Lane blanks Payton for 6th-straight city title
Murray scores 2nd-consecutive Final 4 hat-trick in 5-0 win
By Michael Wojtychiw
CHICAGO -- Lane prides itself as the "School of Champions."
In the past couple weeks, the Indians have won at least three city titles, including girls lacrosse, boys tennis and girls water polo. The Indians finished second in boys lacrosse.
The North Side school can add another trophy to their case after the girls soccer team took out Payton 5-0 to win its sixth-consecutive city title on an unseasonably chilly Thursday evening in its home stadium.
"Playing on our field is really fun, I love it," Lane's Lisa Rios said. "It's my last year so the feelings are hitting right now, and I'm going to start missing it.
"Coming into Lane, the team was really good and in my first year, everyone was so hyped up and kept encouraging every player. We've kept that same energy every year."
With only six players returning in 2021 who had been on a varsity roster much less in a city title game, seniors Rios, Juliana Medina, Eily Quinn and Alexis Dempsey, and juniors Scout Murray and Jocelyn Ramirez, the 2021 Lane squad was not one that was extremely experienced or one that expected to cakewalk to another title.
The view became even murkier when a basketball knee injury forced Quinn to miss the season.
Lane coach Michelle Vale knew her team would have to work to find its way.
"I always try to remain optimistic but never overly confident," she said. "I try to teach my players to work as hard as they can and to always keep things very classy.
"I want them to know how to fall and get right back up, how to constantly play hard and to know that part of playing great soccer is to make sure that you remain mentally strong and tough. I want them to walk off the soccer field, not just great players, but great women as well.
“When I thought about this season, I thought this was a team that could compete, but I also wanted to make sure this is a team that remembered there are teams out there that are good too, and we respect them and had to work our hardest."
But yet, here they were again Thursday night, ready to defend their title, nearly 25 months later.
"We've learned to play with each other over the years and that's really created special relationships and bonds," Rios said. "We're just behind each other all the time, there for each other, always willing to hype each other up."
Payton (12-5-0) applied the early pressure and was able to pepper Lane keeper Siena Belko with multiple shots in the first 10 minutes.
However once Lane, ranked 21 in the the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, got on the board, it seemed like the Indians couldn't stop scoring.
Murray tallied the first of her goals on a pass from classmate Maya Martinez-Bates with 18 minutes, 43 seconds remaining until the half.
"The first goal is always the best one, because it gets us all excited and hyped up,” Murray said.
Payton’s Olivia Moore, who substituted in goal for a second game due to an injury to Chloe Guzik, stopped a Lane shot a couple minutes later, but misfortune struck the Grizzlies in the 35th minute.
Lane's Jessica Lam collected an overthrown throw-in on the near sideline 70 yards from goal and switched the field to fellow senior defender Alexis Dempsey. She played it back across on the ground to sophomore midfielder Mary Rau as the Indians built an attack now 50 yards from goal.
Gabby Mann received a touch pass on the right edge and advanced the ball before giving it back to Rau, who moved the ball ahead before firing at the far post from 25 yards. The ball deflected off a defender wide right, and Mann tracked it down less than 10 yards from the endline.
She send a bouncing cross just outside the six where Dale Sink got a leg on it inside the near post and deflected the ball toward the far post. When the deflection was halfway there, a Payton defender running back to help ran into the ball's path and it bounced off her body into the net for an own-goal.
Maya Warkentin followed with a score in the 38th minute to give Lane a 3-0 halftime lead.
"The first goal we were still in it, but the two right before the half in succession, that was really tough to come back from," Payton coach Paul Escobar said. "We lost that momentum there. But Lane played great today; they deserved to win."
Something that Vale has loved about this Lane squad is the players' ability to be there for their teammates when something goes wrong. They're always there to pick each other up and lift each others’ spirits.
"Their teamwork today was great," Vale said. "I'm very pleased with how close they are and how they cheer each other on. When Maya (Martinez-Bates) missed the penalty kick, everyone on the sideline was telling her that it was ok.
