Keepers shine in Lyons, Waubonsie V. draw
No. 8 Lions' Grabis, Warriors' Zieba post clean-sheets
By Dave Owen
WESTERN SPRINGS -- Incredible goaltending was never ending Thursday when perennial powers Waubonsie Valley and Lyons met.
Facing a Warriors team that had netted eight goals in their first two games, Lyons junior goalkeeper Sophie Grabis made seven saves (most of them of the acrobatic variety) to produce a season-opening shutout for her team.
“Offensively they’re a great team,” Grabis said of Waubonsie Valley. “I had a pretty good warmup going on, so I was pretty confident with my saves. And I owe a lot to my defense. Without them I definitely would have had a lot more shots on.”
After making two saves in the first half, Grabis had to be super sharp even as early evening temperatures dipped into the 30s.
“I’m happy with what I had because I was staying warm,” she joked. “But I think for the most part I was happy that my defense had my back because there were a few balls when I had to parry out, and they just scooped them right up and didn’t allow a second shot on, which was great.”
Waubonsie Valley (2-0-1) supplied its own super story in the nets.
Sophomore Roxy Zieba had netted goals as a field player in her team’s first two games of 2019. Making her first varsity start at goalkeeper, she began the afternoon with a diving swat to her right of a Meara Hilling low 12-yard drive just 90 seconds in.
Then to cap off her strong 80 minutes, Zieba preserved the draw on an incredible hustle save with 5:35 left in the match.
With Lyons pushing an end line attack right of the goal, Hilling sprung wide open at the left side of the net and received a cross. Reacting quickly and racing back across the crease, Zieba made an improbable kick save near the left post on Hilling’s low 10-yard shot.
“I thought that was one we were going to get in after the service coming in,” Lyons coach Bill Lanspeary said. “She maybe took a little too much time, but you’re torn (as a shooter) between ‘do you settle it or just hit it?’ and a lot of times it goes over (the net on a quick shot). The defense was able to get back and make a great play on it.”
Before the goalkeepers stole the spotlight, it appeared the day would be a showcase for Lyons star midfielder Eileen Murphy.
The Illinois-bound standout put her own stamp on the match just 4:40 into play. Off a nice pass combination by Lily Mattern and Ava Dallavo (cross to the front), Murphy powered a low running 15-yarder off the right post.
“I had that one in the first half that hit the post on the volley,” Murphy said. “And then there were a few in the second half. On the team we have a lot of offensive threats.”
But Murphy was the main force via the run of play or set pieces. Murphy’s 24-yard free kick in the ninth minute was nicely headed away from danger by Waubonsie’s Grace Setter.
Then early in the second half (36:50 left), Murphy took a pass from Elaina Simms and launched an 18-yard rocket shot that Zieba dove to swat aside. On the ensuing long rebound, a block at the right post kept the shutout intact.
Then with 24:20 to play, Murphy unleashed another laser from similar distance off a Hilling pass -- and Zieba again came up big with a diving stop at the left post.
“We as a defense were playing really good,” Zieba said. “But their attacking was great – that no. 13 (Murphy) had a really hard ball.”
Among the Warrior defense from field players, the tall presence of junior midfielder Setter was fittingly key on set pieces.
Her early free kick header block on Murphy was one of four such Setter defensive header deflections away on free kicks or corners in the match. And she just missed her third goal of 2019 with 3:15 left, when she headed a Jennifer Garcia corner kick just over the net.
In a Waubonsie Valley starting lineup Thursday that featured five sophomores, a freshman and just two seniors (Garcia and Jessica Wallace), Setter’s presence was felt.
“Coming in now as an upperclassman, I’ve played with players above me,” Setter said. “And now that we have a younger team, obviously I have to try to help to lead that (team), hopefully lead by example and kind of help everyone get adjusted.
“Obviously it’s still early in the season, so we’re trying to improve every game. And that all comes from team chemistry, which you keep building every game. Build off of it, and hopefully we progress as the season goes on.”
Warriors junior Megan Burling has been quickly building an impressive stat sheet this spring. Entering Thursday with four goals in the first two games, she came inches away from a fifth after – what else – another great save.
