Young overcomes Von Steuben strategy
Dolphins score twice against packed-in defense for Premier win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- The calculus for every game changes: sometimes on the fly; sometimes in progress. Von Steuben coach Greg Domanico realized his team was at a disadvantage playing Young. So he altered his normal thinking.
He knew the Panthers could not play the Dolphins straight up.
“In our formation we normally play a 4-3-3 or a 4-4-2, but I knew we had to change that up to try and slow down Young’s athletes,” Domanico said. “So we dropped in a fifth defender. Our strategy was to try and keep the game as close as possible and then try to make our [offensive] move in the last 15 minutes and try to make something happen and pull the game out.”
Audrey Howaniec upended the strategy by creating the early advantage for the Dolphins the team never surrendered.
Howaniec drilled a ball from 10 yards off a beautiful header from Mia Lisanti in the 15th minute that provided the early inspiration Young needed it to score a 2-0 Chicago Public League Premier Division victory over the Panthers at McKinley Park on Monday in the Southwest Side.
Young (6-7-0, 5-0-0) maintained its place atop the standings of the city’s top division. The victory made for a nice reversal after the team went 0-3-0 at the PepsiCo Showdown, losing a game on penalty kicks and two consolation matches narrowly.
“I thought we played really well today,” Howaniec said. “At Pepsi, we obviously did not get the results we wanted. This was a conference game, and we wanted to stay undefeated. We moved the ball, and we had good energy.”
Howaniec, who notched her fourth goal of the season, moves seamlessly from the midfield to striker. She is one of the Dolphins’ fastest players. That is her bread and butter, a silvery quickness and separation that characterizes her game.
“My speed is one of my strongest qualities, and if I had to define my style, I’d say that I like to play fast,” she said. “I like using my quickness to get to the ball first and seeing what kind of play I am able to make. You want to have fun out there while you are playing. Otherwise what is the point of playing? Most important, I want to have some love for the game.”
Domanico estimated Young possessed the ball some 80 percent of the game. The Von Steuben coach conceded possession in order to try to tangle up the Dolphins’ attack. By inserting the extra defender, the Panthers hoped to clog the passing lanes and make it virtually impossible for the Dolphins to penetrate the final third.
“We saw early on what they were doing with that extra defender. They were playing a very high line defensively, and we just tried to chip the ball over,” Howaniec said. “On the goal, Mia was inside the box, I was on the right edge, and she got the header to get the ball to me where it was dangerous.”
The combination of creativity and aggression with the ball set the template for the Dolphins’ victory. Howaniec earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honor for her performance..
“Audrey was really active and dangerous out there,” Young coach Spero Mandakas said. “They were sitting back and content to let us possess the ball. Before she scored, she had another shot about two minutes before the goal that was also very dangerous. She took their defenders on. Mia played a great header to her.”
Mandakas liked his team’s composure and rate level. However, the early goal did engender a false sense of security.
“Given how early we scored, I think to some extent we started to let the game come to us,” he said.
One positive byplay of controlling possession was depriving Von Steuben of scoring chances in the first half; the Panthers did not generate a shot attempt. Domanico said this year’s group is still working to find its identity.
A year ago the Panthers blitzed through the 1st Division without conceding a goal. They also reached the quarterfinal of the city tournament, giving eventual champion Lane a quality game. This season, elite junior keeper Sammy Washington has not played a game because of complications from an off-season concussion.
The graduation of all-city star Danielle Ito-Labelle has also left a void. Von Steuben (3-7-0, 1-2-0) is two years removed from previously performing in the Premier.
“I have a couple of juniors who played in the Premier when they were freshmen,” Domanico said. “I had to explain to the girls before we started conference that this year was going to be different. It was not going to be the cakewalk it was last year. In the 1st Division, we were able to get by on our talent. We are still learning how to play at this level, deal with the speed and the skill level.
“This was probably the best team we have played and probably the best game we played. They definitely had the ball more. I thought we did a good job of connecting our passes. I was very pleased with our work rate and our effort. We never gave up and played hard the whole game. We have had a tendency, once teams score on us, to just kind of collapse, and we did not do that today.”
The second half was largely a continuation of the first half. Young maintained its grip on possession and was more dangerous on set pieces. The Dolphins put the game away with a beautiful goal in the 60th minute. Sarah Woods served a corner that senior midfielder Keila Vega smashed home with a header
Domanico was excited by the play of midfielders Gabriela Salazar, Mayeri Diaz and Abigail Balmaseda. They provided an offensive presence. Young allowed just two second half shot to the Panthers en route to ots third shutout on the season.
Young remains in control of the division heading into its April 23 showdown with top rival and three-time defending city champion Lane, which is ranked no. 23 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
“Winning conference is one of our goals, and we are right where we want to be,” Mandakas said.
Starting lineups
Young
GK: Gaby Lukanus
D: Sarah Heise
D: Meaghan Jungels
D: Lauren Ehlers
D: Addie Schlensker
M: Keila Vega
M: Sophie Putrim
M: Sara Woods
M: Eleanor Sherline
F: Mia Lisanti
F: Audrey Howaniec
Von Steuben
GK: Giselle Ortiz
D: Ryley Walter
D: Guadalupe Badillo
D: Lauren Kallen
D: Alexa Cervantes
D: Daisy Espinoza
M: Gabriela Salazar
M: Mayeri Diaz
M: Abigail Balmaseda
M: Jasmina Duliman
F: Avrey Walter
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Audrey Howaniec, jr., F, Young
Scoring summary
First half
Young—Audrey Howaniec (Mia Lisanti), 15th minute
Second half
Young—Keila Vega (Sara Woods), 60th minute
Dolphins score twice against packed-in defense for Premier win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- The calculus for every game changes: sometimes on the fly; sometimes in progress. Von Steuben coach Greg Domanico realized his team was at a disadvantage playing Young. So he altered his normal thinking.
