Lisle High School Girls Soccer Team

5/4 Manteno

There was a awesome soccer game played Tueday night, unfortuntely one of the referee's decided he wanted a say in who won the game. With 6 minutes to go in the game, and the Lions ahead 2 to 1, Manteno's forward, fell in the penality area, with out the ball and the referee rewarded the fall with a Penality kick. It was a terrible call and a call that most likey cost Lisle the conference championship. If anyone disagrees with me on this, go watch the game on www.ihigh.com. If that was a foul then so was the last play of the game, when the Manteno player made a nice play to beat keeper Vanessa Roach on an airball. There was contact, but it was not a foul. Just like the play in the penality area.

But enough about bad calls and a bad referee, because the real story tonight was on the field. The Lisle Lions played a great game against a top level team. The first goal was scored in the 12th minute of the game. Nicole Urban centered the ball and it went past Jen Potter, who was on the far side of the goal. Jen tracked down the ball and put a beautiful centering pass back across the goal. Nicole stayed wide and got the ball in the air and put it away before Manteno's Aryn Newsome could react.

The Lions controled much of the first half and limited Manteno's chances until late. In the last 8 minutes of the half, Manteno took charge of the pace and had some good chances. But either Vanessa Roach made the play in the goal, or the defense got there and cleared the ball out of danger. Lexi Britton did a good job of making it tough for Manteno's play maker, Allie Newsome to get much of a solid shot on net.

The 2nd half started with a bang as Lisle came out with some good intensity. Just 1:50 into the half, Nicole centered a pass and Skyler Tomko got her foot on it, and it deflected to Emily DeLong and Emily put a high shot past keeper Newsome and Lisle had the 2 to 0 lead. The Lions continued to control the pace for most of the 2nd half.

However with about 20 minutes to go, there was a swing in the momentum. Manteno started to pressure the Lions and while the Lions were able to continue to clear the ball, that's all we did. We didn't string passes together, we didn't move off the ball. 20 minutes of that type of play is just too much to do. Manteno, kept the pressure on and it paid off, when Allie Newsome recieved an entry pass, at the top of the 18 and beat a group of defenders with a solid shot to make the score 2 to 1.

Just two minutes later the roof fell in, when Lisle was called for a foul at mid field. The restart went deep into the 18 and in the scramble for the ball, Allie Newsome fall in the box and the il-fated call was made.

The Lions came out against the wind in the OT and got it going again and had some shots but were off target with them. Manteno had some nice opportunities as well. with 7 seconds to go, Allie Newsome launched a ball high in the air towards the Lisle goal. Vanessa went to the ball and tried to haul it in, but Manteno forward Spangler got there about the same time. Spangler won the battle for the ball and the game.

Lisle will regroup in practice on Wednesday and then travel to Peotone on Thursday to play for 2nd place in conference.
Manteno Conference Game Stats

5/1 St. Edwards

The Lady Lions took it on the road to Elgin and the Elgin Sports complex to take on St. Edwards in non-conference soccer action. The team continued it's winning ways of the past two weeks, defeating St. Edwards 6 to 1. This is the 6th win in a row for the Lions as they prepare for the final week of the regular season and then the playoffs.

Nicole Urban scored first for the Lions, getting a centering pass from Jen Potter and then beat the St. Edwards keeper to the outside. Emily DeLong got her first of the day in the 13th minute of the game, with the assist coming from Nicole. In the 28th minute of the half, Mary Gill made some nice defensive plays which resulted in a good pass up to Nicole, and Nicole dribbled through 2 defenders took it at the keeper and the Lions had a 3 to 0 lead and it stayed that way until the first half ended. The defense did a nice job of limiting St. Edwards to 2 shots in the first half, with one on goal.

St. Edwards seemed determined to make a game of it in the 2nd half, and had a couple nice plays in the first few minutes of the half, but the defense eventually cleared the ball up the field and Emily Delong, found her favorite target Nicole, running up the field. Emily sent the ball over the top of the St. Edwards defense, and Nicole out raced them and the keeper to the ball and got her third goal of the game. That play happened in the 3rd minute of the half, and it seemed to take a little steam out of St. Edwards. In the 12th minute of the half, Jen Potter put another ball through the middle of the field and Emily was on the receiving end and got her 2nd goal of the game.

Jen got her third assist of the day, when she sent a pass to Katie O'Connell on the left side of the field. Katie got her left foot on the ball and lofted it toward the goal. It went past the out stretched arms of the Keeper and went to the back of the goal. That made the score 6 to 0.

To St. Edwards credit, they kept working and finally got a goal in the 63rd minute of the game. The defense had gotten a bit sloppy and allowed 3 shots in a row. After the goal the defense got it back in gear and limited the St. Edwards chances the rest of the way.
St. Edwards Game Stats

4/29 Plano

Lisle Varisty Soccer took care of business tonight against Plano, winning 7 to 0. Lisle remains unbeaten in conference play with a 7 - 0 record. For those of you that didn't catch it, nice little symmetry there.