With 7:15 left to play, Burling burst in on left wing, cut across to the top of the box and lined a 20-yarder seemingly destined for the lower left corner of the net.
But a diving Grabis got just enough hand on the shot to produce a deflection off the post, then covered the loose ball as Burling put both hands on her head in disbelief -- a common emotion for shooters on Thursday.
“I was expecting her to go to the far post,” Grabis said, “because her body language was saying that she was going to hit it wide. But at the last second she hooked around, and I don’t know -- I guess I was in her head a little bit.
“I got a few fingers on it (initially) which is always good. I was there, but I was just lucky the post saved me and got the ball right back towards me.”
That play and Zieba’s improbable kick save less than two minutes later punctuated a day for the defenses. But it wasn’t all glory in the nets for Grabis.
With 12:45 left in the match, Grabis had to race off her line to punch away a Warriors send to the box -- producing another denied threat, but also resulting in a collision that forced Grabis to be replaced in net by Lyons star defender Grace Truax.
“It was just a slide tackle where I came out to try to get a loose ball, and she (the Waubonsie player) just slid into me,” Grabis said. “It was just one of those hits that hurts right in the moment, but then afterwards you just brush it off. The adrenalin is helping me right now.”
Said Lanspeary: “Those were a couple moments that were nervous (when Truax had to take over in goal), but she stepped in and did it because that’s what our team needed.”
After quick attention to her leg, Grabis was back in the net just over a minute after the collision -- allowing Truax to quickly return to her defender role.
“I thought Truax did a really nice job in the back,” Lanspeary said. “And Eileen (Murphy) is really good, especially with all the attention she gets.
“And Sophie did a great job. Sometimes it’s tough. Especially in the first half she didn’t see too many, and then all of a sudden you get some and you have to be ready. And she was.”
Waubonsie Valley tested Grabis early in the match, as she made a block save at the left post three minutes in on a Jillian Macaluso shot.
But her next touch didn’t come until the 32nd minute, a 26-yard Alexa Quaranta free kick that Grabis came off her line to grab.
Defenders on both sides also made impressive plays in the scoreless first half. Waubonsie sophomore Brooke Mathews’ nice 1-v.-1 win 20 yards out denied a Lyons attack in the 21st minute. Then in the 36th minute, Burling’s nice dribble drive into the box was denied on a Lizzy Vear block of her shot and a Truax clear.
The ever-present Murphy’s eight-yard header in a crowd just over the net off a Georgia Dougherty corner kick 2:15 before halftime was the last big chance of the first half.
Zieba’s two diving saves in the first 16 minutes of the first half on Lyon’s Murphy were sandwiched between a great chance for Setter on a header off a Garcia free kick with 26:40 left that Grabis deflected wide of the left post.
Those moments launched a wide-open offensive second half that defied explanation of the 0-0 final score.
“It could have been a high-scoring game,” Murphy said. “Sophie played great and kept us in the game at the end. It was pretty scary though when she had to come out after she got hurt. Everyone was biting their nails on that one. But both keepers played great keeping it 0-0.”
And beyond the score, facing Waubonsie Valley was a great way for the Lions to kick off their 2019 season.
“I think (our performance) was pretty good,” Murphy said, “especially given that this is our first game, and I think they’ve played like three maybe.
“So we haven’t really had a chance to play together as a team, and we have a lot of new players too. I thought it was a pretty good first game.”
In her very hectic season-opener, Grabis had her own positive take.
“We were definitely pleasantly surprised,” she said. “We like good competition, and I think this was a good wakeup call for our team. It really sets the pace for our schedule.
“Obviously we would have been happier with a win, but I’m not too sad about a tie because that’s a good team. I don’t know if we’ll pair up with them again later in
the season, but I hope we do just to compare how well our players will develop because we’re still a fairly new team.
“We had a lot of people leave last year,” Grabis added, “and we’ve had a lot of people step up to play new roles and new positions. I think it was a good first game. Definitely exciting, lots of shots on -- it was nice. I like that.”
For Waubonsie Valley, Zieba stepped in for Nicole Kleronomos (the Warriors solid goalkeeper the first two games) and made quite an impact of her own.
“It was hard to save those goals, but I took them away,” Zieba said. “We took a 0-0, but that’s OK.
