Tri-Cities Soccer Association :: The Official Site

U13 Blue Lightning — Division U13 DS

Coaches & Trainers -

Mike Schultz
Head Coach

Frank Panek
Trainer

Roster -

#1 Avery	#2 Haley	#3 Delaney	#4 Lindsey
#5 Leigha	#7 Marissa	#8 Sarah	#9 Lynnea
#12 Emily	#16 Kaitlyn	#22 Kendall	#23 Lindsey
#49 Margaret	#55 Katie

Schedule -

Standings -

June 12, 2011 - Game Eight

This evening the Blue Lightning traveled to Naperville to play the undefeated CN Challengers. The Lightning was missing several players and played the first half with only 10 players, while the opposition had a full squad plus 5 substitutes. The game started with the Lightning setting the tone by passing the ball well, dominating possession, and generating more scoring chances. About 20 minutes into the half Rissa injured her knee and was forced to come out of the game taking the Lightning to 9 players on the field. Rissa was determined to overcome the injury and went back onto the field moments later showing the heart and determination that has become synonymous with this team. Haley showed off her improving foot skills during the half and helped get multiple scoring opportunities. The first half ended with the score 0-0.
Kendall showed up minutes after the start of the second half bringing the Lightning up to the full 11 players needed on the field. With her arrival the Lightning continued dominating the game. The girls worked hard and continued generating scoring chances, but were unable to ripple the back of the net. Sarah combined with Rissa wings and then get the ball to teammates in the center of the goal box. Lynnea, Kaitlyn, Delaney, and Lindsey S. worked throughout the midfield all game long and had excellent ball movement which resulted in a great transition game moving the ball from the defensive third to the attacking third quickly. The defense of Margaret, Leigha, and Emily shut down the Challengers attacks repeatedly. Unfortunately the Challengers were able to use their fresh legs and take advantage of the one defensive breakdown of the game and Kendall at striker and the three of them worked well together and were able to attack on the by the Lightning to create a breakaway. Despite an excellent attempt by the keeper, the Challengers scored to take a 1-0 lead in the last minute of the game.
The Lightning put forth a remarkable effort in this game and throughout the season. They dominated their opponents at times this season and showed dramatic improvement in their knowledge and understanding of the game. Their soccer sense improved and they played great team defense in every game of the season.
The team consisted of Avery, Haley, Delaney, Lindsey S., Leigha, Rissa, Sarah, Lynnea, Emily, Kaitlyn, Kendall, Lindsey M., Margaret, and Katie all showed improvement and have developed into a great team. The girls have all proven to be excellent soccer players, but they are even better kids.

June 9, 2011 - Game Seven

Tonight the Blue Lightning resumed their regular season against the Thunder Stars after not playing for over two weeks. The game was played at East Side Sports Complex under the lights. Despite their effort the layoff had an impact on the play from the girls. They started the game without the same ball possession and solid team defense they had exhibited in their previous games. Eleven minutes into the game the Stars were able to take advantage of a defensive breakdown and tally the game’s first goal. Two minutes later the Stars had another great scoring chance, but Lindsey M. made a strong save to keep the deficit at a goal. In order to eliminate the strong play of the Stars best player Leigha was moved over to “shadow” her around the field. While the task was unenviable, Leigha did an excellent job of making the player ineffective. The Lightning continued to play hard and finally started getting some rhythm and comfort on the large playing surface. Finally in the 37th minute, Delaney found Kaitlyn alone at the top of the box on the wing. Kaitlyn then slotted the ball to Rissa in the center of the field and Rissa placed a left-footed shot inside the far post to tie the game. The half ended with a 1-1 tie.
Right after the start of the second half a Stars player had a breakaway, but Haley aggressively came off of the goal line and thwarted the attempt by smothering the ball. In the 45th minute the Stars had a handball just outside the goal box in the middle of the field. Lynnea calmly stepped to the direct kick and fired a shot over the wall and into the goal for a 2-1 lead. Unfortunately the Stars promptly generated a scoring chance with Haley diving to make the initial save, but the rebound wasn’t cleared away and the Stars tied the game. The Lightning continued to play good defense with Avery and Margaret helping to stop any advances by the Stars. Lindsey S. put forth a great effort in the midfield and Katie, Sarah, and Kendall kept pressuring the Stars defense. Emily was returning from her recent knee injury and played a very solid defensive game. As the game wore on, the Stars took a 3-2 lead with ten minutes remaining. Despite their continued efforts, the Lightning was unable to tie the score and lost the game, ending their 5 game winning streak.
The team necklaces were awarded to Delaney for her constant effort and pressure on the Stars defense, Rissa for her ball control and possession, and Haley for her strong game in the field and axcellent goalkeeping.
The Lightning will try to end the season with a victory against the currently undefeated Challengers team of Naperville on Sunday evening.

