Last regular season game decides
CPL Premier Division title: Lane vs. Jones
By Patrick Z. McGavin
The city tournament is the crown jewel of Chicago Public League soccer. The jostling and fun start Wednesday as Jones plays host to no. 21 Lane in the final game of the Premier Division in a rematch of last year’s city title game.
After Sydney Varga’s dramatic with 10 seconds left secured a 1-1 draw at home Monday against Young, Lane (6-3-2, 5-0-1 Premier) is facing a must-win situation against the Eagles. Lane has the better goal-differential than the Dolphins (8-7-2, 6-0-1). A Lane victory secures a share of the Premier regular-season championship and the top seed of the city tournament.
Group play among the 24 qualifiers in the city tournament starts Monday.
“It’s a very important game, and I think our players are really looking forward to playing, as I sure know Derek [Bylsma] and Jones are,” Lane coach Michelle Vale said.
For Jones (9-3-3, 3-1-2), the game marks another symbolic rung in its climb toward respectability. Jones snapped an 0-2-2 run by defeating Von Steuben 4-0 on Monday. Both losses came against no. 24 Latin: once in the semifinals of a PepsiCo bracket; and the other in pool play of the Chicago Cup.
“There were some little things internally,” Bylsma said. “We had some injuries, and we had some difficult games. [On Monday] we looked like our old selves again. With us being a pretty young team, it’s easier to have events affect you.
“We’ve got a lot of really young players who are great kids; they’re awesome people. And they are learning how to [achieve] this whatever-it-takes mentality.”
Jones features an intriguing mixture of established talents like junior forward Avery Kaplan, the team’s leading scorer, and skilled attacking players Lauren Nichols and Gillian Miller, balanced against some bright and precocious young talents like sophomore midfielder Sophia Jennerjahn, freshman forward Carmen Marshall and freshman midfielder Laura Rios. Two other sophomores, midfielder/defender Natalie Loos and midfielder Martina Bianchi have also impressed.
Bylsma has transformed the culture at Jones.
“After the Latin loss, that would have been a great result for us (previously),” he said. “We lost to Young with 45 seconds left and in the past, that would have counted as a moral victory. It’s different now. We are not just hoping. We actually want to be there, expected to be one of the best teams in the city, and the expectations grow as a team.
“So being anything other than one of the top teams would seem like we did not achieve what we wanted. We have set our goals higher.”
Lane has won three-consecutive city crowns. The Indians understand pressure and expectations.
The draw with Young snapped a five-game league win streak and four-game overall winning streak. Lane is 5-1-1 in its last seven games. The team’s only loss was a narrow defeat against no. 7 Glenbrook South. The team has also faced ranked Loyola and Deerfield and defeated highly-regarded Fenwick.
“As I said, there was a lot of adrenaline in the Young game, with it being such a big rivalry,” Vale said. “I thought we showed poise and composure, especially after falling behind late in the game.”
Lane is the team that all others are ultimately judged against in the Public League. The team is deep, versatile and highly skilled. Izzy Oganovich, captain and four-year starter, is a great two-way player who moves from the back to the middle. Varga is a rapidly-improved offensive piece whose game meshes well with forward Grace Dunaway, midfielder Jazzmin Jordan and twins Ayla Guvener and Ayser Guvener. Sophomore Camaron Niforos is another exceptional young talent to watch.
The teams tied 2-2 a year ago. Jones stunned Lane by scoring twice in the first 15 minutes. It set a template Bylsma looks to replicate.
“They’re really strong and really good at what they do,” he said. “I think a lot of teams, when they play Lane, they play with fear. They play back, and they try to pack it in. Our attitude is let’s go play, and let’s go toe to toe and see how we do. That is what we want to do, play really loose.
“As much as I respect Michelle Vale and her program, I’d like them to leave our field not feeling great.”
CPL Premier Division title: Lane vs. Jones
By Patrick Z. McGavin
The city tournament is the crown jewel of Chicago Public League soccer. The jostling and fun start Wednesday as Jones plays host to no. 21 Lane in the final game of the Premier Division in a rematch of last year’s city title game.
After Sydney Varga’s dramatic with 10 seconds left secured a 1-1 draw at home Monday against Young, Lane (6-3-2, 5-0-1 Premier) is facing a must-win situation against the Eagles. Lane has the better goal-differential than the Dolphins (8-7-2, 6-0-1). A Lane victory secures a share of the Premier regular-season championship and the top seed of the city tournament.
Group play among the 24 qualifiers in the city tournament starts Monday.
“It’s a very important game, and I think our players are really looking forward to playing, as I sure know Derek [Bylsma] and Jones are,” Lane coach Michelle Vale said.
For Jones (9-3-3, 3-1-2), the game marks another symbolic rung in its climb toward respectability. Jones snapped an 0-2-2 run by defeating Von Steuben 4-0 on Monday. Both losses came against no. 24 Latin: once in the semifinals of a PepsiCo bracket; and the other in pool play of the Chicago Cup.
“There were some little things internally,” Bylsma said. “We had some injuries, and we had some difficult games. [On Monday] we looked like our old selves again. With us being a pretty young team, it’s easier to have events affect you.
“We’ve got a lot of really young players who are great kids; they’re awesome people. And they are learning how to [achieve] this whatever-it-takes mentality.”
Jones features an intriguing mixture of established talents like junior forward Avery Kaplan, the team’s leading scorer, and skilled attacking players Lauren Nichols and Gillian Miller, balanced against some bright and precocious young talents like sophomore midfielder Sophia Jennerjahn, freshman forward Carmen Marshall and freshman midfielder Laura Rios. Two other sophomores, midfielder/defender Natalie Loos and midfielder Martina Bianchi have also impressed.
Bylsma has transformed the culture at Jones.
“After the Latin loss, that would have been a great result for us (previously),” he said. “We lost to Young with 45 seconds left and in the past, that would have counted as a moral victory. It’s different now. We are not just hoping. We actually want to be there, expected to be one of the best teams in the city, and the expectations grow as a team.
“So being anything other than one of the top teams would seem like we did not achieve what we wanted. We have set our goals higher.”
Lane has won three-consecutive city crowns. The Indians understand pressure and expectations.
The draw with Young snapped a five-game league win streak and four-game overall winning streak. Lane is 5-1-1 in its last seven games. The team’s only loss was a narrow defeat against no. 7 Glenbrook South. The team has also faced ranked Loyola and Deerfield and defeated highly-regarded Fenwick.
“As I said, there was a lot of adrenaline in the Young game, with it being such a big rivalry,” Vale said. “I thought we showed poise and composure, especially after falling behind late in the game.”
Lane is the team that all others are ultimately judged against in the Public League. The team is deep, versatile and highly skilled. Izzy Oganovich, captain and four-year starter, is a great two-way player who moves from the back to the middle. Varga is a rapidly-improved offensive piece whose game meshes well with forward Grace Dunaway, midfielder Jazzmin Jordan and twins Ayla Guvener and Ayser Guvener. Sophomore Camaron Niforos is another exceptional young talent to watch.
The teams tied 2-2 a year ago. Jones stunned Lane by scoring twice in the first 15 minutes. It set a template Bylsma looks to replicate.
“They’re really strong and really good at what they do,” he said. “I think a lot of teams, when they play Lane, they play with fear. They play back, and they try to pack it in. Our attitude is let’s go play, and let’s go toe to toe and see how we do. That is what we want to do, play really loose.
“As much as I respect Michelle Vale and her program, I’d like them to leave our field not feeling great.”