It took the Lions a little while to get it going tonight, as the heavy winds made accurate passing difficult. However, Lexi Britton found Nicole Urban open and Nicole put the ball past the Plano keeper. Emily DeLong got her goal from Nicole about 4 minutes later. Jen Potter was next, less than a minute later (from Skyler Tomko) and Skyler Tomko was in a good place, when Nicole took a shot that rebounded off the Plano Keeper, right to the waiting Skler and the Lions had the 4 to 0 lead, which is what the halftime lead was.

The 2nd half started with a real effort to get Mary Gill a goal. She has started and played defense for Lisle for 4 years and has never scored a goal. While she had several good chances, she couldn't get the ball past the Plano keeper. Jen Potter got number two when she redirected a shot from Nicole Urban. Skyler Tomko put in a nice header goal, getting the centering pass from Lauren Prideville. And last but not least Michell Hutchison got her first goal of the season, from an Urban pass.

The defense did they're normal job and only allowed one shot on goal tonight, which Vanessa Roach handled no problem. The victory combined with Manteno's 2 to 1 victory over Peotone sets up a Tuesday night Conference Championship game at Benedictine University, which is also Sr. night. Lets see if we can get a good crowd to the game and make it night of celebration, of not only our Seniors careers but a possible Conference Title.
Plano Game Stats

4/27 ReedCuster

The Lady Lions Varsity Soccer Team took the trip to Braidwood to play Reedcuster in a conference game. The Lions made quick work of ReedCuster and won 7 to 0. That upps the Lions conference record to 6 and 0, in at least a time with both Manteno and Peotone, who we play next week.

The Lions struck in the 4th minute of the game, when Zandy VanTholen, sent a through ball past the off side trapping ReedCuster squad. Nicole Urban out raced the ReedCuster defense to the ball and beat the Keeper to get the scoring going. Emily DeLong found Nicole with a nifty pass when they were deep in RC territory and Nicole had her 2nd goal of the game. About 10 minutes later Nicole returned the favor and got the ball to Emily, and Em put a nice shot in the goal. Meanwhile the defense was pretty much keeping the RC offense from getting anything dangerous. Lisle Keeper Mariah Ortega only had to handle the ball about 5 times in the first half, due to good work on the defensive side.

The 2nd half, produced more of the same as Emily scored again, with the assist from Nicole. Zandy got the ball back to Nicole for her 3rd goal of the game. Jen Potter added a goal from Emily as the Lions broke the offside trap again. And we got the birthday girl into the scoring colmun when Nicole Set Lexi Britton up with a goal in the 20th minute of the half.

In all the Lions had 46 shots in the game, and RC had just 1 or 2, but none of them on net. The Lions travel to ACC on Wednesday night for a non-conference match up. ReedCuster Game Stats

4/23 Mt. Assisi

The Lions traveled to Mt. Assisi for a non-conference game Friday night and had a easy time of it as they defeated Mt. Assisi 7 to 0. Mt. Assisi has been having issues most of the season with lack of numbers. They started the game with 11 players, no subs and lost a player at half time. They also had a few players that decided to take a lot of the 2nd half off. As a result the Lions hit the Slaughter rule pretty quickly and the game was only 61 minutes long.

Here is a quick breakdown of the scoring:
Nicole Urban had 3 goals, assisted by Emily Delong, Shelly Chatman and Jen Potter.
Skyler Tomko had 2 goals, one assisted by Nicole and the other an unassisted goal, PK after a Mt. Assisi Handball in the Box.
Jen Potter scored with an assist from Lexi Britton
Emily Delong Scored with an assist from Nicole
Vanessa Roach made 4 saves during the course of the game, as it was a pretty un-eventful game.

All players got in and played at least 25 minutes, so it was a good game from that perspective. The Lions return to conference action on Tuesday night, as they will travel to ReedCuster.
Mt. Assisi Game Stats

4/22 Coal City

Coal City visited Wilde field tonight and gave Lisle a very good game. They played a tough man to man defense and forced Lisle to play a strong game to get the win. While the Lions didn't have a very good touch on the ball and did a lot of standing off the ball, they were good enough to earn the 4 to 1 win.

The Lions only managed one goal in the first half. In the 14th minute, Emily Delong found Skyler Tomko at the other end of a corner kick. Skyler managed to get the ball out of the air and past the Coal City keeper for the 1 - 0 lead. While that was the only goal scored in the first half, the Lisle defense managed to keep Coal City from getting a shot on goal in the first half. Credit to Robin Krc, Becca Ruthberg, Mary Gill, Sara Ruthberg and Christine Young for the great effort in the first half.

The Lions came out quick in the 2nd half scoring just 35 seconds in, when Nicole Urban put a pass to the far post and Lexi Britton was there to put it away, and the Lions had the 2 to 0 lead. In the 5th minute of the 2nd half, the Lisle midfield defense missed a clearing attempt and didn't go very hard to both a 50/50 ball, and then didn't close down on the player with the ball and the Coal City Midfielder sent a long shot towards the Lisle goal. The Ball got past Lisle Keeper Vanessa Roach as she made a good attempt at it, but it was too good a shot.

