Lemont takes offense
to early Tinley Park lead
Indians score 7 straight in 7-2 win, give Titans 1st loss
By Steve Millar
LEMONT – The start was certainly not what Lemont wanted Saturday morning, but the response was a resounding one.
The host Indians allowed an early goal then answered by pouring in seven to roll to a 7-2 win over previously unbeaten Tinley Park in a big South Suburban Conference Blue Division game.
“I’m very proud of the team and how we took that,” senior midfielder Victoria Silvar said. “We know what we can do as a team from the get-go. When they scored, it was definitely an eye-opener. We know our potential and our worth. That gave us more motivation. We were able to pick up our momentum.”
Silvar, Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match, led the way with a hat-trick and provided a quick lift for the Indians (6-2-1, 6-0-1) when they needed it.
Tinley Park (6-1-1, 5-1-1) struck first less than three minutes in when senior forward Alexa Simonsis took a long pass from Taylor Perkins, sped past the Lemont defense and scored on a breakaway.
“Alexa Simonsis is hard to compete with, speed-wise,” Tinley Park co-coach Mike Boniface said. “We took advantage of that early.”
Lemont needed less than three minutes to equalize.
Gabby Koziel’s corner kick was deflected a couple times in front of the net before finding its way to the foot of a charging Silvar, who hammered her shot into the back of the net.
“It’s great,” Silvar said. “I’ve been trying to score each game. I try to pick up the momentum and help us gain confidence as a team.”
The Indians took control after that, but coach Rick Prangen was hopeful his team learned a lesson about starting the right way.
“I’m more unhappy with the first five minutes of the game,” he said. “It was a must-win game for us. I’ve been in enough games where that first goal means everything and where when you let that first goal up, it’s hard to come back from. So, I’m unhappy with that start.
“Obviously, the response was fine. Getting those goals took the pressure off, which was a good thing.”
Brianna Sanchez emerged as an unlikely hero for Lemont. A reserve who has played sporadically this season -- mostly at defender – the junior was inserted into the starting lineup at forward, filling in for senior Kailey Wasyliw.
She responded with two goals and an assist.
“Kailey had a second vaccine shot yesterday and got a fever today, so she was not here,” Prangen said. “So, we put Bri in, and I’m going to give her a ton of credit.
“She was kind of just thrown into the fire. It was like, ‘It’s the biggest game of the year for us, and you’re starting.’ I give her huge credit for coming out and having the desire to contribute. We’ve thrown her around in different spots, and she plays wherever we ask her to.”
Sanchez put Lemont on top for good in the 15th minute off a nice combination play. Emma Amberg sent a ball across the field to Paige Bingen, who slipped a quick pass to Sanchez in the middle of the box. Sanchez ripped a line drive in to make it 2-1.
“I just wanted to put the effort in and show what I’ve got,” Sanchez said. “I never played forward before this year, but I like playing there. It’s something new. I like that (Prangen) is giving me an opportunity to score goals and to play everywhere. It’s nice.”
Bingen, meanwhile, was just getting started on her distribution day. She added assists on Lemont’s next two goals.
She found Silvar wide open in the 24th minute. Left unmarked for several seconds as the Titans defense lost track of her, Silvar was able to carry the ball unbothered down the left side of the box and score to make it 3-1.
Bingen’s pass set up Suzie Knutte for an open shot from the middle of the box to increase the lead to 4-1 with 13:47 left in the first half.
“I thought Tori and Paige in the central part of the midfield had a good run at it,” Prangen said. “Our finishing needs to be more clinical. We had chances going in, easy chances 1-v-1 with the keeper, that we’re not putting away. But those two did a great job setting up a lot of scoring chances for us.”
Sanchez capped the first half scoring when she beat charging Tinley Park goalkeeper Krystal Brooks to a loose ball in the box and slipped a shot past her for her second goal of the game.
“The goal she got to make it five was hugely important because that really gives you breathing room,” Prangen said. “There was nothing pretty about it; it was just a girl running hard and getting to the box.”
Sanchez came away from the game knowing she had a lot of be proud of.
“It feels good,” she said. “I’ve got some confidence now, and I’m ready to practice Monday.”
After Amberg scored off an assist from Daria Koslosky in the 51st minute, Amberg helped set up Silvar to complete her hat-trick, playing a pass to Sanchez in front of the net. Sanchez smartly looked backward and found Silvar open, slipping a quick pass back for the open shot that made it 7-1.
Tinley Park showed some fight late. Freshman Kit Gormley scored on a beautiful free kick from 25 yards. The shot from the right side of the field bent nicely inside the far post with 11:43 to play.
