Girls soccer: Lake Park, Glenbard North play to a scoreless tie

Lake Park senior midfielder AnneMarie Ahrens slowly walked around in a haze trying to collect her thoughts during the final seconds of Wednesday's home girls soccer game against Glenbard North.

As the clocked ticked down, Ahrens watched the ball being kicked around before the final whistle sounded in a 0-0 tie against the Panthers in DuKane Conference action.

Ahrens, a four-year varsity player set to play soccer at College of DuPage, admitted it was a strange ending for Senior Night.

"We had so many opportunities and just couldn't capitalize on them," Ahrens said. "It's been four years, but technically really three, but I have to admit this is probably the favorite team for me to play on. I took the center backs under my wing. They were like my soccer kids. It's hard when you see them give their all for you, so to tie at 0-0 is hard. I needed a minute to collect my thoughts after the game."

In a battle of teams desperate for a win, the Lancers (1-9-4, 1-9-2) and the Panthers (0-15-1, 0-11-1) both left the field with a tinge of disappointment. The Panthers finished with 2 shots on goal and had 2 goals negated due to offsides calls.

Glenbard North sophomore goalie Adriana Ruffalo recorded her first career shutout, tallying 4 saves in the 80-minute game. Three of Ruffalo's saves came in a 2-plus minute segment late in the second half.

"I was just hoping they wouldn't score, so we could get that shutout and get that point on the board," Ruffalo said. "I'm glad the way we ended."

The Lancers made some changes in their lineup to allow their eight seniors to receive additional playing time. Senior Emma Thorne, a goalie all season, played in the field for the first time all season. Her aggressiveness sparked the Lancers early in the first half. Senior Emma Mangialardi was called up to the varsity for the first time this season to play goalie in place of Thorne. Mangialardi netted 2 saves in her debut in the net.

"I haven't played since sophomore year on the field, and it's Senior Night, so this was my one request," Thorne said. "I'm so thankful for Emma to play goalie. This was fun."

Lake Park junior forward Anna Odisho nearly ended the scoreless drought with back-to-back shots in a 21-second span in the second half. "Our shots were mainly from way outside the box and everyone was tired at the end of the game," Odisho said. "I just tried to get on frame and get under it and get a nice hit on it."