May 22, 2011 - Game Six

Early this morning the Blue Lightning put their four game win streak on the line against the Arsenal Strikers after a long trip to a field near Midway Airport. While the forecast had been for a likely chance for rain, the weather was perfect for soccer. The Lightning came out firing with Rissa forcing a strong save from the Strikers keeper in the second minute of the game. In the tenth minute Kaitlyn fired a shot from outside the top of the right side of the box over the goal. Lynnea hit the crossbar in the 12^th minute. In the 15^th minute Haley shot a ball just wide of the near post and Kendall put another shot over the goal in the 21^st minute. A minute later Kaitlyn hit the crossbar. In the 26^th minute Delaney hit the post and followed up the rebound by placing a pass in the center of the goal, but Haley’s shot just went over the top of the goal. Finally, in the 31^st minute, the Blue Lightning had a corner kick; Kaitlyn sent the ball in to the goal box, Sarah settled the ball and found Lynnea who had moved in from her left defensive position and hammered a shot to take a 1-0 lead. The Lightning held onto that lead to go into the half with a one goal lead.

At halftime the girls talked about moving the ball quickly and continuing their assault on the Striker goal. Four minutes into the second half, Margaret sent a pass to the top of the box and Lynnea volleyed it in for her second goal of the game and a 2-0 lead. In the 52^nd minute Rissa sent in a cross and Lindsey S. tallied her second goal of the spring season for a 3-0 lead. Three minutes later the Lightning rippled the back of the net again. This time the scoring play started with Kendall making a strong throw in from near the corner flag to Katie who passed to Delaney and she expertly slotted the ball into the goal. In the 65^th minute, Kendall made a nice drop pass to Lindesy S. at the top of the box and her shot required a great save from the Striker keeper. In the 69^th minute, Margaret made a long run on the left side and took a hard shot on goal forcing a strong save from Arsenal. A minute later, Lynnea hit the post and Margaret’s rebound shot was saved. In the 73^rd minute Katie was able to deflect Margaret’s shot past the Arsenal keeper for the final goal and a 5-0 Lightning lead.

Throughout the game all of the girls played attacking and defending positions. Lindsey M. had some tremendous traps and touches on the ball that resulted in possession for the Lightning and multiple scoring chances. Avery played tremendously at her outside right defensive spot and made several passes to spring her teammates. Once again Leigha took charge at center “D” and stopped all Striker attacks. She also made several great passes into space to give her teammates chances to attack. Sarah continually pressured the Strikers and made several great passes. And once again, Emily proved to be a great teammate making the long trek to the field to support her teammates.

The Lightning extended their regular season winning streak to five games. More impressively they have only conceded one goal in those five games; a remarkable statistic!!!

The team necklaces were awarded to Lynnea, Katie, and Margaret for playing excellent games throughout from start to finish.

The Lightning has a long break before they return to the field to play “under the lights” against the Thunder Stars.

May 15, 2011 - Game Five

This afternoon the Blue Lightning looked to extend their three game regular season win streak against the Oak Park/River Forest Strikers in extremely windy conditions. Despite heading into the wind in the first half the Lightning started strong and generated several shots on goal, with Lindsey S. having the strongest effort forcing a strong save by the opposing keeper. After the first five minutes the Strikers were able to gain more possession and used the wind to their advantage. The Lightning were content playing a conservative, defensive first half and tried to take advantage of their opportunities when presented to them. Delaney repeatedly abused the defense from her left outside midfield position and was able to create long runs with the ball. The wind didn’t allow her to get many crosses, but her efforts were effective in tiring out the defense. When the Strikers tried to attack from the outside, Avery and Margaret dogged them repeatedly from the right and left sides respectively. With about 12 minutes remaining in the half Haley executed an excellent pull back move in the middle of the field at the top of the box and took a shot that was unfortunately deflected wide. Although the score at half was 0-0 the Lightning had confidence knowing they had not conceded a goal and had also generated more scoring chances despite going into the wind.

