Notebook -- Lyons, York
By Patrick Z. McGavin
ELMHURST -- Much soccer remains to be played, but whatever fate and circumstance shapes the rest of the year for Lyons, its season was perhaps dramatically altered in a five-minute stretch Monday night in Elmhurst in a crucial West Suburban Conference Silver Division showdown with York.
The Lions were in the midst of a shocking streak, a three-game stretch without a victory. They finished a disappointing 0-2-1 in their final three games of the PepsiCo Showdown. Lyons, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, clearly faced a difficult slate of opponents: Maine South (a 2-0 shutout loss), defending Class 2A state champion Lake Forest (1-1 draw) and North Shore power Evanston (a 3-1 loss).
Coach Bill Lanspeary was concerned. The Lions coach entered the Evanston game at Olympic Park in Schaumburg last Saturday filled with trepidation. The bleak result he sensed beforehand.
"I could see, mentally, we were not ready to play, and we just did not show up," he said.
Monday before the Lions stood a classic trap game. A rescheduled game changed to a late afternoon Monday less than 48 after the thrashing against Evanston.
Lyons started strong, but the sharp play and strong recovery was gone in an eight-minute York blitz as Madison Navarro and Juliana Salzano scored to give the Dukes a 2-1 lead with 10 minutes of regulation play left.
In the 75th minute, Grace Salvino saved the game, and maybe the Lions' season. Having every opportunity to wilt, Lyons instead showed classic perseverance as Salvino served a beautiful free kick from about 25 yards for the equalizer.
The game went scoreless through two overtime sessions. In the penalty kick shootout, Lions' star keeper Lidia Breen blocked three York attempts. Lyons won the shootout 3-1, avoiding a major setback.
"York has been really great this year, but our team worked very hard," Salvino said.
Jenna Fuller scored the Lions' first half goal, her fourth of the season. She has been a major revelation for the Lions, who lost their two best offensive threats to graduation -- Emily Lange (Cincinnati) and Erin Fitzgerald (Cornell). Gaby Hart, an excellent offensive talent as well, moved out of state in the offseason.
Salvino has nine assists, and her playmaking has been a significant bright spot.
One game, at the halfway point of the season, is just that, on paper. But the players knew better. "I think this is going to be a big win for us," Breen said, "overall and in the conference, especially coming off what was a tough couple of losses for us."
Lanspeary was succinct about the larger implications of the game.
"Huge," he said.
For York, the setback was difficult to comprehend.
"Penalty kicks have not been very good to us this year," York coach Donald Vana said. "Both of our losses this year are on penalty kicks."
York lost to Hersey in first-round PepsiCo Showdown play. The Dukes responded by ripping off three impressive victories over Lincoln-Way East, Prairie Ridge and a 2-0 shutout over the same Maine South team that whipped Lyons.
York's identity is on the offensive end, a natural when you have one of the state's top players, four-year starting forward Alyssa Kovatchis. Senior forward Jessica Bianchi is also dynamic in space and a dangerous and multifaceted player.
Alyssa's twin sister Jamie is her mirror equivalent, on the defensive end. The two are also great basketball players. In a horrifying conclusion to the basketball season, Jamie suffered a torn ACL in the state basketball tournament, ending her high school soccer career.
"That was a huge anchor for us in the back," Vana said. "The first month of the season, I can't complain. As I said, our two losses are both on penalty kicks. Our defense is still getting settled. We've done a nice job of trying to hold teams off.
"We just have to figure a way to put the ball in the back of the net more," he said.
Lyons built momentum off the game and cruised past Glenbard West 3-0 Tuesday. York confirmed it has some very strong pieces and promise going forward. However, the Dukes must overcome their penalty kicks bugaboo. They dropped another PK-decided match to DGN Tuesday.
By Patrick Z. McGavin
ELMHURST -- Much soccer remains to be played, but whatever fate and circumstance shapes the rest of the year for Lyons, its season was perhaps dramatically altered in a five-minute stretch Monday night in Elmhurst in a crucial West Suburban Conference Silver Division showdown with York.
The Lions were in the midst of a shocking streak, a three-game stretch without a victory. They finished a disappointing 0-2-1 in their final three games of the PepsiCo Showdown. Lyons, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, clearly faced a difficult slate of opponents: Maine South (a 2-0 shutout loss), defending Class 2A state champion Lake Forest (1-1 draw) and North Shore power Evanston (a 3-1 loss).
Coach Bill Lanspeary was concerned. The Lions coach entered the Evanston game at Olympic Park in Schaumburg last Saturday filled with trepidation. The bleak result he sensed beforehand.
"I could see, mentally, we were not ready to play, and we just did not show up," he said.
Monday before the Lions stood a classic trap game. A rescheduled game changed to a late afternoon Monday less than 48 after the thrashing against Evanston.
Lyons started strong, but the sharp play and strong recovery was gone in an eight-minute York blitz as Madison Navarro and Juliana Salzano scored to give the Dukes a 2-1 lead with 10 minutes of regulation play left.
In the 75th minute, Grace Salvino saved the game, and maybe the Lions' season. Having every opportunity to wilt, Lyons instead showed classic perseverance as Salvino served a beautiful free kick from about 25 yards for the equalizer.
The game went scoreless through two overtime sessions. In the penalty kick shootout, Lions' star keeper Lidia Breen blocked three York attempts. Lyons won the shootout 3-1, avoiding a major setback.
"York has been really great this year, but our team worked very hard," Salvino said.
Jenna Fuller scored the Lions' first half goal, her fourth of the season. She has been a major revelation for the Lions, who lost their two best offensive threats to graduation -- Emily Lange (Cincinnati) and Erin Fitzgerald (Cornell). Gaby Hart, an excellent offensive talent as well, moved out of state in the offseason.
Salvino has nine assists, and her playmaking has been a significant bright spot.
One game, at the halfway point of the season, is just that, on paper. But the players knew better. "I think this is going to be a big win for us," Breen said, "overall and in the conference, especially coming off what was a tough couple of losses for us."
Lanspeary was succinct about the larger implications of the game.
"Huge," he said.
For York, the setback was difficult to comprehend.
"Penalty kicks have not been very good to us this year," York coach Donald Vana said. "Both of our losses this year are on penalty kicks."
York lost to Hersey in first-round PepsiCo Showdown play. The Dukes responded by ripping off three impressive victories over Lincoln-Way East, Prairie Ridge and a 2-0 shutout over the same Maine South team that whipped Lyons.
York's identity is on the offensive end, a natural when you have one of the state's top players, four-year starting forward Alyssa Kovatchis. Senior forward Jessica Bianchi is also dynamic in space and a dangerous and multifaceted player.
Alyssa's twin sister Jamie is her mirror equivalent, on the defensive end. The two are also great basketball players. In a horrifying conclusion to the basketball season, Jamie suffered a torn ACL in the state basketball tournament, ending her high school soccer career.
"That was a huge anchor for us in the back," Vana said. "The first month of the season, I can't complain. As I said, our two losses are both on penalty kicks. Our defense is still getting settled. We've done a nice job of trying to hold teams off.
"We just have to figure a way to put the ball in the back of the net more," he said.
Lyons built momentum off the game and cruised past Glenbard West 3-0 Tuesday. York confirmed it has some very strong pieces and promise going forward. However, the Dukes must overcome their penalty kicks bugaboo. They dropped another PK-decided match to DGN Tuesday.