Wheaton North scoots past Lake Park
Speedy forwards Shebar, Moreno pace 2-0 win
By Ken Keenan
ROSELLE -- Kicking its speed game into high gear, Wheaton North potted a pair of goals in the final 40 minutes to topple host Lake Park 2-0 in DuKane Conference action Tuesday night.
Led by roadrunner-like freshmen forwards Kayla Shebar and Olivia Moreno, the Falcons (2-4-1, 1-0-0) simply wore out the Lancers (0-6-1, 0-2-0) in the second half. Creating numerous chances with blazing runs down the flanks and shifty cuts to the middle, the relentless frosh duo -- Chicagoland Soccer's co-MVPS of the Match -- put the pressure on Lake Park's defense and ace senior goalkeeper Sarah Yochem.
Yochem made several fine stops to keep the match knotted at 0-0, including one on a 15-yard strike by Falcons junior midfielder Riley Winckler in the 51st minute, and another on a left-footed try by Shebar just 20 seconds later.
But the Lancers' keeper had little chance to snuff Wheaton North's next opportunity. Spinning inside to complete a long run down the left side, Shebar fired hard with her left foot and was stopped by Yochem, who watched helplessly as Moreno pounced on the rebound for an easy tap-in from the right side with 28:04 left in the second session.
"We have the same assets, the same speed, so it's easy to work together," Shebar said, pointing to Moreno. "I can run on the flank and read where she's going."
Nodding her head in agreement, Moreno added: "We do have the same speed, and we can read each other really well. If I'm running in on one side, I know she'll be on the far post -- and vice-versa."
Four minutes after opening the scoring, Moreno took a sweet feed from freshman midfielder Claudia Kim before cutting to the left and missing to the right from 20 yards. In the 60th minute, Kim concluded a long run with a solid 20-yard shot that Yochem stopped.
Staying in full attack mode, Wheaton North made it 2-0 when Winckler grabbed a loose ball and blasted a 25-yard rocket into the far corner from the left side with 17:49 remaining in the match.
"In the first half, we were beating (Lake Park) with our speed ... not getting people in the box, though," said Falcons head coach Tim McEvilly. "The kids played well in the first half, but we weren't finding that last pass. We talked about that at halftime. The work rate was very impressive the last 40 minutes."
Added Moreno: "We wanted to make sure to play on the ground more in the second half. You have more control than in the air. Putting the ball on the ground, we could find each other more. We could take a touch-and-attack (approach)."
Holding the 2-0 lead, Wheaton North kept on coming. With eight minutes to go, Moreno sliced in from the right side and missed wide-left; sophomore mid Izzy Fenn unleashed a 25-yard strike that Yochem stopped with 6:30 to go; Shebar fired wide-right on separate tries in the 75th minute; and Moreno set up senior defender Kristen Szumski for a wide-angle attempt that Yochem snared in the 78th minute.
Yochem was called to duty one last time when she hugged the near post to spoil a try in-close by Fenn, the benefactor of a nifty passing sequence started by Shebarand Moreno.
"We came out ready for the second half, but it seemed (the Falcons) wanted it more than we did," Yochem said.
Lake Park sophomore midfielder AnnMarie Ahrens admitted that it became more difficult to halt Wheaton North's full-speed-ahead attack as the game wore on.
"I thought we had a great first half, but the second half we slowed down," she said. "We couldn't get possession much ... couldn't bring the ball up. And (the Falcons) definitely had individuals with amazing skills."
The Lancers had a good look in the first half when sophomore middie Emma Thorne settled a cross from junior mid Lilli Giron in front and fired high with 31:45 to go before the break. Another opportunity, in the 27th minute, was foiled by Falcons junior keeper Hanley Elftmann, who rushed out to intercept a long ball sent by Ahrenstoward charging senior mid Cyndi Martinez.
In the second half, Ahrens missed wide-left with a low strike on a 20-yard free kick with 15:55 to go. Seven minutes later, Ahrens uncorked a 30-yard boomer that Elftmann handled.
Otherwise, it was off to the races for the victorious Falcons.