The Lightning came out for the second half and maintained solid ball control while trying to score the game’s first goal. Lindsey S.took a hard shot from the top of the box forcing a strong save from the Striker keeper. In the 65^th minute, Kendall made a pass from the right side to Kaitlyn at the top of the box and Kaitlyn’s shot squeaked inside the left post to take the 1-0 lead that the Lightning desired. Minutes later, the Lightning had a corner kick that was played to the top of the box and Sarah took a hard shot that was saved by the Striker goalie. Throughout the remainder of the half Katie pressured the Striker defense to run critical time off of the clock. Leigha played a great game at center “D” shutting down the Striker attacks. Lynnea and Lindsey M. both played superb in goal handling the few chances that came their way and they both helped stop all Striker offensive opportunities while playing defense in the field. As she has done throughout the season, Emily was on the sideline cheering on her team while recovering from surgery.

The team necklaces were awarded to Sarah for making some excellent passes to her teammates, Avery for her great shutdown defense, and Kaitlyn for creating several scoring chances and tallying the game’s lone goal.

The Blue Lightning hope to continue their winning streak next week against the Arsenal Strykers.

Hawks Cup Tournament - May 7 and 8

This weekend the Blue Lightning participated in the Hawks Cup Tournament in Oak Brook, IL. The girls were in a bracket playing against “C” level teams so they had their work cut out for them. On Saturday morning the girls played under overcast skies against the River Forest Rapids. After allowing an early first half goal the Lightning fought hard to tie the game, but were unable to ripple the netting and lost 1-0. In much colder conditions in the afternoon the Lightning fought hard and scored a late goal to defeat the Darien Dynamo 1-0. Under great conditions Sunday morning the team needed a convincing victory over the Plainfield Legends to advance to the Championship game. Unfortunately the team surrendered an early goal and never recovered losing soundly.

Throughout the weekend the girls played hard and learned a lot about themselves as a team and individuals. Here are the tournament highlights. Kendall showed a lot of strength and speed with the ball and generated several scoring chances for herself and her teammates and she scored the lone goal. Katie played very good at striker and was able to move the ball to her teammates quickly. Rissa showed excellent foot skills and speed and was able to pressure the defense throughout the tournament. Delaney put forth her normal incredible work rate, had some excellent runs with the ball, and strong crosses. Haley made some good saves in goal and also showed some nice foot skills in the attacking zone. Lindsey M. played great in goal and excellent center defense throughout all of the games. Avery put forth an excellent defensive effort and stopped many opponent scoring chances. Kaitlyn played in goal and also had great crosses and several strong shots on goal. Leigha thwarted scoring chances time after time all weekend long while playing superb center defense. Lynnea made several excellent saves in goal and also played strong defense and midfield throughout. Margaret worked on the outside of the defensive line and was able to use her speed to repeatedly stop the opposition. Lindsey S. played great in the midfield and used her speed and stamina to pressure the opponents. Sarah worked hard all over the field and generated several shots on goal and made passes to her teammates leading to scoring chances.

While all of the girls deserved the team necklaces, they were awarded to Delaney for her great effort, Leigha for her strong defense, and Margaret for her consistently solid play. The real MVP’s were the families; especially the moms for being there to support the girls on Mother’s Day!

The Lightning return to their regular season next Sunday against the Oak Park/River Forest team and hope to continue their three game winning streak.

