GK Bohmer, defense shine, lead Wheaton North past LWE for Porter Cup title
Falcons take trophy after soph keeper scores winning goal in PKs
By Curt Herron
LOCKPORT - After turning in an excellent performance in goal to keep Lincoln-Way East at bay in Thursday's championship match of Lockport's inaugural Porter Cup, Wheaton North sophomore keeper Zoey Bohmer briefly stepped away from her duties to place the winning shootout attempt in the net to give her squad a 5-3 advantage and the tournament title.
The shutout was the fourth of the season for the Falcons.
It capped a nice six-day stretch that led to the to the title and ended a two-game skid of 3-0 losses to no. 18 Benet and no. 24 Batavia in Wheaton North’s DuKane Conference opener.
The Falcons (5-3-0) began their title run with a 4-1 victory over Streamwood on April 9, and then claimed a 2-0 victory over their 22nd-ranked hosts in Tuesday's semifinals.
After scoreless regulation play in the championship match, coach Tim McEvilly's squad opened the shootout with Grace Ryan connecting, while the Griffins missed. Rowan Smith, Macy Hutchinson and Talia Kaempf followed with successful efforts for the Falcons. They were matched by the Griffins Bre Herlihy, Ellie Feigl and Mia Hedrick before Bohmer sealed the deal.
"I thought everyone gave 100 percent effort," Bohmer said. "We came out a little shy, I'm not going to lie, since we really didn't know what to expect. But we picked it up near the end of the half and into the second half, which is what we needed.
“You just have to take it as it comes; you can't really overthink it too much. You just have to be patient with yourself.
“And honestly, I couldn't do it without these two in the back (Anna Roe and Rowan Smith). They really help me out a ton, and even when they talk so much, it helps out.
"We started off our season a bit rough, but we had a few good ones in there. But now I think this is it, and we're on the way up from here. We're ready to compete with these teams.
“(In the penalties) I was like, 'We're winning this. This is our game.' What I like the most is that we're all just so positive toward one another. We're very strict with each other and know how to talk, but we're not being mean to each other when we're saying what to do.
“Everyone is just so nice. It's just great to be a part of that, because it really gets you so excited to come each day to practice or to a game. You just look forward to it, and that's awesome."
The defeat was a tough one for coach Mike Murphy's Griffins (8-3-0), who also lost the championship of the Windy City Ram Classic on penalties against Lincoln-Way Central.
Lincoln-Way East overcame the strong crosswinds to claim a 14-2 advantage in shots on goal but Bohmer repeatedly came up with big stops and her backline of seniors Smith and Roe, junior Abby Gosling and freshman Calah Strong thwarted the Griffins' best efforts to capture the victory in regulation play.
"We've played two quality teams on Tuesday and Thursday between Lockport and Lincoln-Way East," McEvilly said. "They're two teams that are going to give many different teams throughout the rest of the year problems.
“Our focus in these windy conditions was: can we be more organized than anybody else?
“There's nothing wrong in taking pride in working as a unit and finding opportunities, playing as a group of 11 individuals at a time, and we did a great job with that.
"We struggled a little bit to connect and get behind them tonight. They played more with a sweeper, and we don't see a lot of sweepers in high school soccer. We couldn't find that final pass.
“Even though they had shots tonight, Zoey is one of the best goalies in the state. If we can keep people shooting from 25 and 30 yards, and we're tight on them and we're deflecting some shots at times, they're not going to have a lot of success.
"Abby Gosling played outside back and probably blocked three shots and just threw her body in the way and did a great job trying to possess out of the back. Anna Roe and Rowan Smith as our center backs have really brought a great deal of communication to the backline.
“We've moved Calah Strong, a freshman, to outside back from being a midfielder, because she generally helps us to connect more out of the back. She's done a great job of understanding when to step and to put pressure on the strong side and how to cover on the weak side.
“As a result of that, those four and the three midfielders in front of them, did a great job of really limiting any dangerous opportunities."
Competing in the first-ever Porter Cup and having his team win a championship in the tournament had a special meaning for McEvilly, who began teaching at Lockport in the mid-90s and coached under head coach George Pohlmann.
Getting to the finals with a 2-0 semifinal victory over coach Todd Elkei's Porters two days earlier meant a lot not only for Wheaton North in its progression for the season but was also another highlight for its coach, who has led the program since 2001.
"My first-year coaching boys and girls soccer and in the classroom was here in 1995-96 with coach Pohlmann," said McEvilly. "Todd is doing a great job of taking over the program from George, and it's always fantastic to see him. They run things like a class act all of the time."
The victory fired up the Falcons.
"It felt really good to win. We have a three-game win streak now, and that's really exciting," Smith said. “In practice we've been working a lot on organization in the backline and everyone stepped up today. Our midfield line dropped back to help the defense, too.
“Lincoln-Way East is a great team, but I thought that we did a really good job of shutting them down in the back. And when they got past Anna and I, Zoey was there to save us.
