Scouts battle but fall 2-0 to Loyola
By Mike Garofola

With the state tournament series growing ever closer, Class 2A Lake Forest stepped away from the NSC for a day to test itself against one of the best teams in 3A.

The Scouts hosted high-profile Loyola (15-2-2) on the turf at its west campus Monday night, and although they fell short in a tightly-contested 80-minute match, the home side showed it can play with some of the best.

That’s good news for Lake Forest coach Ty Stuckslager with the approaching 2A playoffs just a fortnight away.

"We had some trouble in the first 15-20 minutes, but we settled in after that and I can tell you that I felt very good about our effort, and with the way we played in the second half, and that says a lot about this team moving forward," Stuckslager said.

"Ty does a great job and it's a really quality program, that's for sure," countered Loyola coach Craig Snower.

"Lucy (Edwards) is a top 5 talent in my opinion, and Carly (Hoke) is a dangerous player as well for them. It was a very good game -- up and down at times -- and I’m sure Ty is very happy with the way his team played tonight."

Monday’s game was a rematch of sorts between the 2012 contestants in the Pepsi Showdown championship match at Toyota Park, one in which the Ramblers won 1-0 and one that a few still remember.

"There was a little bit of revenge on our minds, but it was really about coming out and playing well against a state-ranked team, and to see where we are right now," said Lake Forest’s MacKenzie Mick.

Mick’s brilliant clear off the line at 58 minutes kept the Ramblers from doubling their lead, while providing inspiration for a rampant Scouts (5-2-5) fight-back which saw them appear to draw even, and then nearly put another into the back of the net before the final whistle.

Loyola got off to a rip-roaring start, taking the lead in the 7th minute when Devin Burns struck her angled shot from the near post endline into the far inside netting.

"We started out so flat, and that's not something we can’t do if we expect to compete with teams like Loyola, or New Trier (on the Scouts schedule at the end of the week) or in the playoffs in two weeks," offered Hoke.

"They used the wind in the first half really well, and were all over us, but we came back in the second half and had control of things. We had our chances, too."

The visitors owned most of the possession after the Burns opener, especially in the final third, but Snower’s club lacked the killer touch at the end to increase its lead. "It could have been 2 or 3-0, but that's soccer," said Snower.

A nice early ball from Paige Bourne helped put Hoke through, and although the Scouts’ striker was able to beat one defender, the rest of a stingy backline from the Ramblers tackled the talented sophomore before she could get in on keeper Brittany San Roman.

With the Loyola midfield duo of Tori Iatarola and Natalie Joyce showing a high work rate and ability to win balls and distribute, coupled with the Ramblers’ backline coming forward more often to join the attack, Scouts junior Edwards was unable to instigate much as she was forced to withdraw and defend the extra numbers Loyola was adding to the mix.

"They had most of the possession in the first half, and we had to kind of weather the storm during that time,” Stuckslager said. “But we talked about that at the half made a few adjustments, and then it was an entirely different second half of soccer," said a pleased Stuckslager.

Mick, Dani Loeger, Kendall Hoke and Sydney Johnston did their best to stay organized while the Ramblers created several first-period opportunities, including a couple of good looks on frame from Kathryn Cichon and Burns, who teamed with older sister Corey in the final moments of the half to force Scouts’ keeper Liz Clark to make a strong save.

But the Scouts would start brightly after the intermission, and immediately put San Roman and her backline mates under pressure.

A well-paced long throw from Kendall Hoke forced Loyola’s Elle Zadina to parry away the dangerous toss out of the area. Moments later, Clark's 60-yard wind-aided punt bounded over the Ramblers back four and put Carly Hoke and San Roman in a 50-50 situation, with the Loyola keeper narrowly winning the battle.

"I think we used the wind well and to our advantage in the second half, and we really had them on their heels for a long time," Mick said.

MacKenzie took a sure goal off the line by Devin Burns in the 57th minute after Cichon got things started with a shot from the right side which was blocked going in.

On the other end, San Roman was able to get just the tip of her right glove on a bouncing ball off the foot of Allie Banta.

With their confidence soaring, the Scouts became more clever in the attack and a lovely combination saw Jenny McKendry send a quality ball in from the right - and off a Loyola defender - nearly resulting in an own goal.

Officials tossed the Ramblers a lifeline in the 75th minute after Paige Bourne's shot from the flag appeared to end up just inside the far post. However, after a long discussion by the center official and his A.R., the Scouts were instead given a corner.

"I am not sure exactly what happened but the ball went into the back of the net, so maybe in the end it’s 1-1, and not 2-0, but that's kind of the way it goes," said a diplomatic Carly Hoke, who with Mick alongside her afterwards, handled the question with class and sportsmanship.

"The officials have had a rough day as far as I am concerned," Snower said. "They could have easily given a PK to both teams, and I don't know what happened on that corner for Lake Forest, but regardless of all that, it was still a great game."

Adrian Walker smashed a wicked shot at San Roman at 79 minutes after the Ramblers failed to clear, and when the wayward ball spilled to Walker, the freshman nearly made the most of her chance.

Devon Burns would score a consolation goal in the 80th minute to finish the scoring.

“It was a much closer match than the 2-0 result shows," said Stuckslager. "We played a little nervous at the start, but we also had more underclassmen than Craig did in our starting lineup.

"Either way, I am very proud of our effort and with our ability to play and not back down from a big, strong 3A team. We'll be ready for this type of soccer when the playoffs begin."

The Scouts are still in the hunt for a Lake Division crown in the NSC, and their quest to do so continues on Wednesday at Lake Zurich, followed by an NSC regular-season finale on Thursday against North Chicago.

The Scouts are 2-0-3 in the division.