LAKE FOREST – Talk about flipping the script.

One week after suffering a 2-1 loss to Warren on a tie-breaking goal in the game’s final two minutes, Stevenson (8-3-2, 2-1-1),  which is ranked 21st in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, broke a scoreless tie Thursday at Lake Forest (4-6-0, 2-2-0) with just 2:49 on the second half clock to emerge with a 1-0 win.

“Last week was really tough,” Patriots coach Jay Bulev said. “We outshot (Warren), equal possession – it would have been fair to end 1-1. And then we got scored on late.

“That was a gut punch. We were all down. We just had to do a reset. But we rebounded on Tuesday (to beat Mundelein 4-0) and again today. So going into next week we have two conference games, Zion-Benton and Waukegan, and then we have (no. 5) Evanston waiting for us. This is a good momentum builder.”

The way Stevenson won Thursday’s battle with the Scouts was itself noteworthy. The winning strike was the first goal of the season for senior midfielder Ashley Liang.

“Ashley is a creative center mid,” Bulev said. I’m happy for her that she got it and happy for the team.”

Ellie Egeland was a major offensive catalyst for Stevenson all night, as she has been all-season, and was instrumental on the passing end of Liang’s big goal.

“I remember getting the ball and running down,” said the all-stater, “and I knew Amira (Chavez) and hopefully Ashley would be in the box. I looked up, saw a player in white (Stevenson kit) and crossed it on the ground in. And we got the goal. It took some deflections, but it was what we needed.”

The Lake Forest defense that was rock solid all night nearly again broke up the chance in front, but Liang adjusted nicely to net the game-winner.

“I think it was a rebound off one of the defenders,” Liang said. “The ball was bouncing, there was a defender in front of me. I took a touch over her leg, I waited for it to settle down and hit it in with my left (foot).”

And to have your first goal decide a game near its end?

“It was really exciting,” Liang said, “and I feel like this really helps me with my confidence to get more goals in the future.”

Said Bulev: “It was the buildup from Ellie’s cross. (The pass) was intended for the seven (outside midfielder), the player on the other side, and she couldn’t quite reach it. But Ashley got the loose ball and was smart enough to cut it on her left. The goalie was a little out of position, and she hit it well enough for the goal.”

While the outcome was not ideal for Lake Forest, the Scouts’ performance in battling Stevenson to a near draw was exemplary.

“I thought we played a great first half and put them under pressure,” Lake Forest coach Ty Stuckslager said. “The second half we did well the first 10 minutes, and then they were on us the next 15 minutes.

“Then, as I told the girls, we responded. We didn’t crumble, as opposed to last week against Libertyville in the same situation, when we kind of crumbled. I’m proud of the girls and their effort.”

Scouts all-state goalkeeper Sarah Constantine came up big multiple times early in the
second half to deny the Patriots. The stops started with 31:30 left when Egeland powered a low left-side 15-yarder that Constantine dove to deflect before Hanna Sands cleared it away.

“I think their goalie was really, really good tonight,” Egeland said. “We had our chances but just couldn’t put them away. But overall, I felt the offense did a good job of getting in there and being able to shoot the ball.”

The biggest chance came with 20:55 left in the second half, when an Egeland cross found Sami An in front for a shot that went inches wide.

“We had a few really nice attacks in the first half and more good ones in the second,” Bulev said. “We just couldn’t break through and get that one decisive finish.”

Constantine also went above the crowd to grab an Egeland corner kick send to the near post with 27:30 to go.

“Their goalie was excellent,” Bulev said. “We knew the only way we were going to beat her was a long distance shot where she’s out of her goal or a low shot inside the box. And we were finally able to get that one.”

And it wasn’t just the Lake Forest netminder denying Stevenson on Thursday.

“Our back four (Hanna Sands, Olivia Auriol, Ava Walsh and Ryan Rice) did a great job, and Caroline Kaiser in front of them,” Stuckslager said. “Those five I felt were outstanding. And I’m just proud of the whole team. Our forwards put pressure on them to limit opportunities and limit possession (for Stevenson). They had to adjust at halftime, which they did. And when you make people have to adjust, you’re doing the right things.”

Besides Sands’ earlier noted clear of the crease on Egeland’s shot, the Scouts’ good defensive moments included a Kaiser pass interception and clear with 26:50 left, Walsh and Chloe Kvostik combining to repel an attack four minutes later and a block and clear
by Auriol to deny a run by Stevenson’s Emma Mendoza.

“I thought we played really well,” Walsh said. “We knew coming into this game that they were going to be a tough team, and we really came with energy. And I think we were playing our game and connecting passes really well.”

Lake Forest’s offensive connections created some good chances just past the midway point of the second half.

