Young looks to break Lane title streak
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- A year ago, Mia Lisanti was part of the best and brightest class entering the Chicago Public League. A gifted student and precocious soccer talent, she had a range of options.
The best young students like Lisanti typically seek out the city’s magnet or selective enrollment schools to matriculate educationally. These schools like Young, Payton, Northside, Jones and Lane, also dominate girls soccer.
Lisanti choose Young, bringing instant cachet to a top-notch academic school and longtime soccer power. As far as soccer was concerned, Lisanti created her own destiny, ostensibly assigning herself a clear role, one that by history and tradition meant she would be instantly part of the city’s top rivalry.
“Just coming into this program, you know the deep-seated rivalry we have with Lane,” Lisanti said. “Now we get to play them at Toyota Park, and it is really exciting.”
For the eighth time in the last 10 years, either Young or Lane is going to be crowned the champion of the Chicago Public League girls tournament. Game time is 7 p.m. Thursday (May 10) at the home of the Fire and Red Stars in Bridgeview.
No. 17 Lane (12-3-2) has won three-consecutive city titles. Young last captured the city title in 2014. Now the Dolphins (12-9-2) are ready for the elevated platform of playing on the expansive and beautiful natural surface at Toyota Park to stake their claim of being the city’s best.
“We are ready to play,” Young coach Spero Mandakas said. “We felt like we gave one to them last time. We know it’s going to be a battle. We know we are going to be on our heels. We are going to have to make good plays. (The coaches are) ready for it, the girls are ready for it, and it is going to be a good show Thursday night.”
The city championship game is the standard for Public League soccer. The teams are converging at the right time. Lane is playing its best soccer of the year. The Indians are 10-0-1 since a narrow loss to no. 10 Glenbrook South on April 3. During the run, the Indians have conceded just two goals.
“Our defense has been strong since my sophomore year,” senior Lane defender Kinuko Mrozik said. “It has been very consistent. We all work very well together. We have been playing travel [soccer] together, and we all know how we play. If one player is more conservative, somebody else wants to step up.
“Knowing that gives us a big advantage.”
One of the goals Lane allowed came in the 80th minute in the Indians’ riveting Premier Division game against the Dolphins at home April 23. The Dolphins executed a perfect counter, and star senior forward Sophie Putrim blasted home a goal with 26 seconds left in the game. That seemingly gave Young the victory.
Amazingly, Lane fought back, and junior midfielder Sydney Varga answered just 16 seconds later to render a 1-1 draw. Lane secured the top-seed in the tournament based on scoring differential.
Conference games are not always a predictor for the city tournament games. Lane thrashed the Dolphins 5-0 during the season last year before prevailing just 1-0 in the city semifinals. Coach Michelle Vale has a deep, experienced and versatile roster.
Lane is riding a 19-game winning streak in city tournament play over the last four years. Eight seniors are seeking perfection -- going four for four in city championships. Isabella Oganovich scored the game-winner two years as a sophomore.
“This means a lot, especially the seniors who have been on the varsity since they were freshmen,” Lane sophomore midfielder Camaron Niforos said. “It would mean winning the city title all four years. We are really looking for that fourth title.”
Like Lisanti, Niforos represents the next wave of talent. She is an emerging star for the Indians. Her second half goal punctuated the Indians’ 2-0 victory over Jones in the semifinals Tuesday at Brooks Tuesday.
Lane spreads the scoring wealth.
Junior Grace Dunaway, a Chicagoland Soccer all-state player last year who scored 19 goals, has only one third that total this year.
“We all have so many things to offer to the team, so many of us are able to play any position,” Niforos said. “We have that over a lot of other teams, our bench is just as strong. It doesn’t really matter who starts.
“We all go in with the same intensity.”
What adds to the intrigue is the familiarity between the schools, not just because of shared experiences on club programs. It goes deeper than that. The link between academic perfection and athletic achievement overlap. Sophie Putrim’s twin sister Olivia played at Lane her freshman year. The Putrim sisters are best friends with Oganovich.
In the Lane and Jones game on Tuesday, twin sisters Lisa Rios and Laura Rios entered the game at the same time, on different sides -- Lisa plays for Lane and Laura with Jones.
Lisanti helped engineer the Dolphins’ 3-1 comeback victory over Payton Tuesday by assisting the Dolphins’ first goal by Sarah Heise and taking part in the game-winning rebound goal by sophomore defender Lauren Ehlers off a short corner.
Young hopes to get back three key players, including junior forward Audrey Howaniec, who has been dealing with the complications of a concussion. One thing that is crystal clear, from both sides, is that regardless of who is in the game, everything matters.
“The past couple of weeks, we have been struggling with injuries, some other players really stepped it up,” Lisanti said. “Everyone who gets minutes the next game, they are going to give it everything they have.
“It does not matter if you play one minute or the whole game.”
Jones and Payton open the night's festivities in the third place game at 5 p.m. The teams played to a scoreless draw during the regular season.
