part of it stems from the weather conditions that we’ve had to play in,” she said. “We just have to work through it, and we found out what worked today.”
King, a senior defender, was all over the field. She played with a relentless energy, flying between her teammates to stop the Hilltoppers from mounting an attack. King said the backline played one of their best games of the early season.
“We really stayed calm and composed in the back,” King said. “We were finally able to get one in to see all of our hard work pay off.
“We were really able to keep it away from our own goal. They were coming at us strong, but we were able to hold it down back there. That was great to see, everybody play really well.”
Glenbard West’s sophomore keeper Callaway, sporting a blue jersey, played well. She withstood a dangerous push by the Mustangs in the first half to finish with six saves, including four in the first 40 minutes.
Glenbard West senior defender Emma Kluge said her team can build off the loss.
“The Wheaton North game on Saturday was an unfortunate result, but we had a great result against Benet,” Kluge said. “I felt like our team has been connecting more and working together through practices, so I’m happy with our performance tonight.
“We had moments where we looked really good and definitely played well, but we allowed an unfortunate goal. Overall it was a great performance, but we still have some things we need to work on.”
Glenbard West senior midfielder Maggie McDonnell admitted the tournament tested her team, but the tough competition should help later in the season.
“This is a hard tournament to start off in, for our first four games, but we’ve definitely improved from our first game,” McDonnell said. “After the Wheaton North game, we could’ve shutdown after giving up all those goals, but we were able to step it up and keep our intensity.
“(Metea Valley’s) goal came on one of those miscommunications and was just unlucky. We need to work on our transitions.”
Champion Metea Valley saw Lange, King, Burk and junior midfielder Riley Strcic make the all-tournament team. Junior midfielder Clare Kostolansky represented Glenbard West.
Startling lineups
Metea Valley
GK Julia Straub
D Addison Wargo
D Justyce King
D Alyssa Parrilli
D Kaylee Bannack
MF Leanne Barrett
MF Riley Strcic
MF Jordan Lange
F Lucy Burk
F Jocelyn Grabow
F Tyra King
Glenbard West
GK Ava Callaway
D Elise Pollock
D Emma Kluge
D Jennifer Fox
D Ellie Beaudoin
MF Maggie McDonnell
MF Clare Kostolansky
MF Maeve Repking
F Sophia Brown
F Emily Roberts
F Gwen Johnson
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Jordan Lange, jr., MF, Metea Valley
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Metea Valley: Lange (Leanne Barrett) 10:34 remaining
Glenbard West, takes tourney title
Lange goals delivers 1-0 win, Kickoff Classic crown
By Bobby Narang
GLEN ELLYN -- Frustrations started to mount on both sides early in the second half of the final night of the Wheaton North Kickoff Classic on Thursday.
Metea Valley, especially sophomore forward Lucy Burk, had numerous chances in the first half to score. Glenbard West looked to continue its ranked upset streak after a 1-0 win over no. 15 Benet in its previous game, but struggled mounting an offensive attack in the first 60-plus minutes.
On a night with a constant drizzle and a seeming possible threat of snow, Metea Valley junior forward Jordan Lange finally broke the ice with a stunning, highlight-reel goal. The Mustangs, who sit at no. 10 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, held on to earn a significant early-season prize thanks to Lange and a solid effort on defense.
The goal ended the deadlock with 10:35 remaining and gave the Mustangs a 1-0 win. By beating the Hilltoppers (2-2-0), the Mustangs (4-0-1) claimed the title of the highly competitive four-game tournament.
Metea Valley coach Chris Whaley credited his players for playing aggressively throughout the 80-minute match. The Mustangs bounced back from a 2-2 draw against Plainfield North.
“We tied on Tuesday night, but part of it was a late goal,” Whaley said. “We just didn’t play very good soccer. We didn’t play our best, and we weren’t organized defensively and gave up a couple of goals that I didn’t like.
"Tonight, to come in here and get a good win against a very good Glenbard West team is a good sign. Defensively, we were organized and played well. The whole backline was awesome: Addison Wargo; Justyce King; Kaylee Bannack; Alyssa Parrilli; and Kyleigh Jannisch.”
Senior goalie Julia Straub also played well for the Mustangs. She weathered a late push by the Hilltoppers to record the clean-sheet after four saves, including a slow roller with 15 seconds left.
Glenbard West coach Adam Szyszko said his players showed a lot of heart by not letting the frustrations of the late goal affect their play.
“This tournament is top quality,” Szyszko said. “There are no bad teams in this tournament.
“Sandburg is struggling, but they were a supersectional team last year. “That shows you how good this tournament is, and all the teams are coached well.
