Young weathers St. Ignatius for upset win
Ella Koleno's 55th-minute goal hands Wolfpack first loss
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- Sixty-eight seconds.
In an electrifying start to the featured game of the Chicago Cup group play stage, that was all the time St. Ignatius needed to make the first major statement as junior forward Hailey Laurenson smashed home a rebound after star midfielder Ella Richards' shot.
Young should have been dazed. The Dolphins hardly blinked.
Twice the Wolfpack made highlight reel goals only for the Dolphins to answer with their own unflappable cool and athletic frontline that illustrated how far Young has come in the last month.
The Dolphins fought back from two deficits and found the necessary and tough response as freshman forward Ella Koleno continued her rapid ascent as a top, young player with the game-winning goal in the 55th minute for the 3-2 upset victory over the Wolfpack, ranked fifth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, in a lightning-shortened game Monday at St. Ignatius.
“I played it to Mia [Lisanti], and it was perfect ball back to me,” Koleno said. “Every game we get better and better. Every pass is getting better. We finally have pieces, a little rhythm where we know where each other is going to be.”
The game was interrupted with 10:12 remaining and then officially called a half an hour later with the continuation of rain and lightning.
Young (12-4-1) won its seventh-consecutive game and captured the championship of Group A and advance to the Friday semifinals where the Dolphins meet Group C winner Mother McAuley. Despite its first loss of the season, St. Ignatius (12-1-2) earned the wild card berth in the semifinal championship bracket against Group B and four-time city champion, no. 14 Lane.
The game lived up to the hype after each team won their preliminary games with one-sided victories over Back of the Yards and Parker. Young scored eight goals in each of their first two games, the Wolfpack seven goals per win.
The game pitted the speed and athleticism of the Dolphins’ front against the size and preternatural skill of sophomore midfielder Richards, one of the state’s most prolific goal scorers.
“They have a great front line,” St. Ignatius coach Sean Palacios said. “That front line is no joke. We have seen the likes of New Trier and St. Charles East. I think that last goal was the product of that kid [Koleno] taking a great shot, and we gave a dangerous front line a lot of time and space to build up speed.”
Dolphins’ junior forward Mia Lisanti was the MVP for the group play winner. She registered two assists, including the game-winner by slotting a ball on the left wing that Koleno caught in space before she smashed home a left-footed ball from about 16 yards.
“We have been practicing this idea that if you lose the ball just keep pressing,” Lisanti said. “If they are trying to play it in the back, keep pressing those vital spots on the field like that. It was a loose ball, somebody hit it to me, and I was able to play it to the left side where Ella was, and she played it perfectly.”
Lisanti also played the dominant role in Young’s quick recovery after the lightning-fast Wolfpack goal. Just moments later, she caught a ball in the middle, beat her defender and left a ball that skilled young shooter Alexis Sassower blasted in from the top of the box in the third minute for the 1-1 tie.
“Obviously you want to start strong in games like this, and it didn’t happen,” she said. “We didn’t want to dig ourselves a deeper hole in that situation. When we played them last year they kept scoring on us, and we let our energy get down.
“Today we knew there were 79 minutes left in the match, and we knew there was plenty of time to get ourselves back into the match.”
After the remarkable early back and forth, the game settled into an exciting rhythm that saw both teams play to their strengths with Young pushing the ball wide on the perimeter to Lisanti and jet-quick forward Audrey Howaniec. Sassower has also been a big revelation for the Dolphins, a whirling dervish of a talent with speed, quickness and a powerful touch.
St. Ignatius has the centerpiece talent in Richards, a physical and aggressive player with the capacity of taking over a game at any time. Young threw screens at her, and tried to throw her off balance. She directs so much attention, it opens up lanes for the other players.
Richards produced the hockey assist on the Wolfpack’s second goal, leaving a ball that midfielder Shay Reifert trapped in space and left for forward Maura Murphy.
Young keeper Mia Engelmann ran hard off the line in an attempt to cut off the angle. Murphy slid the ball by her in the 26th minute for the 2-1 lead. In an echo of the opening movement, Young quickly recovered and the deficit was only temporary.
Junior defender Lauren Ehlers, the team’s free kick specialist, smashed a ball from midfield that turned into a corner. Sassower made a beautiful looping service and Ehlers used her 5-foot-11 frame to make a fantastic header for the equalizer in the 28th minute.
