McAloon, Kent rev engine to lead Lake Park
Co-captains pace 5-0 win over Chicago Christian
By Ken Keenan
ROSELLE -- Powered by the twin-engine thrust of co-captains Brianna McAloon and Jacey Kent, host Lake Park zoomed past Chicago Christian 5-0 in PepsiCo Showdown action on Tuesday night.
McAloon, a sophomore midfielder, scored three goals to pace the rout, with senior middie Kent assisting on each one. Kent added an unassisted goal and assisted on sophomore mid Jaclyn Lamz' concluding score in the final minutes. For their efforts, the co-captains were named co-MVP of the Match winners.
The Lancers improved to 2-8-1 overall with the win, while Chicago Christian -- an IHSA Class 1A school with less than 400 total students -- fell to 0-8-1.
"They were ready to play, and we weren't," said Knights' head coach Kelly Kirchhoff. "But, they simply have more quality than we do. Our school has a lot fewer kids."
McAloon's first tally came in the 20th minute, when she headed in a deep throw-in from Kent past Knights' junior goalkeeper Karlee Kuyvenhoven. Two minutes later, McAloon took a feed from Kent and scored from in close for a 2-0 lead.
Kent made it 3-0 in the 37th minute, bending a left-footed corner kick from the right side over Kuyvenhven's head and under the crossbar on the opposite side. Five minutes into the second half, the lead grew to 4-0 when a corner by Kent found McAloon, who calmly headed the ball in from the box.
"I think we started to relax after the first goal, and that's when our connections started working, and finding our opportunities," McAloon said. "Definitely, scoring sets the tone, but you can't be satisfied. You have to keep the momentum up."
Kent said, "I know I can get the crosses in, and (McAloon) will be there on the end of it. And we're both captains, so we're looked to as leaders."
Lake Park senior defender Dana Skiera termed the deadly combination of McAaloon and Kent, "magical," adding, "They really push you to try harder. It helps build chemistry and brings the team together."
Skiera, who spent more time in the midfield than in her own end, said that playing with the field titled in the Lancers' favor, "felt a little weird. You're hanging back there, but you feel you're not activating play. But, there's been times when we've been on the receiving end of games like this."
During a recent five-game losing skid, snapped by the win over Chicago Christian, the Lancers were topped 7-0 by Wheaton-Warrenville South, and fell to both Waubonsie Valley and Batavia by identical 5-0 counts.
"We want to win as many games as possible, so this (victory) improves our record and motivates us to play even better the next game," McAloon said.
Added Kent: "It helps morale. Hopefully, we can keep it going. This (game) was a good opportunity to play the way we can, and we can take it from there."
Skiera said, "A game like this boosts everyone's mental game to work on things we need to (in order) to help us."
Lake Park assistant coach Ian Finn, filling in for absent skipper Anthony Passi, certainly was pleased with the result -- and more so with the quality of his team's performance.
"This is a game we're capable of playing," Finn said. "Once we got loose, we had better passes, better touches ... that relaxed feeling. We got a goal, and that's when everything came together."
McAaloon, Kent and Co. had numerous other opportunities as well.
In the fifth minute, Kent took a pass from McAloon, who then fired high and wide. A corner by Kent in the eighth minute was grabbed by McAloon, and her try was stopped by Kuyvenhoven.
A nice, multi-touch passing sequence in the 13th minute among Lamz, sophomore forward Lauren Tarchala and senior forward Jazmine Davis ended with McAloon being robbed from 20 yards out by a diving Kuyvenhoven. Two minutes later, Lamz one-timed a shot just over the crossbar.
After giving Lake Park its 2-0 advantage, McAloon finished a nice run down the left side with a shot on net in the 31st minute. Four minutes passed before Kent rolled a wide-angle try from the left side past the far post.
Just before halftime, the busy Kuyvenhoven (15 saves) snuffed a 30-yard strike by Lancers' junior defender Natalie Morales. Between the pair of second-half tallies, Kuyvenhoven stooped a 40-yard bullet by McAloon, and did the same on a chance by Lamz.
