GURNEE -- Lake Forest senior Sarah Constantine stretched her hand really high to get a little bit of extra height in a memorable leap Thursday night.

And that was just her postgame celebration jump. 

Her work during regulation was even more dynamic. The 5-foot-10 keeper had to make a number of plays in the net that caused her to contort her body to keep shots in front of her.

Constantine closed out a stellar performance with several big-time plays in the final 10 minutes of a 2-1 win over Warren on a night where a stormy forecast pushed the start of the match 15 minutes earlier than originally scheduled. After the final whistle sounded, one Lake Forest fan proudly declared that “the curse is broken.”

With 11.1 seconds left in regulation, Warren All-State forward Addison Stanciak had one final opportunity. Though held scoreless, she attacked the Scouts’ backline all game, testing their ability to maintain focus due to her ability to quickly turn and power shots  toward the goal with her strong right leg.

After a lengthy delay due to a clock issue, Stanciak lined up for a long free kick. The junior, who had scored seven goals and four assists in her previous five games, saw her try go wide. After taking a 2-0 in the first 20 minutes, Lake Forest held off their pesky hosts for a 2-1 North Suburban Conference victory.

The Scouts goals came from Ava Walsh (Hannah Sands assist) and Adah Bodine (Lainey Tabor). Sophie Dolinar halved Warren's deficit in the 37th minute off an assist by Alex Brock. 

Lake Forest clearly enjoyed the overdue victory over Warren. In 2023, the Blue Devils beat the Scouts 2-0, then beat them 2-1 in 2022 and notched a pair of 3-0 wins in 2021. The teams tied 1-1 in 2019.

Stanciak took the defeat hard. She walked away from the postgame handshake line looking to get a few moments to herself. 

The Saint Louis recruit made a point to congratulate the Scouts before going to the near corner of the field.

She said she had a good plan for the final shot of the game but didn't like the delay.

“Personally, I’m not a favorite of the extra time,” Stanciak said of the break during the clock problem. “I hear the stands yelling, their bench yelling and our bench yelling. Everyone organizing in their box. I’m just taking my deep breaths and keeping calm and just trying to focus on what’s in front of me. I know this is probably the last play of the game, and there’s not going to be another chance.

“I knew she’s tall. I had a couple of other shots that went more top shelf, but she had gotten to them. She’s a very good goalie, and we talked about it before the game: she’s tall and corners are where it’s at. I was more focused keeping it more on the ground and placing it on the bottom corner, but from that far out, it just a went little wide.”

The Scouts (5-7-0, 3-3-0) snapped a two-game losing streak to two of the top teams in the conference – Stevenson and Lake Zurich – and also gave Warren its first loss after a five-match unbeaten streak (4-0-1). The Blue Devils (10-6-1, 3-2-1) took the loss hard, especially since they were tied in the loss column with Stevenson and Lake Zurich coming into Thursday’s match. By losing to Lake Forest, the Blue Devils tumbled to fourth place in the conference. The Class AA Scouts sit firmly in fifth place.

Warren coach Ryan McCabe pointed out his team started slow and recognized Constantine’s strong play in between the pipes.

“They outplayed us almost the whole game,” McCabe said. “We had some good spurts, but they outworked us right from the get-go. We focused in our pregame meeting to start fast, but we came out flat. They outworked us and got the 50/50 balls. That’s what happens when you start off on a bad foot.

“We had some shots on frame. We didn’t play great, but we managed to get some good opportunities, especially in the second half. Their goalie was there to make those big saves that most keepers won’t make.”

Lake Forest's Ty Stuckslager kept his words to a minimum in the postgame, preferring his players to talk about the victory. But coach’s postgame smile spoke volumes.

“I think our backs did a good job,” Stuckslager said. “We’ve been working on not allowing people to go through us, and they didn’t. (Stanciak) had a nice turn and a great shot, but Sarah's still got fingertips. It was a quality team, and we played well. It’s good for the girls, because we’ve had a run of hard games.

“Caroline Kaiser was the best midfielder tonight. She was throwing her body all over the field, and she played really well tonight.”

Stanciak adjusted her captain’s armband before firing off a powerful shot toward the goal. Constantine said she was prepared for anything on the final play. She finished with five saves.

