Girls Soccer: O’Conner, Alsheikh lead Sandburg in conference-clinching win over Lockport
By Steve Millar
Correspondent
As a four-year starter at defender, Erin O’Connor has been a rock on the back line for Sandburg her entire high school career.
“She’s just so reliable,” Sandburg coach Tom Kubowicz said. “She’s a great leader back there, she’s dependable and she’s just so solid. We know what we’re going to get from her every game. We know she’s going to shut the other team down.”
O’Connor is also a standout basketball player for the Eagles.
“It’s good because I’m in shape already, but obviously they’re completely different sports, using my hands in one and my feet in the other,” O’Connor said. “It can be a hard adjustment. It was especially tough with the COVID season my sophomore year. I didn’t play soccer for two years, so it was hard getting back into it.
“I just like competing. I’m a very competitive person. I like to win. I like to be surrounded by my teammates.”
O’Connor helped Sandburg record another shutout May 5 and seal the SouthWest Suburban Blue championship with a win over Lockport. The host Eagles won the penalty-kick shootout 5-4 in six rounds to earn a 1-0 victory over the Porters.
Sandburg (10-8, 4-0) prevailed in unlikely circumstances, with multiple starters missing the game for various reasons and despite an 11-1 disadvantage in shots on goal.
“I was so proud of how we faced that adversity,” O’Connor said. “We’ve faced adversity all season long. We’ve had people in and out of the lineup. I was so happy with how we were able to adjust, shut them out, come out for PKs with people who don’t normally take PKs and find a way to win. I was so proud of the team.”
One of the players out was senior defender Rosie Richardson, another four-year starter and O’Connor’s defensive partner throughout her career.
“We had to switch up our whole defense without Rosie and girls stepped up so big to get this win,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor, Kayla Siefert, Sydney Gunkel and Grace Pittacora led the defense for the Eagles, with Siefert — a freshman — stepping into Richardson’s normal center back spot.
“It’s a testament to the team’s will to win,” Kubowicz said. “Kayla going into Rosie’s spot, those aren’t easy shoes to fill. She made some big plays.”
Senior goalkeeper Guevara Alsheikh also had a huge night, making 11 saves.
O’Connor made arguably the biggest play of the game when she got her body in the way of a shot that was ticketed for the back of the net in overtime.
After Alsheikh made a save on a shot from Lockport’s Anna Domina, the Porters’ Megan Posmer got the rebound and had a seemingly wide open chance for the game-winner with Alsheikh out of position.
O’Connor, though, blocked the shot.
“If someone makes a remarkable play out there, there’s a good chance it was Erin,” Kubowicz said. “That was another huge play from her.”
Lockport coach Todd Elkei agreed.
“That non-goalie save was the play of the game,” Elkei said. “That was one of the best plays I’ve seen all year.”
In the shootout, Gabby Dittmer, O’Connor, Maeve Durkin and Rudana Hamadeh converted penalty kicks for the Eagles before senior Mary Gallagher came through with the game-winner in the sixth round.
“Mary was feeling under the weather, so she wasn’t out there in the second half and overtime,” Kubowicz said. “The girls all wanted her to take the PK and she stepped up and buried it. She’s one of the nicest kids. She works so hard. No one deserves it more than her.”
Local News
Sorry, we couldn't find any posts. Please try a different search.
Neighbors
Advocates renew push to tighten firearm laws aimed at protecting domestic violence victims
By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois Clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Advocates for stricter gun laws rallied at the state Capitol Tuesday for a measure aimed at protecting domestic violence victims and two other criminal justice reforms. The bills are backed by organizations such as Moms Demand Action and One Aim Illinois among others. “These policies support…
Komatsu mining truck named 2024 ‘coolest thing made in Illinois’
By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois Clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A mining truck manufactured by Komatsu was crowned the winner of the 2024 “Makers Madness” contest, earning the title of “the coolest thing made in Illinois” at the Governor’s Mansion Wednesday. The truck was one of more than 200 entries in the 5th annual contest hosted…
Capitol Briefs: Pritzker appoints first-ever Prisoner Review Board director; Chicago advances migrant funding
By JERRY NOWICKI & DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com Weeks after two high-profile resignations at the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday appointed the first-ever executive director to help lead the beleaguered agency. To fill the newly created position, the governor tapped Jim Montgomery, who most recently served as director of…
INVESTIGATE MIDWEST: Farmers have clamored for the Right to Repair for years. It’s getting little traction in John Deere’s home state
By Jennifer Bamberg, Investigate Midwest, Investigate Midwest Originally published April 10, 2024 During the 2023 harvest season, one of Jake Lieb’s tractors quit working. A week later, his combine stopped working, too. Both were new — and he was locked out from making any repairs himself because of software restrictions embedded in the machines. Instead,…
Illinois Senate advances changes to state’s biometric privacy law after business groups split
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – It’s been more than a year since the Illinois Supreme Court “respectfully suggest(ed)” state lawmakers clarify a law that’s led to several multi-million-dollar settlements with tech companies over the collection of Illinoisans’ biometric data. On Thursday, a bipartisan majority in the Illinois Senate did just that,…
Capitol Briefs: Bill creating new early childhood agency among 244 to advance
By ALEX ABBEDUTO HANNAH MEISEL & COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker’s plan to create a new state agency to oversee Illinois’ various early childhood programs moved forward on Friday after the state Senate’s unanimous approval. It was one of 244 bills that cleared the Senate this week. Early childhood…
Lawmakers, cannabis industry calls for ban on ‘delta-8’ and other psychoactive hemp products
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois’ largest cannabis business association is pushing to ban the sale of delta-8 THC, an increasingly popular psychoactive substance that’s popped up in corner stores across the country in recent years. New legislation filed in Springfield this week revives an ongoing debate over delta-8 and other…
As state continues to inventory lead pipes, full replacement deadlines are decades away
By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois Clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com Lead pipes in public water systems and drinking fixtures have been banned in new construction since 1986, when Congress amended the Safe Drinking Water Act, but they are still in use across the U.S. and in Illinois. The presence of lead pipes has persisted due in part to…
Illinois Senate advances changes to state’s biometric privacy law after business groups split
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – It’s been more than a year since the Illinois Supreme Court “respectfully suggest(ed)” state lawmakers clarify a law that’s led to several multi-million-dollar settlements with tech companies over the collection of Illinoisans’ biometric data. On Thursday, a bipartisan majority in the Illinois Senate did just that,…
Giannoulias calls for disclosure of lobbyist contracts
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – For decades, lobbyists in the Illinois Statehouse have been required to report how much they spend wining, dining and entertaining lawmakers. Currently, though, there is no law requiring lobbyists to disclose how much they are paid by corporations, industry groups or other special interest organizations.. That…