Daleske, Lake Zurich make it three straight in NSC
Elly Daleske has played in three North Suburban Championship games for Lake Zurich's girls soccer team.
In all three, the goalkeeper has added to the Bears' winning tradition.
Lake Zurich made it a three-peat with a 4-0 road victory over Lakes in NSC title game in Lake Villa on Thursday night.
Claire Skowron, Nicole Rasiarmos, Carolyn Radecki and Jordan Jackson scored for the Bears, and Meaghan Gelinas contributed a pair of assists.
Daleske played her first NSC championship game as a freshman. That one lasted four overtimes and shootout kicks, with LZ gaining a win over Vernon Hills.
Last season, the same two teams met again, with the Bears taking the match in regulation.
This time, as a junior, Daleske made a pair of saves for her 12th shutout of the season.
"It's a great feeling each year," Daleske said. "I think each year, we feel that we want to win it more and more to show what we've got. It's important to us to have that goal. Each year is a battle with a different team. We find a way to overcome it."
Lake Zurich (15-2-1) is unbeaten over its last nine games (8-0-1), while Lakes fell to 12-5.
"It's all the hard work for the girls this season," Lake Zurich coach Michael Castronova said. "Every game in our conference is tough, and every game in our division is a battle."
The Bears - a team that normally plays on field turf - took some time to adjust to the natural grass surface at Lakes before scoring twice in each half.
"It did take us a bit of time to get used to it," Castronova said. "It was an adjustment, and our first touch was off a bit. But a win is a win, especially in a conference championship."
Skowron put the Bears on the board first with an assist from Gelinas in the fourth minute. Gelinas assisted on the second goal in the 17th minute as Rasiarmos found the back of the net for a 2-0 lead.
Lake Zurich added two unassisted second-half goals, with Radecki scoring in the 62nd minute and Jackson getting the final goal six minutes later.
The Prairie Division champions gave it their best shot and were able to apply some pressure but ultimately couldn't mount a comeback against the Bears.
"The kids did well to be in a position to play in this game," said Lakes coach Kevin Kullby said. "We did have some difficult wins over Vernon Hills and Antioch. That's a credit to our kids' mentality, and it's much appreciated to get into a game like this. The pace and the quality of the game was a little stronger. Lake Zurich did a good to pounce on our shortcomings.
"I hope this is a wake up call to our team to play with a little more purpose, and maybe it can help us in the upcoming (Class 2A) regional."