“That was a really good game, a really tough one. I’ve never played a team like that, but they played very good. I enjoyed it.”
The scoreless tie after two high-scoring performances was the Warriors’ lone disappointment.
“Overall we got bigger balls behind them and were able to attack off of that,” Setter said. “And off of set pieces we got a couple of close chances, which helped us out.
“But we definitely have to work on that going forward, just finishing every chance. And obviously their keeper made some amazing saves, and their backline was doing a good job of clearing a lot of our long balls. It’s just how the game goes sometimes.”
But the challenge of the Lions should be good preparation for some impending major tests -- starting with Waubonsie’s next game, against Naperville North.
“I think it’s very positive going into the future,” Setter said, “knowing that we play a lot of good teams in our own conference. This was a good test.
“We have (Naperville) North, Neuqua Valley, Metea and (Naperville) Central coming up, and that’s going to be a challenge for us. But playing this game gave us a good idea of where we can go and what we need to improve on going forward.”
Facing the Warriors right out of the gate should similarly benefit the Lions.
“It was an excellent first game for us,” Lanspeary said. “We start with them early in the season almost every year, and it’s always a great challenge. It lets us know where we are and what we need to work on.
“It was a good game, back and forth. Each team caught a break here or there. They hit a post to keep one out, we hit a post. Their keeper made a couple really nice saves, our keeper made some nice saves.”
Starting lineups
Waubonsie Valley
GK: Roxy Zieba
D: Brooke Mathews
D: Jessica Wallace
D: Brooke Nelson
D: Mollie Valek
M: Alexa Quarata
M: Jennifer Garcia
M: Grace Setter
M: Jessica Keeley
F: Megan Burling
F: Jillian Macaluso
Lyons
GK: Sophie Grabis
D: Nora Blake
D: Grace Truax
D: Bri Stirrat
D: Peri Kracker
M: Eileen Murphy
M: Elaina Simms
M: Lily Mattern
M: Meara Hilling
F: Ava Dallavo
F: Georgia Dougherty
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match: Sophie Grabis, jr. GK, Lyons
Roxy Ziaba, so. GK, Waubonsie Valley
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring
No. 8 Lions' Grabis, Warriors' Zieba post clean-sheets
By Dave Owen
WESTERN SPRINGS -- Incredible goaltending was never ending Thursday when perennial powers Waubonsie Valley and Lyons met.
Facing a Warriors team that had netted eight goals in their first two games, Lyons junior goalkeeper Sophie Grabis made seven saves (most of them of the acrobatic variety) to produce a season-opening shutout for her team.
“Offensively they’re a great team,” Grabis said of Waubonsie Valley. “I had a pretty good warmup going on, so I was pretty confident with my saves. And I owe a lot to my defense. Without them I definitely would have had a lot more shots on.”
After making two saves in the first half, Grabis had to be super sharp even as early evening temperatures dipped into the 30s.
“I’m happy with what I had because I was staying warm,” she joked. “But I think for the most part I was happy that my defense had my back because there were a few balls when I had to parry out, and they just scooped them right up and didn’t allow a second shot on, which was great.”
Waubonsie Valley (2-0-1) supplied its own super story in the nets.
Sophomore Roxy Zieba had netted goals as a field player in her team’s first two games of 2019. Making her first varsity start at goalkeeper, she began the afternoon with a diving swat to her right of a Meara Hilling low 12-yard drive just 90 seconds in.
Then to cap off her strong 80 minutes, Zieba preserved the draw on an incredible hustle save with 5:35 left in the match.
With Lyons pushing an end line attack right of the goal, Hilling sprung wide open at the left side of the net and received a cross. Reacting quickly and racing back across the crease, Zieba made an improbable kick save near the left post on Hilling’s low 10-yard shot.
“I thought that was one we were going to get in after the service coming in,” Lyons coach Bill Lanspeary said. “She maybe took a little too much time, but you’re torn (as a shooter) between ‘do you settle it or just hit it?’ and a lot of times it goes over (the net on a quick shot). The defense was able to get back and make a great play on it.”
Before the goalkeepers stole the spotlight, it appeared the day would be a showcase for Lyons star midfielder Eileen Murphy.