Coal City appeared to have some life and were showing Lisle, it wasn't going to be easy. However, just 90 seconds later, Jen Potter found Nicole Urban up field with a good through ball and Nicole was in on the Coal City goal. She calmly put the ball beyond the Coal City Keeper and the Lisle was up 3 to 1. Coal City continued to play a good man to man and although the Lions had control of the game, they were not able to convert. The Coal City Keeper did a nice job of making solid saves and not allowing any rebounds.

The Lions did get a late goal from Emily Delong on a PK. Nicole Urban had possession of the ball in the Coal City penality area, and the Coal City defender triped Nicole in side the 18. The Lions outshot Coal City 27 to 3 for the game. This improves Lisles conference record to 5 and 0. The Lions travel to Mt. Assisi tomorrow for a non-conference game.
Coal City Game Stats

4/20 Wilmington

On a beautiful Tuesday afternoon the Lions took control early and defeated Wilmington 7 to 2. Easily one of their better offensive showings of the season, what was fun to watch was the crisp passing, the movement off the ball and the great communications going on the entire game.

It was a familiar story on offense, with Delong, Urban and Potter leading the way. Emily scored the first one after her and Nicole were able to make some great give and goes up the middle of the Wilmington defense, and Emily had an easy goal after the final pass from Nicole. This was just 4:45 in to the game. 100 seconds later, it looked was Deja Vu all over again, as the combinations worked for a 2nd goal, at the 6:23 mark. Jen Potter got into the scoring column after receiving a crossing pass from Nicole and put a terrific shot to the far post in the 23rd minute. Nicole made it 4 to 0, after getting the ball from Michell Hutchison and finishing.

Late in the half, Wilmington got on the board after the Lisle defense mis handled a clearing attempt and Wilmington forward got to the ball before anyone on the Lisle defense and put a shot past Lisle Keeper Vanessa Roach.

The Lions came out strong and quick in the 2nd half and scored 96 seconds into the half, when Emily repaid Nicole with a shot pass in front of the Wilmington goal and Nicole finished the shot for her 2nd goal. Just 90 seconds later, Wilmington put a routine shot on net and Vanessa jumped at the ball and it went under her legs and into the net, making the score 5 to 2. In the 14th minute of the half, we had another Deja Vu as Emily found Nicole wide open and Nicole scored another to make it 6 to 2. Jen Potter finished off the scoring in the 16th minute, with a short shot, after a Lexi Britton center.

The 2nd line players did a wonderful job finishing things off, limiting Wilmingtons chances, and although they didn't score, they did have some good chances with shots on net. This pushes the Lions conference mark to 4 and 0.
Wilmington Game Stats

4/17 U-High

The Lions wrapped up their participation in the Pepsi Showdown with a solid game against AA lvl U-High. Although the Lions dominated in the stats category and possession of the ball, they couldn't get the ball past a very good U-High Goal Keeper. This resulted in a 3 to 1 loss. There is an old expression that the best team doesn't always win and in the case it applies.

The Lions got out of the gate quickly scoring on the first possession of the game. Emily Delong put the ball on the far post after receiving a nice pass from Nicole Urban. It didn't take U-High very long to answer as their best player, no. 14 made a move around the Lisle defense and sent a good shot past Lisle Keeper Vanessa Roach. Just a few minute later, She repeated the exact same move in more or less the same spot and U-High had the 2 to 1 lead.

Wind played a factor in the game, as the U-High scored a 3rd goal, in the 32nd minute. A mid field send a centering pass accross the goal area and the wind gave it some assistance. Instead of going past the goal and wind knocked it down a little and moved it towards the far post. Vanessa had no chance to make the save.

The Lions played an impression 2nd half, getting more physical and going harder to the ball. They kept the ball on the offensive end for 30 minutes and had 12 shots. Unfortunately the U-High Keeper was pretty talented and did a super job of keeping her team in the lead. She had 14 saves for the game. Lisle out shot U-High 25 to 11. During that span, the Lions did hit the cross bar once, the left side post once.

Although they lost, they did play a solid game and showed what they can do against a good team.
U-High Pepsi Tournament Game Stats

4/13 Beecher

The offense played well and the defense played just good enough to win, as Lisle defeated Beecher 5 to 3 to improve to 3 and 0 in conference play.

The Lions played a very strong first half, getting 18 shots, with 10 on goal, but only converted on 2 of them. After getting some great chances but shooting the ball right to the keeper or sending it over the top, the Lions didn't manage a goal until the 27th minute. Emily Delong received a pass from Nicole Urban and made a good shot away from the Beecher Keeper. The Lions got their 2nd goal of the game with just 90 seconds left in the half, as Emily returned the favor to Nicole and hit Nicole in stride with a nice pass. Nicole made one move around the defender and then the keeper and the score was 2 to 0.

Beecher came out with some heat to start the 2nd half, but the Lions were able to counter and after a few minutes had the upper hand. Getting back to the first half rhythm getting good opportunities, but shooting right at the Beecher keeper, who was able to continue to make the saves. After a mad scrable in front of the Beecher goal area, Nicole got inside the keeper and poked the ball towards the goal. Jen Potter was there to make sure it went it, and almost put the ball over the net as she struck the ball and hit the cross bar. Fortunatly the ball bounced into the goal not out and Lisle had the 3 to 0 lead and apparent control of the game.

