WB_101719

wilmettebeacondaily.com sports
the wilmette beacon | October 17, 2019 | 45
Boys soccer
Posted to WilmetteBeaconDaily.com 8 days ago
Late Mount Carmel comeback foils Loyola’s CCL upset bid
Michael Wojtychiw
Sports Editor
Up 1-0 in the second
half, with a man advantage,
Loyola was looking
to take down one of the
state’s hottest teams and
conference leader Mount
Carmel on its home field.
However it wasn’t to be
as the Caravan stormed
back to score three goals
in the final nine minutes
to take a 3-1 win Oct. 8 in
Glenview.
“This is an emotional
game between two of the
top teams in the CCL,”
Loyola coach Baer Fisher
said. “Two years ago they
won it, last year we won it.
They’re in first place right
now, we knew it was going
to be an emotional battle.
“Credit to them, they
found a way. We need to
learn how to win these
games. I think our youth,
that’s where we’ve been
exposed this season.”
After a scoreless, chippy
first half, a Mount Carmel
player got a red card for
using foul language with
27 minutes, 8 seconds remaining
in the game.
With a man-up advantage,
the Ramblers were
looking to take advantage
and break the deadlock and
did so with 23:33 remaining
in the contest when
Dylan Gripman scored off
of a header.
“Mario Hrvojevic
crossed it in, it bounced
and it just hit my face and
went it,” Gripman said. “It
was relieving and exciting
Loyola’s Dylan Gripman (left) battles a Mount Carmel
defender for a ball Oct. 8 in Glenview. Michael
Wojtychiw/22nd Century Media
to finally score the goal.”
After the goal, the Ramblers’
mentality seemed to
change and they became
more of a defensive squad
instead of one that was
looking to push the ball up
the field and trying to score.
“It (mentality) shouldn’t
change,” Nick Roscoe
said. “When you go down
a man, you have to keep
fighting, so when you’re
up a man, you should have
that advantage and play
with confidence.
“The passiveness comes
with that 1-0 lead too.
Thinking we have that lead
and then sitting off, keeping
them from scoring, the
mentality shifts.”
Danny Favela got the
Caravan on the board on
a goal with 9:01 tying the
game and giving Mount
Carmel the momentum
it looked like it wouldn’t
have.
A little over a minute
later, Favela added his second
goal of the night, giving
the Caravan the lead,
one it wouldn’t give up.
“I think we did get frustrated
a little,” Gripman
said. “Knowing we were a
man up and we conceded,
we start to panic a little
bit knowing that time was
coming down.
“We should have stayed
composed some more.”
Despite going forward to
try to get another goal, the
ramblers couldn’t mount a
real threat in the last seven
minutes of the match.
Favela added a third
goal for a hat trick with
24 seconds remaining on
a ball he just popped up
from near midfield to clear
the ball.
Even with the loss, the
Ramblers still gained confidence
as they move on
ready for the playoffs.
“We went up on one of
the best teams in the state
and proved we can play
against them,” Roscoe
said. “We just have to fix
the nuances.”
tennis
From Page 47
She’s been great.”
Also winning titles for
New Trier were the no. 1
doubles team of Ashtin
Hara and Monika Glueck;
the no. 2 doubles team of
Macy Zaban and Emily
Rhee; the no. 3 doubles
team of Keira Botjer and
Riley Gorham; and the no.
4 tandem of Emma Bhote
and Lily Christopher.
“I think we’ve finalized
where our doubles pairings
are going to be,” Morse-
Karzen said. “We needed
to see who works well
together, and plays well
together, and now we’re
more focused on those
teams.”
For Glenbrook South’s
Vanessa Vaisanen, the
state tennis playoffs can’t
arrive soon enough.
“I’m so fired up,” Vaisanen
said. “I’m so ready.
I’ve been hitting a lot more
consistently than last year
and I had some matches
where I should have performed
better, but this year
I’m more consistent. It’s
a matter of keeping your
intensity high even when
you’re tired.”
Vaisanen has made Titans
coach Meg Ahlgrin’s
job easier this season.
“I could not ask for a
better kid,” Ahlgrin said of
Vaisanen. “I feel so fortunate
that she’s on the team.
She had a tough loss today
but she played really well,
and her athleticism, leadership,
and sportsmanship,
and everything she brings
to the game — I feel very
privileged to be her coach.”
Vaisanen reached the
title match of this year’s
Central Suburban League
meet before falling 6-2,
6-1 to one of Illinois’ top
players in New Trier’s
Benedetto.
Vaisanen has played
against Benedetto countless
times in her high
school career, and she’s always
happy to take on the
challenge.
“Ali is an amazing player.
There’s never a bad
match that I have with her,
even though she can get
me good sometimes,” Vaisanen
said. “I learn from
each match. She’s playing
D-1 next year and when
you play someone like
that, your game goes up
substantially.”
The two could square
off again during the state
playoffs.
“We’re good friends
and I’ve played her a lot of
times,” Benedetto said. “I
just try to stick to the game
plan. She has a really good
ground stroke, and she’s really
solid from the baseline.”
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com.
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