Constantine, the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match, said the victory was a good segue into Saturday’s 2 p.m. home nonconference game against New Trier.

“We set up the wall really good. Everyone had really good communication,” she said. “We were all confident. I was confident. We did a good job. I stayed locked in and had good communication and focused on the game and the ball. I think we will have a lot of momentum. 

"We play New Trier next. That’s another team we want to win against, so I think we’ve got some momentum and totally our team is playing well right now. I’m excited for New Trier.”

Constantine is used to athletic success. As a guard/forward on the basketball court, the All-State keeper averaged 11.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.1 blocks per game. 

She recorded a tap-out save on a shot by Stanciak in the 44th minute, her second save of the half. Stanciak didn’t stop, drilling a shot, right to left, that hit off the post in the 52nd minute.

One minute later, Stanciak nearly scored off a header on a corner kick. With 22 minutes left, Stanciak beat two defenders by slithering in between them and fired a shot from 19 yards. Constantine relied on her long arms and leaping ability to tap away the shot.

Lake Forest's strong start shocked the big crowd. Walsh scored the first goal just 10 minutes into the game, blasting a shot from distance.

“Our outside back had the ball. She she brought it to the middle, and I called for it,” Walsh said. “I cut in, and just hit it really hard. It felt good because our team needed the confidence and excitement to keep going. It obviously helped out. We were really energetic the whole game. It feels really good to beat them.”

Ten minutes later, Bodine notched her third goal of the season and first on a header. 

“It was a really good ball from Lainey,” Bodine said. “I screamed because I’ve never scored a header before. Before the game, I always practice in front of Sarah.

"I think as time goes on, we’re working to get better as a team and . It was good to get that early goal. It gave us a lot of confidence. It was a really good game, a fun game.”

Warren couldn't add to Dolinar’s 20-yard score inside the near post.

Despite several other excellent tries, mainly from Stanciak, the Blue Devils weren’t able to squeeze another shot past the long-limbed Constantine.

Warren senior midfielder and captain Reese Mertens said her team came into the game complacent following an 8-0 conference win over Waukegan on Tuesday.

“I think that it was tough to rebound after we started off kind of shaky,” Mertens said. “I think, almost in a way, we underestimated Lake Forest, because we came off having a big win over Waukegan. We were on our high horse. This was a new game. We didn’t really know what to expect, so this is a bump in the road. We didn’t come back after starting off slow in the first 25 minutes.

“The positives were in the second half we came on much harder. We talked at halftime and knew they were going ... to be more physical than us. We came out in the second half much better and started connecting our passes better. We had a lot of opportunities, but we just didn’t finish them. They had a great goalkeeper.”

At the end of the game, Constantine flashed a happy smile discussing the win and shared a unique fact.

“I hadn’t played Warren yet, in all of my three years,” she said. “I got injured before all three games. As a team, we just anticipated (Stanciak's) shot. She has a really good cut each time. I just had to get my feet set and behind me to make a strong save.”

Stanciak said the loss stung/

“This loss affects our conference (standing), and it not on us anymore and about other teams,” Stanciak said. “I think if we had gotten off to a better start that it would’ve affected the rest of the game and maybe we would’ve come out on top. I have to give props to their goalie and their defenders. They were very good.”

Starting lineups

Lake Forest
GK: Sarah Constantine
D: Hanna Sands
D: Ava Walsh
D: Ryan Rice
D: Olivia Auriol
MF: Caroline Kaiser
MF: Chloe Hvostik
MF: Lainey Tabor
MF: Taylor Gaston
F: Lily Remus
F: Adah Bodine
F: Kendall Snodgrass

Warren
GK: Emma Megerle
D: Elise Weidemann
D: Kate Mondejar
D: Mia Gloria
D: Yasmin Lenzi
MF: May Martinek
MF: Reese Mertens
MF: Sofia Ogren
MF: Jelly Amezquita
F: Addison Stanciak
F: Kimberly White
 
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Sarah Constantine, sr., GK, Lake Forest

 
Scoring summary

First half
Lake Forest: Walsh (Sands), 10’
Lake Forest: Bodine (Tabor), 20’
Warren: Dolinar (Brock), 37’

Second half
No scoring