Credit to Beecher for not giving up at that point. They put on another surge and had the ball deep in the Lisle defensive third. Robin Krc and Becca Ruthberg both went for the same play at the same time and niether was able to clear the ball. In fact the clearing attempt bounced towards the middle of the 18 and Beecher forward Allie Jimeniz beat every to the ball and sent it past Lisle Keeper Vanessa Roach. That was just what Beecher needed as it gave them some life and hope.

For the next 10 minutes Beecher completely out played Lisle, beating them to every loose ball and playing more physical. The defense started ball watching and it showed as they completely lost track of the back side of the field. Beecher scored to make it it 3 to 2, when they centered the ball accross the 18 and 2 Beecher players were wide open at the back post. It was an easy goal for Kristyn Kurezewski.

Beecher continued to apply pressure, but the Lions began to come back to life offensively and Emily found Nicole for another Lisle goal to get put the lead back at 2. Less then a minute later, after the Beecher kick off, the exact same play occured when Beecher centered the ball to the back post and Allie Jimeniz was there to score another easy goal. For the 2nd time the defense got way past their positions playing poor positioning and not even looking to see what was going on in their defensive third.

With 12 minutes to go, it was a 1 goal game and Beecher was doing a good job of frustrating the Lions. However the Lions did continue to get plenty of scoring opportunities. Jen Potter made a great hussle play to get possession of the ball on the right side of the field. Nicole was making the off the ball run up the field and Jen send great pass up the field to Nicole. Nicole beat the one Beecher defender, cut in towards the goal. The Beecher keeper came out on Nicole but she was able to make a nice little move to get around her and had the insurance goal for Lisle.

The Lisle defense finally got back in gear limited the Beecher squad to no shots in the last 7 minutes of the game. Credit the Beecher keeper with 17 saves. Vanessa Roach had 9 saves for Lisle. For the game the Lions outshot Beecher 37 to 17.
Beecher Game Stats

4/12 Montini

The Lady Lions dominated the first 15 minutes of play, getting at least 5 solid goal chances but did not convert on any of them. That proved to be costly, as the Lions ended up tied with Montini 3 to 3.

The Lions did fianlly score in the 16th minute, when Nicole Urban was in a good position after an Emily Delong shot produced a rebound from the Montini Keeper. She one touched the ball back into the net and the Lions were on the board. It was short lived however, as Montini was beginning to get some chances as the game progressed. The ball was loose on the right side of the Lions penality area, where two defenders were within 3 yards of the ball, as was one Montini forward. The forward won the battle for the ball and made a good shot on to the far post and the game was tied 1 to 1.

The Lions started strong in the 2nd half, and regained the lead in the 6th minute of the 2nd half, as Emily Delong had a restart after a Montini foul. Emily sent a perfect shot to the far side, outside the reach of the Montini Keeper. It stayed 2 to 1 for the next 22 minutes as both sides had some opportunities to score, but both keepers did a nice job in the respective nets.

Montini had a nice surge late in the game and managed to get two goals. After a couple of corner kicks the Lions were finally able to clear the ball to just short of Mid field. However Becca Kern for Montini won the loose ball and sent a long shot towards the Lions goal. Lisle Keeper Vanessa Roach, was concerned for a Emily Delong who had gotten injured during the corner kick and did see the ball coming and it went into the goal. Just a few minutes later the Bri Borsellino made some moves and got past a couple of the Lisle defenders and beat Vanessa for Montini's 3rd goal.

The Lions kept working and had some good chances late. With 5 minutes left in the game, Jen Potter received an entry pass into the penality area from Lexi Britton and although Jen was taken down (and no foul called) she was able to get a pass to Lauren Prideville and Lauren used her left foot and put the ball past the Montini Keeper and the game was tied 3 to 3.

Each team had another chance or two to get the win, but both keepers made a good save down the stretch and the game ended with the 3 to 3 tie.

Lions return to conference action Tuesday night against Beecher.
Montini Game Stats

04/10 Walter Payton - Pepsi Tournament

The Lions had their best game of the Pepsi Tournament battling Walter Payton High School in a great game. The Lions gave two goals in the first half, then battle back to take the lead 3 to 2. However the defense could not hold the lead and gave up two goals in the last 5 minutes of the game to lose 4 to 3.

The wind was blowing pretty hard at Olymipic Park in Schuamburg and Payton's team took advantage, pressing the Lisle defense. Both goals were scored from just outside the Lisle 18 area, going in on the short side of the goal. Both came off of Lisle turn overs deep in their own zone. The Lions offense had some good chances against Payton's defense. Nicole Urban had open shot deep in their zone, but unfortunatly hit the post. The ball bounced off to the far side of the net but no one was home for what would have been an easy goal.

In the 2nd half, when the Lions had the wind, they turned the game around in a hurry. In the 12th minute, Emily Delong got pass from Zandy VanTholen up the middle and beat the Payton defense. Em pushed the ball under the diving keeper to make the score 2 to 1. Just 3 minutes later, Emily put shot on net and the keeper gave up a rebound and Katie O'Connell had made a great run to the far post and push the rebound into the goal to tie the game at 2. 4 minutes after that, Nicole got the ball and beat a couple defenders on the dribble and then centered the ball and Skyler Tomko was in perfect position to one touch the ball past the Payton Goal Keeper and the Lions had the lead.

