On Saturday, the Stars traveled to defend first place against a tough Glen Ellyn Lakers Green team.  The Stars need a win or a tie to capture the league championship and crown a really strong season.  A loss would likely allow the Lakers to capture the championship.

Not long after the game started, the Lakers capitalized on a defensive breakdown and scored a pretty easy goal.  After the goal, the Stars really tightened up defensively, with Brittni Ice in goal and Holly Gotchie, Maya Bonie, Maddie Woolf and Angeline Lewis providing stout defense.

Several minutes later, Kaylee Zimbelmann struck a beautiful shot from the left side of the field.  Her shot sailed over 30 yards, past the keeper and into the right side of the net to even the score at 1-1.  The Stars had worked on a new corner kick play last Sunday and it worked beautifully, with Kaylee taking a pass off the corner and knocking it to Rachel Savaglio, who one-touched it for the 2-1 lead.  A short while later, Kaylee nailed a great corner kick to Riley Cassian who used her body to place the ball into the net for what looked like a 3-1 lead.  However, the Lakers were called for a handball in the box and Kaylee calmly nailed the penalty kick past the keeper for the 3-1 halftime lead.

In the beginning of the second half, the Stars put tons of offensive pressure on the Lakers. Lauren Gotchie, Rachel Savaglio and Holly Sutkay were able to keep the ball on the offensive side of the field for most of the second half.  Maya Bonie played strong in goal.  Kaylee Zimbelmann nailed another corner kick to Riley Cassian who shouldered the ball into the net for the 4-1 lead.  The Lakers went into a frenzy at that point, putting incredible offensive pressure on the Stars defense.  The Stars managed to turn away almost everything, but the Lakers added a second goal during the onslaught.

Ultimately, the Stars held on for the 4-2 win.  They finished a great season, ending up with a record of 8 wins and 2 losses which was good for 24 points.  The second place team accumulated 20 points.  The Stars showed tremendous teamwork  and sportsmanship this season.  They really have a team with great personalities to go with their soccer skills and have reason to be proud.  Congratulations on a championship season!!!