Girls soccer: Ceaser’s 2 goals lead Grayslake North over rival, keep Knights unbeaten

The weight was worth it for Izzy Ceaser and her Grayslake North teammates.

The Knights all-state candidate scored twice and led a strong second half attack to helps the visitors defeat crosstown rival Grayslake Central 3-1 Thursday night at William Eiserman Stadium.

“In my four years, we lost the last two, and tied 5-5 in my freshman year, so this win feels amazing right now,” said Ceaser, who will play in college at West Virginia.

This NLCC opener would feature two the best players in the area in Ceaser and her counterpart, 2024 all-state senior Dahlia Rodriguez, both of them the undeniable leaders of their clubs.

“It’s obviously frustrating to lose tonight here at home. We are in a little bit of a bad stretch right now, but we are also without five starters,” said Rodriguez.

After a first half of play that rarely showed much purpose or possession from both sides, the Knights (6-0-1, 1-0-0) struck first.

Ceaser unloaded a 20-yard blast into the back of the net at 46 minutes, before Ava Aleckson doubled the advantage 10 minutes later with a superb touch into the far inside netting. Ceaser claimed her 14th of the season in the 75th minute with a low drive that was deflected past Rams (2-7-0, O-0-1) keeper Karlee Santner who turned in a wonderful performance all night.

Samantha Guerrier would pull one back four minutes from time off a marvelous cross from Rodriguez.

“Maybe we let a case of the nerves get to us in the first half, but I think you saw what we could do in the second half in order to get this win here tonight,” said Knights coach Adam DeCaluwe.

North will travel to 2A power Deerfield on Saturday, while the Rams host Buffalo Grove on Saturday morning.

“It was a much better effort in the second half. We just now have to get healthy,” said Rams coach Keith Andersson.