EVANSTON -- Jones fell just short in a tense, up-and-down-the-field Class 3A Evanston Regional semifinal matchup against Chicago Public League Premier Division South rival Young on Tuesday night.
The Dolphins scored a 2-0 win, but that didn’t diminish in the least the effort that Jones put forth at Evanston High School’s Lazier Stadium.
Jones trailed by just a goal midway through the second half, and only a couple of outstanding saves by Young keeper Marcela Matallana kept the Eagles from tying the game.
Young chalked up an insurance goal on a quirky play late in the contest to account for the final score.
That sent the Dolphins on to the regional final Friday against host second-seeded host Evanston, and it left Jones wondering what might have been if a couple of key opportunities had gone their way.
“I think this was one of our strongest games of the season,” said Jones senior backliner Ellie Ceraso.
Ceraso said a change in defensive strategy boosted the team’s chances against the Dolphins, a team they’d lost to 4-0 in the city tournament May 6 and 3-1 in league play April 11.
Jones went to a flat four – a quartet of defenders stay playing in a straight line across the field.
“We usually have three in the back,” said Ceraso. “(Due to the switch) I was a little more sure-footed.
“I’m a little biased, because obviously I’m defending, but I thought we defended well most of the game against a team with players that have very tricky feet.”
Jones coach Derek Bylsma agreed that his side played their hearts out.
“I was super proud of how the team played,” said Bylsma. “I thought we fought the whole game long and made it very competitive. I think they know they were in a game tonight.”
Jones, which finished second in conference to Young, had a lot go right for it early in the match.
Ceraso led a stellar defensive effort, and sophomore forward Mia Miranda paced a strong charge in the attack.
The momentum turned when eighth-seeded Young amped up the pressure starting in the 15th minute.
The Dolphins put four-consecutive quality shots on goal -- three from Sonia Liew and one by Moira Koleno.
It was only through the brilliant play of Jones keeper Ruby Miller, who made save after save after save after save, that the Dolphins didn’t take the lead.
“She’s very athletic, and she gets out on the ball,” said Bylsma of Miller, a sophomore. “She’s a great competitor.”
Young had more opportunities late in the first half.
Ceraso thwarted one when she reacted quickly to head away a shot from Young junior Kathryn Greenbaum in the 25th minute.
A few moments later, Miller saved a 10-yard drive from Liew.
Miller made another terrific stop, this of the diving variety, of a long-range attempt by Dolphins senior Lauren Roche with eight minutes remaining before intermission.
In the 37th minute, Young broke through.
Freshman Maddie Huffman chipped a pass to Koleno, who turned and fired a dead-on shot from 37 yards.
It flew past a leaping Miller to make it 1-0 Dolphins.
“We got possession,” said Koleno, “and a great ball was played by our outside back Ella Cutler.
“Then our wing, Maddie, was able to slide it right through and I was able to get a touch on it and finish.”
Koleno added that although her side took a lead into halftime, she and her teammates were a little frustrated that they were only able to put one goal in despite all the chances.
“We knew we had to get pumped up, get the energy flowing and stick together. We did just that (in the second half).
“Jones is a good team, and we mainly talked about holding it down and coming back out with a ton of energy.
“We were connecting passes and staying confident on the ball.
“It was a big game. So as long as we were confident, we knew we could succeed.”
Koleno earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors for her commanding play in the midfield.
The Dolphins assumed full-out attack mode to start period number two, and only a couple more outstanding saves by Miller in the first 10 minutes kept the 10th-seed’s deficit at one.
In the 48th minute, Roche sent a long ball to Liew, who drove to the front of the net.
Miller came out to make the stop and despite a collision between the two corralled the ball.
In the 50th minute the Jones keeper made a stop on a drive by Young junior Cassandra Schumacher.
Then Jones came within inches of turning the tables with 26:03 showing on the clock.
Eagles freshman Morgan Theilke was fouled, giving the Eagles a free kick from the 38-yard line.
