Chicagoland Soccer

Dukes top Jacobs, face Metea in battle of unbeatens
By Matt Le Cren

One team will be knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten when York faces Metea Valley in the championship game of the St. Francis Springfest tournament at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Olympic Park in Schaumburg.

But that matchup nearly didn’t happen because York (4-0) was fortunate to have avoided an upset in rallying to edge Jacobs 2-1 in Tuesday morning’s quarterfinals. The Dukes had a much easier time of it in the semifinal round, blanking Burlington Central 3-0 in the afternoon.

Senior star Christina Ordonez scored twice in both games, giving her seven in four matches this spring and 88 for her career.

The Dukes trailed Jacobs 1-0 in the second half when the opportunistic Ordonez got the equalizer in the 46th minute. Junior midfielder Judith Flore fired a shot from the left wing that Jacobs goalie Alyssa Koeppler saved but couldn’t hang on to near the left post. Ordonez was there for the easy finish.

“We emphasize following on the shots and that’s exactly what Christina did,” York coach Chris Halupka said. “That’s what she does. She steps on the field and she scores goals.”

Ordonez, who had a hat trick in Monday’s 6-0 win over Maine West in the opening round, said a forward has to be ready to pounce on any opportunity.

“One of the things we try to do is follow up on shots as much as we possibly can because, especially with the wind, you never know what’s going to happen,” she said. “I saw Judith shoot it and it was a really good shot and the goalie saved it. It popped out, so I followed it in.”

Ordonez followed that goal with another nine minutes later, a penalty kick with about five minutes remaining after freshman forward Alyssa Kovatchis was tripped in the box and she tried to dribble towards the goal.

Jacobs (3-2), which later beat Glenbard East 2-1 and will play St. Francis in the fifth-place match at 11 a.m. Wednesday, was unable to mount an attack after that, foiled in their attempt to score into the teeth of a biting wind that had plagued York in the first half.

“Today’s game with the shorter [30-minute] halves and the wind playing such a huge role, it was obviously a game of halves,” Halupka said. We were taking goal kicks and reaching 25 yards out. Obviously you’re automatically under pressure from the elements.

“They had tall girls who were trying to win head balls and play the ball forward. I think we did a good job of competing in the first half.”

Indeed, the Dukes were outshot 7-5 and York goalie Anna Bell Lansdowne was kept busy directing traffic in the 18 and cutting off dangerous crosses. The junior made three saves on the day but was unable to stop a 16-yard rocket that Cassidy Sherman fired under the crossbar to give the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead in the 26th minute.

Lansdowne leaped and got a hand on the ball but not enough to stop it from hitting the top netting.

“I think I could have probably saved it if I had it over again, but it was a pretty hard shot,” Lansdowne said. “Basically everything they hit had a lot of velocity on it. Everything we hit just didn’t seem to get out of our half, so basically they were always coming at us, but I think our defense stayed strong in only letting up one goal.”

York, which nearly tied it late in the half when a shot by senior forward Courtney McHugh hit the intersection of the crossbar and the right post, finally got its offense in gear in the second half. The Dukes peppered Koeppler, who finished with 10 saves, with 11 shots after intermission and gave up only two shots.

But Jacobs barely missed extended its lead to 2-0 in the 44th minute. Lansdowne dove to her right to parry a 20-yard rocket by Sherman, but Lizzie Travis tracked down the ball in the left side of the box and sent a cross through the crease that barely missed the outstretched foot of Lauren Grady, who would have had an easy tap-in on the far post.

Grady thought she was fouled on the play but there was no call. “I was going to kick it and then the next thing I knew I was on the ground.”

“It’s a game of chances,” Halupka said. “Lucky for us it didn’t end up in the back of the net.”

Ordonez scored the tying goal two minutes later, changing the complexion of the game. But Grady said the Golden Eagles performed well in defeat.

“It is disappointing. It leaves a bitter taste in our mouths but we’re going to go into our next game and come out and play our best and not hold back,” Grady said. “I definitely feel that we’re going to get stronger. We’re getting support in our formation and we’re working as a unit more. We just need to push the ball forward and convert on the offensive end.”

Ordonez for one recognized how hard it was to knock off the Golden Eagles.

“It was definitely a hard-fought game,” Ordonez said. “Size-wise they’re definitely a bigger team than us, but I think we ended up matching up well. We played physical and we played hard.”

That drew praise from Halupka.

“Regardless of the wind, I think we were able to control the game in the second half,” Halupka said. “We were able to create some chances and our team has a way of fighting back from being down and we were able to find a way to get two goals and get the win.”

In the win over Burlington Central (2-2), Lansdowne and backup Anne DiCanio, who played the final 15 minutes, shared the shutout, with Lansdowne recording two saves before the break, including a leaping effort to punch a 32-yard free kick over the bar.

Ordonez scored the first two goals, both in the first half. The first was a header off a cross from Kovatchis and the second a short volley off a pinpoint serve by McHugh.

Kovatchis finished the scoring in the second half with her second tally of the season.

“Alyssa has been doing great for us whether it’s been as a forward or as an outside midfielder,” Halupka said. “She has so much composure on the ball as a young player. She can take people on and has the ability to score with the right foot and the left foot.

“She doesn’t play like a freshman and we don’t want her to. We want her to step up and dominate and that’s really what she’s doing right now. It’s a pleasure to add another player to our attack.”