The Illinois-bound standout put her own stamp on the match just 4:40 into play. Off a nice pass combination by Lily Mattern and Ava Dallavo (cross to the front), Murphy powered a low running 15-yarder off the right post.
“I had that one in the first half that hit the post on the volley,” Murphy said. “And then there were a few in the second half. On the team we have a lot of offensive threats.”
But Murphy was the main force via the run of play or set pieces. Murphy’s 24-yard free kick in the ninth minute was nicely headed away from danger by Waubonsie’s Grace Setter.
Then early in the second half (36:50 left), Murphy took a pass from Elaina Simms and launched an 18-yard rocket shot that Zieba dove to swat aside. On the ensuing long rebound, a block at the right post kept the shutout intact.
Then with 24:20 to play, Murphy unleashed another laser from similar distance off a Hilling pass -- and Zieba again came up big with a diving stop at the left post.
“We as a defense were playing really good,” Zieba said. “But their attacking was great – that no. 13 (Murphy) had a really hard ball.”
Among the Warrior defense from field players, the tall presence of junior midfielder Setter was fittingly key on set pieces.
Her early free kick header block on Murphy was one of four such Setter defensive header deflections away on free kicks or corners in the match. And she just missed her third goal of 2019 with 3:15 left, when she headed a Jennifer Garcia corner kick just over the net.
In a Waubonsie Valley starting lineup Thursday that featured five sophomores, a freshman and just two seniors (Garcia and Jessica Wallace), Setter’s presence was felt.
“Coming in now as an upperclassman, I’ve played with players above me,” Setter said. “And now that we have a younger team, obviously I have to try to help to lead that (team), hopefully lead by example and kind of help everyone get adjusted.
“Obviously it’s still early in the season, so we’re trying to improve every game. And that all comes from team chemistry, which you keep building every game. Build off of it, and hopefully we progress as the season goes on.”
Warriors junior Megan Burling has been quickly building an impressive stat sheet this spring. Entering Thursday with four goals in the first two games, she came inches away from a fifth after – what else – another great save.
With 7:15 left to play, Burling burst in on left wing, cut across to the top of the box and lined a 20-yarder seemingly destined for the lower left corner of the net.
But a diving Grabis got just enough hand on the shot to produce a deflection off the post, then covered the loose ball as Burling put both hands on her head in disbelief -- a common emotion for shooters on Thursday.
“I was expecting her to go to the far post,” Grabis said, “because her body language was saying that she was going to hit it wide. But at the last second she hooked around, and I don’t know -- I guess I was in her head a little bit.
“I got a few fingers on it (initially) which is always good. I was there, but I was just lucky the post saved me and got the ball right back towards me.”
That play and Zieba’s improbable kick save less than two minutes later punctuated a day for the defenses. But it wasn’t all glory in the nets for Grabis.
With 12:45 left in the match, Grabis had to race off her line to punch away a Warriors send to the box -- producing another denied threat, but also resulting in a collision that forced Grabis to be replaced in net by Lyons star defender Grace Truax.
“It was just a slide tackle where I came out to try to get a loose ball, and she (the Waubonsie player) just slid into me,” Grabis said. “It was just one of those hits that hurts right in the moment, but then afterwards you just brush it off. The adrenalin is helping me right now.”
Said Lanspeary: “Those were a couple moments that were nervous (when Truax had to take over in goal), but she stepped in and did it because that’s what our team needed.”
After quick attention to her leg, Grabis was back in the net just over a minute after the collision -- allowing Truax to quickly return to her defender role.
“I thought Truax did a really nice job in the back,” Lanspeary said. “And Eileen (Murphy) is really good, especially with all the attention she gets.
“And Sophie did a great job. Sometimes it’s tough. Especially in the first half she didn’t see too many, and then all of a sudden you get some and you have to be ready. And she was.”
Waubonsie Valley tested Grabis early in the match, as she made a block save at the left post three minutes in on a Jillian Macaluso shot.
But her next touch didn’t come until the 32nd minute, a 26-yard Alexa Quaranta free kick that Grabis came off her line to grab.