For her superb play, Sassower earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honor.
“Emotionally after both of our goals I think we were excited,” Palacios said. “But I also think we let down in two instances there. I will take full responsibility for that. At the end of the day we have to create a culture where if we score a goal the next big five minutes are huge.
“Yes, it was deflating for Young to get scored upon, but it was even more defeating for us to give up two goals right away.”
Richards nearly scored on another header only for Howaniec to make a great clearance from the weak side.
“It’s a game of inches, and if you let Ella Richards free, she is going to make things very difficult for you,” Young coach Ross LaBeaux said. “We did not want to give her any chances, and she still got some and hats off to her. That is a good team.”
The story on the day was the rapid growth of a team finding its identity and its confidence with each match.
“This group believes,” LaBeaux said. "And the exciting thing is we talk about these things, and we are constantly saying we have to overcome things, and we have to come back and show how tough we are.
“Today is just a good game for us, and it really helps us going forward. Our attitude is 'Why not?' Why not win this tournament? Why not win CPS [the city tournament] and why not keep going and have this keep rolling?”
Starting lineups
Young
GK: Mia Engelmann
D: Ashley Sidney
D: Addie Schlensker
D: Stella Ljung
D: Megan Jungels
MF: Sydney Koleno
MF: Eleanor Sherline
MF: Annelise Kelner
F: Ella Koleno
F: Mia Lisanti
F: Alexis Sassower
St. Ignatius
GK: Emma Thompson
D: Rachel Ryan
D: Keylan West
D: Kate Abdo
MF: Shay Reifert
MF: Grace Campbell
MF: Adrian Williams
MF: Ella Richards
MF: Maddie Flynn
F: Maura Murphy
F: Hailey Laurenson
Chciagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Alexis Sassower, fr., F, Young
Scoring summary
First half
St. Ignatius—Hailey Laurenson (Ella Richards), 2nd minute
Young—Alexis Sassower (Mia Lisanti), 3rd minute
St. Ignatius—Maura Murphy (Shay Reifert), 26th minute
Young—Lauren Ehlers (Sassower), 28th minute
Second half
Young—Ella Koleno (Lisanti), 55th minute
Ella Koleno's 55th-minute goal hands Wolfpack first loss
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- Sixty-eight seconds.
In an electrifying start to the featured game of the Chicago Cup group play stage, that was all the time St. Ignatius needed to make the first major statement as junior forward Hailey Laurenson smashed home a rebound after star midfielder Ella Richards' shot.
Young should have been dazed. The Dolphins hardly blinked.
Twice the Wolfpack made highlight reel goals only for the Dolphins to answer with their own unflappable cool and athletic frontline that illustrated how far Young has come in the last month.
The Dolphins fought back from two deficits and found the necessary and tough response as freshman forward Ella Koleno continued her rapid ascent as a top, young player with the game-winning goal in the 55th minute for the 3-2 upset victory over the Wolfpack, ranked fifth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, in a lightning-shortened game Monday at St. Ignatius.
“I played it to Mia [Lisanti], and it was perfect ball back to me,” Koleno said. “Every game we get better and better. Every pass is getting better. We finally have pieces, a little rhythm where we know where each other is going to be.”
The game was interrupted with 10:12 remaining and then officially called a half an hour later with the continuation of rain and lightning.
Young (12-4-1) won its seventh-consecutive game and captured the championship of Group A and advance to the Friday semifinals where the Dolphins meet Group C winner Mother McAuley. Despite its first loss of the season, St. Ignatius (12-1-2) earned the wild card berth in the semifinal championship bracket against Group B and four-time city champion, no. 14 Lane.
The game lived up to the hype after each team won their preliminary games with one-sided victories over Back of the Yards and Parker. Young scored eight goals in each of their first two games, the Wolfpack seven goals per win.
The game pitted the speed and athleticism of the Dolphins’ front against the size and preternatural skill of sophomore midfielder Richards, one of the state’s most prolific goal scorers.
“They have a great front line,” St. Ignatius coach Sean Palacios said. “That front line is no joke. We have seen the likes of New Trier and St. Charles East. I think that last goal was the product of that kid [Koleno] taking a great shot, and we gave a dangerous front line a lot of time and space to build up speed.”
