LAKE VILLA -- Grayslake Central has a permanent connection to New York City sports history.

In 1962, Jay Hook (a graduate of what was then called Grayslake High School) earned the distinction of being the winning pitcher in the first victory in New York Mets history. Hook would finish his big league career with 29 victories.

With that question answered, it’s on to what was a girls soccer mystery of sorts Thursday for conference-leading host Lakes: figuring out how to score against the Rams.

Freshman goalkeeper Karlee Santner was brilliant in net, swatting away a myriad of Lakes scoring threats to keep the score 0-0 for the first 57 minutes of play.

And while a Raina Schmitt cross and Mia Silber put-away in front from 6 yards would provide the difference maker with 22:37 to play in a 1-0 win for Lakes (9-4-2, 5-0-0), it was another step forward for the Rams (3-6-2, 2-2-0) and their rapidly emerging keeper.

“Karlee is an absolute powerhouse in the goal,” Rams coach Keith Andersson said. “She’s channeling her dedication into every practice, honing her skills with every game.

“Her willingness for feedback is great, fueling her to continuously improve. We couldn’t be more thrilled to have such a remarkable talent in our program.”

Santner’s first nice save came in the fifth minute, a right-post stop on a Schmitt shot.

And her best first half save was yet to come, a point-blank diving cover at the right post of a six-yard Lakes shot in the 20th minute after a cross to the front.

“It’s hard to think whether to go for the ball or not,” Santner said of her approach in the net, “but I just try my best, throw myself at the ball and see how well I can do. And I know my team has my back. 

“It’s such a great group of girls that I play with. They all keep me motivated and keep me going. I'm a freshman, and for my first year it's so fun to play with them and just try my best always.”

Madison Hoffmann was the Rams’ defensive standout in the 25th minute, nicely blocking Silber’s shot on her run toward the box.

The first half would end with a Grayslake Central offensive surge.

In the 37th minute, a Hoffman throw-in led to a Sara Armstrong shot deflected over the end line by a Lakes defender for a corner kick.

On the restart, Dahlia Rodriguez’s shot was blocked for a second-straight Rams corner. This one was cleared by Lakes’ Caroline Klimas.

“With Dahlia, you know she is making a difference when the opposing coach is yelling to make sure she is marked,” Andersson said.

Heading into the intermission tied 0-0, the Rams’ defense would have more good moments to come.

It was defender Peyton Hoffmann providing the first nice play with 34:20 to go, blocking a Lakes shot and following with a sliding clear of the ball. She followed two minutes later with another sliding block right of the net.

“Madison and Peyton Hoffmann are both very key players to the team,” Andersson said. “They give the rest of the girls a sense of calming, that if they miss a tackle or a pass they are there to help.”

The Rams’ offense generated a threat with 29 minutes left. A Rodriguez pass sprung Ava Henne in right. She angled a cross through the crease and just wide of the left post.

“Ava Henne has been lights out this season,” Andersson said. “She is like a Swiss army knife. We’ve put her in almost every position except goalie.”

Speaking of goalies, Santner was soon back in the spotlight during a very busy three-minute span.

With 25:30 to go, a Silber pass found Schmitt wide open right-side. But her 15-yard shot was denied on a nice high catch by Santner.

Just over a minute later, Hannah Rojas sent a drive from left of the net just wide of the right post. And even after an offside whistle on a Lakes attack, Santner made a leaping swat wide of the net of a Schmitt point-blank rocket.

“Karlee came up clutch a lot of times,” Madison Hoffmann said. She had a lot of great saves, even one when they called offsides. 

“Karlee especially as a freshman has really come in to fill the role as goalie and has done really well.”

Lakes finally broke through with 22:37 remaining, but it took a cross and point-blank drive by Silber (14 goals this season) to finally grab a lead.

“Their goalie made some amazing saves today,” said Silber, who shared Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors with Santner. “She’s an amazing goalie. But we got a really nice play on one, and I was able to get a shot off and it went in.”

Even on that breakthrough, Andersson wasn’t 100 percent sure.

