Naperville C. sees 3-game win streak end
Redhawks can't hold early lead in 3-2 loss to Schaumburg
By Matt Le Cren
ST. CHARLES – Alyssa Lanzon made the first start of her varsity career for Naperville Central on Saturday.
It didn’t take the sophomore long to make an impact.
Lanzon worked herself free in front of the net and booted home a cross from Sarah Avery just 78 seconds into the Redhawks’ match against Schaumburg at St. Charles East’s Augsburg-Drach Invitational.
It was a memorable beginning to Lanzon’s starting debut. However, the finish to the game wasn’t as exciting for the Redhawks, who outshot the Saxons 16-7 only to lose 3-2.
Senior forward Dana Kiszkowski scored twice for Schaumburg (3-2), which took the lead for good on Al Schaar’s breakaway goal with 17:11 left in the second half.
While the match didn’t end the way the Redhawks (4-4-0) wanted it to, the start was more than they could have expected.
“It was my first time starting so I just knew I needed to get going and work my hardest to show (the coaches),” Lanzon said. “(Scoring) was a good feeling. It was just such a rush, and it really got me going.”
Avery, the Northern Illinois-bound left back, got the play going by making a run up the left wing before centering to Lanzon where the varsity rookie beat Schaumburg keeper Livvy Masi for the tap-in and a 1-0 lead.
“It was just a big confidence boost for us,” Avery said. “I just got the ball into space, and I looked up and saw Alyssa wide-open in the center and got her the ball.
“She’s an awesome player. She’s a good asset to our team.”
Lanzon, who is on her first varsity roster, is one of several young players who figure to get a long look from Naperville Central coach Ed Watson, whose team has been bit with the injury bug.
The Redhawks lost starting goalkeeper Amber Hunter to a torn ACL in the second game of the season and this week starting defenders Emma Philips and Grace Anderson went down.
Philips, a senior, is out for the season with a knee injury. Anderson, who has shin splints, will miss significant time but Watson expects to have her back in the lineup at some point.
In the meantime, the Redhawks are scrambling to solidify their normally outstanding back line. Avery, who will play defense in college, had been playing in the midfield to help out the attack but has gone back to playing defense.
“Of the five girls that started Game 1 in the back, we’ve lost three of them already,” Watson said. “I would like to think that we’re going to figure some things out in the back, because today we took a big step back.
“Eventually some younger players will get some experience that they probably weren’t going to get as much of. Sarah Avery will be moving to the back.
“We’re not taking a step back at the outside back, but then we take a step back in the midfield because that’s where she was playing and now we have to pull her back into the back.”
Avery still managed to make an impact offensively, helping the Redhawks rally from a 2-1 second half deficit.
Schaumburg tied the game at 1-1 when Kiszkowski headed home Schaar’s 30-yard free kick at the 26:34 mark of the first half. That was Schaumburg’s first shot of the game; they would get only one more before intermission.
The Redhawks enjoyed the better of the run of play on either side of the break but failed to take the lead despite some near-misses.
Senior Jessica Sonner nearly gave her team a 2-0 lead with 29:55 left but her left-footed blast from 30 yards out sailed just over the crossbar.
One minute after Kiszkowski’s equalizer, Hannah Bradley-Leon rushed past a defender up the middle of the box but her shot was stopped by Masi, who made four of her nine saves before the break.
Two minutes later, Maddie Mills hit the crossbar with a 28-yarder. Then Masi stopped a header from Maddie Redeker at the 15:35 mark.
It was more of the same in the second half. Bradley-Leon’s short pass to Liz Barker at the top of the key found the sophomore with a solid opportunity. Barker turned and fired just wide of the right post.
The Saxons then scored on a counterattack. Emma Aguilar moved the ball up the right flank and passed ahead to Kiszkowski, who got in behind the Naperville Central defense and scored on an 18-yard shot inside the far post with 23:22 to go.
That gave Schaumburg its first lead, but it didn’t last long. Now it was Naperville Central’s turn to rally and Bradley-Leon nearly got the equalizer with 21:15 left after Masi got caught out of position after failing to secure a ball just outside the 6.
Bradley-Leon corralled the loose ball near the top of the box and fired a low liner toward the lower left corner of the net, but Masi recovered in time to tip the shot around the left post.
That gave the Redhawks a corner kick -- Bradley-Leon sent it into traffic in front of the near post. Avery got to it but her first shot was blocked by a defender.
The senior standout got the ball back, however, and drove it through a crowd to tie it at 2-2 with 20:43 remaining.
“We normally play the two-man corner and Hannah just crosses it in,” Avery said. “It popped out, and I originally shot it.
“I missed the first time, and it popped right back out, and I kind of lofted it in there.”
