By Michael Wojtychiw
Lane Tech is the standard of girls soccer in the city of Chicago. The standard surely encompasses Chicago Public League soccer, but also may include the entire city including private schools as well.
A number of talented players have come through the halls of Lane and for the last eight seasons, all winning a city championship. The last time the Champions lost in the city title game was 2014, when they fell to Young, coincidentally Wednesday night’s title game opponent, in penalty kicks. Young’s first-year manager Zoe Saphir was a junior on that team. According to a report by Chicagoland Soccer, she’s also believed to be the first person to both play and coach in a city title game and was hoping to recreate that magic from 10 years ago when the Dolphins took down Lane in the final.
However, it was not to be, as the Champions squeaked by Young 1-0 on a goal by Grace Carman, giving the defending champions their ninth consecutive city championship. in front of a packed Lane Stadium.
Lane (17-2) has dominated city play this season, only giving up two goals each in wins over Amundsen in the season opener and first-round city playoff game. Otherwise, the Champions have shut out every other Public League opponent they’ve faced and had outscored their three CPL playoff opponents by a total of 21-2.
That’s why when the home team came out quickly, it wasn’t shocking. However, it seemed as if that energy dissipated a bit as the half wore on and the Dolphins became more comfortable.
“We came into the game knowing we needed to attack, attack, attack and keep putting pressure on ,” Carman said. “I feel like we had them in the first five minutes of the first half and then we kind of fell back, but going into the second half, we knew we needed to keep that energy going.
“I think there were some nerves for sure. For a number of our players this was their first city final, first time against Whitney. We came out really strong and when we didn’t get those first few opportunities we had, it mellows the team a bit. We weren’t playing to our strengths, we were letting them decide the game and them decide the pace of the game.”
A number of key players have been on the last three city championship teams, players like Carman, Kriti Sevova, Alyssa LoVerde, Olive Tinucci and Jessica Carlson, all players with multiple years of starting experience.
Each team is different, but there’s something that stands out about this one.
Abigail Snowden, a newcomer on this year’s Lane squad, has been really tough on the right sideline and time and time again showcased what she’s best at in the 49th minute by taking the ball down the right boundary, crossing over and giving it back to LoVerde, who put a number of good services into the box.
One of them just happened to get to Carman who was there for the easy goal in the 50th minute.
It was all the Champions needed.
“When I see those balls going down the wing, I kind of hid behind,” Carman said. “Jackson (Caffey) ran in front, which was a perfect run, and it opened all this space for me. That was honestly the best ball. I didn’t have to do anything special. It was the perfect cross.”
With the success of the Red Stars, it’s possible that there hasn’t been more of a buzz around women’s soccer in Chicago as there is right now. That was evident by the enormous crowd that filled one entire side of Lane Stadium.
Classmates, friends, parents, teachers and more packed in to watch an highly anticipated match and they got what they were hoping for.
“It’s incredible to play in front of a crowd like that,” Carman said. “Honestly, I don’t hear the crowd, but you know they’re there and in the back of your mind. ‘Oh my god, what if I mess up, there’s so many people watching me.’
“For me, personally, it makes me want to work harder, it makes me play better. I love the atmosphere, our team loves the atmosphere. We want to be here. We want to have all the fans. This is what we play for.”
Lane, Young, Amundsen and Solorio, the latter two teams the participants in the Windy City Cup, will have the opportunity to take part in an on-field celebration at the Red Stars’ historic game at Wrigley Field on June 8th.
“It’s fantastic,” Carman said. “It’s a huge honor, really, to know that not that many teams get that opportunity and for us to be honored like that shows us that it’s an amazing testament to our hard work.”
Before that though, both teams have some work to do in the state playoffs. Both teams are in the New Trier Sectional, Lane the third seed and Young the eighth. The Champions hope to replicate last year’s run to the sectional final and maybe even more. If Young defeats Jones in the regional semifinal and pulls off the upset in the regional final, most likely against regional host Evanston, Lane and Young will face off again in a sectional semifinal at New Trier.
Photos by Jim Vincent/OSA
Photos by Zara Linneman/Whitney Young senior
Windy City Cup
Amundsen 6, Solorio 0
The Vikings bounced back from their opening-round loss to Lane to take the Windy City Cup over Solorio. Marlowe Buchanan scored her 28th and 29th goals of the year in the win. Elena Avila, Raisa Yullie, Olivia Chier and Angelina Barreno added a goal each.
Photos by Jim Vincent/OSA
