Lockport falls to Ozark in TOC finale
Porters gain valuable experience, team time at Ia. event
By John Bohnenkamp
BURLINGTON, Iowa — The Adidas Tournament of Champions is always a favorite of the Lockport soccer team.
“We really like coming down here,” said Porters coach Todd Elkei. “It’s a good weekend for us. The girls have fun — we have an air hockey tournament at the hotel, charades tournament, things like that.”
It's hoped the team bonding and experience of competing at the event will benefit the Porters in the stretch drive of the season. The weekend results on the field were mixed. Lockport lost 3-0 to Ozark (Mo.) in the fifth-place game Saturday.
Lockport finished 1-2-0 in the tournament, falling to Cedarburg (Wis.) 2-0 Friday before bouncing back later in the day to defeat North Scott (Ia.) 2-0 in a consolation bracket semifinal.
Saturday’s game was played in a wind-blown rain that fell harder as the match progressed.
The 9:45 a.m. matches was one of the last played in the tournament. Officials cancelled the remainder of the event early in the afternoon when conditions on some of the fields became unplayable.
Elkei said the weather wasn’t the reason why the Porters lost to Ozark.
“The conditions were the same for both teams,” he said. “They handled it a little better than we did. We didn’t really didn’t adjust to the skipped balls, that kind of stuff. Can’t really blame (the loss) on the conditions. We gave the ball away.”
“Well, it’s always hard to play in weather like this,” said junior midfielder Karlee Stortz. “A lot of skips, it’s hard to make clean passes. But we came out flat and never adjusted.”
Ozark coach Tom Davidson appreciated how his team dealt with the weather.
“I thought we handled it great,” he said. “We completely had to change our style. We had to be more direct. We got the ball off our feet quick. We did some good things, I was really proud of them.”
Both coaches substituted freely throughout the match, trying to keep everyone warm. At one point in the first half, Ozark’s Maya Davidson said as she left the bench, “I’m so cold I can’t feel my arms.”
Ozark took control of the game in the first half, when freshman Jadyn Easley scored back-to-back goals within a 10-minute span.
Junior Mikayla Putt knocked in a deep goal that hit the back of the net just inside the right post early in the second half for the final margin.
Lockport had two good scoring opportunities in the second half but missed on both attempts.
“We didn’t have a lot of intensity in the first half, and when you’re playing good teams you can’t just play one half of soccer,” Elkei said. “We had one (scoring) chance in the first half, a couple of chances in the second half. But unfortunately, sometimes they don’t go in.”
“I think our biggest problem is we weren’t communicating on the field,” Stortz said. “We kind of learned in this tournament that we need to communicate more against better teams. It’s not going to work if we don’t. When we communicate, we make better passes, we do better things.”
Elkei thought his team gained some valuable lessons this weekend, from the competition and what they did on the field.
“We’ve got a game with Sandburg this week for the conference title, that’s going to be big,” he said. “We have to rebound. But we learned a lot. The teams are quality, we tried some kids in different positions.”
Ozark's approach to the tournament was the same as Lockport's.
“For us, it’s more of a bonding experience,” coach Davidson said. “The competition for us is great. You know, more than anything, just kind of a bonding experience, see how we handle things. Of course, to have conditions like this, it was good to see how we handle things.”
Elkei didn't lose his enthusiasm for the Tournament of Champions despite the weather and results.
“The weekend is a great experience — good teams, good competition,” he said. “It’s a great time for a chance for the team to bond. Their friends aren’t around and stuff. It’s a chance to come together as a team, and I thought we did that.”
Starting line-ups
Lockport
GK — Kelly Travis
D — Sylvia Kordaczka
D — Brooke Janeczek
D — Allison Polinski
D — Jamie Hansen
D — Madiyson Hannion
M — Finley Travis
M — Karlee Stortz
M/F — Allyson Fischer
M/F — Stephanie Quigley
F — Lauren Pikulski
Ozark
GK — Ally Barb
D/MF — Hailey Cobb
D — Ava Scott
D — Bri Pinkston
D — Baily Summers
MF/F — Maya Davidson
MF — Lilly Axtel
MF — Shannon Murphy
F — Mikayla Putt
F — Jadyn Easley
F — Kelton Hewitt
MVP of the Match: Jadyn Easley, F, Ozark
Porters gain valuable experience, team time at Ia. event
By John Bohnenkamp
BURLINGTON, Iowa — The Adidas Tournament of Champions is always a favorite of the Lockport soccer team.