Freshman Alyssa Ramos took the boot, and sent a well-placed shot sailing toward the net.
At the very last second, Matallana leaped high to stop it.
Another Jones frosh, Natalia Gertzenstein, was right there for the rebound. She pounded it toward the goal from two yards, but Matallana was Johnny-on-the-spot to stop the ball just before it crossed the line.
“We were all fingers crossed,” said Ceraso, “and I actually thought it (the free kick) was going in. Alyssa has a rocket for a shot.”
But due to the handiwork of the Dolphins keeper, the ball didn’t find the back of the net. That took all of the momentum away from Jones.
Young out the game away in the 65th minute.
Schumacher dribbled past traffic and delivered a sharp cross toward the far post.
The ball was surrounded by Miller and a Jones defender, but somehow it squirted away from both of them right to a hustling Chloe May, a Young senior forward.
From three yards, May sent the ball past the goal line to conclude the scoring.
“We were working on getting some balls through,” said May. “Originally (to start the sequence) it was a nice ball from Lauren (Roche).”
“I sent it up to Cass (Schumacher), and it was a great give-and-go from her. She set me up right in front of the box.
“I kind of got hit by their defender and bounced around a little bit, but I was able to poke it in. There was a little scuffle in the box, but I got it done.”
The goal took some life out of the Jones attack. The Eagles could muster up only a couple of opportunities the rest of the way.
Miranda had a shot from 24 yards in the 70th minute that was saved by Matallana, then teammate Kaelyn Perez tried from about 30 yards with the same result.
When the final horn sounded, it was a mixture of excitement and relief for Young.
“We expected to have success in this game,” said May, “but we definitely (were having trouble) getting the ball to the back of the net.”
Jones ended its season with a final overall mark of 10-10-0.
The Eagles fell in their three matches of the season, in the City-Suburb Connect Invitational, via shutout against ranked York and Hinsdale Central, and solid Downers Grove North.
The Eagles then righted their ship with a nice run. They reeled off five-consecutive wins and outscored their opponents 28-2 in the process.
Down the stretch, they concluded the year with five wins against seven losses, with a trio of the defeats coming at the feet of Young.
It was a positive campaign from what Bylsma called “a very young team.”
There were just five seniors on the 2024 roster. Five juniors, six sophomores and seven freshmen joined them.
The coach added that playing without regulars Aiyana Wright and Audrey Dziedzic, who were out Tuesday due to injury, hurt the Eagles’ cause tremendously.
“We have a lot of underclassmen,” said Bylsma, “and we had to ask some of them to step up tonight. They really did.”
Ceraso has been in the Jones program all four years. She’ll move on to the University of Maryland, where she’ll play club soccer and study philosophy, politics and economics. Law school may be in her future.
She’ll be a big loss for the Eagles backline.
One of her favorite highlights of her prep career came against Young. In her junior season, the Eagles defeated the Dolphins on penalty kicks in the city semis.
“I’m very thankful for the four years I’ve spent with this team,” said Ceraso. “Individually, I’ve grown so much as a player, I can’t even put it into words.”
Starting lineups
Jones
GK: Ruby Miller
D: Monserrat DeLaRosa
D: Ellie Ceraso
D: Leann Guidi
D: Olivia Bahrmasel
M: Morgan Theilke
M: Alyssa Ramos
M: Kaelyn Perez
M: Karina Teliz
M: Pauline Morro
F: Mia Miranda
Young
GK: Marcela Matallana
D: Kate Sweitzer
D: Ainsley Christensen
D: Cassandra Reyna-Demes
D: Xochitl Lopez
M: Maddie Huffman
M: Moira Koleno
M: Lauren Roche
M: Sonia Liew
F: Kathryn Greenbaum
F: Cassandra Schumacher
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Moira Koleno, jr., MF, Young
Scoring summary
First half
Y: Koleno (Huffman), 37'
Second half
Y: May (Schumacher), 65'
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