Girls Soccer State Finals | De La Salle takes fourth in fist state finals appearance
By Steve Millar
Correspondent
Taking the field at the state finals for the first time in program history, De La Salle junior midfielder Imani Coleman did her best to soak in the feeling.
“It was a big moment,” Coleman said of that moment on June 2. “We didn’t really know what it was going to be like but we were excited for the environment. We’re proud of what we’ve done so far and we just wanted to try to do our best out there.”
The Meteors battled through a pair of tough losses at state — falling 4-1 to eventual champion Chatham Glenwood in the semifinals and 5-1 to Crystal Lake Central in the third-place game — and finished fourth in Class 2A.
The finish earned them the first state trophy in any girls sport at De La Salle.
“It’s just really exciting,” junior midfielder Samantha Velasco said. “To be honest, it’s just great being here. Our team bonding has been great.”
De La Salle (17-5-5) fell into a quick early hole in the semifinal as Glenwood (22-4-1) scored just 83 seconds into the match, with Rowann Law finding the net off a free kick from Erin Mansfield.
“It’s really tough to give up a goal that early,” De La Salle coach Carlos Nunez said. “We gave them that opportunity and they made us pay for it. That’s going to happen against good teams.”
The Meteors kept it at 1-0 until Haden Vlcek scored on a pair of headers, one late in the first half and one early in the second half, to give the Titans a comfortable 3-0 lead.
It was 4-0 before Velasco broke the shutout, scoring her second goal of the season on a free kick.
“We’re always looking for her to shoot even more,” Nunez said of Velasco. “We hope she can do some big things for us next season.”
Coleman said it was tough for the Meteors to prepare for a team like Glenwood, which is located over 200 miles from Chicago, just south of Springfield.
“We tried to do our homework, but obviously we’re not from there,” Coleman said. “We can’t just go out and watch their game. But we knew the players who were some of their top scorers and figured they’d get the ball a lot. They did and we tried to slow that down, but that’s easier said than done.”
Senior goalkeeper Emily Samuels made eight saves for the Meteors. One of four seniors on the De La Salle roster, Samuels took the loss hard.
“I’m a senior, so usually I wouldn’t be worked up,” Samuels said. “But being here at state, it was hard to lose. I accepted it, but knowing these are my last moments on this team, I want to do my best and I feel like I played well, but I didn’t do the best I could have.”
In the third-place game, Crystal Lake Central (19-4) scored three goals in the first half and built a 4-0 lead before junior defender Lauren Torres scored for De La Salle on a penalty kick with 16:53 to play.
Samuels had eight saves.
Samuels knows the Meteors have come a long way. The program had not even won a regional title prior to the 2022 season.
“Coming in my freshman year, which was the COVID year, I would never thought we would have gotten to this point,” Samuels said. “I feel like I’ve really grown goalie-wise and with emotions and mentally. Each year we get better and better and I have no doubt that even though I won’t be there, whoever the goalie is, they’re going to be back at state again.”
Local News
Mother’s Day is truly a day to be celebrated
Spread the love. Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place • (773) 504-9327 . Mother’s Day happens on Sunday, May 12. If this isn’t something to celebrate, I don’t know what is. Motherhood means new life, new beginnings, new possibilities. Even if you won’t be seeing your mom, you can still…
Saint Xavier men’s volleyball finishes historic season in nation’s top 4
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Saint Xavier men’s volleyball team made history by advancing to the semifinals of the NAIA Men’s Volleyball National Championship. But the Cougars fell to eventual national champion Georgetown (Kentucky), 25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 21-25, 15-10, on May 3 at Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Although there was…
St. Francis first baseman Nate Maliska earns conference POW honors
Spread the loveBy Mike Walsh Correspondent The University of St. Francis sophomore first baseman Nate Maliska was chosen the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference’s Player of the Week in baseball for April 7. In helping the Saints to four wins that week, Maliska went 9-for-15 (.600) with eight RBI and seven runs scored. The St. Laurence…
Baseball | Marist claws way back to .500
Spread the loveBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent This season has thus far not been what Marist had expected, but the RedHawks came into this week at .500. Marist was 2-8 after 10 games this season, with three of those first eight losses coming via shutout. But the RedHawks turned things around with a stretch of eight…
Red Stars fall to Spirit for third loss in past four matches
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent After enjoying one of their best starts in franchise history, the Chicago Red Stars have slid to the middle of the NWSL standings, with the latest setback being a 4-2 loss to Washington at SeatGeek Stadium. The Stars (3-3-1) entered this week having dropped three of their past four…
Red Stars take aim at NWSL attendance record with Wrigley game
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Chicago Red Stars are thinking big when it comes to their upcoming game at Wrigley Field. The team is taking aim at the NWSL record for single-game attendance when it hosts Bay FC at the historic home of the Chicago Cubs on June 8. The record is held…
