LA GRANGE -- Not every tie is created equal: some are begrudging; and some like Tolstoy, are unhappy in their own way.

Some games are so close, tight and beautifully played that to have a mere binary result seems distinctly unfair.

“I’m really proud of our team,”’ Glenbrook South forward Megan Murray said. “It took every single one of us, and we keep getting better one percent every day. We gave it our best effort, and sometimes things go our way. They had a great shot twice.”

Murray created damage that solved Lyons in a way no other team had through the first month of the season. But the Lions are never going to back down.

“I know how we always are with each other, and even if we get down in a game, we know we have each other’s backs,” Lyons’ forward Zibby Michaelson said.

Murray twice put the Titans, who are ranked eighth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, in the lead, only to have top-ranked Lyons answer for the 2-2 tie in Group C play of the Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish Classic on Monday night.

“We had nothing to lose, we were playing the no. 1 team,” Murray said.

All the scoring played out during a dazzling 25-minute stretch of the second half.

Defending tournament champion Lyons surrendered its first two goals of the season, which snapped a scoreless streak of more than 600 minutes of play.

The Lions (7-0-1) are now 1-0-1 in Group C play for four points. Glenbrook South (6-1-2) is 0-0-2 with two points.

Fellow Group C challenger Loyola defeated Lake Forest 3-0 Monday night and tied Glenbrook South 0-0 Saturday.

Loyola travels to LaGrange on Wednesday. A winner in that game captures Group C outright; a draw requires a tie-breaker formula to determine which team moves on the semifinals on Thursday.

Played in the balm and casual breeze of a 68-degree night, the first half was a classic orientation where each side seized-up the other.

The opening 40 minutes was distinguished by bookending spectacular saves by the respective keepers. 

In the 26th minute, Glenbrook South’s Mikayla Morse left her feet for a terrific block off a half-volley by Lions’ forward Caroline Mortonson.

Not to be outdone, Lyons’ starter Anna Bigenwald stretched her body across the goal in the 33rd minute to stop a rocket by midfielder Olivia Ollmert.

That high-level back and forth symbolized the daring, skill and elite playmaking on both sides.

With the teams more thoroughly assimilated to the attacking styles and formations of the opposition, the second half alternated one spectacular set piece and gorgeous action after another.

Glenbrook South broke through in the 46th minute.

Off a throw-in, Murray took the ball in space, drove down the left edge and played a ball from about 14 yards.

Lyons keeper Nora Ezike, who played the second half, blocked the initial shot.

Forward Sofia Sommer was ideally positioned for the easy rebound put-away in front of the goal.

“I got a great throw-in there, and I was able to get past the defender with my speed,” Murray said. 

“I tried the chip there, but the keeper hit it. Sofia was right there to knock it in.”

A University of Denver recruit, Murray is one of multiple former club players in their first year of high school play on the team.

Her playmaking and speed off the edge make the Titans’ attack sing. Sommer is the perfect complementary piece, a fast, mobile and precise player in her own right.

After going more than 120 minutes of tournament play without scoring, Glenbrook South was anxious and due.

“I think part of it is that we’re still just starting to get used to playing with each other,” Sommer said. “We have all of these new players who are really good, and we are just starting being able to connect more.

“Each game, I feel like we’re getting better and improving. I think getting to know our teammates better is just making it easier.”

Lyons never wilted under the strange sensation of being down in a game for the first time this season.

In the run of play or off the gorgeous free kicks of midfielder Josie Pochocki, the Lions were resourceful and dynamic.

The Lions answered brilliantly in the 51st minute.

Operating with the ball around the 30-yard line, midfielder Izzy Wirtz played a diagonal-ball to a streaking Mortonson on the left edge.

Mortonson made a juke step for separation before sending a sharp cross to midfielder Leahla Frazier.

Frazier nailed a ball from about 16 yards; it clipped perfectly under the bar for the equalizer.

