Young rallies past Payton to reach city final
Ehlers’ 40th-minute goal sparks Dolphins to 3-1 win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- Success has many fathers and failure is an orphan goes the saying. Fortune also favors ingenuity, the ability to think on the go backed with old-fashioned hustle.
In a game-defining sequence Young mastered the disparate parts, engineering the kind of wondrous goal every coach designs on the chalkboard in his or her own head.
Sophomore defender Lauren Ehlers followed a laser ball from forward Sara Woods off a short corner that she converted into a momentum-seizing game-winning rebound goal in the 40th minute that proved insurmountable in the Dolphins’ 3-1 Chicago Public League tournament semifinal win over Payton on Tuesday at Brooks High School.
The Ehlers’ goal put the Dolphins up 2-1 at the break and helped Young recover from an inspired and skilled Payton opening salvo that saw sophomore Lindsay Holzman gives the Grizzlies the early lead with a goal in the eighth minute.
For her strong play at both ends, Ehlers earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honor.
“It featured every one of our principles, not quitting on plays and following up shots,” Young coach Spero Mandakas said. “It was right there for us, and she came up huge.”
The Dolphins’ comeback victory sets the stage for a climatic city title game when Young battles three-time defending champion Lane at 7 p.m. Thursday at Toyota Park in Bridgeview.
Previously, Young (12-9-2) played Lane to a dramatic 1-1 draw that saw both goals scored in the final 26 seconds April 23 at Lane.
Payton will meet Jones in the third place game there at 5 p.m. at the home of the Fire and Red Stars.
Everything came together on the game-winner for Young. Senior forward Sophie Putrim made an athletic hustle play to pressure the ball and force it off a Payton defender which gave the Dolphins the corner. Seeing how Payton defended the corner, sophomore midfielder Mia Lisanti played the short ball to Woods.
“We try to do that play if they are not going to put two on the ball,” Lisanti said. “ If they only put up one defender, especially on the keeper’s right hand side, we try to get that going because Sara Woods has a lethal shot. Sometimes the pass and the pressure kind of throws them off. The play was executed really well, and Lauren was there to put it away.”
Payton senior keeper Hannah Lynn made a strong stop of Woods’s first ball but had no answer for Ehlers’ follow-up. It also sucked the air out of a terrific start by the Grizzlies (12-4-2). Young defeated Payton 2-0 in Premier Division regular season action despite a considerable possession advantage by the Grizzlies.
Payton made good on its promise to come out hard and clean at the start. The Grizzlies forced Young on its heels at the start. Standout sophomore midfielder Hayley Owens smashed a ball off the bar in the sixth minute, underscoring the resolve of the Grizzlies to make their first city title game since winning the tournament in 2009.
“It felt good to go up in the first 10 minutes,” Payton coach Paul Escobar said. “We talked about going out hard in the first 10 minutes. We were successful with that. [Young] stayed with their game plan, and they worked off it.
“Unfortunately the ball did not bounce our way today. I’m always positive with my girls. Sometimes you just don’t win, and it is part of learning who you are as a player and finding out about yourself as a team.”
Payton started the scoring when sophomore forward Sophie Salem served the ball into the box, and Holzman capitalized on a Young misplay between keeper Gaby Lukanus and a defender to blast home her fifth goal of the year.
“I think in the first 10 minutes we came out with the most energy we had the entire game,” Holzman said. “I think after that goal a lot of us fell flat, and we lost our momentum. It was definitely a rough [second] goal to have to [give up] at that point. It was a set piece, and it was probably something we could have stopped if we stepped to the ball.”
By contrast, Young showed rather than wilt under the early Payton pressure it was necessary to raise its intensity and level of play.
“It was a wake-up when they scored that goal,” Lisanti said. “They have a really strong middle. Our middle needed to track back more, as well as the wings. I think we did a really good job of tracking back and not letting them get too many good opportunities. They were able to string passes together as times, but they were not able to make too much of it. I think we kept our goalie in good shape.”
Lisanti helped the Dolphins answer. In the 15th minute, playing the ball at the top of the box, she slotted a ball to the left wing where senior midfielder Sarah Heise blasted her shot from about 15 yards that slipped inside the near post for the tying score.
“That has been a big goal this year, because last year we did not always come back when somebody scored on us,” Ehlers said. “I think it’s a big deal when somebody scores against us, especially so early in the game. I think it fired us up -- the sense that, this is real, and this is the game.”