Chicago Christian kept up the fight.
"I thought our keeper played well," Kirchhoff said. "And (junior midfielder) Abby Tiemersma was pretty solid -- the mainstay in our midfield. Maribeth Karnia (a senior defender) also played pretty well. We didn't give up, and we never have. That's the mindset. The girls don't quit. They keep going."
Tiemersma put two bouncy shots on Lancers' junior goalkeeper Catherine Vitale, in the 14th minute, and again two minutes later. But, Vitale saw little other action in recording the shutout.
"We always think 0-0 and try our best," Tiemersma said. "It doesn't matter the score -- it's how you play. So, you don't look down. You can always play better."
Lake Park's Finn said much the same about his troops, especially with regard to McAloon and Kent.
"They both have drive, and desire, and talent -- and it raises everyone else's game at the same time," he said. "When those two are connecting, everyone else steps up and follows their lead. To be able to play a clean game like this one, it helps us find our focus and get back to what we do really well."
Starting line-ups
Chicago Christian
GK: Karlee Kuyvenhoven
D: Kaylie Schaafsma
D: Tori DeJager
D: Leah Kuipers
D: Maribeth Karnia
MF: Hannah Isenmann
MF: Abby Tiemersma
MF: Chloe Schaafsma
MF: Cassy Sluis
F: Aracelli Santoyo
F: Raquel Robertson
Lake Park
GK: Catherine Vitale
D: Natalie Morales
D: Cynthia Martinez
D: Amber Sedwick
D: Dana Skiera
MF: Jaclyn Lamz
MF: Jacey Kent
MF: Brianna McAloon
F: Selena Catalano
F: Jazmine Davis
F: Lauren Tarchala
MVPs of the Match: Brianna McAloon, MF, Lake Park
Jacey Kent, MF, Lake Park
Officials: Larry Higgs, John Guild, David Petrosky
Co-captains pace 5-0 win over Chicago Christian
By Ken Keenan
ROSELLE -- Powered by the twin-engine thrust of co-captains Brianna McAloon and Jacey Kent, host Lake Park zoomed past Chicago Christian 5-0 in PepsiCo Showdown action on Tuesday night.
McAloon, a sophomore midfielder, scored three goals to pace the rout, with senior middie Kent assisting on each one. Kent added an unassisted goal and assisted on sophomore mid Jaclyn Lamz' concluding score in the final minutes. For their efforts, the co-captains were named co-MVP of the Match winners.
The Lancers improved to 2-8-1 overall with the win, while Chicago Christian -- an IHSA Class 1A school with less than 400 total students -- fell to 0-8-1.
"They were ready to play, and we weren't," said Knights' head coach Kelly Kirchhoff. "But, they simply have more quality than we do. Our school has a lot fewer kids."
McAloon's first tally came in the 20th minute, when she headed in a deep throw-in from Kent past Knights' junior goalkeeper Karlee Kuyvenhoven. Two minutes later, McAloon took a feed from Kent and scored from in close for a 2-0 lead.
Kent made it 3-0 in the 37th minute, bending a left-footed corner kick from the right side over Kuyvenhven's head and under the crossbar on the opposite side. Five minutes into the second half, the lead grew to 4-0 when a corner by Kent found McAloon, who calmly headed the ball in from the box.
"I think we started to relax after the first goal, and that's when our connections started working, and finding our opportunities," McAloon said. "Definitely, scoring sets the tone, but you can't be satisfied. You have to keep the momentum up."
Kent said, "I know I can get the crosses in, and (McAloon) will be there on the end of it. And we're both captains, so we're looked to as leaders."
Lake Park senior defender Dana Skiera termed the deadly combination of McAaloon and Kent, "magical," adding, "They really push you to try harder. It helps build chemistry and brings the team together."
