WAUKEGAN — With an alliterative name and beautiful game, midfielder Mizzia Vavalle plays with a sharp combination of grace and composure.

“I love making crosses, connecting with my teammates, and building off those opportunities and getting as many chances as I can out there,” she said.

“I just want to score a lot of goals.”

Mission accomplished.

The Lake Park freshman scored two goals four minutes apart to spark the Lancers’ 3-1 comeback victory over Bloom in the opening round of the BodyArmor tournament at Waukegan Sports Park on Saturday afternoon.

The Lancers (3-7-0) set a season-high for goals in a game, and played one of their best 40-minute stretches of the year.

Bloom (2-4-1) went up 1-0 in the 51st minute when midfielder Camila Zuno broke free and blasted a looping shot from about 28 yards that handcuffed Lancers’ keeper Vanessa Boafo.

“We had the majority of the opportunities in the first and second half,” Lake Park coach Caroline Kilrea said.

“They had one long shot and got Vanessa off her line, and it went in. It was a good goal, and we weren’t ready for it. I thought that was what we needed to get that behind us. We didn’t really let Bloom have any more opportunities after that.”

Zuno was dangerous for Bloom throughout the field, and forwards Gitzell Garcia and Emelia Estrada created significant pressure.

Lake Park had to adjust its lineup with several players out. 

Normally the team’s holding midfielder, Francesca Cali played centerback for the first time in a high school game.

She helped slow down and limit the Blazing Trojans’ attack. 

“Our normal centerback was out sick today, so I had to take on a new role today,” Cali said. “I had to step up there, but I’ve done that in some of our more difficult games.”

A senior leader and one of the Lancers’ most experienced players, Cali has said the team’s record is misleading.

“I just remember my freshman year coming onto the team, and looking up to the girls who were just seniors and knowing how much composure they had, and how they picked us all up, and I also want to be an example of that,” Cali said.

“I know, with our record, we’re not the happiest about that. But even if these games that are more difficult, where we might come out with a loss, we really try to recover as a team together.”

Throughout the first half and leading up to the Bloom goal, Lake Park was the more consistently dangerous team.

Forward Kira Holliday repeatedly got to the right edge, and made dangerous forays to the Blazing Trojans’ final third.

Lake Park could never quite muster the necessary second or third touch in scoring range.

Vavalle had the best pure scoring-chance during the first half with a free kick from the top of the box that just skidded over the top of the bar.

If the Lancers’ youth sometimes reacted negatively to adverse plays, the response to the Bloom goal was its exact opposite.

It provided a road map for going forward.

“I thought we had a lot of urgency after they scored against us, and we just wanted to push,” Holliday said.

“We knew this was a game we could win.”

Sophomore Adrianna Skruch is another impressive and emerging talent with the Lancers.

With Holliday and Vavalle, she proved a dynamic offensive threat who helped tipped the balance of the game.

Just moments after the Bloom goal, Skruch worked the ball through the middle and played it wide left for Vavalle to finish her run.

Vavalle broke past a Bloom defender and had a go from about 12 yards from the left wing. It glanced off a Blazing Trojans'  defender and into the goal in the 53rd minute.

Newly energized by the tying goal, Lake Park took its game to another level. 

Moments later, Vavalle drove the ball into the teeth of the Bloom backline and fired a shot from about 19 yards that hit the crossbar.

The Lancers meant business.

The next time Vavalle adjusted her touch accordingly.

In the 57th minute, she again cut across the grain, dribbled about 12 yards and unleashed a ball from about 21 yards.

“I just saw the opening, and I saw where I was, and I wanted to take the shot,” she said.

“It felt great as soon as I touched it.”

The ball settled inside the near post for a 2-1 Lancers lead.

In a game of emotion and raw feeling, Lake Park was the driver of the action. 

Vavalle earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honor for her superb play.

The team backed up her star turn. 

Boafa had four saves. With Cali playing in the back, the defense was able to extricate itself from any further damage.

Junior Gabrielle Glodz was another standout defender, building sharply out of the back with Cali and often generating the attack with her passing and playmaking.

“I feel like with our team, we have a lot of underclassmen,” Boafo said. “I feel like we’ve just had to find the right dynamic with missing people, injuries and not always having the same lineup set in stone.

“I feel like the communication has gotten better, and our players overall have gotten better together.”

Playing one of her best games, Skruch put the game out of reach in the 75th minute.

Off a corner from Cali, she smashed home a half-volley about six yards for an insurance goal.

It was the first varsity goal of the sophomore forward’s prep career.

“The varsity game is a lot faster and more physical, and I had to get used to making quicker decisions with the ball in those situations,” Skruch said. “I’ve just had to learn how to play at this level.”

Lake Park will play at Sycamore (5-4-0) Monday for a chance to play in a championship match of the tournament on April 21.

The Lancers play in one of the state’s top conferences that features ranked teams St. Charles North, Wheaton Warrenville South, St. Charles East and historically strong Geneva and Batavia.

They are almost always at a talent disadvantage.

The team fights on and never gives in.

“Our record isn’t quite there yet. We’ve had a lot of challenges, and we’ve lost players,” Holliday said.

“We’ve gotten better over time, and we play really hard. We keep pushing our girls, all of them are connected. We always want to push and get better.”

Starting lineups

Bloom
GK: Raquel Cisneros
D: Itzel Martinez
D: Josie Ayala
D: Fernanda Bravo
D: Faith Perez
MF: Yeranea Marin
MF: Camila Zuno
MF: Keyla Avila
MF: Tiara Alvardo
F: Gitzell Garcia
F: Emelia Estrada

Lake Park
GK: Vanessa Boafo
D: Rylan Baurenfreund
D: Gabriella Glodz
D: Francesca Cali
D: Ruth Dellaria
MF: Cora Riter
MF: Ava Garcia
MF: Venessa Pichialov
MF: Mizzia Vavalle
F: Adrianna Skruch
F: Kira Holliday

Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Mizzia Vavalle, fr., MF, Lake Park

Scoring summary

First half
No scoring

Second half
Bloom—Camila Zuno (Yeranea Marin), 51’
Lake Park—Mizzia Vavalle (Adrianna Skruch), 53’
Lake Park—Vavalle (unassisted), 57’
Lake Park—Skruch (Francesca Cali), 75’