“I saw Morty sprinting down the line, and I knew I had to time my run so that I’d be able to place the ball,” Frazier said. “I had to take my time and really focus so I could get the ball into the back of the net.”

After surrendering its first goals of the season, Lyons didn’t get mad. It got even.

“After they scored it motivated me to get pressure on the ball faster and try to create more chances,” Frazier said. “Or just anything I could do to try and create more of an advantage to get the ball more in their defensive third than ours.”

The game never settled into a comfortable rhythm. Each side looked to deliver haymakers, trying to find whatever vulnerability existed.

Murray was able to get to the goal for the Titans, Mortonson was her equivalent on the Lions’ side.

Glenbrook South appeared poised for the breakthrough in the 69th minute with superb action from the Ollmert sisters.

Senior Olivia is the corner specialist. Younger sister, sophomore Sofia, set the table when her blast handcuffed Ezike and created a corner opportunity.

The ensuing ball by Olivia just missed its target. 

Moments later, Murray broke free and slotted a ball to Sofia Ollmert on the right edge.

She stepped up and hammered a shot that cut beautifully inside the near post. Ezike got her hand on it, but it sliced inside the net.

“Megan had a really good ball, and I just ran and hit it,” Sofia Ollmert said. “This has been a great experience for me, especially playing with my sister, who I’ve never played with before. She’s older.

“This is our last year together before she goes off to college. I’ve really liked playing in these tournament games. They’ve been tough, but we’re a good team. We fought hard.”

Consistent on a night when every opportunity felt tenuous, Lyons struck back with authority.

Again, Mortonson attacked the left edge and made a sharp move to the ball.

She was fouled just outside the box.

Michaelson stepped up on the free kick and smashed home a perfect ball inside the post from about 22 yards in the 70th minute.

The second Titans’ lead held for less than 40 seconds.

“I thought about trying to chip it, especially to one of our runners like Caroline McKenna, but I also knew that I was close enough to the goal where if I had my shot, I could curl it around the wall,” Michaelson said.

“We’ve played some super-tough teams. This was the first time we trailed this year and just need the attitude of go, go and do what you have to do to get the ball into the back of the net.”

For their thrilling and superb play, Megan Murray and Caroline Mortonson shared the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honor.

But the drama wasn't over. Ezike made the save of the second half when she came off the line and stopped a 19-yard rocket ball from Murray in the 75th minute. She blocked it with her left shoulder blade.

In the 77th minute, Pochocki blasted a left-footed ball from about 29 yards that forced Morse to lunge to her right for another breathtaking stop.

This game was not going to go quietly into the night.

“That’s a really great team, and today was about the value of what my girls did,” first-year Glenbrook South coach Cassidy Price said.

“We talked about playing to our standard, and they did that with the way we moved the ball, the way we communicated. As a coach, I’ve never been more proud of a team for showing up and battling.”

Starting lineups
 
Glenbrook South
GK: Mikayla Morse
D: Adysen Clemen
D: Lindsey Ciss
D: Emily Schultz
D: Avery Splear
MF: Claire Baim
MF: Lauren Koopersmith
MF: Katie Condon
F: Olivia Ollmert
F: Sofia Sommer 
F: Megan Murray

Lyons
GK: Anna Bigenwald
D: Jillian Herchenroether
D: Caroline McKenna
D: Brennan Israel
D: Abby Brown
MF: Izzi Wirtz
MF: Josie Pochocki
MF: Leahla Fraz
F: Zibby Michaelson
F: Caroline Mortonson
F: Peyton Israel

Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match: Megan Murray, sr., F, Glenbrook South; 
Caroline Mortonson, jr., F, Lyons

Scoring summary

First half
No scoring

Second half
Glenbrook South—Sophia Sommer (Megan Murray), 46th minute
Lyons—Leahla Frazier (Caroline Mortonson), 54th minute
Glenbrook South—Sofia Ollmert (Murray), 69th minute
Lyons—Zibby Michaelson (free kick), 70th minute