Girls soccer: Maine West, Maine East play to a tie
Maine West will take home the East-West Cup for another year, but only after the Warriors (6-3-1, 0-0-1) were held to a frustrating 1-1 girls soccer draw Tuesday night by their crosstown rival Maine East in Park Ridge.
Sarah Magnoni would rescue the Warriors from a loss in their Central Suburban League opener with a magnificent 25-yard finish in the 65th minute to bring the visitors back level in the annual crosstown contest played this season at Maine Memorial Stadium.
"It was a very disappointing night of soccer from us," said Warriors head coach Jeff Bishop, whose club is about to begin a busy stretch that includes a game with Deerfield Wednesday, then a weekend tournament at Niles West.
"We had a real good week at the PepsiCo Showdown, and figured we would come into this rivalry game ready to go but we allowed (East) to dictate things, and just never really got into the way we know we can play."
Head coach Byron DeLeon, who came to the Maine East (3-4-2, 0-1-1) program via St. Viator, deployed a tactical plan which included an aggressive offside trap, while also playing nine behind the ball, all the time looking to counter with speedy forward Angelina Tamez.
"(East) sat in from the opening whistle, and we came out real flat tonight, and we just kind of fell into what they were playing," admitted Magnoni.
One of the most interesting battles on the night was that of the Warriors' leading goal scorer, Dylan Van Fleet, versus the Blue Demons' deep center-back, Cristina Anguiano.
The two stars put on quite a tug-of-war on this chilly night, with each getting the upper hand at times although Van Fleet did manage to put a handful of quality attempts at keeper Olivia Medina.
Van Fleet smashed a close range shot off the bar, then watched teammates Melissa Gomez and Vanessa Reyes go close after her 27th minute effort.
However, despite having most of the possession and pressure, the Warriors found themselves chasing the lead when the aforementioned Tamez latched onto an early ball from Victoria Barrera then finished past a charging Warriors keeper Leslee Ordonez in the 53rd minute.
Magnoni was allowed enough time and space to tee-up her equalizer, but the visitors were unable to find another one before time.
"We'll have to put this frustrating night behind us right away, and turn our focus towards Deerfield and nothing else," said Magnoni.