May 4, 2011 - Game Four

Tonight the Blue Lightning put their two game win streak on the line in Bartlett against the Stars. A couple of girls were unable to make the game so the Lightning was forced to play with no subs while the Stars had four subs. Throughout the first half the Lightning were able to generate more scoring chances than the Stars, but they were unable to ripple the netting in the back of the goal. The Lightning back line of defense was also able to keep the Stars from generating any high quality scoring chances and the few soft shots they had were comfortably handled by Haley.
The Lightning started pressuring the Stars goal immediately after the start of the second half and were finally able to tally the game’s first goal in the 46th minute. The goal was scored after forcing a corner kick. On the kick Kaitlyn passed the ball to Sarah who then passed to Rissa in front of the Stars goal and she calmly hammered the shot home to take a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately the Lightning suffered an immediate let-down and allowed the Stars to tie the game at one in the 48th minute. The Lightning allowed another good scoring chance, but fortunately the shot went wide of the far post. Determined to regain the momentum and the lead the girls kept fighting hard. In the 57th minute Lindsey M. made a long run down the left sideline from her center defensive position and made a perfect cross to the middle of the goal box; the resulting Lightning shot required a stellar one handed save from the Stars keeper. After a continuous attack on the left side of the field that resulted in several shots on goal, Lindsey S. was able to settle the ball just outside the top of the box on the left side. With the Stars goalie off of the goal line, Lindsey S. then lofted a high, looping shot over the keeper to take a 2-1 lead. Less than a minute later Kendall and Rissa performed several give and go passes in the left corner and Rissa finally made a cross to Sarah who hammered it home for a 3-1 lead with twenty minutes remaining in the game. In the 80th minute Delaney, who had just moved up to striker from defense, had a long run down the right side and was able to force a strong save.
Throughout the game Leigha regularly thwarted any Stars opportunities by playing strong defense. Avery played a physical game on defense and in the midfield to help the Lightning control possession. Lynnea played a great technical and tactical game primarily on defense, but played excellent midfield too when moved up late in the game. Haley made some quality saves in goal and kept her team in the game when called upon.
The team necklaces were awarded to Lindsey S. for making some excellent passes and scoring the game winning goal, Sarah for scoring her first goal as a Lightning team member and for making some great one-touch passes, and Lynnea for playing a remarkably sound, consistent game.
Now the girls move on to the Hawks Cup Tournament over the weekend. The competition will be tough as they are playing a level up, but they are ready for the challenge.

May 1, 2011 - Game Three

Tonight the Blue Lightning played a home game against the Team Elmhurst Premier team. The Lightning was hoping to build off of the success from their last game and continue their winning ways. The weather was overcast and there was a strong cross-wind from the west. The first half was a back and forth affair with both teams playing strong defense and not allowing many quality scoring chances. The Lightning were able to force a couple of corner kicks and threaten the Elmhurst goal , but to no avail. In the 28th minute a deflected pass bounced in front of the Lightning goal to an unmarked Elmhurst attacker, but Kaitlyn aggressively came out of goal and made a kick save with her left leg preserving the clean sheet. Emily, who was playing her last game before season-ending knee surgery this week, showed a lot of heart and determination on the back line and helped the half end with a 0-0 score.
The second half started with the Lightning showing more ball control and generating more scoring chances while still playing solid, team defense. Fifty minutes into the game Rissa made a long run with the ball while Sarah was unmarked while supporting her on the weak side, but Rissa couldn't find the space to pass and her shot forced a strong save by the Elmhurst goalie. Five minutes later an Elmhurst player found space behind the left side of the Lightning defense for a breakaway, but Haley was able to come off the line and make the save. Finally in the 60th minute, the Lightning showed some excellent ball movement to tally the game's first goal. Delaney made a strong run on the right side and then passed to Kaitlyn who moved the ball to Katie, Katie's shot was deflected to Kendall about 12 yards out in the center of the goal and she beat the goalie to take a 1-0 lead. Later in the half Leigha fired a long shot from outside the box that forced a jumping save by the Elmhurst keeper. The girls worked to the end and won the game 1-0.
The defensive line of Margaret, Leigha, Lindsey M., and Avery played great individual and team defense throughout the game pressuring the Elmhurst attackers into mistakes and limiting scoring chances by taking their space away. Delaney, Lindsey S., Lynnea, and Kaitlyn fought hard in the midfield and were able to help defend Elmhurst's offensive opportunities while also creating scoring chances with some excellent crossing passes. Kendall, Katie, Haley, and Sarah created many scoring chances in the game from their attacking positions. Emily made her last appearance of the season on the field and performed excellently. Kaitlyn and Haley made a few good saves in goal that resulted in the team's second consecutive clean sheet, but the final was the result of a great team effort.
The team necklaces were awarded to Margaret and Delaney who both showed a great work-rate and effort throughout the game.
Next the Blue Lightning will try to extend their win streak to 3 games when they play Wednesday night against the Stars of Bartlett. Go Lightning!!!

