Girls soccer: Depleted Dundee-Crown falls to Sycamore

Coach Sebastian Falinski and the Dundee-Crown girls soccer team simply have no interest in moral victories.

With spring break absences and injuries, the Chargers had only one reserve available for Thursday's visit to offensive-minded Sycamore, which entered the match averaging 4 goals per outing.

So the idea that Dundee-Crown kept the host Spartans from scoring in one half simply didn't make up for a 5-0 shutout loss.

"With a 5-0 lead after one half, they were probably instructed to work on different elements of their game. Yeah, we connected a few series of passes better, but it just was not enough," Falinski said. "The fact is our first touches were three or four yards off; just too many careless mistakes and we got outworked digging a hole that was too deep to climb out of."

Sycamore (5-1) cashed in a penalty kick opportunity just 3:36 into the match as Saydie Holland got tripped inside the box and proceeded to park the PK for a quick 1-0 lead. Ella Holland pounced on a scramble near the left post for a goal after 12:11 and had a 26-yard bomb knuckled by wind gusts dip over Charger goalie Taylor Gonio and under the crossbar after 17:38.

Carly Kresge used a Taylor Meier assist to make it 4-0 with 14:19 left in the first half and a wind-aided 33-yarder by Jaquelyn Ortega dipped under the crossbar at 9:37 prior to halftime. Dundee-Crown (1-2) could have trailed by much more if not for Gonio adjusting to some wind-driven curves.

"In the first half we put a lot on net and their goalie really worked hard, but some just managed to get in. However, we didn't have that same presence or touch in the second half. We got too one dimensional," said coach Dave Lichamer, the 14th-year veteran whose Spartans ultimately expect a 10th regional title for 2016.

Sycamore dominated statistically with a 32-8 advantage for overall shots and a 19-3 edge in shots on goal. Gonio had a couple highlight-reel dives to tip or block shots wide, plus defender Isabel Bahena cleared one header off the line after a corner kick.

The Spartans also had a limited bench available and all but a couple starters were on the field throughout the second half when the Chargers still managed to spend more time outside of their defensive end.

"We went into the second half with the mindset that it was 0-0 and that we had to fight as a team, really work for each other," senior Emilie Hilton said. "Once we got away from making individual plays and worked on connecting passes, we moved the ball better; but still not with the finishes we needed or wanted."

Sophomore Anna Kieltyka also acknowledged the improvements fell short of the outcome the Chargers desired.

"Our communications was better and allowed us to connect passes to get the ball up field, but obviously the zero on the scoreboard means we're not happy and know we have more work to do," Kieltyka added.

"For a first time back from a concussion, it was a positive to have Taylor back, but there were a couple I know she's capable of stopping that got in," Falinski added in reference to Gonio, who suffered a concussion in the March 15 season opener.