Ankenman breaks deadlock for Lake Forest
Updated: October 13, 2011 9:51PM
James Ankenman scored in the seventh minute of the second half to break a 2-2 tie, and Lake Forest’s boys soccer team made it stand up for a 3-2 win over host Lakes on Thursday in the North Suburban Conference Championship game.
It was the Scouts’ first NSC Championship Game win (this was the 12th annual title game between division winners) and the first outright league title of any kind in the sport in more than 20 years.
“We didn’t really keep our poise in the first half, but in the second half, we were much more composed and concentrated on what we needed to,” said Lake Forest coach Rob Perry.
In the first half, the Scouts (12-4-1 going into today’s match against New Trier) got goals from Kevin Goon (15th minute) and Peter Pasalino (37th minute).
They were offset by a pair of tallies by Lakes’ all-time leading scorer, Jonathan Stanley, who got his 42nd career goal in the 18th minute and his 43rd in the 38th.
“In the first half, Stanley was a powerhouse. In the second half, we were much more focused on where he was at,” said Perry.
Nevertheless, Lakes (11-9-1) had a good run of play in the final 40 minutes, including seven corner kicks and seven shots on frame — all stopped by Sam Audley.
The toughest save was on a shot by Trevor Ray who beat a defender and walked in alone with 90 seconds left, only to be denied by a diving Audley.
On the other side of the pitch, Lakes coach Kevin Kullby was happy with his team’s effort.
“I thought we played a great game, but we had some moments on defense that you can’t afford,” Kullby said. “To the kids’ credit, they responded very well and got right back in the game.
“When we got down the last time, we had every chance ... lots of restarts. We created a lot of chances. Sometimes, you create opportunities and just don’t have that finishing touch.”
© 2013 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.
Comments Click here to view or make a comment