“A couple of our players, when they were knocked down, their teammates would say 'Come on. You got this. Get back up.'
"I love how positive and uplifting they are, how much they love each other."
After Moore's penalty-kick save, Payton seemed to regain energy. The Grizzlies soon turned the aggressor, putting up three shots and earning two corners and a free kick.
However, the Indians (11-3-2) continually thwarted any opportunities thrown at them.
"When we got the third goal, it almost seemed like they stopped going as hard to goal," Murray said. "Then in the second half, we knew to go in strong.”
Murray sure didn’t slow down. She added her second goal with 28:29 remaining, and the hosts were on the offensive again.
Payton, which like Lane didn't return much experience, had some ups and downs throughout the season.
After starting conference play with wins over Hancock, Solorio, Lincoln Park and Von Steuben, the Grizzlies faced a final conference-play week gauntlet of back-to-back-to-back contests with Young, Jones and Lane.
Payton dropped all three contests, meaning it'd be going into the city tournament on a three-game skid. The Grizzlies put all that behind them and gained revenge against Young with a 2-1 semifinal win in overtime.
"I thought we came out great here in the first 10, 15 minutes, showed we wanted to be out here," Escobar said. "We knew that we were better than what we showed that last week of the regular-season. The regular-season is the regular-season. What really counts in my mind is the city and state playoffs, that's a new season.
"So we wanted to come out and show it wasn't reflective of us as a team. Getting in front and beating Whitney (Young) was nice, but we have a relatively young team. Hopefully we'll be back here next year."
Murray, who had a hat trick in Lane's semifinal-win over Jones, made it two games in a row when she scored on a play and shot that looked like they had no chance of working out.
Somehow the speedy junior went to the left of the goal after taking a pass from Rios, was surrounded by multiple Payton defenders, including the keeper, but still managed to put the ball into the net.
"I knew I had the foot speed, took a bunch of fast touches and shot it when I saw an opening," she said.
"It really feels really great to get this; we've had a great streak of wins recently.”
With the city playoffs over, both teams now look forward to the state playoffs. Lane is the fifth seed in the Class 3A Maine South Sectional. Payton is the top seed in the Class AA Speer Sectional.
Payton beat second-seeded Pritzker 3-2 earlier this season in its only matchup with teams in its sectional. Payton will face the winner of the Ridgewood/Bulls Prep game in its first playoff match June 4.
Lane, on the other hand, is in a sectional with New Trier, Loyola and Glenbrook North, each of whom accounted for one of the Indians' three losses on the year. Lane is in the regional with fourth-seeded Glenbrook North, so they'll be able to have a revenge match if both teams make the final on June 4. The Indians start the playoffs on June 2 with a home game against conference foe Von Steuben.
"We know we have a lot of tough competition ahead of us, so we know that these (CPS games) are meant to prepare us for those upcoming games, so we're going to go in strong next week," Murray said.
Starting lineups
Payton
GK: Olivia Moore
D: Elaina Tandy
D: Maddy Sparks
D: Bridget Wyman
MF: Isabella Chitarro
MF: Tess Scrivner
MF: Lola Feuer
MF: Cate Cupps
MF: Norah Duritsa
F: Felicity Cole
F: Nadine Denahan
Lane
GK: Siena Belko
D: Alexis Dempsey
D: Jocelyn Ramirez
D: Maria Katsogridakis
MF: Gabriela Pop
MF: Julie Medina
MF: Laura Butler
MF: Lisa Rios
MF: Maya Martinez-Bates
MF: Mary Rau
F: Scout Murray
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Scout Murray, jr., F, Lane
Scoring summary
First half
Lane - Scout Murray (Maya Martinez-Bates), 23rd minute
Lane – Own-goal (Dale Sink), 35th minute
Lane - Maya Warkentin (unassisted), 39th minute
Second Half
Lane - Murray (unassisted), 53rd minute
Lane - Murray (Lisa Rios), 63rd minute
Murray scores 2nd-consecutive Final 4 hat-trick in 5-0 win
By Michael Wojtychiw
CHICAGO -- Lane prides itself as the "School of Champions."
