Slow start hurts Huskies in 1-0 WSC Silver loss to Dukes

By Matt Le Cren

Oak Park-River Forest coach Paul Wright was pleased with how his squad played during the second half against York but he didn't like how they started off the match.

And the fact that the Huskies couldn't put together a complete effort hurt their cause in Tuesday's West Suburban Conference Silver Division game with the Dukes.

In a match of two different halves, York took a 1-0 halftime advantage and Oak Park couldn't get the equalizer in the second half as the Dukes hung on for a 1-0 win in Elmhurst.

"We were very timid to the ball in the first half," Wright said. "Instead of trying to win the first ball we were trying to play off the second ball.

"We're already in a position where we're saying we're defeated by letting them win the ball, so we talked about it at halftime that we're not this type of team."

The strong second half effort by the Huskies (3-3-1, 0-1) didn't provide much consolation for the Huskies coach.

“As you can see in the second half, we came out and probably won the second half, but that doesn't matter unless you win the first half," Wright said.

"We just have to play a full 80 minutes. If we can't do that, we're going to have problems. Hopefully we can build on the second half for the games coming down the line."

Indeed, Wright did like the effort several of the Huskies turned in against an offense that had scored 22 goals in its first eight matches, including six in the second half of a 6-1 win over Downers Grove North.

"We've got some quality kids that battle hard," Wright said. "I thought Maggie Tansey had a phenomenal effort in the back. She cleared a lot of balls for us.

"Jessica Luttrell has been battling very hard in the middle. Stephanie Sullivan, our stopper, shut down pretty much the entire middle. She made one mistake and Vujovic punished us on it, but it's still very early."

No matter where she plays on the field, York junior Danielle Vujovic seems to have Oak Park's number.

Last season the attacking midfielder scored a goal in helping the Dukes beat their West Suburban Conference Silver Division rivals 3-0 in a regional championship game.

When the two sides met Tuesday in Elmhurst, Vujovic began the game in the midfield but ended it playing defense and had a key role in preserving York's victory.

"I saw how strong they were coming up with their forwards and we were only up one goal, so I had to help back," Vujovic said.

"We kind of started losing our momentum, so I just decided to drop back and help out because we couldn't let up a goal."

After being held without a shot in the first half, the visiting Huskies outplayed the Dukes (7-2, 2-0) for the majority of the second half.

That was especially the case in the final 20 minutes when junior Jessica Luttrell began to take control of the midfield.

Oak Park took three corner kicks during that time, but Vujovic headed each ball out of trouble. She also snuffed the Huskies' final, and perhaps best, scoring chance with 1:10 remaining.

Sara McCall had passed into the penalty area to Emily Plourde, who got around one defender just 10 yards from the net, only to have the ball taken away by Vujovic.

"I'm proud of the way I played," said Vujovic, who doesn't mind where she plays as long as it helps the team win.

"For corner kicks I stay free because I like to win head balls, so I just have to judge and then I get up there and get them."

Vujovic's support helped firm up a defensive unit that didn't panic under the pressure.

Juniors Taylor Vanarro and Meryl Cripe and sophomore Abbey Wilkins played well in front of freshman goalie Anna Bell Lansdowne, who made two saves and ably cut off several crosses to record her third shutout.

"She's an all-around great player," York coach Rachael Shepherd said of Vujovic, a three-year starter who played forward as a freshman before switching to midfield last year. She's really done an excellent job in the middle.

"She may be one of the shortest players on the field but she's our best 50/50 ball winner. She's really come a long way and has been with us since she was a freshman and she really continues to grow."

Oak Park coach Wright was complimentary, as well.

"She's a quality player," Wright said. "She's everywhere on the field. You've got to respect that. They defended well as a unit."

York dominated the first half, holding the ball in the attack zone for much of the initial 40 minutes.

Despite that, the Dukes only managed six shots because defenders Maggie Schurr, Victoria Gullo, Maggie Tansey and Stephanie Sullivan shined and goalkeeper Katie Oldach came up with two of her five saves.

The hosts nearly took the lead midway through the opening period when sophomore Courtney McHugh dribbled around a defender and hit the crossbar from 12 yards out and Oldach saved Nicole Foster's rebound shot.

But just when it appeared Oak Park had weathered the storm and would head into intermission with a scoreless tie, York struck for the game's only goal. Vujovic won a ball in midfield and got it to McHugh on the right wing.

McHugh split two defenders with a left-footed pass up the wing to Christina Ordonez, who used to her speed to streak past a defender and tuck an eight-yard shot between Oldach and the right post with 50 seconds left in the half.

"I really was impressed today with Courtney up front with Christina," Shepherd said. "As a staff we will probably try to make that switch as much as possible to get her back up front.

"Normally [McHugh] plays out wide. I don't know if she gets more opportunities up front but she really does great with the ball at her feet."

You would think a goal just before the break would have given the Dukes a huge boost, but the opposite was true.

As well as York played in the first half, Oak Park matched it in the second half.

"We definitely played a lot better first half than we did second half," Shepherd said. "We live and learn. Each game is a new lesson and the lesson of today's game is you've got to keep your intensity level up no matter what's going on.

"If you have a great first half you have to continue that through the second half. You can never come back down. We came back down and it hurt us."

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