Brooks made six saves for the Titans, who were also dealing with some ill players.
“Our free kick game is pretty solid,” Boniface said. “We have a few girls who can usually get a dangerous ball in at any angle. Kit’s goal, it was a little too late, but it was a good effort and a beautiful goal.
“We had a bunch of kids get the Pfizer vaccine yesterday and three of our girls are pretty sick. With a roster of 14, we didn’t have many options. That’s not to make a bunch of excuses. Lemont played great.”
The Titans will look to bounce back from their first loss and stay in striking distance in the South Suburban Conference Blue Division race behind Lemont and Oak Forest (5-0-1), who are set to meet in a huge game Friday night in Oak Forest.
“Even though we’ve had some games where we’re putting up big scores, we’ve yet to have a game where we linked together a whole game,” Boniface said. “I think we had two spurts of 15 minutes where we did a really good job getting in their offensive third and getting chances. This game just didn’t pan out how we wanted.”
Starting lineups
Tinley Park
GK – Krystal Brooks
D – Gina Paparelli
D – Jordan Mitchell
D – Evelyn Salinas
D – Taylor Perkins
MF – Mariah Ayala
MF – Emma Goyola
MF – Kit Gormley
MF – Chloe Shapkauski
F – Gianna Butler
F – Alexa Simonsis
Lemont
GK – Michelle Nosal
D – Nicole Bobcik
D – Gabby Koziel
D – Trinity Hatton
MF – Paige Bingen
MF – Maggie Knutte
MF – Maddie Counsil
MF – Victoria Silvar
F – Emma Amberg
F – Suzie Knutte
F – Brianna Sanchez
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Victoria Silvar, sr. MF, Lemont
Scoring Summary
First half
Tinley Park – Simonsis (Perkins), 3rd minute
Lemont – Silvar (Koziel), 6th minute
Lemont – Sanchez (Bingen), 15th minute
Lemont – Silvar (Bingen), 24th minute
Lemont – S. Knutte (Bingen), 27th minute
Lemont – Sanchez (S. Knutte), 34th minute
Second half
Lemont – Amberg (Daria Koslosky), 51st minute
Lemont – Silvar (Sanchez), 55th minute
Tinley Park – Gormley (unassisted), 69th minute
to early Tinley Park lead
Indians score 7 straight in 7-2 win, give Titans 1st loss
By Steve Millar
LEMONT – The start was certainly not what Lemont wanted Saturday morning, but the response was a resounding one.
The host Indians allowed an early goal then answered by pouring in seven to roll to a 7-2 win over previously unbeaten Tinley Park in a big South Suburban Conference Blue Division game.
“I’m very proud of the team and how we took that,” senior midfielder Victoria Silvar said. “We know what we can do as a team from the get-go. When they scored, it was definitely an eye-opener. We know our potential and our worth. That gave us more motivation. We were able to pick up our momentum.”
Silvar, Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match, led the way with a hat-trick and provided a quick lift for the Indians (6-2-1, 6-0-1) when they needed it.
Tinley Park (6-1-1, 5-1-1) struck first less than three minutes in when senior forward Alexa Simonsis took a long pass from Taylor Perkins, sped past the Lemont defense and scored on a breakaway.
“Alexa Simonsis is hard to compete with, speed-wise,” Tinley Park co-coach Mike Boniface said. “We took advantage of that early.”
Lemont needed less than three minutes to equalize.
Gabby Koziel’s corner kick was deflected a couple times in front of the net before finding its way to the foot of a charging Silvar, who hammered her shot into the back of the net.
“It’s great,” Silvar said. “I’ve been trying to score each game. I try to pick up the momentum and help us gain confidence as a team.”
The Indians took control after that, but coach Rick Prangen was hopeful his team learned a lesson about starting the right way.
“I’m more unhappy with the first five minutes of the game,” he said. “It was a must-win game for us. I’ve been in enough games where that first goal means everything and where when you let that first goal up, it’s hard to come back from. So, I’m unhappy with that start.
“Obviously, the response was fine. Getting those goals took the pressure off, which was a good thing.”
Brianna Sanchez emerged as an unlikely hero for Lemont. A reserve who has played sporadically this season -- mostly at defender – the junior was inserted into the starting lineup at forward, filling in for senior Kailey Wasyliw.
She responded with two goals and an assist.
“Kailey had a second vaccine shot yesterday and got a fever today, so she was not here,” Prangen said. “So, we put Bri in, and I’m going to give her a ton of credit.