In the past couple weeks, the Indians have won at least three city titles, including girls lacrosse, boys tennis and girls water polo. The Indians finished second in boys lacrosse.
The North Side school can add another trophy to their case after the girls soccer team took out Payton 5-0 to win its sixth-consecutive city title on an unseasonably chilly Thursday evening in its home stadium.
"Playing on our field is really fun, I love it," Lane's Lisa Rios said. "It's my last year so the feelings are hitting right now, and I'm going to start missing it.
"Coming into Lane, the team was really good and in my first year, everyone was so hyped up and kept encouraging every player. We've kept that same energy every year."
With only six players returning in 2021 who had been on a varsity roster much less in a city title game, seniors Rios, Juliana Medina, Eily Quinn and Alexis Dempsey, and juniors Scout Murray and Jocelyn Ramirez, the 2021 Lane squad was not one that was extremely experienced or one that expected to cakewalk to another title.
The view became even murkier when a basketball knee injury forced Quinn to miss the season.
Lane coach Michelle Vale knew her team would have to work to find its way.
"I always try to remain optimistic but never overly confident," she said. "I try to teach my players to work as hard as they can and to always keep things very classy.
"I want them to know how to fall and get right back up, how to constantly play hard and to know that part of playing great soccer is to make sure that you remain mentally strong and tough. I want them to walk off the soccer field, not just great players, but great women as well.
“When I thought about this season, I thought this was a team that could compete, but I also wanted to make sure this is a team that remembered there are teams out there that are good too, and we respect them and had to work our hardest."
But yet, here they were again Thursday night, ready to defend their title, nearly 25 months later.
"We've learned to play with each other over the years and that's really created special relationships and bonds," Rios said. "We're just behind each other all the time, there for each other, always willing to hype each other up."
Payton (12-5-0) applied the early pressure and was able to pepper Lane keeper Siena Belko with multiple shots in the first 10 minutes.
However once Lane, ranked 21 in the the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, got on the board, it seemed like the Indians couldn't stop scoring.
Murray tallied the first of her goals on a pass from classmate Maya Martinez-Bates with 18 minutes, 43 seconds remaining until the half.
"The first goal is always the best one, because it gets us all excited and hyped up,” Murray said.
Payton’s Olivia Moore, who substituted in goal for a second game due to an injury to Chloe Guzik, stopped a Lane shot a couple minutes later, but misfortune struck the Grizzlies in the 35th minute.
Lane's Jessica Lam collected an overthrown throw-in on the near sideline 70 yards from goal and switched the field to fellow senior defender Alexis Dempsey. She played it back across on the ground to sophomore midfielder Mary Rau as the Indians built an attack now 50 yards from goal.
Gabby Mann received a touch pass on the right edge and advanced the ball before giving it back to Rau, who moved the ball ahead before firing at the far post from 25 yards. The ball deflected off a defender wide right, and Mann tracked it down less than 10 yards from the endline.
She send a bouncing cross just outside the six where Dale Sink got a leg on it inside the near post and deflected the ball toward the far post. When the deflection was halfway there, a Payton defender running back to help ran into the ball's path and it bounced off her body into the net for an own-goal.
Maya Warkentin followed with a score in the 38th minute to give Lane a 3-0 halftime lead.
"The first goal we were still in it, but the two right before the half in succession, that was really tough to come back from," Payton coach Paul Escobar said. "We lost that momentum there. But Lane played great today; they deserved to win."
Something that Vale has loved about this Lane squad is the players' ability to be there for their teammates when something goes wrong. They're always there to pick each other up and lift each others’ spirits.
"Their teamwork today was great," Vale said. "I'm very pleased with how close they are and how they cheer each other on. When Maya (Martinez-Bates) missed the penalty kick, everyone on the sideline was telling her that it was ok.