“We really like coming down here,” said Porters coach Todd Elkei. “It’s a good weekend for us. The girls have fun — we have an air hockey tournament at the hotel, charades tournament, things like that.”
It's hoped the team bonding and experience of competing at the event will benefit the Porters in the stretch drive of the season. The weekend results on the field were mixed. Lockport lost 3-0 to Ozark (Mo.) in the fifth-place game Saturday.
Lockport finished 1-2-0 in the tournament, falling to Cedarburg (Wis.) 2-0 Friday before bouncing back later in the day to defeat North Scott (Ia.) 2-0 in a consolation bracket semifinal.
Saturday’s game was played in a wind-blown rain that fell harder as the match progressed.
The 9:45 a.m. matches was one of the last played in the tournament. Officials cancelled the remainder of the event early in the afternoon when conditions on some of the fields became unplayable.
Elkei said the weather wasn’t the reason why the Porters lost to Ozark.
“The conditions were the same for both teams,” he said. “They handled it a little better than we did. We didn’t really didn’t adjust to the skipped balls, that kind of stuff. Can’t really blame (the loss) on the conditions. We gave the ball away.”
“Well, it’s always hard to play in weather like this,” said junior midfielder Karlee Stortz. “A lot of skips, it’s hard to make clean passes. But we came out flat and never adjusted.”
Ozark coach Tom Davidson appreciated how his team dealt with the weather.
“I thought we handled it great,” he said. “We completely had to change our style. We had to be more direct. We got the ball off our feet quick. We did some good things, I was really proud of them.”
Both coaches substituted freely throughout the match, trying to keep everyone warm. At one point in the first half, Ozark’s Maya Davidson said as she left the bench, “I’m so cold I can’t feel my arms.”
Ozark took control of the game in the first half, when freshman Jadyn Easley scored back-to-back goals within a 10-minute span.
Junior Mikayla Putt knocked in a deep goal that hit the back of the net just inside the right post early in the second half for the final margin.
Lockport had two good scoring opportunities in the second half but missed on both attempts.
“We didn’t have a lot of intensity in the first half, and when you’re playing good teams you can’t just play one half of soccer,” Elkei said. “We had one (scoring) chance in the first half, a couple of chances in the second half. But unfortunately, sometimes they don’t go in.”
“I think our biggest problem is we weren’t communicating on the field,” Stortz said. “We kind of learned in this tournament that we need to communicate more against better teams. It’s not going to work if we don’t. When we communicate, we make better passes, we do better things.”
Elkei thought his team gained some valuable lessons this weekend, from the competition and what they did on the field.
“We’ve got a game with Sandburg this week for the conference title, that’s going to be big,” he said. “We have to rebound. But we learned a lot. The teams are quality, we tried some kids in different positions.”
Ozark's approach to the tournament was the same as Lockport's.
“For us, it’s more of a bonding experience,” coach Davidson said. “The competition for us is great. You know, more than anything, just kind of a bonding experience, see how we handle things. Of course, to have conditions like this, it was good to see how we handle things.”
Elkei didn't lose his enthusiasm for the Tournament of Champions despite the weather and results.
“The weekend is a great experience — good teams, good competition,” he said. “It’s a great time for a chance for the team to bond. Their friends aren’t around and stuff. It’s a chance to come together as a team, and I thought we did that.”
Starting line-ups
Lockport
GK — Kelly Travis
D — Sylvia Kordaczka
D — Brooke Janeczek
D — Allison Polinski
D — Jamie Hansen
D — Madiyson Hannion
M — Finley Travis
M — Karlee Stortz
M/F — Allyson Fischer
M/F — Stephanie Quigley
F — Lauren Pikulski
Ozark
GK — Ally Barb
D/MF — Hailey Cobb
D — Ava Scott
D — Bri Pinkston
D — Baily Summers
MF/F — Maya Davidson
MF — Lilly Axtel
MF — Shannon Murphy
F — Mikayla Putt
F — Jadyn Easley
F — Kelton Hewitt
MVP of the Match: Jadyn Easley, F, Ozark