Feeley goal the difference as Porters get past Andrew

 

By Randy Whalen

"That's a nice shot."

Anyone on the sideline probably heard Lockport Township coach Todd Elkei exclaim that as he saw senior midfielder Brynn Feeley launch a laser from 35 yards or so away with just over 18 minutes left in a scoreless game on Thursday.

By about the time Elkei finished his sentence the ball was settling in the upper right corner of the back of the net.

It proved to be the only goal as the host Porters held off Andrew 1-0 in a SouthWest Suburban Conference crossover filled with end-to-end action.

"I knew it as soon as she hit it," Elkei said of Feeley's finish. "You could just hear the good thump of her foot. It was a laser and a nice shot."

The goal came with 18:01 remaining in the contest and proved to be the only score in a game filled with numerous opportunities.

Lockport, which improved to 2-0-1, had 15 shots in the game and Porter senior goalie Alyssa DeYoung made seven saves in registering her first shutout of the season.

But the goal was especially nice for Feeley, who missed nearly all of last season with an ACL injury in her right knee.

"This is my third varsity season, but I only played about 10 minutes toward the end of last year before reinjuring my knee and sitting out the rest of the season," Feeley said.

"I was playing defense before, but moved to midfield this year and it's nice to be a little more offensive minded."

Sophomore midfielder Alexis Hernandez got the assist on the play.

She suffered a concussion in the Porters' opening game of the season, a 1-1 tie at Stagg on March 14, and this was her first game back. Her effort to regain possession of the ball started the winning sequence.

"I lost the ball, but then I got it back," Hernandez said of the play. "It was a battle out there and I just reacted and got the ball to Brynn. It was an awesome shot."

Feeley felt good when she took the shot.

"Lexi passed it and I just let it come to me," she said. "We talked at halftime about turning through the ball, so I relaxed and just did that."

Elkei said the goal was deja vu all over again.

"Brynn did the same thing from the same spot as a sophomore," he said of Feeley scoring a goal in the Porters 3-1 win over Andrew on March 31, 2011.

"She did everything to come back from the ACL injury. This season we needed a center mid, and she's got the talent and skill to do that.

"This is our sixth time outside all season, three games and three practices. We have a lot of new people in different positions. Andrew is always a good team and we look to improve when we play them."

Andrew, which fell to 2-2, had some opportunities to get the equalizer.

Just over two minutes later senior defender Emma Peele had a shot sail wide left and then, with 14 minutes to play, the Thunderbolts had a restart from just above the top of the box, but an attempt by junior midfielder Sydney Gountounas sailed over the net.

Senior midfielder Lauren Bialas had an opportunity for Andrew with 13:19 remaining, but her chip shot on goal was grabbed by DeYoung. The final T-Bolt chance came when Gountounas crossed a ball to Bialas, who headed it left of the goal with 10:47 to play.

"They're a really good team," Andrew coach Loren Zolk said of the Porters. "I just knew that one goal was going to win it. They hit a nice shot from far out."

Lockport had numerous opportunities in the first half. The best chances were off shots by senior forward Ally Brehm and junior forward Lacey Clarida, who had a header turned back by senior goalie Kaitlyn Kosary with 13:28 left in the opening half.

Sophomore midfielder Taylor Stortz had a couple of good shots too, one in each half, that were turned back.

Gountounas had a nice shot in traffic with just under eight minutes to play in the first half, but DeYoung went to her knees to make the save.

She had another opportunity in the second half, that took a quick bounce in front of DeYoung, and the senior came up with one of her seven saves.

DeYoung did the same off a bouncer by Bialas in the opening three minutes of the second half. She had 13 shutouts last season and knows how to play the hops on the Lockport field.

"Those bouncers are hard to judge," DeYoung said. "Sometimes I don't know how they are going to go and if I should scoop them up or jump up from them.

"There's a lot of pressure, but you have to make saves. The team is counting on you to make that save and I think my heart stopped on a couple of them."

The victory was so exciting for DeYoung, a third-year varsity player, that she called it her favorite game she's played in so far at Lockport.

"I liked this win the best," she said. "That's because I could see it all mesh together and it was awesome. We lost a lot of good players from last season [sectional final team], but we gained a lot of good players this season, too."