Girls soccer: Brown scores, Lorkowski soars for key save as Burlington Central tops Jacobs

Senior defender Ali Kowall was looking to make a simple pass.

Instead, she found fellow senior Grace Brown knifing through the middle of the Jacobs defense during the 29th minute of Burlington Central’s Fox Valley Conference girls soccer match against the Golden Eagles. Sensing a chance for a big play, Kowall blasted a long through ball over the middle as Brown sprinted inside of the Jacobs box.

“I was actually looking to find feet, because I thought connecting was helping us,” Kowall said. “I was like, ‘I’ve just got to send it,’ because we were getting stuck back in our lines. I saw Grace and played it over.”

Kowall’s pass rolled perfectly to the feet of Brown, who placed her right foot on the ball and sent it into the back left corner of the net. It was the deciding goal of the match, as the Rockets overcame a second-half push from the Golden Eagles to earn a 1-0 win.

Central (6-5, 3-0 FVC) remained unbeaten in conference with the victory.

“They were playing a sweeper backline, so I just kind of stepped off and made my run more wide so that the ball would play perfectly in front,” Brown said. “Their center backs just kind of got lost, and I was able to keep going all the way in. We’re making sure we communicate, especially on the wings, which is where we see a lot of our success.”

In a match that played out almost evenly, Central and Jacobs (2-7-2, 0-2 FVC) each had three shots on goal in the first half. The Rockets had promising chances early, but Jacobs keeper Addison Hunsicker dove for a save in the second minute, and Central forward Sydney Batts belted a shot that soared just over the bar in the sixth minute.

Facing a one-goal deficit in the second half, Jacobs nearly equalized only a minute in. After earning a corner kick in the 41st minute, Kylie Deegan fired a shot that zoomed just wide of target. Deegan put a second shot on that narrowly missed the net in the 43rd minute.

The Golden Eagles’ best chance to tie came in the 52nd minute, when a handball foul rewarded Jacobs with a free kick from just outside the Central box. Sophomore midfielder Clare Leib aimed for the upper left corner and hit her target, but an athletic leaping save from Central keeper Kenzie Lorkowski sent the ball out of play.

“She was right-footed, so I knew she was going to try and aim back post,” said Lorkowski, a Louisiana Tech recruit. “I set my wall up to cover the front half of my goal, and she hit the ball pretty well. I knew I had to get a touch on it, because I knew this was going to be a close game. If I didn’t made that save, it could’ve been the difference.”

Jacobs kept the pressure on over the middle phase of the second half. But the Central backline, led by Kowall, continuously intercepted balls and forced them out of play.

Tuesday’s shutout was Central’s second in conference play and its fourth of the season. Lorkowski had nine saves for the Rockets, who face Prairie Ridge on the road Thursday.

“Our communication was definitely very important, because we kept covering each other,” Kowall said. “If someone went out, we’d rotate right through, and then we had Kenzie in the back covering us.”

Hunsicker totaled eight saves for the Golden Eagles, who continue to make strides with a young lineup that features several freshman and sophomore players. One mistake was the difference for Jacobs, which used its improved physicality on defense to keep the Rockets at bay.

Jacobs will host McHenry on Thursday seeking its first FVC victory.

“With our girls, it’s a confidence piece,” Jacobs coach Colin Brice said. “They had that confidence going into the second half, and we did a lot of good things. Unfortunately, we didn’t connect through the middle and find that final piece inside the box.

“I’m super proud of the effort they put in tonight in creating a lot of chances in the second half.”