Brown's PK goal lifts Carmel into tie with Lake Forest

Kassidy Brown has earned a reputation for scoring goals the past few years at Carmel Catholic by using her speed and quickness.

Brown discovered a different way to score this week - converting penalty kicks.

Her second PK goal in two days enabled the Corsairs to gain a 1-1 tie against Lake Forest on Friday in the final round of the Carmel quad in Mundelein.

Carmel (1-0-2) finished with the best record among the four teams.

Prairie Ridge and Hersey each were 1-1-1 and Lake Forest was 0-1-2.

Brown's tying goal occurred in the 57th minute, right after a Corsairs player was pushed down in the penalty area on a corner kick.

"Honestly, I really haven't had (a penalty kick) in a long time," Brow said. "I really haven't taken any since last season. We just don't practice them too much.

"I was trying to keep it low to the ground. I was more scared to go wide than over the bar."

The Corsairs had a few other opportunities in the second half, hitting one shot off the post.

But the Corsairs didn't play the style they prefer.

"Possession-wise, we were not good enough, especially in the midfield," said Corsairs coach John Halloran. "Also, up front we're playing kick ball right now. You're just not going to beat good teams like that."

The Corsairs are still trying to find the right combination of veteran players with some newer competitors.

"I think we're set on how we want to be playing and where we want people to play," Halloran said. "There's some chemistry things that have to be worked out. I think everybody needs to trust each other and play 5- to 10-yard passes to the feet."

The Corsairs' defense played a solid game, led by Shannon Kouba, Jessica Gilstrap, Shannon Jung and Helen Wagner. Goalkeeper Maddie Allen made 6 saves, allowing her first goal in three games.

Lake Forest keeper Taylor Edwards made 4 stops as the Scouts' defense held the Corsairs, especially in the second half.

"Overall, we played well and (Carmel) pressured us with a couple of forwards," said Scouts coach Ty Stucklager. "I thought our defense bent and didn't break. Carmel was a good team and they showed their presence in the second half."

The Scouts scored late in the first half on a corner kick. Carmel couldn't clear the ball out of its area, and after a few touches, Haleigh McPeek hit a low line shot off a Corsairs defender to give Lake Forest a 1-0 lead in the 39th minute.

Prairie Ridge 2, Hersey 1: Hersey gave up 2 first-half goals and fell 2-1 to Prairie Ridge in the Carmel quad.

Nicole Pietro scored the goal for the Huskies.

"We came out flat," said Hersey coach Brad Abel. "There wasn't much of a flow in the game. We just didn't come out to play."