Young, surprising Lincoln Park battle
for city tournament positioning
By Michael Wojtychiw
When Lincoln Park travels to Young for Wednesday's Chicago Public League Premier Division game, it marks a meeting between one team that expected to be in its current position and one that didn't and has truly surprised many, including themselves.
Young came into the season with a Premier Division title last year and an experienced squad that was looking to make some noise throughout the area. Lincoln Park, on the other hand, was coming off of an 8-8-4 season where they finished sixth in conference with only one division win.
Young is toward the top of the division again, with a 3-0-1 record, behind only Payton, which is 4-0-1. After Wednesday's game, the Dolphins will have played each of the top four teams and control their own destiny as they search for another conference title. If they win out, they at least tie for the crown with Payton, who still has to play Lane next week. If Payton pulls out the win over Lane and remains tied with Young, the conference crown comes down to goal differential due to the fact Young and Payton tied earlier this season.
"It's not something I talk about with them, but they know what the situation is," Young manager Ross LaBauex said. "We just have to concentrate on what we can do, and we'll be fine. Especially since we played Jones, Payton and Lane early, so now we control our own destiny.
"Ideally you see a few of them early, a few of them later, but I think this team is old enough and has been through plenty of games, both city and playoff. They know what they have to do to get results."
Lincoln Park, on the other hand, sits at 13-2-0 overall and 3-2-0 in conference play. The Lions are off to their best start in manager Geoffrey Ruttenberg's eight-year career at the school.
After falling in their first game of the conference season, the Lions rattled off three-conference wins before dropping a contest to Lane on Monday. It was their first match in 12 days due to spring break.
"Our expectations were a little bit different," Ruttenberg said. "I thought we had a talented nucleus returning, but I didn't anticipate the way it's gelled. It's a phenomenal surprise.
"We returned a fair amount, but we lost nine seniors, and I thought the quality of players we lost would be difficult to replace immediately. But we had a young, core group that made varsity as freshmen and the progress those girls made collectively from freshman year until now far exceeded my expectation.
“We have some new freshmen that stepped up and when you combine that with our talented returning players, it's created a fantastic opportunity for us to compete at a high level."
Young followed its landmark win over Lane in its last conference game with games out of the league. That included two in the Body Armor Series two weeks ago.
Playing with a depleted roster due to spring break and the holidays, the Dolphins, who are ranked just outside Chicagoland Soccer's Top 25, were able to get playing time for some players who may not normally see much of the pitch. That's something the Young coaching staff knows will help them as they approach the end of the regular-season and go into the city and state tournaments.
"Spring break really hit us at a bad time," LaBauex said. "But you're going to have to play good teams eventually, so we can just let the chips fall where they may.
"There were some girls that stepped up and played some big minutes for us, and that's great to see. It's always great to get minutes at the varsity level.
“The games are your best teacher. You've got to analyze, prepare, internalize when you're out there on the field to see the things you did well and the things you can improve on and become a student of the game.
"I think when we watch the games, the players truly become students of the game -- how games play out and the basics that truly can dictate a soccer match."
Lincoln Park's resurgence has been led by its mixture of upperclassmen and underclassmen.
The team has some dynamic firepower led by senior Mia Ocana, who has 18 goals and 25 assists on the year, and sophomore Taylor Spriggs, who has 16 goals and seven assists.
"Mia does a great job of both distributing and scoring, and she does a great job wherever we put her," he said. "She will push up. But I feel like she's more comfortable distributing but knows if she's up-top, her mission is to score, and she's done so incredibly well.
"Taylor is one of those young options who started last year as a freshman, but the amount of progress she made between freshman year and now has been unbelievable.
"To be able to see that progression from girls like her and Lex Thanasouras in what used to be a freshman, and they show up sophomore year and they're far ahead of where I ever imagined them to be is a testament to those girls and how they've worked over the past year."
for city tournament positioning
By Michael Wojtychiw
When Lincoln Park travels to Young for Wednesday's Chicago Public League Premier Division game, it marks a meeting between one team that expected to be in its current position and one that didn't and has truly surprised many, including themselves.
Young came into the season with a Premier Division title last year and an experienced squad that was looking to make some noise throughout the area. Lincoln Park, on the other hand, was coming off of an 8-8-4 season where they finished sixth in conference with only one division win.
Young is toward the top of the division again, with a 3-0-1 record, behind only Payton, which is 4-0-1. After Wednesday's game, the Dolphins will have played each of the top four teams and control their own destiny as they search for another conference title. If they win out, they at least tie for the crown with Payton, who still has to play Lane next week. If Payton pulls out the win over Lane and remains tied with Young, the conference crown comes down to goal differential due to the fact Young and Payton tied earlier this season.
"It's not something I talk about with them, but they know what the situation is," Young manager Ross LaBauex said. "We just have to concentrate on what we can do, and we'll be fine. Especially since we played Jones, Payton and Lane early, so now we control our own destiny.
"Ideally you see a few of them early, a few of them later, but I think this team is old enough and has been through plenty of games, both city and playoff. They know what they have to do to get results."
Lincoln Park, on the other hand, sits at 13-2-0 overall and 3-2-0 in conference play. The Lions are off to their best start in manager Geoffrey Ruttenberg's eight-year career at the school.
After falling in their first game of the conference season, the Lions rattled off three-conference wins before dropping a contest to Lane on Monday. It was their first match in 12 days due to spring break.
"Our expectations were a little bit different," Ruttenberg said. "I thought we had a talented nucleus returning, but I didn't anticipate the way it's gelled. It's a phenomenal surprise.
"We returned a fair amount, but we lost nine seniors, and I thought the quality of players we lost would be difficult to replace immediately. But we had a young, core group that made varsity as freshmen and the progress those girls made collectively from freshman year until now far exceeded my expectation.
“We have some new freshmen that stepped up and when you combine that with our talented returning players, it's created a fantastic opportunity for us to compete at a high level."
Young followed its landmark win over Lane in its last conference game with games out of the league. That included two in the Body Armor Series two weeks ago.
Playing with a depleted roster due to spring break and the holidays, the Dolphins, who are ranked just outside Chicagoland Soccer's Top 25, were able to get playing time for some players who may not normally see much of the pitch. That's something the Young coaching staff knows will help them as they approach the end of the regular-season and go into the city and state tournaments.
"Spring break really hit us at a bad time," LaBauex said. "But you're going to have to play good teams eventually, so we can just let the chips fall where they may.
"There were some girls that stepped up and played some big minutes for us, and that's great to see. It's always great to get minutes at the varsity level.
“The games are your best teacher. You've got to analyze, prepare, internalize when you're out there on the field to see the things you did well and the things you can improve on and become a student of the game.
"I think when we watch the games, the players truly become students of the game -- how games play out and the basics that truly can dictate a soccer match."
Lincoln Park's resurgence has been led by its mixture of upperclassmen and underclassmen.
The team has some dynamic firepower led by senior Mia Ocana, who has 18 goals and 25 assists on the year, and sophomore Taylor Spriggs, who has 16 goals and seven assists.
"Mia does a great job of both distributing and scoring, and she does a great job wherever we put her," he said. "She will push up. But I feel like she's more comfortable distributing but knows if she's up-top, her mission is to score, and she's done so incredibly well.
"Taylor is one of those young options who started last year as a freshman, but the amount of progress she made between freshman year and now has been unbelievable.
"To be able to see that progression from girls like her and Lex Thanasouras in what used to be a freshman, and they show up sophomore year and they're far ahead of where I ever imagined them to be is a testament to those girls and how they've worked over the past year."