LINCOLNSHIRE — Late in Thursday night’s Hersey-Stevenson nonconference match, it seemed nothing would be able to eclipse Huskies sophomore forward Gracie Lisota’s two-goal feat in Hersey’s season-opening game.

But Grace Balis came close to doing just that — from quite a distance.

The Hersey freshman defender, with her side up 2-1 in the 74th minute at Stevenson, lofted a 45-yard free kick that resembled a can-of-corn fly in baseball. It landed deep in the box untouched and bounced over and past the frame of Patriots sophomore goalkeeper Reese Yoo (two saves) for the final tally in drizzly, dank conditions.

“It was right there; I had a good view of it,” Lisota recounted after Hersey’s 3-1 win, nearly a year after Hersey rallied to edge Stevenson 3-2 on St. Patrick’s Day in 2023. “Grace has such a great understanding of the game. Her passes, her shots — she places them well, always. As soon as that free kick left Grace’s foot, I knew, just knew, it would be a goal.”

The kicker however? Not so certain.

“I was thinking, ‘Somebody down there is going to do something with it,” Balis said.

Nobody who witnessed it will be able to forget Balis’ first varsity goal. You watch, in 2047, when Balis attends her 20th high school reunion, someone will bring it up or ask her to re-enact it at a hotel ballroom. (Be sure to pack a ball and your 2024 cleats, Grace.)

“It could not have happened to a nicer kid,” said sixth-year Hersey coach Michael Rusniak. “Did you see how excited her teammates were for her?  Such a nice kid.”

It was a nice triumph for the Huskies too. Hersey (1-0-0) had entered the game with the no. 31 ranking in the Chicagoland Soccer First 50 preseason poll; Stevenson (1-1-0) is no. 20.

Patriots senior midfielder and Maryland recruit Ellie Egeland — already in midseason form, maybe in postseason mode — netted the first goal (and third of the season) in the 28th minute. Lisota, a 20-goal scorer as a rookie prep booter last spring, answered nine minutes later and completed her brace in the 48th minute.

“Awesome team win,” Rusniak said. “Lot a selfless play. And not a lot of nerves from our young players. Our team wanted to play. You should have seen them in training, especially recently. They were tired of practicing, and hungry, really hungry, for tonight’s action.”

Stevenson was coming off Tuesday’s 2-1 season-opening nonconference win over Chicago Public League stalwart Young. Egeland followed up her brace with a nifty goal sequence Thursday that started just outside the 18. The future Terrapin dribbled left, dribbled right and then beat Huskies sophomore keeper Sam Fetzer (six saves) with a near- post shot from inside the six.

Patriots senior midfielder and Chicagoland Soccer All-State Watch List selectee Ashley Liang, a Case Western Reserve recruit, delivered the assist.

“Strong, fast,” Rusniak said of Egeland, a 2023 Chicagoland Soccer All-State pick and the reigning North Suburban Conference Offensive Player of the Year. “Stevenson has several incredibly talented players. For us to come out and perform as well as we did tonight, we had to do some homework.”

Lisota aced the test. Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match notched her first goal three minutes before halftime with a 12-yard, far-post shot off her left foot after winning a 1-v-1 battle. She broke a 1-1 contest early in the second half, poking a right-footed finesse shot over the defense from a spot just inside the top of the box.

Senior forward Abi Beck provided the first assist, and senior back Finley Wilcox authored the second.

“Disappointing result,” said second-year Stevenson coach Jay Bulev, whose roster includes three freshmen and six sophomores to Hersey’s respective four and five. “Hersey played well; that’s a good team. We’re still a little raw and figuring things out. We played well out of the back. We created chances in the first half but not enough in the second half.

“The defensive mistakes we made were costly.”

Bulev received a fine effort from Patriots sophomore back Grace (yes, yet another standout with that first name) Harper, who displayed toughness and deftness while collecting a first half steal and, minutes later, blocked a shot without flinching.

“Grace,” Egeland said, “has the ability to win 50/50 balls 90 percent of the time. She’s such a clean defender.”

Hersey’s Fetzer made her final two saves in the 71st and 72nd minutes, when the visitors were clinging to a 2-1 lead.

Shortly thereafter, Balis’ near half-pitch stunner triggered a series of Hersey exhales that could be heard back in Arlington Heights.

“Gorgeous goal,” Rusniak said.

The early season continues when Hersey hosts no. 8 Libertyville at 6:15 p.m. Friday and battles no. 30 Loyola at the St. Charles East Invitational at noon Saturday; Stevenson visits Huntley at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Footnotes

Former Stevenson girls coach and current Stevenson boys coach PepeJon Chavez took in Thursday’s game from the press box. Two of his three daughters, senior forward and fourth-year varsity player Arria Chavez and sophomore reserve midfielder Amira Chavez, suit up for the Patriots. “Do you know who has spent more time down on that field than everybody else playing here tonight has?” the coach asked rhetorically. “Amira. She started serving as a ball girl for my teams at the age of 3.” The Chavez family moved to Lincolnshire in 2010. Arria and dad’s eldest, Florida Atlantic University sophomore Bella Chavez, also chased soccer balls at countless prep matches. … Each team took two corner kicks Thursday. … Stevenson’s co-aptains this spring are Egeland, senior forward Madi Kennedy, Arria Chavez and junior midfielder Sammie Meliker. Hersey hasn’t named a captain yet. Rusniak hinted he’d appoint a Huskie or two to a captainship before long. “For now, we’re going with game captains,” he said. … Rusniak, on Wilcox: “Extremely smart. She made monumental strides as a junior last year.”

Starting lineups

Hersey
GK Sam Fetzer
D Finley Wilcox
D Kiki Craft
D Grace Balis
D Abby Molster
MF Natalie Suto
MF Asha Bontje
MF Gretchen Chianelli
MF Faith Sena
F Gracie Lisota
F Abi Beck

Stevenson
GK Reese Yoo
D Grace Harper
D Anabelle Egeland
D Chloe Robinson
D Alexa Karagrannis
MF Madison Olsen
MF Emma Mendoza
MF Sami An
MF Ashley Liang
MF Ellie Egeland
F Arria Chavez

Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Gracie Lisota, so., F, Hersey

Scoring summary

First half
Stevenson — E. Egeland (Liang), 28’
Hersey — Lisota (Beck), 37’

Second half
Hersey — Lisota (Wilcox), 48’
Hersey — Balis (FK), 74’