Lancers turn season around
The low point of the season for the College of Lake County women's soccer team also was a turning point.
When the Lancers walked off the field Sept. 1 after a 9-1 loss to nationally ranked Schoolcraft College, they were 1-2 and optimism was in short supply.
First-year coach Dawn Vickers asked the Lancers to learn as much as they could from that embarrassing defeat.
"They were down on themselves, but we had to grow and improve from that experience," Vickers said. "The only way you can do that is to have better practices and play harder."
Since that loss, the Lancers have been a different team. CLC (7-3) won six of its next seven matches, putting the Lancers in the thick of the Skyway Conference race.
"We're communicating so much better than we were earlier in the season," said freshman forward Ally Yarc, a Libertyville graduate. "We're (stringing) our passes and getting used to playing with each other."
CLC's improvement has not gone unnoticed.
"I've got some compliments from coaches and even some refs about how talented this team is," Vickers said. "We definitely want to take that and run."
CLC's most impressive victory during this stretch was a 5-4 win over Waubonsee Community College. Waubonsee is the only team in the conference to defeat Elgin.
CLC lost 4-2 in its first meeting with Elgin and dropped a 3-2 decision on Monday. The Lancers enjoyed a 2-0 lead in that match, only to watch it slip away in the second half.
"We definitely could have beat them," said sophomore Mallery Drozol, a Grayslake Central graduate. "For some reason, we didn't want it as much in the second half."
Added Vickers: "We were off to a great start. The second half just wasn't us."
CLC has showed all season that it can score in bunches. The Lancers have scored at least 3 goals in all of their victories.
CLC's most prolific scorer is Yarc. She has tallied 18 times, which places her in a tie for third in all of NJCAA Division I. Her 9 assists ties her with Melanie Rasor (Mundelein) for the team lead.
"With her speed and talent, she's going to break (some) scoring records," Vickers said.
Freshman midfielder Sharon Kallner (Grant) has notched 8 goals.
"She's got the speed to beat anybody on the outside," Vickers said. "She's a huge threat."