Dolphins’ junior forward Mia Lisanti was the MVP for the group play winner. She registered two assists, including the game-winner by slotting a ball on the left wing that Koleno caught in space before she smashed home a left-footed ball from about 16 yards.
“We have been practicing this idea that if you lose the ball just keep pressing,” Lisanti said. “If they are trying to play it in the back, keep pressing those vital spots on the field like that. It was a loose ball, somebody hit it to me, and I was able to play it to the left side where Ella was, and she played it perfectly.”
Lisanti also played the dominant role in Young’s quick recovery after the lightning-fast Wolfpack goal. Just moments later, she caught a ball in the middle, beat her defender and left a ball that skilled young shooter Alexis Sassower blasted in from the top of the box in the third minute for the 1-1 tie.
“Obviously you want to start strong in games like this, and it didn’t happen,” she said. “We didn’t want to dig ourselves a deeper hole in that situation. When we played them last year they kept scoring on us, and we let our energy get down.
“Today we knew there were 79 minutes left in the match, and we knew there was plenty of time to get ourselves back into the match.”
After the remarkable early back and forth, the game settled into an exciting rhythm that saw both teams play to their strengths with Young pushing the ball wide on the perimeter to Lisanti and jet-quick forward Audrey Howaniec. Sassower has also been a big revelation for the Dolphins, a whirling dervish of a talent with speed, quickness and a powerful touch.
St. Ignatius has the centerpiece talent in Richards, a physical and aggressive player with the capacity of taking over a game at any time. Young threw screens at her, and tried to throw her off balance. She directs so much attention, it opens up lanes for the other players.
Richards produced the hockey assist on the Wolfpack’s second goal, leaving a ball that midfielder Shay Reifert trapped in space and left for forward Maura Murphy.
Young keeper Mia Engelmann ran hard off the line in an attempt to cut off the angle. Murphy slid the ball by her in the 26th minute for the 2-1 lead. In an echo of the opening movement, Young quickly recovered and the deficit was only temporary.
Junior defender Lauren Ehlers, the team’s free kick specialist, smashed a ball from midfield that turned into a corner. Sassower made a beautiful looping service and Ehlers used her 5-foot-11 frame to make a fantastic header for the equalizer in the 28th minute.
For her superb play, Sassower earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honor.
“Emotionally after both of our goals I think we were excited,” Palacios said. “But I also think we let down in two instances there. I will take full responsibility for that. At the end of the day we have to create a culture where if we score a goal the next big five minutes are huge.
“Yes, it was deflating for Young to get scored upon, but it was even more defeating for us to give up two goals right away.”
Richards nearly scored on another header only for Howaniec to make a great clearance from the weak side.
“It’s a game of inches, and if you let Ella Richards free, she is going to make things very difficult for you,” Young coach Ross LaBeaux said. “We did not want to give her any chances, and she still got some and hats off to her. That is a good team.”
The story on the day was the rapid growth of a team finding its identity and its confidence with each match.
“This group believes,” LaBeaux said. "And the exciting thing is we talk about these things, and we are constantly saying we have to overcome things, and we have to come back and show how tough we are.
“Today is just a good game for us, and it really helps us going forward. Our attitude is 'Why not?' Why not win this tournament? Why not win CPS [the city tournament] and why not keep going and have this keep rolling?”
Starting lineups
Young
GK: Mia Engelmann
D: Ashley Sidney
D: Addie Schlensker
D: Stella Ljung
D: Megan Jungels
MF: Sydney Koleno
MF: Eleanor Sherline
MF: Annelise Kelner
F: Ella Koleno
F: Mia Lisanti
F: Alexis Sassower
St. Ignatius
GK: Emma Thompson
D: Rachel Ryan
D: Keylan West
D: Kate Abdo
MF: Shay Reifert
MF: Grace Campbell
MF: Adrian Williams
MF: Ella Richards
MF: Maddie Flynn
F: Maura Murphy
F: Hailey Laurenson
Chciagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Alexis Sassower, fr., F, Young
Scoring summary
First half
St. Ignatius—Hailey Laurenson (Ella Richards), 2nd minute
Young—Alexis Sassower (Mia Lisanti), 3rd minute
St. Ignatius—Maura Murphy (Shay Reifert), 26th minute
Young—Lauren Ehlers (Sassower), 28th minute
Second half
Young—Ella Koleno (Lisanti), 55th minute