The Lions kept the pressure on and had some nice chances to increase the lead, but were not able to it the insurance goal. Unfortunatly, they could have used it. With just under 5 minutes to go, Payton got the ball up to one of their forwards, who beat the Lions last defender. Unfortunatly there was no one in support to make a play, and the forward had a mini break away on Vanessa Roach the Lisle keeper. That tied up the score 1t 3. 90 seconds later, the exact same play occured with the same results, and Payton had the 4 to 3 lead.

The Lions had one last opportunity to tie the game, when the ball was centered across the goal, but once again, no one was on the far post to make the play. While the loss was disappointing, there were a lot of positive results during this game. We continue to learn that the game has to be played a higher level then we are used to. But each game, we play better and keep it going longer.

Lisle takes on Montini at home on Monday.
Walter Payton Game Stats

04/08 Whitney Young - Pepsi Tournament

Whitney Young was a good quick team with a very good passing game. The Lady Lions played a very good game for 65 minutes staying in the game with some good defensive play and up tempo pace. In fact the game was fun to watch. In the end we didn't convert our chances when we had them and we gave Whitney Young too many easy opportunities to score. The final was 4 to 0 but Lisle should have scored at least twice.

The game started off with Whitney Young making some great connections and we were chasing the ball, instead of playing positions. Once the game settled down, we started getting our own opportunities and had some good combinations of our own. The level of play was very high and Lisle did a good job hanging with WY. In the 24th minute WY got their first goal, when Lexi Britton tried to clear a ball, but hit it to the middle of the field just outside the 18 and an Unmarked WY forward Oria Amber was there to one touch a shot past Lisle Keeper Vanessa Roach. The scored stayed that way for the rest of the first half as the action went back and forth.

In the 2nd half Whitney Young scored in the 8th minute, when the ball got knocked back towards the WY defense. Number 17, Amelia Rockhold came up from her defensive position and sent a long shot, that went just under the cross bar, out of the out stretched hands of Vanessa in goal. What hurt the Lions on the play, were the amount of unmarked players in their own defensive third before the ball got back to Rockhold. To many watching the ball, and not paying attention to the other team. They were able to make 3 un-contested passes before the shot.

The Lions had some awesome chances in the 2nd half but couldn't finish them properly. Nicole Urban had great restart chance that was going in, but the Whitney Young keeper got her finger tips on it and knocked it just outside the goal, giving the Lions a corner kick. Unfortunatly the Lions did not take advantage of a really good Emily Delong corner kick. We didn't hit our spots on the field and the ball landed harmlessly in front of the goal, and was then cleared by WY.

We had one more really good chance, when Nicole put the ball accross the middle and Jen Potter was in great position to finish the play, but she missed the scoring chance.

With 10 minutes to go, WY got two more goals, as the Lions looked fatigued, both physically and mentally. We stopped working off the ball, and our positioning on defense broke down.

While the final score was 4 to 0, we played a solid game and I was pleased with our overall effort and attitude. We still need to target our passes better and make harder runs off the ball. It's getting much better and I'm encouraged by what I'm seeing.

Next up is Payton on Saturday, at Noon. We will wear blue for that game and it will be played on field 4, at Olympic Park, 1675 E. Old Schaumburg Road.
Whitney Young Game Stats

4/07 Crystal Lake South - Pepsi Tournament

The Lady Lions moved up to the big time and played a very good Crystal Lake South soccer Team. Crystal Lake South is AAA team and it showed. The Lions were out matched in most phases of the game. Size, Strength, and just a more soccer experienced team. However, the Lions battled hard during the first half. Playing about as well as a coach could ask.

The Lions started out with a quick steal after the Crystal Lake South kick off and after a few passes, Nicole Urban got a shot off towards the CLS goal. That was one of the bigger high lights of the day, as CLS got it going and pretty much controled the majority of play during the game.

Defensively, credit must be given to the team, as they played good position, were intense and worked well together. Mary Gill, Robin Krc, Christine Young, Becca Ruthberg, Zandy VanTholen, Sara Ruthberg and keeper Vanessa Roach kept Lisle in the game battling for every loose ball. CLS scored two goals in the first half, and earned both of them with good shots and a very crisp passing game. While they had a lot of shots, many of them were hurried as the Lisle defenders were closing down well.

After holding it close in the first half, the wind was taken out of their sails early as CLS scored two very quick goals. At that point, you could see the change and it was a tough rest of the game from there. We lost our edge and intensity. We didn't go hard to loose balls, we didn't close down, we didn't support, our clearning attempts went to the middle of the field or right to a CLS player.

We did move the ball better offensively and although we didn't get any good shots off, we did get the ball deeper into CLS territory. But over all CLS was too good for us and the final score was 8 to 0.