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- A year ago, Mia Lisanti was part of the best and brightest class entering the Chicago Public League. A gifted student and precocious soccer talent, she had a range of options.
The best young students like Lisanti typically seek out the city’s magnet or selective enrollment schools to matriculate educationally. These schools like Young, Payton, Northside, Jones and Lane, also dominate girls soccer.
Lisanti choose Young, bringing instant cachet to a top-notch academic school and longtime soccer power. As far as soccer was concerned, Lisanti created her own destiny, ostensibly assigning herself a clear role, one that by history and tradition meant she would be instantly part of the city’s top rivalry.
“Just coming into this program, you know the deep-seated rivalry we have with Lane,” Lisanti said. “Now we get to play them at Toyota Park, and it is really exciting.”
For the eighth time in the last 10 years, either Young or Lane is going to be crowned the champion of the Chicago Public League girls tournament. Game time is 7 p.m. Thursday (May 10) at the home of the Fire and Red Stars in Bridgeview.
No. 17 Lane (12-3-2) has won three-consecutive city titles. Young last captured the city title in 2014. Now the Dolphins (12-9-2) are ready for the elevated platform of playing on the expansive and beautiful natural surface at Toyota Park to stake their claim of being the city’s best.
“We are ready to play,” Young coach Spero Mandakas said. “We felt like we gave one to them last time. We know it’s going to be a battle. We know we are going to be on our heels. We are going to have to make good plays. (The coaches are) ready for it, the girls are ready for it, and it is going to be a good show Thursday night.”
The city championship game is the standard for Public League soccer. The teams are converging at the right time. Lane is playing its best soccer of the year. The Indians are 10-0-1 since a narrow loss to no. 10 Glenbrook South on April 3. During the run, the Indians have conceded just two goals.
“Our defense has been strong since my sophomore year,” senior Lane defender Kinuko Mrozik said. “It has been very consistent. We all work very well together. We have been playing travel [soccer] together, and we all know how we play. If one player is more conservative, somebody else wants to step up.
“Knowing that gives us a big advantage.”
One of the goals Lane allowed came in the 80th minute in the Indians’ riveting Premier Division game against the Dolphins at home April 23. The Dolphins executed a perfect counter, and star senior forward Sophie Putrim blasted home a goal with 26 seconds left in the game. That seemingly gave Young the victory.
Amazingly, Lane fought back, and junior midfielder Sydney Varga answered just 16 seconds later to render a 1-1 draw. Lane secured the top-seed in the tournament based on scoring differential.
Conference games are not always a predictor for the city tournament games. Lane thrashed the Dolphins 5-0 during the season last year before prevailing just 1-0 in the city semifinals. Coach Michelle Vale has a deep, experienced and versatile roster.
Lane is riding a 19-game winning streak in city tournament play over the last four years. Eight seniors are seeking perfection -- going four for four in city championships. Isabella Oganovich scored the game-winner two years as a sophomore.
“This means a lot, especially the seniors who have been on the varsity since they were freshmen,” Lane sophomore midfielder Camaron Niforos said. “It would mean winning the city title all four years. We are really looking for that fourth title.”
Like Lisanti, Niforos represents the next wave of talent. She is an emerging star for the Indians. Her second half goal punctuated the Indians’ 2-0 victory over Jones in the semifinals Tuesday at Brooks Tuesday.
Lane spreads the scoring wealth.
Junior Grace Dunaway, a Chicagoland Soccer all-state player last year who scored 19 goals, has only one third that total this year.
“We all have so many things to offer to the team, so many of us are able to play any position,” Niforos said. “We have that over a lot of other teams, our bench is just as strong. It doesn’t really matter who starts.
“We all go in with the same intensity.”
What adds to the intrigue is the familiarity between the schools, not just because of shared experiences on club programs. It goes deeper than that. The link between academic perfection and athletic achievement overlap. Sophie Putrim’s twin sister Olivia played at Lane her freshman year. The Putrim sisters are best friends with Oganovich.
In the Lane and Jones game on Tuesday, twin sisters Lisa Rios and Laura Rios entered the game at the same time, on different sides -- Lisa plays for Lane and Laura with Jones.
Lisanti helped engineer the Dolphins’ 3-1 comeback victory over Payton Tuesday by assisting the Dolphins’ first goal by Sarah Heise and taking part in the game-winning rebound goal by sophomore defender Lauren Ehlers off a short corner.
Young hopes to get back three key players, including junior forward Audrey Howaniec, who has been dealing with the complications of a concussion. One thing that is crystal clear, from both sides, is that regardless of who is in the game, everything matters.
“The past couple of weeks, we have been struggling with injuries, some other players really stepped it up,” Lisanti said. “Everyone who gets minutes the next game, they are going to give it everything they have.
“It does not matter if you play one minute or the whole game.”
Jones and Payton open the night's festivities in the third place game at 5 p.m. The teams played to a scoreless draw during the regular season.