IHSA announces boys volleyball postseason assignments
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Last year, the area sent a pair of boys volleyball teams to state as Lyons finished runner-up to champion Glenbard South and Brother Rice lost in the quarterfinals. This year, both could face each other in the sectional finals. The Lions picked up the second seed and the Crusaders…
Badminton players from Reavis and Lyons going to state
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Reavis singles player Dania Amjad finished third in the Bolingbrook Sectional on May 2 to qualify for the IHSA state tournament. The Lyons doubles team of Simone Brown and Mia Graziano finished fourth in the York Sectional to qualify for state. The state finals are May 10-11 at DeKalb…
Brother Rice, Sandburg sending boats to bass fishing state tourney
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Brother Rice is sending two boats to the IHSA state bass fishing tournament. The Crusaders had first- and third-place finishes at the Des Plaines River Big Basin Marina Sectional on May 2. Sandwiched in between the Brother Rice boats was a group from Sandburg in second place. The Crusaders’…
Neighbors
Former state trooper who caused fatal crash halts effort to get driving privileges restored
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com The former Illinois State Trooper who pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter of two sisters in 2007 has abandoned his efforts to have a hearing into the restoration of his driving privileges – for now. Matt Mitchell, 45, requested at least two delays in the hearing after he failed…
Flooding is Illinois’ Most Threatening Natural Disaster. Are We Prepared?
by Meredith Newman, Illinois Answers Project April 16, 2024 This story was originally published by the Illinois Answers Project. The electricity in Mary Buchanan’s home in West Garfield Park was not working – again. The outage lasted four days, starting just after a crew dug up her front lawn to install a check valve in…
Lawmakers pitch sweeping changes to energy industry and Chicagoland transit system
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com A group of lawmakers and influential environmental advocates are calling for broad changes to the state’s energy industry and a massive increase in state oversight of Chicagoland’s transit system – which faces a projected $730 million budget shortfall. Advocates for the policy platform, which is broken up into…
Democrats flex muscle to kick off final month of session as revenues remain on track
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – With about three weeks to go before the Illinois General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn its spring legislative session, supermajority Democrats showed their strength this week as fiscal forecasters noted state revenues remain on track. April is typically a make-or-break month for state coffers, as income…
Former state trooper who caused fatal crash halts effort to get driving privileges restored
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com The former Illinois State Trooper who pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter of two sisters in 2007 has abandoned his efforts to have a hearing into the restoration of his driving privileges – for now. Matt Mitchell, 45, requested at least two delays in the hearing after he failed…
Capitol Briefs: Senate advances elections bill, measure targeting ‘predatory’ lending
By PETER HANCOCK & HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A bill that would put more controls on certain kinds of high-cost loans to small businesses cleared the Illinois Senate Thursday. Senate Bill 2234, known as the Small Business Financial Transparency Act, targets a relatively new kind of nontraditional lender in the credit…
Law enforcement community honors fallen officers at Illinois Capitol
By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Six fallen police officers were honored at an annual memorial service outside the State Capitol Thursday. The Illinois Police Officers Memorial occurs annually on the first Thursday of May to honor officers who died in the line of duty and to support their families. “No one…
Democrats muscle through changes to ballot access, advisory questions
By JERRY NOWICKI HANNAH MEISEL & PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Supermajority Democrats in the Illinois House moved quickly Wednesday to push through a change to state election laws that partially limits ballot access and adds three nonbinding referendums to the 2024 general election ballot. It’s a move that caused minority party…
After 3 years, state poised to enforce law aiming to end lending discrimination
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – In 1977, then-President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Community Reinvestment Act, a federal law that sought to wipe away the last vestiges of racial discrimination and redlining in America’s home mortgage industry. The idea was simple. By requiring lenders – primarily banks – to make…
Capitol News Illinois partners with ‘Illinois Lawmakers’ program to bring it back to air
Capitol News Illinois announced today it will produce the long-running “Illinois Lawmakers” program this spring, in partnership with longtime host and producer Jak Tichenor. “This new partnership is absolutely critical to providing Illinois residents with reliable, independent, in-depth, up to date coverage from the Illinois Capitol after many newspapers and broadcasters shuttered their Statehouse bureaus over…