Girls Soccer: Josie Pochocki, Niamh Griffin short-handed goals lift Lyons past Loyola at Deep Dish Classic

WESTERN SPRINGS – Lyons Township junior midfielder Josie Pochocki knew Wednesday’s game had reached a turning point when leading scorer Katie O’Malley was ejected after picking up her second yellow card midway through the second half against Loyola.

O’Malley, a senior forward, had scored the only goal of the game to that point. Now the Lions had to play the final 21 minutes without her while playing with only 10 players.

“Once Katie was out of the game, I think all of us knew we had to step up,” Pochocki said. “Defensively, we did really good at locking down, and offensive, we knew the second goal would make the difference.”

Pochocki was right, and she was the one who scored it, knocking home a cross from sophomore Caroline Mortonson for the first short-handed goal of her career with 10:49 remaining.

Incredibly, senior forward Niamh Griffin added another short-handed goal five minutes later, and the host Lions held on for a 3-0 victory Wednesday on the final night of group play at the Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish Classic.

The victory gave LT (8-0) a 3-0 record in group play and with it an automatic spot in Thursday’s tournament semifinals against Evanston.

”That’s crazy to respond like that,” LT coach Bill Lanspeary said. “Everybody else responded big time.

“When you go down a player, you have to adjust a little bit, but I thought our backs did a great job and our midfield worked unbelievably hard because (the Ramblers) were awfully good. They made us work for everything.”

Pochocki and junior Izzy Wirtz were the workhorses in the midfield and that allowed the Lions, who have yet to allow a goal this season, to maintain a semblance of control. Loyola (4-3-3) mustered just four shots, only one of which came with the man-advantage.

O’Malley broke a scoreless tie when she tallied her fifth goal of the season off an assist from Mortonson with 2:57 left in the first half.

“I’d say that was very important because I feel like both teams are evenly matched,” Pochocki said. “So I think getting the first goal kept the energy high.”

Despite being shorthanded, Griffin joined Mortonson and junior Peyton Israel in a spirited effort to break down Loyola’s offense.

“(The key was) just keeping our foot on the gas and keeping our offensive pressure,” Griffin said. “We didn’t want to sit back and totally allow the defense to control it. We wanted to keep pushing.”

That bore fruit with Pochocki’s back-breaking strike.

“Caroline did a really good job of dribbling up to the top and playing me a good ball there,” Pochocki said. “I just had to hit it in the far corner.”

Even with a 2-0 lead, the Lions refused to play it safe. Mortonson again found room on the left wing and fed Zibby Michaelson, whose point-blank shot was blocked by Loyola goalkeeper Ellie Bradley.

But Griffin was there to bury the rebound with 5:57 to go. Like Pochocki, Griffin had never scored a shorthanded goal. It was her fifth of the season, tying her with O’Malley for the team lead.

“It deflected off the goalie and I just had an open net,” Griffin said. “I had to finish it.”

LT’s challenging slate is far from finished, but Lanspeary is pleased with where his team is at.

“We try to put a tough schedule together and we test ourselves,” Lanspeary said. “This tournament is a big test.

“All these teams are good, and the kids are stepping up. They are really rising to the occasion. It is fun to see.”