“A couple of our players, when they were knocked down, their teammates would say 'Come on. You got this. Get back up.'
"I love how positive and uplifting they are, how much they love each other."
After Moore's penalty-kick save, Payton seemed to regain energy. The Grizzlies soon turned the aggressor, putting up three shots and earning two corners and a free kick.
However, the Indians (11-3-2) continually thwarted any opportunities thrown at them.
"When we got the third goal, it almost seemed like they stopped going as hard to goal," Murray said. "Then in the second half, we knew to go in strong.”
Murray sure didn’t slow down. She added her second goal with 28:29 remaining, and the hosts were on the offensive again.
Payton, which like Lane didn't return much experience, had some ups and downs throughout the season.
After starting conference play with wins over Hancock, Solorio, Lincoln Park and Von Steuben, the Grizzlies faced a final conference-play week gauntlet of back-to-back-to-back contests with Young, Jones and Lane.
Payton dropped all three contests, meaning it'd be going into the city tournament on a three-game skid. The Grizzlies put all that behind them and gained revenge against Young with a 2-1 semifinal win in overtime.
"I thought we came out great here in the first 10, 15 minutes, showed we wanted to be out here," Escobar said. "We knew that we were better than what we showed that last week of the regular-season. The regular-season is the regular-season. What really counts in my mind is the city and state playoffs, that's a new season.
"So we wanted to come out and show it wasn't reflective of us as a team. Getting in front and beating Whitney (Young) was nice, but we have a relatively young team. Hopefully we'll be back here next year."
Murray, who had a hat trick in Lane's semifinal-win over Jones, made it two games in a row when she scored on a play and shot that looked like they had no chance of working out.
Somehow the speedy junior went to the left of the goal after taking a pass from Rios, was surrounded by multiple Payton defenders, including the keeper, but still managed to put the ball into the net.
"I knew I had the foot speed, took a bunch of fast touches and shot it when I saw an opening," she said.
"It really feels really great to get this; we've had a great streak of wins recently.”
With the city playoffs over, both teams now look forward to the state playoffs. Lane is the fifth seed in the Class 3A Maine South Sectional. Payton is the top seed in the Class AA Speer Sectional.
Payton beat second-seeded Pritzker 3-2 earlier this season in its only matchup with teams in its sectional. Payton will face the winner of the Ridgewood/Bulls Prep game in its first playoff match June 4.
Lane, on the other hand, is in a sectional with New Trier, Loyola and Glenbrook North, each of whom accounted for one of the Indians' three losses on the year. Lane is in the regional with fourth-seeded Glenbrook North, so they'll be able to have a revenge match if both teams make the final on June 4. The Indians start the playoffs on June 2 with a home game against conference foe Von Steuben.
"We know we have a lot of tough competition ahead of us, so we know that these (CPS games) are meant to prepare us for those upcoming games, so we're going to go in strong next week," Murray said.
Starting lineups
Payton
GK: Olivia Moore
D: Elaina Tandy
D: Maddy Sparks
D: Bridget Wyman
MF: Isabella Chitarro
MF: Tess Scrivner
MF: Lola Feuer
MF: Cate Cupps
MF: Norah Duritsa
F: Felicity Cole
F: Nadine Denahan
Lane
GK: Siena Belko
D: Alexis Dempsey
D: Jocelyn Ramirez
D: Maria Katsogridakis
MF: Gabriela Pop
MF: Julie Medina
MF: Laura Butler
MF: Lisa Rios
MF: Maya Martinez-Bates
MF: Mary Rau
F: Scout Murray
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Scout Murray, jr., F, Lane
Scoring summary
First half
Lane - Scout Murray (Maya Martinez-Bates), 23rd minute
Lane – Own-goal (Dale Sink), 35th minute
Lane - Maya Warkentin (unassisted), 39th minute
Second Half
Lane - Murray (unassisted), 53rd minute
Lane - Murray (Lisa Rios), 63rd minute