The Saxons, though, stunned the Redhawks again by going back in front three minutes later. Kiszkowski’s 18-yard shot from the top of the circle hit the right post and wound up on the left side of the box.
Schaar got it there and dribbled around the defense to score the go-ahead goal.
The Redhawks found opportunities to at least salvage a draw. Bradley-Leon’s lead pass into the box found the foot of Lanzon, whose left-footed shot was blocked by a defender with 14:30 to go.
Ninety seconds later, Sonner blasted a ball off the crossbar. The rebound went out to Bradley-Leon, who hesitated a split-second before shooting, and the Saxons blocked that attempt.
Bradley-Leon also had Naperville Central’s last good opportunity. This time her left-footed attempt from 22 yards got through the defense, but Masi made a diving save to deflect it wide.
“She was a good keeper,” Avery said of Masi. “We did play really well.
“Today it was just hard for us to finish. We had so many opportunities, but we just couldn’t find one.”
The result was a little bit of a downer for the Redhawks, who were coming off a quality 2-1 victory over 17th-ranked St. Charles East on Thursday.
“We had opportunities to go up 2-0 or 3-0 before they tied the game,” Watson said. “We had multiple through-ball opportunities, and we didn’t finish. And then in the second half we had good opportunities as well.
“But the fact of the matter is we were porous. We gave away a ball off of a punt that our midfielders didn’t win, it skipped over a defender and the next thing you know they’ve got a girl running on our goal. That was bad.”
Starting lineups
Naperville Central
GK Sophie Epelbaum
D Emma Irle
D Sarah Avery
D Abbey Hillman
M Jessica Sonner
M Hannah Bradley-Leon
M Maddie Mills
M Caroline Giannone
F Maddie Redeker
F Alyssa Lanzon
FCaroline Reedy
Schaumburg
GK Livvy Masi
D Kaitlyn Uhlman
D Jamie Stevens
D Melissa Schneider
D Savannah Morini
M Michelle Candotti
M Al Schaar
M Victoria Treni
M Katie Smith
F Dana Kiszkowski
F Emma Aguilar
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match -- Dana Kiszkowski, sr., F, Schaumburg
Scoring summary
1st half
Naperville Central – Alyssa Lanzon (Sarah Avery) 38:42
Schaumburg – Dana Kiszkowski (Al Schaar) 26:34
2nd half
Schaumburg – Kiszkowsky 23:22
Naperville Central – Avery 20:43
Schaumburg – Schaar 17:11
Redhawks can't hold early lead in 3-2 loss to Schaumburg
By Matt Le Cren
ST. CHARLES – Alyssa Lanzon made the first start of her varsity career for Naperville Central on Saturday.
It didn’t take the sophomore long to make an impact.
Lanzon worked herself free in front of the net and booted home a cross from Sarah Avery just 78 seconds into the Redhawks’ match against Schaumburg at St. Charles East’s Augsburg-Drach Invitational.
It was a memorable beginning to Lanzon’s starting debut. However, the finish to the game wasn’t as exciting for the Redhawks, who outshot the Saxons 16-7 only to lose 3-2.
Senior forward Dana Kiszkowski scored twice for Schaumburg (3-2), which took the lead for good on Al Schaar’s breakaway goal with 17:11 left in the second half.
While the match didn’t end the way the Redhawks (4-4-0) wanted it to, the start was more than they could have expected.
“It was my first time starting so I just knew I needed to get going and work my hardest to show (the coaches),” Lanzon said. “(Scoring) was a good feeling. It was just such a rush, and it really got me going.”
Avery, the Northern Illinois-bound left back, got the play going by making a run up the left wing before centering to Lanzon where the varsity rookie beat Schaumburg keeper Livvy Masi for the tap-in and a 1-0 lead.
“It was just a big confidence boost for us,” Avery said. “I just got the ball into space, and I looked up and saw Alyssa wide-open in the center and got her the ball.
“She’s an awesome player. She’s a good asset to our team.”
Lanzon, who is on her first varsity roster, is one of several young players who figure to get a long look from Naperville Central coach Ed Watson, whose team has been bit with the injury bug.
The Redhawks lost starting goalkeeper Amber Hunter to a torn ACL in the second game of the season and this week starting defenders Emma Philips and Grace Anderson went down.
Philips, a senior, is out for the season with a knee injury. Anderson, who has shin splints, will miss significant time but Watson expects to have her back in the lineup at some point.
In the meantime, the Redhawks are scrambling to solidify their normally outstanding back line. Avery, who will play defense in college, had been playing in the midfield to help out the attack but has gone back to playing defense.
“Of the five girls that started Game 1 in the back, we’ve lost three of them already,” Watson said. “I would like to think that we’re going to figure some things out in the back, because today we took a big step back.
“Eventually some younger players will get some experience that they probably weren’t going to get as much of. Sarah Avery will be moving to the back.
