Lake Park heeds wake-up
call with 5-goal run
Lancers top East Aurora 5-1 to win 2nd-straight match
By Dave Owen
ROSELLE -- As halftime messages go, Lake Park assistant coach Ian Finn must have devised soccer’s version of the Gettysburg Address.
Trailing East Aurora 1-0 at the half after an 18th-minute goal by Paola Segundo, the Lancers (3-8-1) set a different tone 20 seconds after the break when Brianna
McAloon’s 15-yard drive was stopped on an all-out dive to her left by goalkeeper Daisy Quinonez.
That first salvo echoed throughout the rest of the match.
Goals by McAloon, Jacey Kent and Jaclyn Lamz in a span of 2 minutes, 50 seconds midway through the half started Lake Park rolling to a 5-1 win over visiting East Aurora (2-8-0) in a PepsiCo Showdown consolation pool match.
“We weren’t playing the game we knew we could in the first half,” Finn said. “We were really critical judging ourselves.
“At halftime we told them to loosen up and play the game we know how to play. And within the first two minutes of the second half the attack was generating combination play. We got to the endline, and that’s when they loosened up and started playing great soccer.
“In the first half we weren’t having fun. In the second half I said ‘Let’s start having fun.’ Once we start playing loose, we’re a dangerous team.”
Kent was especially dangerous. Her corner kick with 39:10 left was headed just over the net by McAloon, in McAloon’s second major threat to East Aurora in a span of seconds.
The next Kent-to-McAloon great chance would pay off.
With 26:02 left, Kent powered a left side corner kick to the far post, where an open McAloon put it away for a 1-1 tie.
“We had a really good talk from our coach,” Kent said. “We knew we could play better because we didn’t have a good first half, so we wanted to come out strong in the second half – play a better game, possess a lot more, find our outsides and then cross back into the middle. We thought in the second half if we came out stronger than they did, we could put it away fast.”
Having broken through, the Lancers did act fast to take command.
After a left sideline foul at the 22-yard line with 24:58 to play, Kent made her play of the night: directly lining the free-kick just inside the upper right post and in for an unstoppable goal and a 2-1 lead.
Whether by corner-kick assist or free-kick finish, Kent was dangerous.
“I know my ability to put the ball in on goal is strong, so I just need to give the other girls a fighting chance to get on the other end of it,” Kent said. “I have to be able to cross the ball very well and put it in the middle of our six, or for a free kick I need to put the ball in the back of the net to help our mentality and our motivation.”
The Lancers wasted no time continuing on their roll.
Off an Amber Sedwick throw-in with 23:22 to play, Natalie Morales’ initial shot deflected to teammate Lamz, whose 8-yard right side drive found the upper right corner of the net to up the lead to 3-1.
Sophomore Lamz struck again with 15:01 to play. Dana Skiera’s send through the crease from the left sideline eluded the East Aurora goalkeeper to the far post, where Lamz had an open net putaway for a 4-1 advantage.
“I just had to get to the back post and be ready for the crosses to come through,” Lamz said of her 2-goal night. “And we connected a lot more in the second half.”
Beyond his halftime talk to the team, Finn also had another message that Lamz took to heart.
“Right before the start of the half we said, ‘Jac, we need you to get involved,’” Finn said. “And when she gets involved and is playing well, that’s when we’re the most dangerous we can be.”
Lamz had also produced a great chance with 29 minutes left, a 20-yarder right side that was saved at the near post.
Goalkeeper Quinonez also had to make two-handed block saves to deny Cyndi Martinez (an 18-yard shot with 20:50 left) and Kent (a 33-yard direct kick at 16:45) just after Lake Park’s burst to a 3-1 lead.
The barrage of quality shots continued with chances in the last 11 minutes for Morales (endline cross, caught) and Lauren Tarchala (low 20-yarder Quinonez blocked and dove on).
And with 4:46 left, a great individual effort by Gianna Pistorio created the final Lancer goal.
Bursting up field and blocking two clearing attempts by East Aurora defenders, Pistorio finally met resistance from two defenders inside the box. But Martinez hustled from behind, corralled the loose ball and lined a 10-yard shot under the crossbar to cap an explosive half for the Lancers.
“They played a great second half,” East Aurora coach Oned Mendoza said. “They were way motivated and did a great job.
“We played strong at the beginning, but they kept pounding and pounding.”
Kent not only led the charge, but showed her versatility after an injury knocked defender Liz Guenther out of the game three minutes into the second half.
"With Liz Guenther going down in the back we had to readjust,” Finn said. “She’s been having some hip flexor issues, and this was her first game back. That little turn she took at the start of the half she said she felt a pop.
