West Suburban Sports

Porters struggle to find the net in shutout win over Tigers

By Bill Scheibe

A shoulder injury sent Lockport's Alyssa DeYoung to the bench for the better part of a week this spring. And even now, the high shots still tend to be a bit more problematic for the sophomore goalkeeper.

Of course, with 14 minutes and 32 seconds left in the second half Monday, the Porters' burden went right toward that shoulder. DeYoung had to lunge off her goal line to face the breakaway attempt of Joliet West senior midfielder Jackie Wysocki, who unleashed just what the doctor would not order.

The high shot.

"But those are my goals," DeYoung nodded. "When we started, I said I didn't want to let one go over my head and I wanted to throw shutouts. I used to let a lot go over my head, so I was focused on catching the ball. And I didn't want … we worked so hard all game, I didn't want to let my teammates down."

Amid the wintry temperatures of another overcast afternoon, DeYoung did not let up in shutting down the visiting Tigers and delivered four saves – the best of the batch against Wysocki. That preserved her third shutout of the season and a 2-0 SouthWest Suburban Blue victory for the unhappy Porters.

Unhappy? Yes, to a degree, because while Lockport (8-2, 2-0) dominated the compete level, Joliet West (2-8-2, 0-1-0) remained a threat until the end as junior goalkeeper Courtney Robinson notched 24 saves. Several of Robinson's stops were on point-blank shots. Meanwhile, DeYoung battled boredom.

Iowa Wesleyan-bound senior forward Kelly Wetherald tallied a goal and an assist, junior forward Lexi Cozzi contributed a goal and sophomore forward Ally Brehm added an assist as Lockport scored twice in the final 23 minutes of the first half in grabbing a 2-0 halftime lead. After that, nothing found the net.

What developed was soccer's version of the stalemate. Robinson thwarted Cozzi from in tight near the short-side left post a mere 3:56 into the second half, and from there, the Porters kept peppering. However, to salt away a sectional title, a save like DeYoung hung on Wysocki will be necessary.

The big one.

"Yeah, that was," Lockport coach Todd Elkei said. "She did a great job, and she just recently came back from her injury. But we got a little out of position in the back, they got a semi-breakaway there and Alyssa came up really big. She's only a sophomore, so she's going to get even better, too."

"That was the one I would want," Wetherald pointed out. "She worked hard for it. I know I'm not a goalkeeper, but I would be scared in a situation like that and that's the one I would want to stop."

In the first half, it looked like nothing – not even the cold – could stop Lockport from scoring. The Porters struck with 22:59 remaining when Brehm dribbled toward the end line from the left flank and crossed a pass into the middle of the box that Wetherald slightly flicked with her head into the lower-right corner.

"That's what we work on in practice – crossing the ball and trying to get a head on it," Wetherald said. "I think we had a little trouble getting the ball into the back of the net, but the crosses were there. Most definitely, the crosses were there for us offensively, but it was about getting a foot on the ball."

Although inches separated Lockport from being successful at scoring with those feet, the header proved to be as potent as dynamite. With 5:04 to go in the first half, Wetherald completed a rush down the left flank by curving a crisp cross that the taller Cozzi beautifully headed into the wide-open right corner.

The best one.

"It's a little frustrating, though," Elkei said. "It was nice to see it there, but we need a lot more movement up front. When we're coming down, it's like we're on railroad tracks. We just go straight down the field. We need more deception up there to create a base where we can finish things off."

"We had so many shots on goal," Cozzi agreed. "It was a good cross by Kelly and we finally finished one off. We were struggling with our finishing. We were trying to get the ball wide and get some crosses in, and we definitely had a lot of chances, but I don't think we were going hard enough to the net."

Actually, at times, the Porters practically overwhelmed Joliet West in the offensive third, only to be stymied by Robinson. She punched out a half-dozen Lockport corner kicks and collided hard with the charging Cozzi to smother a 2-on-0 breakaway, the latter in the final two minutes of the second half.

"Courtney has been someone who's new this year, it's her first time in goal, but you can tell she has grown into it," Joliet West coach Jeff Lundeen said. "She was awesome today and really kept us in it.

"We tried to talk to the girls about the importance of the first five, 10, 15 minutes, and we just weren't in it during the first half. I don't think we were able to get back into the game at all because of that."

In all, Lockport should have probably scored at least four goals, especially considering the crosses produced by Saint Xavier-bound senior midfielder Cassie Pullia, junior midfielder Sam Spencer and sophomore midfielders Jessica Liutkus and Leah Plescia. It kept Cozzi, Wetherald and Brehm busy.

"We've talked about urgency and attitude, and we have to get that ball into the back of the net whatever what it takes," Elkei said. "It's getting to that time of year where every pass and every shot is important. We're starting to come together, but we're looking for perfection, not just being OK."

Defensively, the Porters were several levels above OK, with sophomores Brynn Feeley and Hannah Pilch handling the center positions like pillars and juniors Lauren Labanauskas and Julie Divita covering up the wings like a wool blanket. Very little got through to DeYoung, who heated up in anticipation of …

The hot shot.

"When you don't get any work for a long period of time, your muscles get cold and then, uhp, there's a breakaway," DeYoung said. "You have to keep your mind in it the whole time and stay focused."