Payton rebounded well in the second half and proved itself an exceptionally talented young team that is learning how to play on the biggest stage. Owens, an electrifying talent, is very skillful and dangerous with the ball.
Young junior keeper Mia Engelmann, the normal starter, replaced Lukanus late in the first half. She made four saves and stopped Owens’s free kick in the 62nd minute -- the best Payton scoring chance in the second half. Midfielder Fiona O’Brien, a rare senior starter, also had a good look in the second half for the Grizzlies.
Young put the game out of reach when Putrim scored off a breakaway counter from freshman defender Meaghan Jungels after Payton pushed numbers trying to get its own equalizer.
“You have to do whatever you can,” Escobar said.
The seeds held throughout the city tournament, with the top four seeds qualifying for the semifinals and now top-seeded Lane and Young playing for the ultimate prize.
Lane and Young tend to monopolize the discussion of city soccer. But with six sophomores and a freshman starting, Payton is not going anywhere.
“I think it’s really exciting we are going to have a chance to play at Toyota Park, a good opportunity to have and something we look forward to,” Holzman said.
Starting lineups
Payton
GK: Hannah Lynn
D: Brigitte Joyce
D: Mimi Hamada
D: Maddie Clerkin
M: Yuriko Himeno
M: Fiona O’Brien
M: Emelia Wilke
M: Hayley Owens
M: Olivia Moore
F: Lindsay Holzman
F: Sophie Salem
Young
GK: Gaby Lukanus
D: Kyra Sobel
D: Olivia Putrim
D: Lauren Ehlers
D: Meaghan Jungels
M: Mia Lisanti
M: Sara Woods
M: Sarah Heise
M: Anniliese Kelner
F: Keila Vega
F: Sophie Putrim
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Lauren Ehlers, so., D, Young
Scoring summary
First half
Payton—Lindsay Holzman (Sophie Salem), 8th minute
Young—Sarah Heise (Mia Lisanti), 15th minute
Young—Lauren Ehlers (Sara Woods), 40th minute
Second half
Young—Sophie Putrim (Meaghan Jungels), 79th minute
Ehlers’ 40th-minute goal sparks Dolphins to 3-1 win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- Success has many fathers and failure is an orphan goes the saying. Fortune also favors ingenuity, the ability to think on the go backed with old-fashioned hustle.
In a game-defining sequence Young mastered the disparate parts, engineering the kind of wondrous goal every coach designs on the chalkboard in his or her own head.
Sophomore defender Lauren Ehlers followed a laser ball from forward Sara Woods off a short corner that she converted into a momentum-seizing game-winning rebound goal in the 40th minute that proved insurmountable in the Dolphins’ 3-1 Chicago Public League tournament semifinal win over Payton on Tuesday at Brooks High School.
The Ehlers’ goal put the Dolphins up 2-1 at the break and helped Young recover from an inspired and skilled Payton opening salvo that saw sophomore Lindsay Holzman gives the Grizzlies the early lead with a goal in the eighth minute.
For her strong play at both ends, Ehlers earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honor.
“It featured every one of our principles, not quitting on plays and following up shots,” Young coach Spero Mandakas said. “It was right there for us, and she came up huge.”
The Dolphins’ comeback victory sets the stage for a climatic city title game when Young battles three-time defending champion Lane at 7 p.m. Thursday at Toyota Park in Bridgeview.
Previously, Young (12-9-2) played Lane to a dramatic 1-1 draw that saw both goals scored in the final 26 seconds April 23 at Lane.
Payton will meet Jones in the third place game there at 5 p.m. at the home of the Fire and Red Stars.
Everything came together on the game-winner for Young. Senior forward Sophie Putrim made an athletic hustle play to pressure the ball and force it off a Payton defender which gave the Dolphins the corner. Seeing how Payton defended the corner, sophomore midfielder Mia Lisanti played the short ball to Woods.
“We try to do that play if they are not going to put two on the ball,” Lisanti said. “ If they only put up one defender, especially on the keeper’s right hand side, we try to get that going because Sara Woods has a lethal shot. Sometimes the pass and the pressure kind of throws them off. The play was executed really well, and Lauren was there to put it away.”