Defenders on both sides also made impressive plays in the scoreless first half. Waubonsie sophomore Brooke Mathews’ nice 1-v.-1 win 20 yards out denied a Lyons attack in the 21st minute. Then in the 36th minute, Burling’s nice dribble drive into the box was denied on a Lizzy Vear block of her shot and a Truax clear.
The ever-present Murphy’s eight-yard header in a crowd just over the net off a Georgia Dougherty corner kick 2:15 before halftime was the last big chance of the first half.
Zieba’s two diving saves in the first 16 minutes of the first half on Lyon’s Murphy were sandwiched between a great chance for Setter on a header off a Garcia free kick with 26:40 left that Grabis deflected wide of the left post.
Those moments launched a wide-open offensive second half that defied explanation of the 0-0 final score.
“It could have been a high-scoring game,” Murphy said. “Sophie played great and kept us in the game at the end. It was pretty scary though when she had to come out after she got hurt. Everyone was biting their nails on that one. But both keepers played great keeping it 0-0.”
And beyond the score, facing Waubonsie Valley was a great way for the Lions to kick off their 2019 season.
“I think (our performance) was pretty good,” Murphy said, “especially given that this is our first game, and I think they’ve played like three maybe.
“So we haven’t really had a chance to play together as a team, and we have a lot of new players too. I thought it was a pretty good first game.”
In her very hectic season-opener, Grabis had her own positive take.
“We were definitely pleasantly surprised,” she said. “We like good competition, and I think this was a good wakeup call for our team. It really sets the pace for our schedule.
“Obviously we would have been happier with a win, but I’m not too sad about a tie because that’s a good team. I don’t know if we’ll pair up with them again later in
the season, but I hope we do just to compare how well our players will develop because we’re still a fairly new team.
“We had a lot of people leave last year,” Grabis added, “and we’ve had a lot of people step up to play new roles and new positions. I think it was a good first game. Definitely exciting, lots of shots on -- it was nice. I like that.”
For Waubonsie Valley, Zieba stepped in for Nicole Kleronomos (the Warriors solid goalkeeper the first two games) and made quite an impact of her own.
“It was hard to save those goals, but I took them away,” Zieba said. “We took a 0-0, but that’s OK.
“That was a really good game, a really tough one. I’ve never played a team like that, but they played very good. I enjoyed it.”
The scoreless tie after two high-scoring performances was the Warriors’ lone disappointment.
“Overall we got bigger balls behind them and were able to attack off of that,” Setter said. “And off of set pieces we got a couple of close chances, which helped us out.
“But we definitely have to work on that going forward, just finishing every chance. And obviously their keeper made some amazing saves, and their backline was doing a good job of clearing a lot of our long balls. It’s just how the game goes sometimes.”
But the challenge of the Lions should be good preparation for some impending major tests -- starting with Waubonsie’s next game, against Naperville North.
“I think it’s very positive going into the future,” Setter said, “knowing that we play a lot of good teams in our own conference. This was a good test.
“We have (Naperville) North, Neuqua Valley, Metea and (Naperville) Central coming up, and that’s going to be a challenge for us. But playing this game gave us a good idea of where we can go and what we need to improve on going forward.”
Facing the Warriors right out of the gate should similarly benefit the Lions.
“It was an excellent first game for us,” Lanspeary said. “We start with them early in the season almost every year, and it’s always a great challenge. It lets us know where we are and what we need to work on.
“It was a good game, back and forth. Each team caught a break here or there. They hit a post to keep one out, we hit a post. Their keeper made a couple really nice saves, our keeper made some nice saves.”
Starting lineups
Waubonsie Valley
GK: Roxy Zieba
D: Brooke Mathews
D: Jessica Wallace
D: Brooke Nelson
D: Mollie Valek
M: Alexa Quarata
M: Jennifer Garcia
M: Grace Setter
M: Jessica Keeley
F: Megan Burling
F: Jillian Macaluso
Lyons
GK: Sophie Grabis
D: Nora Blake
D: Grace Truax
D: Bri Stirrat
D: Peri Kracker
M: Eileen Murphy
M: Elaina Simms
M: Lily Mattern
M: Meara Hilling
F: Ava Dallavo
F: Georgia Dougherty
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match: Sophie Grabis, jr. GK, Lyons
Roxy Ziaba, so. GK, Waubonsie Valley
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring