Coryell carries Metea V. past Oswego E.
GK gets 9th shutout, Mustangs advance to regional final
By Matt Le Cren
LOCKPORT -- Paige Buranosky succinctly summed up the impact goalkeeper Nikki Coryell had on Metea Valley’s playoff opener Wednesday.
“She saved us,” Buranosky said.
That was literally true. Coryell covered up an uncharacteristically shaky performance by Metea’s defense by making seven saves, and the Mustangs scored on three corner kicks to knock off Oswego East 3-0 in a Class 3A Lockport Regional semifinal.
It was the third-consecutive shutout and ninth of the season for Coryell. This one put the sixth-seeded Mustangs (10-8-2) in Friday’s regional final against fourth-seeded Lockport.
“They have an incredible goalie,” Oswego East coach Juan Leal said. “That obviously is one of their biggest strengths.
“My girls played to the whistle. We didn’t have some good corner kicks defensively, and they capitalized on them (because of) a bad clearance here or a miscommunication there.
“But we fought to the whistle and we created a lot of scoring opportunities.”
Indeed, the 12th-seeded Wolves squeezed off eight shots, seven of which were on frame. But Coryell, a Valparaiso-bound junior, stopped every one of, including diving denials on Sydney Conway in the first half and then a great one-two sequence, again on Conway, five minutes into the first half.
Coryell made a diving stop on Conway’s hard shot from 12 yards. She gave up a rebound, and Conway fired again before Coryell could get up, but that shot died in Coryell’s arms.
Four minutes later, Kiley McKee scored on a rebound off a Kayla Hurst corner kick to extend Metea’s lead to 3-0, a strike that sealed Oswego East’s fate.
All three of the Mustangs’ goals came on rebounds after corner kicks and Metea, despite playing on an unfamiliar thick grass surface, outshot the Wolves (6-14-1) by a 14-8 margin.
“We have a turf field so we worked on playing on grass in practice,” Coryell said. “I think our focus today was playing through our midfielders.
“We’ve done a great job defensively all year. I think today we struggled a little bit staying organized, but we definitely played through our midfielders so it was good. We were just looking to get forward and capitalize on those corner kicks, which was great.”
Ironically, Metea’s goals came from some unexpected sources, including little-used sophomore forward Livvy Toole, who bagged her first varsity goal to open the scoring with 12:55 left in the first half.
Hurst’s corner kick from the left side landed in a crowd at the six, where multiple players from both sides got a foot on it. McKee and Delaney Putnam both had shots blocked by defenders before the ball fell at the feet of Toole, who booted it in for a 1-0 lead.
“I think it was right place, right time,” Toole said. “The ball just landed right at my feet, and it was an easy shot to the back lower corner.”
No one was more shocked at the turn of events than Toole, a varsity rookie who missed 10 games with injuries and has yet to start.
“I was a little surprised,” Toole said. “I didn’t think it was going to happen this year and then all my friends were like, 'Yay,' and I was excited.”
Metea Valley coach Chris Whaley was excited to see some unheralded -- and to some people unknown -- players make a contribution to the playoff win. Freshman Lucy Quarles made her varsity debut at right wing and played well, at one point sending a cross to the near post which Hurst headed just wide while the game was still scoreless.
“There were a few girls that stepped up today that haven’t had big roles this season yet, so it’s good to see,” Whaley said. “(Toole) is struggling with some injuries this year.
“You can tell she’s got her ankle taped and wrapped up. But she did well today. All the girls worked hard, gave us a chance.”
The Wolves, who will graduate only five seniors from a team that lost nine one-goal games, might have had a chance at an upset, but Coryell slammed the door. Her last save came on a point-blank rocket off the foot of her club teammate Haley Lewis with four minutes remaining.
“I thought that one was going in, but she was there in the right time, right place,” Lewis said. “She’s a heckuva goalie.
“She works hard, plays hard. Everything about her is just amazing.”
Another player who has had an outstanding season for Metea Valley is Buranosky. The junior has been a stalwart on the backline, but against the Wolves she contributed at the other end, using a half-volley to score on a rebound of a Sarah Davies corner kick five minutes after Toole’s goal.
It was Buranosky’s third goal of the season.
“I was surprised, too, because I had the ball and I shot it, and it just happened to go in,” Buranosky said. “It wasn’t a good shot or anything.”
Buranosky was being a bit modest about that, but she didn’t hesitate to give a shout-out to Toole for her historic strike.
“It was a game-changer just because our momentum was kind of down,” Buranosky said. “Once she scored, it brought our team up.
“It was like, ‘Let’s settle down, we have the lead,’ and I think it relaxed us. It was great.”
Starting lineups
Metea Valley
GK Nikki Coryell
D Paige Buranosky
D Morgan McCrary
D Lauren Wardell
D Sarah Davies
D Katy Flanders
M Ella Johnson
M Jocelyn Grabow
M Kiley McKee
F Sydney Rohm
F Kayla Hurst
Oswego East
GK Reagan Sanders
D Alex McPhee
D Allison Adams
D Kate Olivas
D Madeline Kastel
M Taylor English
M Mikayla Lambert
M Madison Frazer
M Chloe Noon
M Haley Lewis
F Sydney Conway
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Nikki Coryell, jr., GK, Metea Valley
Scoring summary
First half
MV – Livvy Toole 12:55
MV – Paige Buranosky 8:08
Second half
MV – Kiley McKee 31:39
GK gets 9th shutout, Mustangs advance to regional final
By Matt Le Cren
LOCKPORT -- Paige Buranosky succinctly summed up the impact goalkeeper Nikki Coryell had on Metea Valley’s playoff opener Wednesday.
“She saved us,” Buranosky said.
That was literally true. Coryell covered up an uncharacteristically shaky performance by Metea’s defense by making seven saves, and the Mustangs scored on three corner kicks to knock off Oswego East 3-0 in a Class 3A Lockport Regional semifinal.
It was the third-consecutive shutout and ninth of the season for Coryell. This one put the sixth-seeded Mustangs (10-8-2) in Friday’s regional final against fourth-seeded Lockport.
“They have an incredible goalie,” Oswego East coach Juan Leal said. “That obviously is one of their biggest strengths.
“My girls played to the whistle. We didn’t have some good corner kicks defensively, and they capitalized on them (because of) a bad clearance here or a miscommunication there.
“But we fought to the whistle and we created a lot of scoring opportunities.”
Indeed, the 12th-seeded Wolves squeezed off eight shots, seven of which were on frame. But Coryell, a Valparaiso-bound junior, stopped every one of, including diving denials on Sydney Conway in the first half and then a great one-two sequence, again on Conway, five minutes into the first half.
Coryell made a diving stop on Conway’s hard shot from 12 yards. She gave up a rebound, and Conway fired again before Coryell could get up, but that shot died in Coryell’s arms.
Four minutes later, Kiley McKee scored on a rebound off a Kayla Hurst corner kick to extend Metea’s lead to 3-0, a strike that sealed Oswego East’s fate.
All three of the Mustangs’ goals came on rebounds after corner kicks and Metea, despite playing on an unfamiliar thick grass surface, outshot the Wolves (6-14-1) by a 14-8 margin.
“We have a turf field so we worked on playing on grass in practice,” Coryell said. “I think our focus today was playing through our midfielders.
“We’ve done a great job defensively all year. I think today we struggled a little bit staying organized, but we definitely played through our midfielders so it was good. We were just looking to get forward and capitalize on those corner kicks, which was great.”
Ironically, Metea’s goals came from some unexpected sources, including little-used sophomore forward Livvy Toole, who bagged her first varsity goal to open the scoring with 12:55 left in the first half.
Hurst’s corner kick from the left side landed in a crowd at the six, where multiple players from both sides got a foot on it. McKee and Delaney Putnam both had shots blocked by defenders before the ball fell at the feet of Toole, who booted it in for a 1-0 lead.
“I think it was right place, right time,” Toole said. “The ball just landed right at my feet, and it was an easy shot to the back lower corner.”
No one was more shocked at the turn of events than Toole, a varsity rookie who missed 10 games with injuries and has yet to start.
“I was a little surprised,” Toole said. “I didn’t think it was going to happen this year and then all my friends were like, 'Yay,' and I was excited.”
Metea Valley coach Chris Whaley was excited to see some unheralded -- and to some people unknown -- players make a contribution to the playoff win. Freshman Lucy Quarles made her varsity debut at right wing and played well, at one point sending a cross to the near post which Hurst headed just wide while the game was still scoreless.
“There were a few girls that stepped up today that haven’t had big roles this season yet, so it’s good to see,” Whaley said. “(Toole) is struggling with some injuries this year.
“You can tell she’s got her ankle taped and wrapped up. But she did well today. All the girls worked hard, gave us a chance.”
The Wolves, who will graduate only five seniors from a team that lost nine one-goal games, might have had a chance at an upset, but Coryell slammed the door. Her last save came on a point-blank rocket off the foot of her club teammate Haley Lewis with four minutes remaining.
“I thought that one was going in, but she was there in the right time, right place,” Lewis said. “She’s a heckuva goalie.
“She works hard, plays hard. Everything about her is just amazing.”
Another player who has had an outstanding season for Metea Valley is Buranosky. The junior has been a stalwart on the backline, but against the Wolves she contributed at the other end, using a half-volley to score on a rebound of a Sarah Davies corner kick five minutes after Toole’s goal.
It was Buranosky’s third goal of the season.
“I was surprised, too, because I had the ball and I shot it, and it just happened to go in,” Buranosky said. “It wasn’t a good shot or anything.”
Buranosky was being a bit modest about that, but she didn’t hesitate to give a shout-out to Toole for her historic strike.
“It was a game-changer just because our momentum was kind of down,” Buranosky said. “Once she scored, it brought our team up.
“It was like, ‘Let’s settle down, we have the lead,’ and I think it relaxed us. It was great.”
Starting lineups
Metea Valley
GK Nikki Coryell
D Paige Buranosky
D Morgan McCrary
D Lauren Wardell
D Sarah Davies
D Katy Flanders
M Ella Johnson
M Jocelyn Grabow
M Kiley McKee
F Sydney Rohm
F Kayla Hurst
Oswego East
GK Reagan Sanders
D Alex McPhee
D Allison Adams
D Kate Olivas
D Madeline Kastel
M Taylor English
M Mikayla Lambert
M Madison Frazer
M Chloe Noon
M Haley Lewis
F Sydney Conway
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Nikki Coryell, jr., GK, Metea Valley
Scoring summary
First half
MV – Livvy Toole 12:55
MV – Paige Buranosky 8:08
Second half
MV – Kiley McKee 31:39