Lainey Tabor drew a foul left of the box with 11:15 to play to set up a Walsh free kick from 16 yards. Her hard strike was batted down by Stevenson keeper Reese Yoo, and the scramble for the loose rebound ended with a long Scouts one-timer going wide.

That sequence came one minute after a Lake Forest 20-yard throw-in bounced through a crowd to Lily Remus, whose one-timer straight-on from 10 yards went just over the net.

Surviving those near-misses, Stevenson showed great endurance to notch its fifth shutout of the year and third since April 16.

“The backline did not come out at all in the second half, and they held strong,” Bulev said.

“Grace (Harper) and Annie (Egeland) our two center backs as always were so solid and dependable winning balls out of the air, covering, not getting beat 1-on-1, and with blocks, tackles, interceptions.

“We never felt that much in danger of being scored on in open play,” Bulev added. “We shut them down every time. The big threat was going to be off a set piece where we didn’t match up with their marks, so as long as we kept them out from that, I felt confident in our defenders.”

But that didn’t make things any easier against a strong Lake Forest effort.

“It was a good game,” Bulev said. “Most of it was played between the 30-yard lines. Neither team really dominated into the other team’s half. It was an equally balanced game.”

Between Stevenson’s chances being denied and Lake Forest’s offense perking up, the visitors began to feel more urgency.

“In the first half we weren’t I guess as driven and didn’t have as much energy,” Liang said. “Everybody decided we needed to get a goal and really pushed for it, and I think that’s what changed, our attitude.”

That came even more into play as the minutes dwindled.

“It was really stressful,” Liang said. “We were all getting a little antsy, and we all needed to calm down so we could get one in and take a win.”

Then Liang calmly delivered a left-footed putaway, and the scoreless tie was finally broken.

“This (Lake Forest) team was really physical and really fast,” Liang said. “They had a lot of energy, and we had to match that in the end to get that goal, and I think we did.”

Said Ellie Egeland: “I feel like we were working really hard the whole game to get forward and score. The team put together some nice passes, and we were able to finally put it together. I felt like we deserved the goal.”

That one sequence hardly diminished a great night for the Lake Forest defense.

“I think it was just a few little mistakes that added up,” Sands said of the goal, “and they were there. They were ready.”

Said Walsh: “They’re a good team. When they get a chance, they do what good teams do.”

But both standout players found plenty for the Scouts to build off.

“I feel like we usually play really well against good teams,” Sands said. “We have a lot of energy. I think this mainly shows us that we need to play like this every single game no matter what. We need to create more chances at the top and get some finishes.”

“I think this definitely showed us what we’re capable of going forward,” Walsh said. “We can do it in the future, and we have other teams like this that we are going to play. The potential is there.”

Their coach shares the optimism, and is keeping things in perspective.

“We’re playing a lot of big schools and trying our best,” said Stuckslager of his Class AA club. “It’s hard to get wins, and the girls are doing a good job of understanding that the outside looks at our record, and we just look at how we play. Everyone else can see a 1-0 loss, and we know we played pretty darn well.

“We’re still trying to put together 80 minutes. Good teams get one opportunity, and they beat you. But we played well.”

Lake Forest responded to the goal with a last-minute offensive push to try to draw even, but a Rice shot off a Walsh pass was blocked and cleared. On the ensuing Scouts resend toward the offensive end, Stevenson’s Kelsey Krull cleared the zone, and the Patriots had a hard-fought win.

“That was really big for the team,” Ellie Egeland said, “and helps us a lot in conference.

“We want to hopefully win conference. We got off to kind of a rough start, but now we’re on a two-game win streak and we have some momentum.

“I feel considering we scored this late in the game and how hard we worked in this game, we know we can beat anybody,” Egeland added. “This gives us good momentum going into next week for other conference games.”

What a difference a week makes.

“Last week were our first two conference games,” Bulev said. “Tuesday (vs. Lake Zurich) was 0-0 and we got rained out in the second half so we didn’t get to finish. Then that loss at Warren really stung. This week it was nice to get these results.”

Starting lineups

Stevenson
GK: Reese Yoo
D: Grace Harper
D: Kelsey Krull
D: Ana Egeland
D: Alexa Karagrannis
M: Madison Olsen
M: Emma Mendoza
M: Amira Chavez
M: Sammie Meliker
F: Arria Chavez
F: Ellie Egeland

Lake Forest
GK: Sarah Constantine
D: Ava Walsh
D: Ryan Rice
D: Hanna Sands
D: Olivia Auriol
M: Maddy Cummins
M: Caroline Kaiser
M: Lainey Tabor
M: Chloe Hvostik
F: Kendall Snodgrass
F: Lily Remus

Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Ashley Liang, sr. MF, Stevenson

Scoring summary

First half
No scoring

Second half
S: Ashley Liang (unassisted), 77’