He knew the Panthers could not play the Dolphins straight up.
“In our formation we normally play a 4-3-3 or a 4-4-2, but I knew we had to change that up to try and slow down Young’s athletes,” Domanico said. “So we dropped in a fifth defender. Our strategy was to try and keep the game as close as possible and then try to make our [offensive] move in the last 15 minutes and try to make something happen and pull the game out.”
Audrey Howaniec upended the strategy by creating the early advantage for the Dolphins the team never surrendered.
Howaniec drilled a ball from 10 yards off a beautiful header from Mia Lisanti in the 15th minute that provided the early inspiration Young needed it to score a 2-0 Chicago Public League Premier Division victory over the Panthers at McKinley Park on Monday in the Southwest Side.
Young (6-7-0, 5-0-0) maintained its place atop the standings of the city’s top division. The victory made for a nice reversal after the team went 0-3-0 at the PepsiCo Showdown, losing a game on penalty kicks and two consolation matches narrowly.
“I thought we played really well today,” Howaniec said. “At Pepsi, we obviously did not get the results we wanted. This was a conference game, and we wanted to stay undefeated. We moved the ball, and we had good energy.”
Howaniec, who notched her fourth goal of the season, moves seamlessly from the midfield to striker. She is one of the Dolphins’ fastest players. That is her bread and butter, a silvery quickness and separation that characterizes her game.
“My speed is one of my strongest qualities, and if I had to define my style, I’d say that I like to play fast,” she said. “I like using my quickness to get to the ball first and seeing what kind of play I am able to make. You want to have fun out there while you are playing. Otherwise what is the point of playing? Most important, I want to have some love for the game.”
Domanico estimated Young possessed the ball some 80 percent of the game. The Von Steuben coach conceded possession in order to try to tangle up the Dolphins’ attack. By inserting the extra defender, the Panthers hoped to clog the passing lanes and make it virtually impossible for the Dolphins to penetrate the final third.
“We saw early on what they were doing with that extra defender. They were playing a very high line defensively, and we just tried to chip the ball over,” Howaniec said. “On the goal, Mia was inside the box, I was on the right edge, and she got the header to get the ball to me where it was dangerous.”
The combination of creativity and aggression with the ball set the template for the Dolphins’ victory. Howaniec earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honor for her performance..
“Audrey was really active and dangerous out there,” Young coach Spero Mandakas said. “They were sitting back and content to let us possess the ball. Before she scored, she had another shot about two minutes before the goal that was also very dangerous. She took their defenders on. Mia played a great header to her.”
Mandakas liked his team’s composure and rate level. However, the early goal did engender a false sense of security.
“Given how early we scored, I think to some extent we started to let the game come to us,” he said.
One positive byplay of controlling possession was depriving Von Steuben of scoring chances in the first half; the Panthers did not generate a shot attempt. Domanico said this year’s group is still working to find its identity.
A year ago the Panthers blitzed through the 1st Division without conceding a goal. They also reached the quarterfinal of the city tournament, giving eventual champion Lane a quality game. This season, elite junior keeper Sammy Washington has not played a game because of complications from an off-season concussion.
The graduation of all-city star Danielle Ito-Labelle has also left a void. Von Steuben (3-7-0, 1-2-0) is two years removed from previously performing in the Premier.
“I have a couple of juniors who played in the Premier when they were freshmen,” Domanico said. “I had to explain to the girls before we started conference that this year was going to be different. It was not going to be the cakewalk it was last year. In the 1st Division, we were able to get by on our talent. We are still learning how to play at this level, deal with the speed and the skill level.
“This was probably the best team we have played and probably the best game we played. They definitely had the ball more. I thought we did a good job of connecting our passes. I was very pleased with our work rate and our effort. We never gave up and played hard the whole game. We have had a tendency, once teams score on us, to just kind of collapse, and we did not do that today.”
The second half was largely a continuation of the first half. Young maintained its grip on possession and was more dangerous on set pieces. The Dolphins put the game away with a beautiful goal in the 60th minute. Sarah Woods served a corner that senior midfielder Keila Vega smashed home with a header
Domanico was excited by the play of midfielders Gabriela Salazar, Mayeri Diaz and Abigail Balmaseda. They provided an offensive presence. Young allowed just two second half shot to the Panthers en route to ots third shutout on the season.
Young remains in control of the division heading into its April 23 showdown with top rival and three-time defending city champion Lane, which is ranked no. 23 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
“Winning conference is one of our goals, and we are right where we want to be,” Mandakas said.
Starting lineups
Young
GK: Gaby Lukanus
D: Sarah Heise
D: Meaghan Jungels
D: Lauren Ehlers
D: Addie Schlensker
M: Keila Vega
M: Sophie Putrim
M: Sara Woods
M: Eleanor Sherline
F: Mia Lisanti
F: Audrey Howaniec
Von Steuben
GK: Giselle Ortiz
D: Ryley Walter
D: Guadalupe Badillo
D: Lauren Kallen
D: Alexa Cervantes
D: Daisy Espinoza
M: Gabriela Salazar
M: Mayeri Diaz
M: Abigail Balmaseda
M: Jasmina Duliman
F: Avrey Walter
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Audrey Howaniec, jr., F, Young
Scoring summary
First half
Young—Audrey Howaniec (Mia Lisanti), 15th minute
Second half
Young—Keila Vega (Sara Woods), 60th minute