While a game like this is always tough to take, if we learned anything, it's that we can compete, when we want to. That it takes all 11 players playing together and playing as hard as they can to get to our goals. That we need to condition more ;-). The Lions take on Whitney Young on Thursday at Wilde Field at 4:30PM. This will be a good opportunity to see if we learned our lessons, and WANT to put them in practice.

Keep your heads up, we did some good things today. Just not enough of them during course of the entire game.
Crystal Lake South Game Stats

4/06 Chicago Christian

The Lions played a very solid first half and then coasted a bit to victory as they defeated Chicago Christian 3 to 1. The Lady Lions scored all 3 goals with in a 5 minute span, showing some accurate passing and shooting to record all 3 goals.

Zandy VanTholen got the scoring started in the 19th minute of the game. After a corner kick by Emily Delong, Zandy battled a Chicago Christian defender for the loose ball and made a few quick moves and put a quick hard shot to the short side of the goal and the Lions were up 1 to 0. Just 89 seconds later, Skyler Tomko got the entry pass into Nicole Urban and Nicole followed suite with Zandy and put the shot to the short side of the goal, which was wide open and it was quickly 2 to 0. With Chicago Christian back on their heals the Lions continued to put the pressure on. Getting the ball deep again, Nicole put a pass accross the goal and Jen Potter was there to recieve it. Jen sent a one touch back to Nicole and Nicole hit side netting for her 2nd goal of the game and the 3 to 0 lead.

The defense also played a good first half, which included some good goal tending by reserve keeper Mariah Ortega. Mariah had a nice save on a wide shot and then forced a Chicago Christian forward into a hurried shot on a mini break away. The shot went wide. Vanessa Roach took over half way through the first half played a solid game, making a few point blank saves.

The Lions came out a bit flat to start the 2nd half. Thinking the game was already over, the effort level was not where it needed to be. Chicago Christian mean while, came out with some real determination and heart. Just 2 and half minutes into the 2nd half, Chicago Christian had the ball deep in the Lion defensive third. Vanessa made a save on a point blank shot but gave up a rebound and after a very weak clearing attempt by the defense, one of Chicago Christians forwards, put a nice shot on goal and just out of Vanessa's reach.

The goal seemed to wake up the Lions as they once again started to work hard. The Lions had some good chances in the 2nd half, but were unable to convert. Hitting the cross bar on a headed corner kick on one attempt. They shot the ball right at the Chicago Christian keeper, who made all the saves in the 2nd half. There was too much dribble when we had the ball deep in CC's defensive third, instead of moving the ball with crisp passes like we did in the first half.

Overall a good win for the Lions as they improve their record to 5 wins 1 lose and 1 tie. The Lions now move on to their toughest part of the schedule, as they begin play in the Pepsi Showdown. They take on AAA Crystal Lake South on Tuesday in the first round of the tournament. They will have to play with more heart and emotion to compete with these bigger teams.
Chicago Christian Game Stats

3/26 and 3/27 Lisle Invititational Tournament

The Lisle Lions took 2nd in their first inaugural Tournament, going 2 and 1 during the competition. Manteno took 1st place in the tournament and show everyone why they are the team to beat this season. In non-Lisle Games, Trinity defeated Parker 2 to 1, Trinty and Manteno played to a 0 to 0 tie, and Manteno defeated Parker 2 to 1.

2/27/10 Lisle vs Trinity

The final game of the Tournament was an intense one goal game, that the lions won, 1 to 0. Both teams seemed to be pretty slow to begin the game. Each team took turns getting the ball down the field but then couldn't come up with a decent shot.

With just 30 seconds in the first half, Lisle put a shot on goal and the Trinity Keeper made the save, but was pulled out of position. There was a mad scramble for the ball, as several players from both sides had an opportunity to either score or clear and finally Nicole Urban was able to get her foot on the ball and stuffed it into the goal.

The 2nd half was mostly Trinity attacking the Lisle end and getting several good shots at Vanessa Roach. But Vanessa handled most of what Trinity putt towards her. She also was assisted by two shots that went off the corss bar and bounced out of the goal area. While the defense was under pressure most of the 2nd half, they were able to stay strong and didn't alow a goal all day. 140 minutes of shut out soccer, led by Mary Gill, Robin Krc, Christine Young and Rebecca Ruthberg, with Zandy Van Tholen and Shelly Chatman helping from the mid. Vanessa got her 3rd shut out of the yound season and showed what a lot of heart, courage and a great attitude can do.
Trinity Game Stats

2/27/10 Lisle vs Parker

The Saturday morning game against Frances Parked was a complete reversal for Lisle as they scored early and often against a stunned Parker. The Lions offense came to life and scored 5 un-answered goals for the 5 to 0 win over Parker.

Just 3:08 into the game, Zandy Van Tholen found Skyler Tomko deep in Parker Territory with a long entry pass. Sky got her foot on the ball and slip it past the Parker Keeper. Inside the 10 minute mark, Nicole Urban had a centering pass going across the middle and Lexi Britton was there for the easy touch and goal. Goal number 3 came from Emily Delong, who received the ball from Nicole and then sent the ball past the diving Parker Keeper.

