Ashley Falkner was the right-place, right-time girl in Lockport's 2-1 victory over Joliet on Tuesday afternoon.
Falkner, a sophomore forward, scored a momentum-changing goal on a rebound from point-blank range 7:18 into the second half. She jumped on a free ball off the left post after JT goalkeeper Kim Vertin made a sprawling save on a shot by Lockport's Brittany Johnson.
Vertin was unable to cover up the rebound in a scramble that came after JT coughed up the ball deep in its own end.
"It just happened that I was in the right spot at the right time, and I just rebounded off the keeper's mistake," Falkner said. "I shot it right in the net. We were stepping to every ball in the second half and playing stronger defense and just being there and ready in open space."
Sophomore Megan Ludwig used a head-and-shoulders fake to score the game-winner on a breakaway for the Porters with 9:07 remaining in the SouthWest Suburban Blue matchup. Junior captain Andrea Kmak lobbed a pass over JT's defense and onto Ludwig's foot to earn the assist.
The turnaround for Lockport (9-6, 3-3) came after JT possessed the ball for much of the first half in the Porters' end. The Steelmen built a 1-0 lead on Ely Mireles' goal off a pass from Melissa Gonzalez less than four minutes into the game. Sophomore captain Krissy Dorre started the JT line moving forward with a through ball from near midfield.
The Steelmen had chances to extend the lead to 2-0 or 3-0. Mireles was stuffed by Lockport keeper Holly Siwinski in front of the net and JT freshman Morgan Graves fired a shot from the 15-yard line that kicked off the right post. The Steelmen finished the half with a 12-3 edge in shots and 3-1 margin in corner kicks.
"We shuffled the lineup in the first half -- we had some internal problems that we needed to correct," Lockport coach George Pohlmann said. "We had some opportunities in the first half. But Jeff's kids were really pushing forward. Then, the second half came around, and really Sam Formella, who played just an unbelievable game today, was the one that started that whole roll toward the first goal.
"She came up and she stepped up with good pressure and kept the ball play. Then, Brittany [Johnson] was running through and she was able to get something off of it. And Ashley [Falkner] -- we've been talking all the time about taking your opportunities when they come. She was on that back stick, looking for that ball.
"That goal, I think, occurred about 8 minutes into the second half. We were pushing to try and put something on the board in the 6-minute range. Sometimes, I think, you come off that halftime area and you think you've got things well figured out and then the other team scores quickly. And you're in a deeper hole."
Pohlmann referred to JT coach Jeff Lundeen, who started a lineup that included three freshmen and three sophomores. The "Baby Steelmen" were beating the Porters to the ball and often working up field on a series of diagonal passing sequences -- textbook style.
"That's kind of been our story up to this point," Lundeen said. "We continue, I think, to get a lot sharper in our possession. We're starting to attack a lot more. We're getting some shots on goal.
"But our motto's kind of been, 'We haven't been able to finish it out.' So, credit to Lockport and George [Pohlmann]. They played the entire game. They played hard. And they came out on top at the end.
"I was happy with a lot of the things we did with the ball and, like I said, with our play. But I think it comes down to finishing the game. And we didn't do that today."
JT (11-7, 2-6) finished with advantages of 17-8 in shots at the goal and 5-1 on corner kicks.
"I think on the first goal [Lockport scored] they were definitely attacking us," Lundeen said. "I think our players kind of sat back and watched as the ball came across the net and left a couple of their players open. So, you can't sit back and watch the play and expect them not to take advantage of it.
"And, the second one, I couldn't tell where [Ludwig] was and she just outran our player. The goalie didn't have a chance, really on either one. She made a nice save to deflect the first one. We needed somebody else back there to get it out of there.
"It's a tough break, a tough loss for us. Hopefully, it will be a lesson learned to finish things out toward the end here."
"I didn't think we had anything in the bag today," Pohlmann said. "Joliet really stepped up. They're much-improved from last year. They kept themselves in the game. We got a lucky break there at the end with Ludwig running through and hitting that ball. But I thought Joliet was right there with us the entire day."
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