April 29, 2011 - Game Two

Tonight the Blue Lightning hosted the Strikers at Breen Park for a big rivalry game considering both teams know each other so well. The players and fans were excited not only for soccer, but the first sunny, nice day in quite some time. At the start of the game each team was feeling out their opponent and not creating any dangerous scoring opportunities. Ball possession was fairly equal until the eighth minute when Lynnea directed a diagonal pass across the field from her left outside defensive position to Kendall who stayed onside, beat her defender, and showed a lot of patience while waiting for the keeper to commit before slotting home the opening goal. Seven minutes later Kendall sent Kaitlyn in alone on the goalie; Kaitlyn had a tough final touch, but was able to pressure the keeper into a mistake and she pounced on the rebound and scored into the empty net for a 2-0 lead. Throughout the first half Leigha did an excellent job stuffing any attacks from her right outside defensive position. Katie executed some very nice give and go plays with her teammates to help maintain ball possession the majority of the half. The girls went into half time up 2-0.
Shortly after the second half began the team changed formations and began playing a more defensive game to protect their lead. The girls also focused on more ball possession and they accomplished both tasks remarkably well. Margaret, Delaney, Lindsey M., and Leigha were virtually impenetrable on the back line and played spectacular defense. Lynnea made a great leaping save in the games 56th minute and then stopped a hard shot from a tight angle in the 61st minute. Despite the defensive approach the girls continued generating scoring chances. Haley had two hard shots on goal that required excellent saves by the Strikers keeper and Kaitlyn hit a high shot from outside the box that required a leaping save. During the second half Sarah regularly pressured the ball and eliminated the Strikers' space in the midfield, while Lindsey S. continued to gain possession and play her teammates into space. Finally in the 77th minute, Rissa (who had created numerous scoring chances for her teammates with excellent footwork and ball skills) was able to find Kendall at the top of the box; Kendall beat her defender and knocked her shot into the goal off of the left goalpost.
Throughout the game the girls exhibited an excellent work ethic and it resulted in a dominating 3-0 victory. The team necklaces were awarded to Leigha for her excellent defensive work against the Strikers' speedy forwards and to Kendall for her tremendous work creating scoring chances for herself and her teammates.
The girls next play on Sunday against the Premier team from Team Elmhurst soccer club. Hopefully the weather and the outcome are identical to tonight.

April 17, 2011 - Game One

The Blue Lightning began their spring season today playing at Memorial Park against the Glen Ellyn Lakers. For various reasons the Lightning only had 11 players show up (two of which were U10 guest players) and to compound the problem with no subs, they were playing on a full regulation size, turf field. Before the game the team talked about playing a conservative offensive game to conserve energy and to defend well since they were heading into a strong wind. In the first half the girls started by playing true to those strategies. They played excellent defense and took their opportunities to attack when they were presented to them. Roughly 30 minutes into the first half, the Lakers took advantage of a distinct size advantage on the weak side of the field and they were able to slot home the first goal (the Lightning guest player was in the proper position, but a size and strength disadvantage was too much to overcome). With about two minutes remaining a Lakers player blasted a shot from 25 yards out just under the crossbar for a 2-0 lead; the shot was unstoppable.
In the second half the girls had the wind at their back and started to generate multiple scoring chances. Delaney had an excellent crossing pass to Kendall who smashed a volleyed shot just outside of the near post; despite the shot missing the goal, the execution was excellent. Later Allison (a 9-year old guest player) rocketed a left-footed shot into the side netting just wide of the goal post. Moments after that Delaney had a breakaway and was taken down from behind in the goal box; shockingly she was not awarded the penalty kick that she deserved. The Lightning regularly won the ball after Laker goal kicks and created scoring chances with Kaitlyn shooting the ball over the crossbar and Lindsey regularly moving up from her center defensive position and winning the ball. Late in the second half the Lakers netted two more goals off of corner kicks that were the result of bad bounces off of clearing attempts by the Lightning; tired legs were definitely a contributing factor on both goals. The game was much closer than the 4-0 defeat.
Throughout the game the girls played great defense and created many scoring chances. Haley played an excellent game in goal and made some very aggressive saves throughout. Avery moved between defense, midfield, and striker and played well in all positions. Leigha, Lindsey M., and Margaret primarily played defense and did a remarkable job shutting down the opponents on any breakaways or long runs. Kaitlyn, Kendall, and Delaney played shut-down defense when called upon and generated scoring chances for themselves and their teammates with individual long runs and strong crosses. Katie played striker in the first half and was able to control the ball to allow her teammates to move up the field and possess in the attacking zone and in the second half she played a strong outside mid position. Emily was unable to play due to a knee injury that requires surgery, but she was there offering her verbal and emotional support. Allison was by far the youngest player on the field and Kylie was by far the smallest, but they weren't intimidated by the opponents and contributed with unbelievable efforts and determination.
All of the girls showed great heart and determination in trying circumstances. They should be proud of their effort and they proved their passion and ability. The difference in the game was primarily size and the Lakers were able to remain fresh utilizing their available subs.
The Lightning next play on Friday, April 29th against the Strikers.