"It looked like everyone went up with confidence, which is good. With Zoey in the goal, we had a ton of confidence, too. So, it was a really great effort and everyone made their penalty kick, which was really exciting, too.
“I love that everyone on the team pushes each other. … When someone is down, we always bring them back up. We always push each other to work really hard, and that's how we get things done on the field."
In the final half, the Falcons had some early good chances as Olivia Moreno went a bit wide and Kaempf sent in a corner kick that was headed away by the Griffins defense.
Lincoln-Way East responded with several threatening attempts from Feigl along with a series of other shots that Bohmer hauled in,
Wheaton North came close to the icebreaker, but Claudia Kim was denied on a close-range try by goalie Lindsay Fortier.
The Griffins' defense of Olivia Desjardins, Maggie Haverstock, Mia Hedrick and Brianna Meehan also turned in an excellent performance, which made matters pretty easy for their goalie during regulation play.
Wheaton North is ready to build off the tournament title.
"It just started from us being organized as a backline and being able to communicate with our midfielders and our forwards so that they could connect passes and could get an attack going," Roe said. "Just having the confidence to step through a ball and being able to know that you're going to be able to get there. You have to get the ball out so that we can protect your goalie, and we can move the ball upfield as a team.
"It definitely feels good because we were more organized for this game than we were for our last games. Especially with newer people working together we just have to learn how to communicate better. I like our ability to work together and to communicate on the field so that we know what we want from each other."
Next up for the Falcons are DuKane Conference matches at home against Lake Park on Tuesday and at Glenbard North on Thursday. They end the three-game week hosting Hampshire in a nonconference match Saturday.
Starting lineups
Wheaton North
G Zoey Bohmer
D Anna Roe
D Rowan Smith
D Abby Gosling
D Calah Strong
M Claudia Kim
M Grace Ryan
M Sophia Fadel
F Olivia Moreno
F Macy Hutchinson
F Talia Kaempf
Lincoln-Way East
G Lindsay Fortier
D Olivia Desjardins
D Maggie Haverstock
D Mia Hedrick
D Brianna Meehan
M Kara Waishwell
M Brooklyn Mortell
M Shae Eggert
M Bre Herlihy
F Cami Butler
F Madison Dziedzic
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match
Zoey Bohmer, so., GK, Wheaton North
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring
Shootout
W: Grace Ryan 1-0, Rowan Smith 2-0, Macy Hutchinson 3-1, Talia Kaempf 4-2, Zoey Bohmer 5-3
LWE: Bre Herlihy 1-2, Ellie Feigl 2-3, Mia Hedrick 3-4
Falcons take trophy after soph keeper scores winning goal in PKs
By Curt Herron
LOCKPORT - After turning in an excellent performance in goal to keep Lincoln-Way East at bay in Thursday's championship match of Lockport's inaugural Porter Cup, Wheaton North sophomore keeper Zoey Bohmer briefly stepped away from her duties to place the winning shootout attempt in the net to give her squad a 5-3 advantage and the tournament title.
The shutout was the fourth of the season for the Falcons.
It capped a nice six-day stretch that led to the to the title and ended a two-game skid of 3-0 losses to no. 18 Benet and no. 24 Batavia in Wheaton North’s DuKane Conference opener.
The Falcons (5-3-0) began their title run with a 4-1 victory over Streamwood on April 9, and then claimed a 2-0 victory over their 22nd-ranked hosts in Tuesday's semifinals.
After scoreless regulation play in the championship match, coach Tim McEvilly's squad opened the shootout with Grace Ryan connecting, while the Griffins missed. Rowan Smith, Macy Hutchinson and Talia Kaempf followed with successful efforts for the Falcons. They were matched by the Griffins Bre Herlihy, Ellie Feigl and Mia Hedrick before Bohmer sealed the deal.
"I thought everyone gave 100 percent effort," Bohmer said. "We came out a little shy, I'm not going to lie, since we really didn't know what to expect. But we picked it up near the end of the half and into the second half, which is what we needed.
“You just have to take it as it comes; you can't really overthink it too much. You just have to be patient with yourself.
“And honestly, I couldn't do it without these two in the back (Anna Roe and Rowan Smith). They really help me out a ton, and even when they talk so much, it helps out.
"We started off our season a bit rough, but we had a few good ones in there. But now I think this is it, and we're on the way up from here. We're ready to compete with these teams.
“(In the penalties) I was like, 'We're winning this. This is our game.' What I like the most is that we're all just so positive toward one another. We're very strict with each other and know how to talk, but we're not being mean to each other when we're saying what to do.
“Everyone is just so nice. It's just great to be a part of that, because it really gets you so excited to come each day to practice or to a game. You just look forward to it, and that's awesome."
The defeat was a tough one for coach Mike Murphy's Griffins (8-3-0), who also lost the championship of the Windy City Ram Classic on penalties against Lincoln-Way Central.
Lincoln-Way East overcame the strong crosswinds to claim a 14-2 advantage in shots on goal but Bohmer repeatedly came up with big stops and her backline of seniors Smith and Roe, junior Abby Gosling and freshman Calah Strong thwarted the Griffins' best efforts to capture the victory in regulation play.