"I think we were in their zone in the first half ... got on the attack a bit," said Lancers skipper Sean Crosby. "We wanted to take risks a bit. But it was tough for us to go box-to-box with (Wheaton North) -- hard to keep up with their speed on transition. Their forwards (Shebar and Moreno), very crafty and good foot speed. Those players were very tough to defend, very crafty on the ball."
After seeing his squad suffer a trio of 2-1 losses in its first four matches this season, McEvilly left the pitch at Lake Park pleased that the Falcons put up a crooked number in their first league tilt of the 2019 campaign.
"We have people who can beat you with speed and technical skill," he said. "And when you create opportunities, you get those scoring chances."
Meanwhile, the Lancers exited with heads held high despite the lack of a positive result.
"We're gonna learn from this, take it into practice and move forward," Yochem said.
Added Ahrens: "We're working toward playing a full 80 minutes. If we keep working together, I think we'll get there."
Win or lose, that was music to Crosby's ears.
"It's a great group of kids who want get better," he said. "The majority are young, and they want to show they can play and compete. I love the spirit and fight. When we come together ... I'm looking forward to it."
Starting lineups:
Wheaton North
G: Hanley Elftmann
D: Rachel Brady
D: Amanda Tegart
D: Kristen Szumski
D: Audrey Cicmanec
M: Payten Yates
M: Claudia Kim
M: Riley Winckler
M: Camille Cote
F: Kayla Shebar
F: Olivia Moreno
Lake Park
G: Sarah Yochem
D: Sarah Novak
D: Francesca Ottolino
D: Sophie Giron
D: Olivia Wroblewski
M: Cyndi Martinez
M: Lilli Giron
M: AnneMarie Ahrens
M: Emma Thorne
M: Katie Schwegler
F: Cecilia Defino
Co-MVPs of the Match: Kayla Shebar, so., F; Olivia Moreno, fr., F, Wheaton North
Scoring summary:
1. Wheaton North: Olivia Moreno (assisted by Kayla Shebar) in 52nd minute
2. Wheaton North: Riley Winckler (unassisted) in 63rd minute
Speedy forwards Shebar, Moreno pace 2-0 win
By Ken Keenan
ROSELLE -- Kicking its speed game into high gear, Wheaton North potted a pair of goals in the final 40 minutes to topple host Lake Park 2-0 in DuKane Conference action Tuesday night.
Led by roadrunner-like freshmen forwards Kayla Shebar and Olivia Moreno, the Falcons (2-4-1, 1-0-0) simply wore out the Lancers (0-6-1, 0-2-0) in the second half. Creating numerous chances with blazing runs down the flanks and shifty cuts to the middle, the relentless frosh duo -- Chicagoland Soccer's co-MVPS of the Match -- put the pressure on Lake Park's defense and ace senior goalkeeper Sarah Yochem.
Yochem made several fine stops to keep the match knotted at 0-0, including one on a 15-yard strike by Falcons junior midfielder Riley Winckler in the 51st minute, and another on a left-footed try by Shebar just 20 seconds later.
But the Lancers' keeper had little chance to snuff Wheaton North's next opportunity. Spinning inside to complete a long run down the left side, Shebar fired hard with her left foot and was stopped by Yochem, who watched helplessly as Moreno pounced on the rebound for an easy tap-in from the right side with 28:04 left in the second session.
"We have the same assets, the same speed, so it's easy to work together," Shebar said, pointing to Moreno. "I can run on the flank and read where she's going."
Nodding her head in agreement, Moreno added: "We do have the same speed, and we can read each other really well. If I'm running in on one side, I know she'll be on the far post -- and vice-versa."
Four minutes after opening the scoring, Moreno took a sweet feed from freshman midfielder Claudia Kim before cutting to the left and missing to the right from 20 yards. In the 60th minute, Kim concluded a long run with a solid 20-yard shot that Yochem stopped.
Staying in full attack mode, Wheaton North made it 2-0 when Winckler grabbed a loose ball and blasted a 25-yard rocket into the far corner from the left side with 17:49 remaining in the match.
