Lane Tech’s Grace Carman cuts through the Patriots defence, faced with multiple midfielders and defenders. However, she was no match for Stevenson’s Anabelle Egeland ’26, who deftly cleared the ball out of the defensive end and launched a counterattack, with Samantha An ’25 and Morgan McKelvey ’27 tag teaming their way into a shot on goal.

The Stevenson Patriots faced off against the Lane Tech Champions on April 16, 2025 in their third match of the Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish Classic. Their record stands at 0-2-1 in the tournament, 4-2-2 overall, after forcing the game against the Champions to a 1-1 draw.

The Patriots kicked off the game with an explosive offense and found scoring opportunities aplenty, With an assist from An, McKelvey fired a shot at Lane Tech’s goalkeeper, Cynthia Waller, beating her and putting the Patriots up 1-0, with 38 minutes still to go in the first half.

“I think in the first half we had lots of great opportunities,” McKelvey said. “We really were getting those chances, and I wish we could have finished a few more.”

With a goal under their belt, Stevenson fell back onto the defensive, trading possession with Lane Tech for the remainder of the first half. The Champions were able to slip through the Patriots defense at times but were unable to mount a substantial enough attack to score a goal, ending the half 1-0, Patriots.

Lane Tech came back in the second half with a newfound intensity, launching five shots on net within the first eight minutes. The Patriots continued to press the Champions high up the pitch, with goalkeeper Reese Yoo ’26 making two stellar saves.

“They were sending crosses nonstop, so we’d have to go forward and come back to defend,” said Egeland. “It was [about] staying organized and being ready to clear it and try to attack.”

Even with their defensive efforts, with an assist from Jessica Carlson, the Champions’ Luzmarie Razo slipped a shot through the Patriot defenses and tied the game up at 1-1, with 30 minutes left to play in the half. With the game at an impasse, the Patriots attempted to mount multiple offensive attacks but struggled to get past the 30-yard line in Lane Tech territory.

“In the second half, we got a little bit out-muscled in the midfield and kept getting beat,” head coach Jay Bulev said. “They kept playing balls behind our back line, and that’s how they scored.”

Both teams struggled to break through the midfield, with a lot of back-and-forth action, but with Lane Tech maintaining the majority of possession. With the teams tied up going into the last 15 minutes, both teams began to show some desperation, feeding out-of-bounds balls quicker and picking up the pace of the game.

“I don’t think either team wanted to lose, but in that sort of madness, it was a little dangerous because we got stretched,” Bulev said. “It was very hectic and a little stressful.”

With both teams frantically looking for the final goal, Lane Tech’s Jackson Caffey launched a shot that ricocheted off the post and fired another one that was headed away by Egeland with only eight minutes left in the game. With Stevenson trying to clear the ball out of the zone, the Champions forced a corner, taken by Razo, who crossed it into freshman Rebecca LoVerde. LoVerde took the shot but missed just wide of the next.

This pattern of trading shots continued throughout the remainder of the game, with multiple fouls and free kicks awarded to both sides as the teams struggled to find the final goal. Their desperation for the win was obvious since both sides had poor performances in their previous matches.

The Patriots will play their final match of the Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish Classic on Saturday, April 19. They look to find their first win of the tournament and find some momentum for their first regular season matchup against Libertyville at home on Tuesday, April 22, who ended their last season in the regional finals.

“We just have to go back to what was working early on in the season… and try to create opportunities from the outside wing areas,” Bulev said. “That was missing a little today, it was missing a little the past three games.”