"We've played two quality teams on Tuesday and Thursday between Lockport and Lincoln-Way East," McEvilly said. "They're two teams that are going to give many different teams throughout the rest of the year problems.
“Our focus in these windy conditions was: can we be more organized than anybody else?
“There's nothing wrong in taking pride in working as a unit and finding opportunities, playing as a group of 11 individuals at a time, and we did a great job with that.
"We struggled a little bit to connect and get behind them tonight. They played more with a sweeper, and we don't see a lot of sweepers in high school soccer. We couldn't find that final pass.
“Even though they had shots tonight, Zoey is one of the best goalies in the state. If we can keep people shooting from 25 and 30 yards, and we're tight on them and we're deflecting some shots at times, they're not going to have a lot of success.
"Abby Gosling played outside back and probably blocked three shots and just threw her body in the way and did a great job trying to possess out of the back. Anna Roe and Rowan Smith as our center backs have really brought a great deal of communication to the backline.
“We've moved Calah Strong, a freshman, to outside back from being a midfielder, because she generally helps us to connect more out of the back. She's done a great job of understanding when to step and to put pressure on the strong side and how to cover on the weak side.
“As a result of that, those four and the three midfielders in front of them, did a great job of really limiting any dangerous opportunities."
Competing in the first-ever Porter Cup and having his team win a championship in the tournament had a special meaning for McEvilly, who began teaching at Lockport in the mid-90s and coached under head coach George Pohlmann.
Getting to the finals with a 2-0 semifinal victory over coach Todd Elkei's Porters two days earlier meant a lot not only for Wheaton North in its progression for the season but was also another highlight for its coach, who has led the program since 2001.
"My first-year coaching boys and girls soccer and in the classroom was here in 1995-96 with coach Pohlmann," said McEvilly. "Todd is doing a great job of taking over the program from George, and it's always fantastic to see him. They run things like a class act all of the time."
The victory fired up the Falcons.
"It felt really good to win. We have a three-game win streak now, and that's really exciting," Smith said. “In practice we've been working a lot on organization in the backline and everyone stepped up today. Our midfield line dropped back to help the defense, too.
“Lincoln-Way East is a great team, but I thought that we did a really good job of shutting them down in the back. And when they got past Anna and I, Zoey was there to save us.
"It looked like everyone went up with confidence, which is good. With Zoey in the goal, we had a ton of confidence, too. So, it was a really great effort and everyone made their penalty kick, which was really exciting, too.
“I love that everyone on the team pushes each other. … When someone is down, we always bring them back up. We always push each other to work really hard, and that's how we get things done on the field."
In the final half, the Falcons had some early good chances as Olivia Moreno went a bit wide and Kaempf sent in a corner kick that was headed away by the Griffins defense.
Lincoln-Way East responded with several threatening attempts from Feigl along with a series of other shots that Bohmer hauled in,
Wheaton North came close to the icebreaker, but Claudia Kim was denied on a close-range try by goalie Lindsay Fortier.
The Griffins' defense of Olivia Desjardins, Maggie Haverstock, Mia Hedrick and Brianna Meehan also turned in an excellent performance, which made matters pretty easy for their goalie during regulation play.
Wheaton North is ready to build off the tournament title.
"It just started from us being organized as a backline and being able to communicate with our midfielders and our forwards so that they could connect passes and could get an attack going," Roe said. "Just having the confidence to step through a ball and being able to know that you're going to be able to get there. You have to get the ball out so that we can protect your goalie, and we can move the ball upfield as a team.
"It definitely feels good because we were more organized for this game than we were for our last games. Especially with newer people working together we just have to learn how to communicate better. I like our ability to work together and to communicate on the field so that we know what we want from each other."
Next up for the Falcons are DuKane Conference matches at home against Lake Park on Tuesday and at Glenbard North on Thursday. They end the three-game week hosting Hampshire in a nonconference match Saturday.
Starting lineups
Wheaton North
G Zoey Bohmer
D Anna Roe
D Rowan Smith
D Abby Gosling
D Calah Strong
M Claudia Kim
M Grace Ryan
M Sophia Fadel
F Olivia Moreno
F Macy Hutchinson
F Talia Kaempf
Lincoln-Way East
G Lindsay Fortier
D Olivia Desjardins
D Maggie Haverstock
D Mia Hedrick
D Brianna Meehan
M Kara Waishwell
M Brooklyn Mortell
M Shae Eggert
M Bre Herlihy
F Cami Butler
F Madison Dziedzic
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match
Zoey Bohmer, so., GK, Wheaton North
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring
Shootout
W: Grace Ryan 1-0, Rowan Smith 2-0, Macy Hutchinson 3-1, Talia Kaempf 4-2, Zoey Bohmer 5-3
LWE: Bre Herlihy 1-2, Ellie Feigl 2-3, Mia Hedrick 3-4