Skiera, who spent more time in the midfield than in her own end, said that playing with the field titled in the Lancers' favor, "felt a little weird. You're hanging back there, but you feel you're not activating play. But, there's been times when we've been on the receiving end of games like this."
During a recent five-game losing skid, snapped by the win over Chicago Christian, the Lancers were topped 7-0 by Wheaton-Warrenville South, and fell to both Waubonsie Valley and Batavia by identical 5-0 counts.
"We want to win as many games as possible, so this (victory) improves our record and motivates us to play even better the next game," McAloon said.
Added Kent: "It helps morale. Hopefully, we can keep it going. This (game) was a good opportunity to play the way we can, and we can take it from there."
Skiera said, "A game like this boosts everyone's mental game to work on things we need to (in order) to help us."
Lake Park assistant coach Ian Finn, filling in for absent skipper Anthony Passi, certainly was pleased with the result -- and more so with the quality of his team's performance.
"This is a game we're capable of playing," Finn said. "Once we got loose, we had better passes, better touches ... that relaxed feeling. We got a goal, and that's when everything came together."
McAaloon, Kent and Co. had numerous other opportunities as well.
In the fifth minute, Kent took a pass from McAloon, who then fired high and wide. A corner by Kent in the eighth minute was grabbed by McAloon, and her try was stopped by Kuyvenhoven.
A nice, multi-touch passing sequence in the 13th minute among Lamz, sophomore forward Lauren Tarchala and senior forward Jazmine Davis ended with McAloon being robbed from 20 yards out by a diving Kuyvenhoven. Two minutes later, Lamz one-timed a shot just over the crossbar.
After giving Lake Park its 2-0 advantage, McAloon finished a nice run down the left side with a shot on net in the 31st minute. Four minutes passed before Kent rolled a wide-angle try from the left side past the far post.
Just before halftime, the busy Kuyvenhoven (15 saves) snuffed a 30-yard strike by Lancers' junior defender Natalie Morales. Between the pair of second-half tallies, Kuyvenhoven stooped a 40-yard bullet by McAloon, and did the same on a chance by Lamz.
Chicago Christian kept up the fight.
"I thought our keeper played well," Kirchhoff said. "And (junior midfielder) Abby Tiemersma was pretty solid -- the mainstay in our midfield. Maribeth Karnia (a senior defender) also played pretty well. We didn't give up, and we never have. That's the mindset. The girls don't quit. They keep going."
Tiemersma put two bouncy shots on Lancers' junior goalkeeper Catherine Vitale, in the 14th minute, and again two minutes later. But, Vitale saw little other action in recording the shutout.
"We always think 0-0 and try our best," Tiemersma said. "It doesn't matter the score -- it's how you play. So, you don't look down. You can always play better."
Lake Park's Finn said much the same about his troops, especially with regard to McAloon and Kent.
"They both have drive, and desire, and talent -- and it raises everyone else's game at the same time," he said. "When those two are connecting, everyone else steps up and follows their lead. To be able to play a clean game like this one, it helps us find our focus and get back to what we do really well."
Starting line-ups
Chicago Christian
GK: Karlee Kuyvenhoven
D: Kaylie Schaafsma
D: Tori DeJager
D: Leah Kuipers
D: Maribeth Karnia
MF: Hannah Isenmann
MF: Abby Tiemersma
MF: Chloe Schaafsma
MF: Cassy Sluis
F: Aracelli Santoyo
F: Raquel Robertson
Lake Park
GK: Catherine Vitale
D: Natalie Morales
D: Cynthia Martinez
D: Amber Sedwick
D: Dana Skiera
MF: Jaclyn Lamz
MF: Jacey Kent
MF: Brianna McAloon
F: Selena Catalano
F: Jazmine Davis
F: Lauren Tarchala
MVPs of the Match: Brianna McAloon, MF, Lake Park
Jacey Kent, MF, Lake Park
Officials: Larry Higgs, John Guild, David Petrosky