“We put Jacey who’s our real strong midfielder in the back to shore up the defense. But we were still able to generate attack. It was great to see the girls rally around that injury and finish strong.”
The night was full of producing positives through adversity for a Lake Park team that starts eight freshmen or sophomores.
“There’s only three seniors on this team,” Kent said, “and I’ve been on varsity for four years so I knew since we have a very young group I’m going to have to lead them.
“If I play the best I can play, and they play the best they can, together we’ll play a very good team. Building on this two-game winning streak, we give the underclassmen the attitude that ‘I am on varsity and I’m able to do this.’”
As part of the large underclassmen group , sophomore Lamz agrees about the confidence boost.
“After these last two games I feel we’ll be able to rise more and win more games coming up,”Lamz said.
That good feeling was in doubt after 40 minutes Thursday. But things changed in a hurry.
“We had to come out very strong (in the second half) and put them on their heels,” Kent said. “We didn’t want to lose this game. We had the mindset that we need to win this game, no ifs, ands or buts.
“This gives us a drive for the next games, a lot more positive attitude about how we can play. And that improves how we can come onto the field. We’re able to beat teams, so we just have to know in ourselves that we have the ability to keep winning games, keep coming out strong and putting balls in the back of the net.”
Lake Park’s road forward isn’t easy. But performances like Thursday’s help smooth the ride.
“We’re going to use this positive momentum to kind of realize how we can play soccer and play well against those really strong DVC opponents,” said Finn.
Starting lineups
East Aurora
GK: Daisy Quinonez
D: Lisully Ramirez
D: Brenda Pineda
D: Marina Mendoza
D: Marubeni Nieto
MF: Leslie Carranza
MF: Maritza Cazares
MF: Jennifer Lopez
MF: Jimena Gutierrez
F: Leslie Carranza
F: Paola Segundo
Lake Park
GK: Catherine Vitale
D: Natalie Morales
D: Amber Sedwick
D: Cyndi Martinez
D: Dana Skiera
MF: Jacey Kent
MF: Brianna McAloon
MF: Gianna Pistorio
MF: Jaclyn Lamz
F: Lauren Tarchala
F: Selena Catalano
MVP of the Match: Jacey Kent, MF, Lake Park
call with 5-goal run
Lancers top East Aurora 5-1 to win 2nd-straight match
By Dave Owen
ROSELLE -- As halftime messages go, Lake Park assistant coach Ian Finn must have devised soccer’s version of the Gettysburg Address.
Trailing East Aurora 1-0 at the half after an 18th-minute goal by Paola Segundo, the Lancers (3-8-1) set a different tone 20 seconds after the break when Brianna
McAloon’s 15-yard drive was stopped on an all-out dive to her left by goalkeeper Daisy Quinonez.
That first salvo echoed throughout the rest of the match.
Goals by McAloon, Jacey Kent and Jaclyn Lamz in a span of 2 minutes, 50 seconds midway through the half started Lake Park rolling to a 5-1 win over visiting East Aurora (2-8-0) in a PepsiCo Showdown consolation pool match.
“We weren’t playing the game we knew we could in the first half,” Finn said. “We were really critical judging ourselves.
“At halftime we told them to loosen up and play the game we know how to play. And within the first two minutes of the second half the attack was generating combination play. We got to the endline, and that’s when they loosened up and started playing great soccer.
“In the first half we weren’t having fun. In the second half I said ‘Let’s start having fun.’ Once we start playing loose, we’re a dangerous team.”
Kent was especially dangerous. Her corner kick with 39:10 left was headed just over the net by McAloon, in McAloon’s second major threat to East Aurora in a span of seconds.
The next Kent-to-McAloon great chance would pay off.
With 26:02 left, Kent powered a left side corner kick to the far post, where an open McAloon put it away for a 1-1 tie.
“We had a really good talk from our coach,” Kent said. “We knew we could play better because we didn’t have a good first half, so we wanted to come out strong in the second half – play a better game, possess a lot more, find our outsides and then cross back into the middle. We thought in the second half if we came out stronger than they did, we could put it away fast.”
Having broken through, the Lancers did act fast to take command.
After a left sideline foul at the 22-yard line with 24:58 to play, Kent made her play of the night: directly lining the free-kick just inside the upper right post and in for an unstoppable goal and a 2-1 lead.
Whether by corner-kick assist or free-kick finish, Kent was dangerous.