“She was kind of just thrown into the fire. It was like, ‘It’s the biggest game of the year for us, and you’re starting.’ I give her huge credit for coming out and having the desire to contribute. We’ve thrown her around in different spots, and she plays wherever we ask her to.”
Sanchez put Lemont on top for good in the 15th minute off a nice combination play. Emma Amberg sent a ball across the field to Paige Bingen, who slipped a quick pass to Sanchez in the middle of the box. Sanchez ripped a line drive in to make it 2-1.
“I just wanted to put the effort in and show what I’ve got,” Sanchez said. “I never played forward before this year, but I like playing there. It’s something new. I like that (Prangen) is giving me an opportunity to score goals and to play everywhere. It’s nice.”
Bingen, meanwhile, was just getting started on her distribution day. She added assists on Lemont’s next two goals.
She found Silvar wide open in the 24th minute. Left unmarked for several seconds as the Titans defense lost track of her, Silvar was able to carry the ball unbothered down the left side of the box and score to make it 3-1.
Bingen’s pass set up Suzie Knutte for an open shot from the middle of the box to increase the lead to 4-1 with 13:47 left in the first half.
“I thought Tori and Paige in the central part of the midfield had a good run at it,” Prangen said. “Our finishing needs to be more clinical. We had chances going in, easy chances 1-v-1 with the keeper, that we’re not putting away. But those two did a great job setting up a lot of scoring chances for us.”
Sanchez capped the first half scoring when she beat charging Tinley Park goalkeeper Krystal Brooks to a loose ball in the box and slipped a shot past her for her second goal of the game.
“The goal she got to make it five was hugely important because that really gives you breathing room,” Prangen said. “There was nothing pretty about it; it was just a girl running hard and getting to the box.”
Sanchez came away from the game knowing she had a lot of be proud of.
“It feels good,” she said. “I’ve got some confidence now, and I’m ready to practice Monday.”
After Amberg scored off an assist from Daria Koslosky in the 51st minute, Amberg helped set up Silvar to complete her hat-trick, playing a pass to Sanchez in front of the net. Sanchez smartly looked backward and found Silvar open, slipping a quick pass back for the open shot that made it 7-1.
Tinley Park showed some fight late. Freshman Kit Gormley scored on a beautiful free kick from 25 yards. The shot from the right side of the field bent nicely inside the far post with 11:43 to play.
Brooks made six saves for the Titans, who were also dealing with some ill players.
“Our free kick game is pretty solid,” Boniface said. “We have a few girls who can usually get a dangerous ball in at any angle. Kit’s goal, it was a little too late, but it was a good effort and a beautiful goal.
“We had a bunch of kids get the Pfizer vaccine yesterday and three of our girls are pretty sick. With a roster of 14, we didn’t have many options. That’s not to make a bunch of excuses. Lemont played great.”
The Titans will look to bounce back from their first loss and stay in striking distance in the South Suburban Conference Blue Division race behind Lemont and Oak Forest (5-0-1), who are set to meet in a huge game Friday night in Oak Forest.
“Even though we’ve had some games where we’re putting up big scores, we’ve yet to have a game where we linked together a whole game,” Boniface said. “I think we had two spurts of 15 minutes where we did a really good job getting in their offensive third and getting chances. This game just didn’t pan out how we wanted.”
Starting lineups
Tinley Park
GK – Krystal Brooks
D – Gina Paparelli
D – Jordan Mitchell
D – Evelyn Salinas
D – Taylor Perkins
MF – Mariah Ayala
MF – Emma Goyola
MF – Kit Gormley
MF – Chloe Shapkauski
F – Gianna Butler
F – Alexa Simonsis
Lemont
GK – Michelle Nosal
D – Nicole Bobcik
D – Gabby Koziel
D – Trinity Hatton
MF – Paige Bingen
MF – Maggie Knutte
MF – Maddie Counsil
MF – Victoria Silvar
F – Emma Amberg
F – Suzie Knutte
F – Brianna Sanchez
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Victoria Silvar, sr. MF, Lemont
Scoring Summary
First half
Tinley Park – Simonsis (Perkins), 3rd minute
Lemont – Silvar (Koziel), 6th minute
Lemont – Sanchez (Bingen), 15th minute
Lemont – Silvar (Bingen), 24th minute
Lemont – S. Knutte (Bingen), 27th minute
Lemont – Sanchez (S. Knutte), 34th minute
Second half
Lemont – Amberg (Daria Koslosky), 51st minute
Lemont – Silvar (Sanchez), 55th minute
Tinley Park – Gormley (unassisted), 69th minute