The Lions came out fast in the 2nd half as well. Just 2:38 in, a good give and go combination between Jen Potter and Nicole got the ball to Jen, who took two quick touches towards the goal and put good shot to the side netting. Jen returned the favor to Nicole just 5 minutes later with a very similar play.

Vanessa Roach continued to shine in goal as she earned her 2nd shut out of the season. She had one fun save, where she pushed the ball away from the goal and it hit the side post. The rebound came right back to her, as she was laying on the ground.
Parker Game Stats

2/26/10 Lisle Vs Manteno

In the first game of the 2010 Lisle invitational tournament, Lisle squared off against familiar foe Manteno High School. Manteno is the 2009 defending Class A State Champions and they showed that championship form Friday night. They stifled the Lisle offense allowing only 3 shots on goal. Their offense spread the field and passed crisply all game long. The result was a 4 to 0 win for Manteno.

Their first goal occured on a crossing pass when the wing mid beat the Lisle defense to goal for the 1 to 0 lead. Goal number two was scored on a corner kick when Manteno mid fielder Allie Newsome got her head on the corner kick. Their 3rd goal was scored by Sydney Couch, who was left alone in the middle of the 18 and had all day to put the ball in the net. Finally Allie Newsome got goal number 2 and restart wide of the Lisle goal and managed to rip a shot past Lisle Keeper Vanessa Roach.

While Lisle had some opportunities, they couldn't keep up with the pace and intensity of Manteno.
Westmont Game Stats

3/24/10 Westmont

Just 2 games into the season, the Lisle defense had given up 8 goals. While we didn't lose those games, that was just too many goals to allow. After working the defense hard in every practice the past week, huge improvement was seen tonight as the Lions shut out Westmont 1 to 0. That gives the Lions a 2 and 0 conference record against two of the top teams.

Westmont has the best defense we've seen so far this season and did very good job limiting the chances of the Lady Lions. The Lions had just 8 shots, but did make one count. In the 28th minute of the 1st half, Shelly Chatman put a pass up the field to Nicole Urban and Nicole tried to center it. It deflected off a Westmont defender to Wing Mid Skyler Tomko. Sky was able to pass back in to Nicole, and Nicole put a strong centering pass into the 18. Jen Potter was there to deflect the ball with her right foot, changing the direction of the ball to the back corner of the goal. Lisle had the 1 to 0 lead.

Westmont came storming back and controled the next 5 minutes of play, missing a shot up close. The Lions finally cleared after a corner kick when Becca Ruthberg collected the corner kick and got the ball out of the defensive third.

The 2nd half started with Westmont getting the ball deep a few times, but they were not able to get off a good shot, as the Lions defense was playing their best game of the young season. Lead by Mary Gill, Robin Krc, Becca Ruthberg and Christine Young the Lions defense was able to keep Westmont away from their goal.

Meanwhile the offense had some good chances to get the insurance goal. Lexi Britton had a nice break away but shot a little early and right at the Westmont Goal Keeper. The wing mids made some great runs up the field to keep the pressure on.

With about 20 minutes to go, it looked like the Lions got a little tired and Westmont controled the pace for about 12 minutes. Westmont had one good opportunity to score on a corner kick, but Lions Keeper Vanessa Roach made a save up high. The Lions seem to get their wind back and controled the pace until the end of the game. Vanessa earned her 1st shut of the season as well as her career, with 5 saves during the game.

Next up for the Lions is the Lisle Invitational Soccer Tournament, as they host Manteno (7:30) on Friday, Chicago Parker (9:00) on Saturday morning and Trinity High school (2:30) on Saturday afternoon. It all takes place a Benedictine University. Please come out and support your Lady Lions.
Westmont Game Stats

3/22/10 Immaculate Reception

After giving up 2 goals in less than 5 minutes, the Lady Lions decided to get into the game and clawed back from two 2 goal deficits to tie IC at 4 to 4.

IC started the game with good aggressive physical play and quick passing to off balance the Lisle defense and it paid off big for them. 1:51 into the game, D'Agostino got pretty easy goal against a stunned Lisle defense. On the ensueing kick off, the Lisle made one pass and IC was on top of them again. Stealing the ball and again, using one touch passing, got another goal with a little help from Lisle Defender Mary Gill. Mary tried to clear a shot away and it deflected off of her foot and away from Vanessa Roach in the goal and at the 2:51 mark, IC had a two goal lead.

The defense finally settled in and started playing with more intensity and getting to better spots and then limited IC's opportunities. The heart that the Lions showed last Thursday also kicked in and the offense got to work. In the 16th minute after some good passing of their own, Emily Delong got the ball to Nicole Urban and Nicole put the ball out of reach of the IC keeper and the Lions were on the board.

Both teams established a high paced rhythm to the game, with many chances going from end to end. But the defenses on both sides made some good plays as well as some good saves from each teams keepers. The Lions tied the game in the 28th minute, then Skyler Tomko received a pass from the mid and she put it accross the field to Nicole, and Nicole beat her defender and the IC keeper for her 2nd goal of the game, to tie at 2 to 2.

It was a short lived tie, as IC worked the ball down field and one of their forwards put a centering pass over the middle and Colleen Manion made both a great run and shot for IC to take the lead back 3 to 2.