“I know my ability to put the ball in on goal is strong, so I just need to give the other girls a fighting chance to get on the other end of it,” Kent said. “I have to be able to cross the ball very well and put it in the middle of our six, or for a free kick I need to put the ball in the back of the net to help our mentality and our motivation.”
The Lancers wasted no time continuing on their roll.
Off an Amber Sedwick throw-in with 23:22 to play, Natalie Morales’ initial shot deflected to teammate Lamz, whose 8-yard right side drive found the upper right corner of the net to up the lead to 3-1.
Sophomore Lamz struck again with 15:01 to play. Dana Skiera’s send through the crease from the left sideline eluded the East Aurora goalkeeper to the far post, where Lamz had an open net putaway for a 4-1 advantage.
“I just had to get to the back post and be ready for the crosses to come through,” Lamz said of her 2-goal night. “And we connected a lot more in the second half.”
Beyond his halftime talk to the team, Finn also had another message that Lamz took to heart.
“Right before the start of the half we said, ‘Jac, we need you to get involved,’” Finn said. “And when she gets involved and is playing well, that’s when we’re the most dangerous we can be.”
Lamz had also produced a great chance with 29 minutes left, a 20-yarder right side that was saved at the near post.
Goalkeeper Quinonez also had to make two-handed block saves to deny Cyndi Martinez (an 18-yard shot with 20:50 left) and Kent (a 33-yard direct kick at 16:45) just after Lake Park’s burst to a 3-1 lead.
The barrage of quality shots continued with chances in the last 11 minutes for Morales (endline cross, caught) and Lauren Tarchala (low 20-yarder Quinonez blocked and dove on).
And with 4:46 left, a great individual effort by Gianna Pistorio created the final Lancer goal.
Bursting up field and blocking two clearing attempts by East Aurora defenders, Pistorio finally met resistance from two defenders inside the box. But Martinez hustled from behind, corralled the loose ball and lined a 10-yard shot under the crossbar to cap an explosive half for the Lancers.
“They played a great second half,” East Aurora coach Oned Mendoza said. “They were way motivated and did a great job.
“We played strong at the beginning, but they kept pounding and pounding.”
Kent not only led the charge, but showed her versatility after an injury knocked defender Liz Guenther out of the game three minutes into the second half.
"With Liz Guenther going down in the back we had to readjust,” Finn said. “She’s been having some hip flexor issues, and this was her first game back. That little turn she took at the start of the half she said she felt a pop.
“We put Jacey who’s our real strong midfielder in the back to shore up the defense. But we were still able to generate attack. It was great to see the girls rally around that injury and finish strong.”
The night was full of producing positives through adversity for a Lake Park team that starts eight freshmen or sophomores.
“There’s only three seniors on this team,” Kent said, “and I’ve been on varsity for four years so I knew since we have a very young group I’m going to have to lead them.
“If I play the best I can play, and they play the best they can, together we’ll play a very good team. Building on this two-game winning streak, we give the underclassmen the attitude that ‘I am on varsity and I’m able to do this.’”
As part of the large underclassmen group , sophomore Lamz agrees about the confidence boost.
“After these last two games I feel we’ll be able to rise more and win more games coming up,”Lamz said.
That good feeling was in doubt after 40 minutes Thursday. But things changed in a hurry.
“We had to come out very strong (in the second half) and put them on their heels,” Kent said. “We didn’t want to lose this game. We had the mindset that we need to win this game, no ifs, ands or buts.
“This gives us a drive for the next games, a lot more positive attitude about how we can play. And that improves how we can come onto the field. We’re able to beat teams, so we just have to know in ourselves that we have the ability to keep winning games, keep coming out strong and putting balls in the back of the net.”
Lake Park’s road forward isn’t easy. But performances like Thursday’s help smooth the ride.
“We’re going to use this positive momentum to kind of realize how we can play soccer and play well against those really strong DVC opponents,” said Finn.
Starting lineups
East Aurora
GK: Daisy Quinonez
D: Lisully Ramirez
D: Brenda Pineda
D: Marina Mendoza
D: Marubeni Nieto
MF: Leslie Carranza
MF: Maritza Cazares
MF: Jennifer Lopez
MF: Jimena Gutierrez
F: Leslie Carranza
F: Paola Segundo
Lake Park
GK: Catherine Vitale
D: Natalie Morales
D: Amber Sedwick
D: Cyndi Martinez
D: Dana Skiera
MF: Jacey Kent
MF: Brianna McAloon
MF: Gianna Pistorio
MF: Jaclyn Lamz
F: Lauren Tarchala
F: Selena Catalano
MVP of the Match: Jacey Kent, MF, Lake Park