Freshman phenom Mya Leon not fazed by the moment, shoots St. Charles East past Downers Grove North in PKs

DOWNERS GROVE – St. Charles East forward Mya Leon strode to the penalty spot Friday knowing the game was on her foot.

The freshman phenom wasn’t fazed by the big moment.

“I had to go into it confident and I was confident in everyone else who was taking them,” Leon said. “I knew that if I made it, then we would win, so I knew I had to make it and I went in confident.”

Leon calmly converted her kick to clinch a hard-fought 2-1 shootout victory over host Downers Grove North in a Naperville Invitational game at Carstens Field. She also scored the Saints only goal in regulation before they won the shootout 4-1.

Leon’s first-half goal, which gave St. Charles East (15-2) a 1-0 lead, was her 29th of the season. She already has broken the program record for most goals by a freshman. The overall single-season record is 43, set in 1997 by All-American Laurie Seidl.

“I think she’s problematic for opponents because she’s so quick with her first touch that she often leaves people behind her,” St. Charles East coach Vince DiNuzzo said of Leon. “She’s got a relentless work rate and she’s obviously very fit.

“I think she played 75 minutes today and I didn’t see her drop off.”

The Saints needed every bit of that effort to avoid their first two-game losing streak in two years. They had their 14-game winning streak snapped with a 4-1 loss to Lane Tech in their tournament opener the night before.

St. Charles East lost freshman midfielder Qori Strotkamp, who has a team-leading 18 assists, to injury in that game and was down two starters against upset-minded Downers North, which was similarly shorthanded.

The Trojans (3-4-3) were without star sophomore midfielder Campbell Thulin, who was at a club basketball tournament. But they shook off Leon’s 13th-minute goal and forced Saints goalkeepers Sidney Lazenby and Mia Olenek to make 11 saves.

“That’s a physical group,” DiNuzzo said. “It’s tough playing back-to-back games like we did today, especially with the beating we took yesterday without a bunch of players. But at this point, everybody is dealing with the same thing.”

The Saints proved their mettle.

“We all really tried to motivate each other and we all talked it out before the game and we talked about what we could change,” Leon said. “We definitely fixed what we needed to.”

Which was?

“I think it was a lot of technical stuff and it was a lot of lifting each other up,” Lazenby said. “Those are really super important things because they really pushed us through the whole 80 minutes.”

But the Trojans matched that intensity, scoring the equalizer when Elle Edwards sent a perfect diagonal ball in front of the left post to Elle Larson, who volleyed it home with 17:20 left in the second half. It was just the sixth goal allowed by the Saints this season.

“With a performance like that, I can’t be upset,” Downers North coach Rafal Slomba said. “The thing that I’m proud of is the girls that are here had to step up to play to their level and they have.

“A loss in PKs, it is what it is, but it’s all set up for playoffs. It’s encouraging and it’s looking like we’re moving in the right way, which is what I need.”

Lazenby began the shootout by diving the right way to stop Downers North’s first shooter.

“I was a little nervous going into it,” Lazenby said. “The backup goalie, Mia, went in for the second half, so when I came in, I was a little stressed. But as I warmed up, I felt good and I just went into confident and it paid off.”

Downers North’s second shooter missed high before Lexi Keown scored the Trojans’ only goal of the shootout. All four St. Charles East shooters – Sophia Wollenberg, Georggia Desario, Riley Pakosta and Leon – made their shots.

“It was definitely a statement game,” Lazenby said. “We play our crosstown rivals, (St. Charles) North, on Tuesday. So it was such a really important game to really boost our confidence so we can play our best against North.”