Girls soccer: Warren preps for voyage with win over York

Before Warren's girls soccer team heads to St. Louis next weekend for spring break, the Blue Devils got in one final tuneup.

Warren hosted York on a chilly, rainy Saturday in Gurnee and came away with its third nonconference victory of the week. The Blue Devils erupted for six goals in the second half en route to a 7-1 victory.

It was a 1-1 game at halftime.

"We were a little slow coming out," Warren coach Ryan McCabe said. "I talked to the girls before the game about the cold and rain, but I think they needed to get hit first to wake them up a bit. We won't be able to do that many times."

The Blue Devils (3-0) have scored 16 goals in their three contests. They shut out their first two opponents.'

"We have some balance. A lot of girls can step up and score," McCabe said. "If (opponents) try to close one girl down, we have other options we can use as well. The girls are confident in each other and use their other options to still be successful."

York (3-2) scored just eight minutes into the match, when Jenna Dvorak converted a header off a Jenna Lundgren corner kick.

Warren's Kayla Malaker tied score in the 30th minute after winning a ball from a defender.

With the wind at their back in the second half, the Blue Devils pushed forward relentlessly. Lindsey Hardiman found Courtney Chomko making a run to the left post, and Chomko finished for the go-ahead goal in the 52nd minute.

"I saw a lot of open space, so I went out and came back inside," Chomko said. "Lindsey saw me and fed it right to me. I just placed it right on the goal."

The goals kept coming. Alissa Ramsden, Kaitlyn Chomko, Ellen Szostak and Ayusha Ayalur scored, before Courtney Chomko netted her second goal of the match. Alliyah Parker and Ramsden also had assists for Warren.

"We did (in the first half) what we usually do - play aggressively and win some balls," York coach Don Vana said. "(Warren) didn't get anything to build and we didn't get anything to build. It was a mix back and forth. It was a good, grinding game until the second half. We stopped going to the ball hard and (Warren) went harder. They were more skilled than us. It was very humbling. We'll go from here and build from it."

Skylar Reilly had 3 saves in net for Warren, which will play a pair of Missouri teams in the Parkway Showcase. The Blue Devils will face Marquette on Friday and Incarnate Word on Saturday.

"I wanted to go somewhere during Spring Break and get some quality games in," McCabe said. "There are some high-quality teams that will be a good test for us. It's something that will prepare us for conference, PepsiCo (tournament), regionals and sectionals."