“We were unlucky with their goal,” he said. “It looked offside to me, but that’s soccer.

“Lakes is a strong, very well-disciplined team,” he said. “They move the ball very well through the channels.”

Silber sees that movement as one of the keys to Lakes’ 7-0-1 record in its last eight games.

“We’ve been playing more as a team and less individualistic,” she said. “We’ve definitely been passing more and playing some nice through balls.

“We have a strong defense and really a strong team overall, so it’s really easy to play with everyone. And everyone can get the ball and circulate it and that’s how we score our goals.”

Lakes’ strong bid to double its 1-0 lead met with familiar resistance. Anya Silber fielded a cross in front and lined a 10-yard shot with 14:25 left, but Santner was up to the task with a diving deflection wide.

Evidence is ample that Santner is making a nice transition to high school soccer.

“It's been definitely a lot different than I'm used to,” she said, “but it’s a great program and a lot better training that I've been getting to learn how to play better.

“I’ve been getting training from one of our (Grayslake Central) senior boys goalkeepers, so that’s definitely helped me get better.”

Another great source of praise for her play in net was Lakes coach Kevin Kullby, who once put fear into goalkeepers as a star scorer at Wisconsin.

“To their credit their goalie played well and came up with some timely stops,” Kullby said. “But I'm really proud of our team playing their game right to the end, defending well and trying to pass well throughout the game to take time off the clock.”

In fact, Lakes would keep Grayslake Central’s offense quiet until a late final burst.

With 1:35 left, Armstrong sent a hard 40-yard low liner that Lakes goalkeeper Caitlin Pron grabbed on one hop.

Then in a furious final 10 seconds, an Armstrong throw-in 25 yards out was blocked by Mia Silber. Jordan Sutter followed with a final try in the box, but Tessa Smith cleared the ball out on the side as time ran out.

“It's really good because this makes 5-0-0 in conference, and we haven't given up a goal (in league play),” Kullby said. “That’s a testament to the leadership on the team like our captain Tessa Smith, Mia Silber and Carter Conway. They're all playing great, and it's making a difference for us.”

Grayslake Central may have suffered a narrow defeat, but had a performance worthy of praise.

“We came into the game knowing they (Lakes) were a very good team,” Madison Hoffmann said. “So honestly to be able to hang with them most of the game and just have one lapse where they scored, we’re kind of walking away from this looking at it as a positive. We learned a lot against a very good team, one of the top teams in our conference.

“Lakes possessed most of the game and moved the ball really well, so I think it's just learning when we have the ball to relax and learn to move the ball ourselves more and connect more. Then I think we'll be more successful in the future.

“A 0-1 loss is not a complete loss in my book,” Hoffmann added. “I think we learned a lot, and they're a great team.”

Santner had similar high hopes going forward.

“One-hundred percent we’re improving,” she said. “The coaches are great, and the players are great. Everyone wants to be here and wants to do better.

“They were definitely a very good team, and it helps us progress as a team. We’ll learn how to play at that level.”

The Rams’ coach also sees a brighter future.

“Our girls are starting to play the way we have asked all season,” Andersson said, “to have composure on the ball and play simple two-touch soccer.

“We saw they are capable of it (vs. Lakes), and we’re excited to see them bring it into the postseason.”

Starting lineups

Grayslake Central
GK: Karlee Santner
D: Jordan Sutter
D: Peyton Hoffmann
D: Kate Kruse
D: Avalyn Woods
M: Ava Henne
M: Madison Hoffman
M: Lila Hartmann
M: Dahlia Rodriguez
M: Mallory Barrows
F: Sara Armstrong

Lakes
GK: Caitlin Pron
D: Lea Rojas
D: Tessa Smith
D: Anya Silber
D: Ella Sager
M: Mia Silber
M: Cici Hopkins
M: Carter Conway
F: Raina Schmitt
F: Caroline Klimas
F: Hannah Rojas

Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match: Mia Silber, sr., MF, Lakes;
Karlee Santner, fr., GK, Grayslake Central

 

Scoring summary

First half
No scoring

Second half
L- Mia Silber (Raina Schmitt), 58’