"In the first half, we were beating (Lake Park) with our speed ... not getting people in the box, though," said Falcons head coach Tim McEvilly. "The kids played well in the first half, but we weren't finding that last pass. We talked about that at halftime. The work rate was very impressive the last 40 minutes."
Added Moreno: "We wanted to make sure to play on the ground more in the second half. You have more control than in the air. Putting the ball on the ground, we could find each other more. We could take a touch-and-attack (approach)."
Holding the 2-0 lead, Wheaton North kept on coming. With eight minutes to go, Moreno sliced in from the right side and missed wide-left; sophomore mid Izzy Fenn unleashed a 25-yard strike that Yochem stopped with 6:30 to go; Shebar fired wide-right on separate tries in the 75th minute; and Moreno set up senior defender Kristen Szumski for a wide-angle attempt that Yochem snared in the 78th minute.
Yochem was called to duty one last time when she hugged the near post to spoil a try in-close by Fenn, the benefactor of a nifty passing sequence started by Shebarand Moreno.
"We came out ready for the second half, but it seemed (the Falcons) wanted it more than we did," Yochem said.
Lake Park sophomore midfielder AnnMarie Ahrens admitted that it became more difficult to halt Wheaton North's full-speed-ahead attack as the game wore on.
"I thought we had a great first half, but the second half we slowed down," she said. "We couldn't get possession much ... couldn't bring the ball up. And (the Falcons) definitely had individuals with amazing skills."
The Lancers had a good look in the first half when sophomore middie Emma Thorne settled a cross from junior mid Lilli Giron in front and fired high with 31:45 to go before the break. Another opportunity, in the 27th minute, was foiled by Falcons junior keeper Hanley Elftmann, who rushed out to intercept a long ball sent by Ahrenstoward charging senior mid Cyndi Martinez.
In the second half, Ahrens missed wide-left with a low strike on a 20-yard free kick with 15:55 to go. Seven minutes later, Ahrens uncorked a 30-yard boomer that Elftmann handled.
Otherwise, it was off to the races for the victorious Falcons.
"I think we were in their zone in the first half ... got on the attack a bit," said Lancers skipper Sean Crosby. "We wanted to take risks a bit. But it was tough for us to go box-to-box with (Wheaton North) -- hard to keep up with their speed on transition. Their forwards (Shebar and Moreno), very crafty and good foot speed. Those players were very tough to defend, very crafty on the ball."
After seeing his squad suffer a trio of 2-1 losses in its first four matches this season, McEvilly left the pitch at Lake Park pleased that the Falcons put up a crooked number in their first league tilt of the 2019 campaign.
"We have people who can beat you with speed and technical skill," he said. "And when you create opportunities, you get those scoring chances."
Meanwhile, the Lancers exited with heads held high despite the lack of a positive result.
"We're gonna learn from this, take it into practice and move forward," Yochem said.
Added Ahrens: "We're working toward playing a full 80 minutes. If we keep working together, I think we'll get there."
Win or lose, that was music to Crosby's ears.
"It's a great group of kids who want get better," he said. "The majority are young, and they want to show they can play and compete. I love the spirit and fight. When we come together ... I'm looking forward to it."
Starting lineups:
Wheaton North
G: Hanley Elftmann
D: Rachel Brady
D: Amanda Tegart
D: Kristen Szumski
D: Audrey Cicmanec
M: Payten Yates
M: Claudia Kim
M: Riley Winckler
M: Camille Cote
F: Kayla Shebar
F: Olivia Moreno
Lake Park
G: Sarah Yochem
D: Sarah Novak
D: Francesca Ottolino
D: Sophie Giron
D: Olivia Wroblewski
M: Cyndi Martinez
M: Lilli Giron
M: AnneMarie Ahrens
M: Emma Thorne
M: Katie Schwegler
F: Cecilia Defino
Co-MVPs of the Match: Kayla Shebar, so., F; Olivia Moreno, fr., F, Wheaton North
Scoring summary:
1. Wheaton North: Olivia Moreno (assisted by Kayla Shebar) in 52nd minute
2. Wheaton North: Riley Winckler (unassisted) in 63rd minute