“You have to bring it. For an early season tournament, this was a great test. I’m happy with 2-2-0, but more happy we performed every game. We saw a lot of bright spots.”
The Hilltoppers opened the tourney with a 3-1 win over Sandburg, lost 4-0 to Wheaton North and defeated Benet 1-0 before losing to the Mustangs.
“This is a very determined group, tough group. Wee throw a lot of challenges at them, and they responded,” Szyszko said. “It was a cold, wet and dreary night. We had a bad result, but we held our heads up high. We played well. They made a play.
“At this level, the level we want to play at, it comes down to a player makes a play. (Lange) make a good move and finish.”
With NCAA basketball's Sweet 16s taking the stage on national television and the extensive basketball coaching background of Szyszko (Hinsdale Central, Glenbard South, Guerin, Driscoll, Gordon Tech), Lange showed off her dribbling skills with an eye-catching play on the winning goal.
The junior, who has already scored seven goals this season, had a brilliant move on a one-on-one breakaway against Glenbard West goalie Ava Callaway — think a left to right crossover — to get wide open for the goal.
Instead of a layup, Lange knocked in a wide-open shot from 12 yards. Just 26 seconds seconds before, Glenbard West nearly scored on a goal, but Straub made a nice save that set up a quick transition to the game-winner.
“Leanne (Barrett) just tapped the ball into the air, and I just kind of turned with it and started running to get a breakaway,” Lange said. “I tapped it past the goalie and kept composed and shot it. It felt good. After Tuesday’s game, we really wanted to win today and show that we can bounce back.”
Burk said she was particularly happy to see Lange’s shot find the back of the net. The sophomore had three quality chances in the first half to score.
Her best attempt came with 27:30 left in the first half, when her shot from 18 yards hit the far post.
“Everyone was playing me with perfect balls, and I should’ve finished them, even the one that hit the post,” Burk said. “It was kind of like Jordan’s goal, where I was kind of on a breakaway, but had a weird angle. I had to curve it past the goalie. I just didn’t get enough spin on it, and it hit the post in a weird way.”
Burk said she was happy that the Mustangs were able to string together a few quality wins to pull out the tourney title.
“We’ve started a few games kind of rocky and just had to work it out, but part of it stems from the weather conditions that we’ve had to play in,” she said. “We just have to work through it, and we found out what worked today.”
King, a senior defender, was all over the field. She played with a relentless energy, flying between her teammates to stop the Hilltoppers from mounting an attack. King said the backline played one of their best games of the early season.
“We really stayed calm and composed in the back,” King said. “We were finally able to get one in to see all of our hard work pay off.
“We were really able to keep it away from our own goal. They were coming at us strong, but we were able to hold it down back there. That was great to see, everybody play really well.”
Glenbard West’s sophomore keeper Callaway, sporting a blue jersey, played well. She withstood a dangerous push by the Mustangs in the first half to finish with six saves, including four in the first 40 minutes.
Glenbard West senior defender Emma Kluge said her team can build off the loss.
“The Wheaton North game on Saturday was an unfortunate result, but we had a great result against Benet,” Kluge said. “I felt like our team has been connecting more and working together through practices, so I’m happy with our performance tonight.
“We had moments where we looked really good and definitely played well, but we allowed an unfortunate goal. Overall it was a great performance, but we still have some things we need to work on.”
Glenbard West senior midfielder Maggie McDonnell admitted the tournament tested her team, but the tough competition should help later in the season.
“This is a hard tournament to start off in, for our first four games, but we’ve definitely improved from our first game,” McDonnell said. “After the Wheaton North game, we could’ve shutdown after giving up all those goals, but we were able to step it up and keep our intensity.
“(Metea Valley’s) goal came on one of those miscommunications and was just unlucky. We need to work on our transitions.”
Champion Metea Valley saw Lange, King, Burk and junior midfielder Riley Strcic make the all-tournament team. Junior midfielder Clare Kostolansky represented Glenbard West.
Startling lineups
Metea Valley
GK Julia Straub
D Addison Wargo
D Justyce King
D Alyssa Parrilli
D Kaylee Bannack
MF Leanne Barrett
MF Riley Strcic
MF Jordan Lange
F Lucy Burk
F Jocelyn Grabow
F Tyra King
Glenbard West
GK Ava Callaway
D Elise Pollock
D Emma Kluge
D Jennifer Fox
D Ellie Beaudoin
MF Maggie McDonnell
MF Clare Kostolansky
MF Maeve Repking
F Sophia Brown
F Emily Roberts
F Gwen Johnson
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Jordan Lange, jr., MF, Metea Valley
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Metea Valley: Lange (Leanne Barrett) 10:34 remaining