The 2nd half started quicly for IC as Manion got her 2nd goal of the game in the 5th minute of the 2nd half. The defense got caught flat footed again, not getting to support positions either fast enough or deep enough. Also, there were very few good chanllanges by the defenders as they gave the IC players too much room to work.

However, in what is fast becoming a trademark for this young seasons Lions, there is no give up. In the 10th minute of the half Skyler Tomko, popped a pass over the top of the IC defense and Nicole Urban out raced the defender to the ball, took two touches towards the goal and the beat the IC keeper to bring the score to 4 - 3. Less then two second later, Emily Delong got a quick pass off a throw in to Nicole who was agian racing up the field. She beat the IC defender and Keeper for her 4th goal of the game and a tie.

The last 28 minutes of the game went back and forth with both teams getting opportunities to score, but either put shots right to the keeper(s) or put the ball over the net. Vanessa Roach made a beautiful diving save with less than 5 minutes in the game to preserve the Tie.

While the defense had another shaky game, there was improvement through out the game. Mary Gill lead the team with 8 clearing plays. Becca Ruthberg showed, she's ready to take her game to another level as she made several long runs accross the field to thwart some IC counter attacks. Also, freshmen Christine Young, in her first Varsity game, showed some good field awareness and husstle after some early game nervousness.

The wing mid fielders also showed in the 2nd half, they're beginning to understand the importance of making the runs early. As most of our scoring chances came from early wing runs and good passes to the outside. Alexis Hoelper, Katie O'Connell, Lexi Britton and Skyler Tomko all made good runs through out the 2nd half.

The Lions take on Westmont at Wilde Field on Wednesday in an important early conference match up.
Immaculate Reception Game Stats

3/18/10 Herscher

Heart, Heart and a little more Heart. That explains how the 2010 edition of the Lady Lions got started this season against a scrapy Herscher squad. Although it wasn't a pretty game, the results certainly were, as the Lions came away with a 5 to 4 win to begin the 2010 conference season, as well as the full soccer season.

Herscher got the scoring going, at the 10 minute mark, on a corner kick. The kick was into a strong wind and the wind held the ball up and Number 3 for Herscher was under the ball, settled it and shot to the far post, past Lisle Keeper Vanessa Roach, to take the 1 to 0 lead.

Two minutes later the Lions evened the score when Zandy VanTholen kicked a restart from behind the mid line and Nicole Urban raced to get the ball and beat the final Herscher defender and slide the ball past the Herscher Keeper. About 5 minutes later it looked like a repeat play as Zandy got the ball up field on another restart, but this time it was Emily Delong who out ran the Herscher defense to the ball and put the ball in the far corner to give the Lions a 2 to 1 lead.

As the game battled back and forth, Herscher put plenty of pressure on the Lisle defense. In the 27th minute no.3 for Herscher beat Becca Ruthberg on the dribble and shot. Sara Ruthberg missed on the clearing attempt and the ball slide into the goal and Herscher had tied the game 2 to 2. Herscher continued to pressure the Lions, having the wind advantage and got a late foul call and a subsequent restart, just outside the 18 and right in front of the goal. Number 30 for Herscher put a great shot on net and Herscher was back out front 3 to 2.

With the wind advantage in the 2nd half, Lisle began to get the upper hand in the game. But it took awhile before it paid off. In the 17th minute, after getting a pass from the back side, Nicole Urban had the ball wide on the right side. After making sweet move on the Herscher defender, she placed a pass accross the front of the goal and Emily Delong was there to get her left foot on the ball and it hit the far post and went in. Lisle had tied the score at 3 to 3.

Herscher showed some good heart as well, and continued to work hard and got a small break away. Herscher player no. 17 beat the Lisle defense and then Lisle Keeper Vanessa to the far side of the net and Herscher was back on top 4 to 3.

But this game was far from over. In the 27th minute, Nicole received a pass from Zandy and made a good shot on the Herscher keeper who gave up a rebound. Freshmen Skyler Tomko had made the good run and followed up to put the rebound in the net for her first Varsity goal. That tied the game 4 to 4. In the 34th minute, Sara Ruthberg made a great defensive play on a ball and quickly passed up to Skyler. Skyler turned the ball up field and found Nicole in front of the Herscher 18. Nicole had a 50/50 ball with the Herscher keeper and won the race. She was able to hurdle the keeper and put the game winner home.

Lisle Freshmen Keeper Vanessa Roach, was not only playing her first High School game, but her first game as a goal keeper in her life. And She came up with the save of the game. With 4 minutes to go, a Herscher player got a break away and was one on one with Vanessa. Vanessa held her ground and when the Herscher player shot, Vanessa dove and came up with the save.

With just 90 seconds to go, Herscher got another shot deep in Lisle territory near the end line. The ball went high and Vanessa just missed catching it as it bounced into the goal. However, the referee was in good position and he ruled that the ball had gone out of bounds after the kick and the wind pushed it back in. So no goal for Herscher.

The Lions ended up with the exciting but very sloppy 5 to 4 win. Next up is Immaculate Conception on Monday: Away.
Herscher Game Stats