Payton senior keeper Hannah Lynn made a strong stop of Woods’s first ball but had no answer for Ehlers’ follow-up. It also sucked the air out of a terrific start by the Grizzlies (12-4-2). Young defeated Payton 2-0 in Premier Division regular season action despite a considerable possession advantage by the Grizzlies.
Payton made good on its promise to come out hard and clean at the start. The Grizzlies forced Young on its heels at the start. Standout sophomore midfielder Hayley Owens smashed a ball off the bar in the sixth minute, underscoring the resolve of the Grizzlies to make their first city title game since winning the tournament in 2009.
“It felt good to go up in the first 10 minutes,” Payton coach Paul Escobar said. “We talked about going out hard in the first 10 minutes. We were successful with that. [Young] stayed with their game plan, and they worked off it.
“Unfortunately the ball did not bounce our way today. I’m always positive with my girls. Sometimes you just don’t win, and it is part of learning who you are as a player and finding out about yourself as a team.”
Payton started the scoring when sophomore forward Sophie Salem served the ball into the box, and Holzman capitalized on a Young misplay between keeper Gaby Lukanus and a defender to blast home her fifth goal of the year.
“I think in the first 10 minutes we came out with the most energy we had the entire game,” Holzman said. “I think after that goal a lot of us fell flat, and we lost our momentum. It was definitely a rough [second] goal to have to [give up] at that point. It was a set piece, and it was probably something we could have stopped if we stepped to the ball.”
By contrast, Young showed rather than wilt under the early Payton pressure it was necessary to raise its intensity and level of play.
“It was a wake-up when they scored that goal,” Lisanti said. “They have a really strong middle. Our middle needed to track back more, as well as the wings. I think we did a really good job of tracking back and not letting them get too many good opportunities. They were able to string passes together as times, but they were not able to make too much of it. I think we kept our goalie in good shape.”
Lisanti helped the Dolphins answer. In the 15th minute, playing the ball at the top of the box, she slotted a ball to the left wing where senior midfielder Sarah Heise blasted her shot from about 15 yards that slipped inside the near post for the tying score.
“That has been a big goal this year, because last year we did not always come back when somebody scored on us,” Ehlers said. “I think it’s a big deal when somebody scores against us, especially so early in the game. I think it fired us up -- the sense that, this is real, and this is the game.”
Payton rebounded well in the second half and proved itself an exceptionally talented young team that is learning how to play on the biggest stage. Owens, an electrifying talent, is very skillful and dangerous with the ball.
Young junior keeper Mia Engelmann, the normal starter, replaced Lukanus late in the first half. She made four saves and stopped Owens’s free kick in the 62nd minute -- the best Payton scoring chance in the second half. Midfielder Fiona O’Brien, a rare senior starter, also had a good look in the second half for the Grizzlies.
Young put the game out of reach when Putrim scored off a breakaway counter from freshman defender Meaghan Jungels after Payton pushed numbers trying to get its own equalizer.
“You have to do whatever you can,” Escobar said.
The seeds held throughout the city tournament, with the top four seeds qualifying for the semifinals and now top-seeded Lane and Young playing for the ultimate prize.
Lane and Young tend to monopolize the discussion of city soccer. But with six sophomores and a freshman starting, Payton is not going anywhere.
“I think it’s really exciting we are going to have a chance to play at Toyota Park, a good opportunity to have and something we look forward to,” Holzman said.
Starting lineups
Payton
GK: Hannah Lynn
D: Brigitte Joyce
D: Mimi Hamada
D: Maddie Clerkin
M: Yuriko Himeno
M: Fiona O’Brien
M: Emelia Wilke
M: Hayley Owens
M: Olivia Moore
F: Lindsay Holzman
F: Sophie Salem
Young
GK: Gaby Lukanus
D: Kyra Sobel
D: Olivia Putrim
D: Lauren Ehlers
D: Meaghan Jungels
M: Mia Lisanti
M: Sara Woods
M: Sarah Heise
M: Anniliese Kelner
F: Keila Vega
F: Sophie Putrim
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Lauren Ehlers, so., D, Young
Scoring summary
First half
Payton—Lindsay Holzman (Sophie Salem), 8th minute
Young—Sarah Heise (Mia Lisanti), 15th minute
Young—Lauren Ehlers (Sara Woods), 40th minute
Second half
Young—Sophie Putrim (Meaghan Jungels), 79th minute