Girls soccer: Good signs in this setback for Round Lake
Round Lake's girls soccer program found plenty of success last year, and appears the Panthers are intent on extending the good vibes this season.
Returning junior midfielder and all-sectional player Alexandria Wawrzyniak scored her fourth goal in her third game of the season Monday, but it wasn't quite enough as Round Lake fell short to host Highland Park 2-1 in nonconference play.
The Panthers (2-1) won a pair of games on Saturday in part of the Harvard invitational, shutting out host Harvard 3-0 in the opener and roaring past Rockford Auburn 7-1.
On Monday, Highland Park (1-2) earned its first win of the season after a pair of losses - 7-0 to Warren and 2-0 against New Trier - on Friday and Saturday.
For Round Lake, the biggest struggle was trying to deal with the gusty winds and controlling the ball on the ground.
"Today, the weather was kind of a factor, along with the turf," Wawrzyniak said. "The ball was rolling much faster. In the first half, the wind was for us and the ball was rolling faster. Then, the second half we were against the wind and it was pushing the ball back. It did make the game a lot tougher. It was tough to create and you had to play the ball perfectly to get balls through."
The Giants found a pair of goals in the first half, despite those strong winds.
Sarah Shiner set up both goals. On the first, she provide a cross for Kirby Bartelstein, who finished for a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute. Jolie Carl scored the second goal for Highland Park off the assist from Shiner in the 17th minute.
Round Lake got a goal back late in the half. Dana Devera made a move for the ball in the penalty area and was tackled and fouled on the play. The Panthers were awarded a penalty kick, and Wawrzyniak slotted the ball into the corner to make it 2-1 in the 37th minute.
"I usually don't take PKs, but I think when I took that, it was a confidence-booster for me," Wawrzyniak said. "It's something I needed, and the team needed."
Panthers junior keeper Giselle Raygoza made 8 of 12 of her stops in the second half as Highland Park had the wind behind it.
"Coming in here against Highland Park, the result means a lot," Round Lake coach Josue Jimenez said. "Highland Park is always a good team. My girls knew that and they worked really hard. I know we had a lot of factors, with the wind and the turf. I know we lost, but I'm happy with the way we worked and things are looking better on the Round Lake side."
The Giants came in with the idea of finding their own offense, but instead spent plenty of effort dealing with Round Lake's.
"We wanted to have an offensive output after being shut out in our first two games," Highland Park coach Katie Straka said. "We did get off to a good start offensively. I was really impressed with Round Lake, they have some exciting players. Their keeper (Raygoza) was making some amazing saves. The rest of the team worked out really well."