“We’re not taking a step back at the outside back, but then we take a step back in the midfield because that’s where she was playing and now we have to pull her back into the back.”
Avery still managed to make an impact offensively, helping the Redhawks rally from a 2-1 second half deficit.
Schaumburg tied the game at 1-1 when Kiszkowski headed home Schaar’s 30-yard free kick at the 26:34 mark of the first half. That was Schaumburg’s first shot of the game; they would get only one more before intermission.
The Redhawks enjoyed the better of the run of play on either side of the break but failed to take the lead despite some near-misses.
Senior Jessica Sonner nearly gave her team a 2-0 lead with 29:55 left but her left-footed blast from 30 yards out sailed just over the crossbar.
One minute after Kiszkowski’s equalizer, Hannah Bradley-Leon rushed past a defender up the middle of the box but her shot was stopped by Masi, who made four of her nine saves before the break.
Two minutes later, Maddie Mills hit the crossbar with a 28-yarder. Then Masi stopped a header from Maddie Redeker at the 15:35 mark.
It was more of the same in the second half. Bradley-Leon’s short pass to Liz Barker at the top of the key found the sophomore with a solid opportunity. Barker turned and fired just wide of the right post.
The Saxons then scored on a counterattack. Emma Aguilar moved the ball up the right flank and passed ahead to Kiszkowski, who got in behind the Naperville Central defense and scored on an 18-yard shot inside the far post with 23:22 to go.
That gave Schaumburg its first lead, but it didn’t last long. Now it was Naperville Central’s turn to rally and Bradley-Leon nearly got the equalizer with 21:15 left after Masi got caught out of position after failing to secure a ball just outside the 6.
Bradley-Leon corralled the loose ball near the top of the box and fired a low liner toward the lower left corner of the net, but Masi recovered in time to tip the shot around the left post.
That gave the Redhawks a corner kick -- Bradley-Leon sent it into traffic in front of the near post. Avery got to it but her first shot was blocked by a defender.
The senior standout got the ball back, however, and drove it through a crowd to tie it at 2-2 with 20:43 remaining.
“We normally play the two-man corner and Hannah just crosses it in,” Avery said. “It popped out, and I originally shot it.
“I missed the first time, and it popped right back out, and I kind of lofted it in there.”
The Saxons, though, stunned the Redhawks again by going back in front three minutes later. Kiszkowski’s 18-yard shot from the top of the circle hit the right post and wound up on the left side of the box.
Schaar got it there and dribbled around the defense to score the go-ahead goal.
The Redhawks found opportunities to at least salvage a draw. Bradley-Leon’s lead pass into the box found the foot of Lanzon, whose left-footed shot was blocked by a defender with 14:30 to go.
Ninety seconds later, Sonner blasted a ball off the crossbar. The rebound went out to Bradley-Leon, who hesitated a split-second before shooting, and the Saxons blocked that attempt.
Bradley-Leon also had Naperville Central’s last good opportunity. This time her left-footed attempt from 22 yards got through the defense, but Masi made a diving save to deflect it wide.
“She was a good keeper,” Avery said of Masi. “We did play really well.
“Today it was just hard for us to finish. We had so many opportunities, but we just couldn’t find one.”
The result was a little bit of a downer for the Redhawks, who were coming off a quality 2-1 victory over 17th-ranked St. Charles East on Thursday.
“We had opportunities to go up 2-0 or 3-0 before they tied the game,” Watson said. “We had multiple through-ball opportunities, and we didn’t finish. And then in the second half we had good opportunities as well.
“But the fact of the matter is we were porous. We gave away a ball off of a punt that our midfielders didn’t win, it skipped over a defender and the next thing you know they’ve got a girl running on our goal. That was bad.”
Starting lineups
Naperville Central
GK Sophie Epelbaum
D Emma Irle
D Sarah Avery
D Abbey Hillman
M Jessica Sonner
M Hannah Bradley-Leon
M Maddie Mills
M Caroline Giannone
F Maddie Redeker
F Alyssa Lanzon
FCaroline Reedy
Schaumburg
GK Livvy Masi
D Kaitlyn Uhlman
D Jamie Stevens
D Melissa Schneider
D Savannah Morini
M Michelle Candotti
M Al Schaar
M Victoria Treni
M Katie Smith
F Dana Kiszkowski
F Emma Aguilar
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match -- Dana Kiszkowski, sr., F, Schaumburg
Scoring summary
1st half
Naperville Central – Alyssa Lanzon (Sarah Avery) 38:42
Schaumburg – Dana Kiszkowski (Al Schaar) 26:34
2nd half
Schaumburg – Kiszkowsky 23:22
Naperville Central – Avery 20:43
Schaumburg – Schaar 17:11