Posted: May 09, 2019
Overcoming Obstacles On and Off the Field
By Emily Iannaconi
Captain Keyla Romero weaves through defenders and fires a shot to the bottom left corner of the goal. The ball goes past Glenbard South's goalie, giving Pritzker an early 1-0 lead. It is the fourth round of the PepsiCo Showdown - the round that will determine whether or not the Jaguars advance to the championship game.
More than 200 Chicago and Northern Illinois schools participate in the PepsiCo Showdown. It started in 2003 and is the largest high school soccer tournament in the U.S. For girls hoping to play in college, this tournament serves as a showcase of talent from all around the state. In its first year as a participant last season, Pritzker won its bracket, defeating its opponent, 7-0. This year, the Jaguars are more challenged, facing top-quality schools from around Illinois.
The Glenbard South's Raiders respond quickly with a goal of their own, tying the score at one. Just before halftime, the Raiders took the lead. Glenbard South would go on to hold a 2-1 advantage for the remainder of the game, ending Pritzker's run in the tournament.
Throughout the game, head coach Luz Espinoza walks up and down the sidelines, only raising her voice to tell someone, "Nice pass!" or "Good touch!", keeping faith in her team. At halftime, she shares a story about the first Noble Championship that Pritzker won. The Jaguars were down by two and came back to win in overtime. "You need to play like you really want it.," Espinoza says. "You need to want it in here." Espinoza points to her heart.
Despite the loss to Glenbard South in the fourth round of the PepsiCo Showdown, the Pritzker Jaguars are proud of their performance in the statewide tournament in which they went 2-2.
In conference play this season, the Jaguars have dominated, posting a perfect 10-0 record. Assistant coach Amanda Meyers knows that the team does not become better by winning. "You become a better team when you lose, so you can figure out how to overcome the challenges," Meyers says. "If you're never challenged, you don't know where you are weak, so you don't know where to develop. I want to play more teams like [Glenbard South] so that we can see where we can improve."
Despite losing two games, the Pritzker coaches are proud of the progress the team showed in the PepsiCo Showdown. They understand that mistakes happen on the field and only care that players recover from those mistakes. Meyers says that her philosophy is, "Coach, then trust." Together, Meyers and Espinoza do not yell during games. They believe that the coaching is done during practice and then they trust the players to perform on the playing field.
Upon heading into the PepsiCo Showdown, Espinoza and Meyers prepared their team for what to expect from the other teams. They are faster, stronger and they have more resources. Pritzker, meanwhile, does not have access to a playing field every day. There are seven sports competing for gym space in the spring, meaning Pritzker soccer has only two days a week to practice in the gym at school. Even then, they practice on a basketball court. On good days, the team will practice at Humboldt Park. The girls run from school to the park, which is a little over a mile, while Espinoza puts all of the equipment in her car and Meyers takes the girls' backpacks. They have practiced outside about five times this year.
Despite these obstacles, Pritzker has some stand-out players, a few of which in particular stood out against the tough competition at PepsiCo. Captain and center midfielder Keyla Romero prioritizes the team over herself, says Meyers. "She's the kind of player who will distribute a pass instead of taking a shot so that somebody else can get the glory," Meyers says. "She understands what it means to be humble. She knows what to do and when to do it."
Sophomore midfielder Joanna Bahena was also successful at distributing the ball throughout the tournament rather than taking that final shot, making her one of the important playmakers on the team. Sweeper Adrienie Cornejo provided strong, reliable defense throughout. "She knows what to do with the ball before it is even at her feet," Meyers says.
Moving forward for the rest of the season, Pritzker is focused on the conference and state tournaments. Meyers says that the team is working on the rate at which they play in order to move the ball faster. "It's all about urgency," Meyers says. "You know where to put the ball. Now, do it faster."
No matter the game though, one thing remains constant for the Pritzker Jaguars. "Before we play any game," Meyers says. "We say that you come off the field with your heads held high, knowing you did the best you could."
Pritzker went on to cap off an undefeated Noble League season with a win over Noble Street in the conference championship game to claim its fifth-straight league title.
Captain Keyla Romero weaves through defenders and fires a shot to the bottom left corner of the goal. The ball goes past Glenbard South's goalie, giving Pritzker an early 1-0 lead. It is the fourth round of the PepsiCo Showdown - the round that will determine whether or not the Jaguars advance to the championship game.
More than 200 Chicago and Northern Illinois schools participate in the PepsiCo Showdown. It started in 2003 and is the largest high school soccer tournament in the U.S. For girls hoping to play in college, this tournament serves as a showcase of talent from all around the state. In its first year as a participant last season, Pritzker won its bracket, defeating its opponent, 7-0. This year, the Jaguars are more challenged, facing top-quality schools from around Illinois.
The Glenbard South's Raiders respond quickly with a goal of their own, tying the score at one. Just before halftime, the Raiders took the lead. Glenbard South would go on to hold a 2-1 advantage for the remainder of the game, ending Pritzker's run in the tournament.
Throughout the game, head coach Luz Espinoza walks up and down the sidelines, only raising her voice to tell someone, "Nice pass!" or "Good touch!", keeping faith in her team. At halftime, she shares a story about the first Noble Championship that Pritzker won. The Jaguars were down by two and came back to win in overtime. "You need to play like you really want it.," Espinoza says. "You need to want it in here." Espinoza points to her heart.
Despite the loss to Glenbard South in the fourth round of the PepsiCo Showdown, the Pritzker Jaguars are proud of their performance in the statewide tournament in which they went 2-2.
In conference play this season, the Jaguars have dominated, posting a perfect 10-0 record. Assistant coach Amanda Meyers knows that the team does not become better by winning. "You become a better team when you lose, so you can figure out how to overcome the challenges," Meyers says. "If you're never challenged, you don't know where you are weak, so you don't know where to develop. I want to play more teams like [Glenbard South] so that we can see where we can improve."
Despite losing two games, the Pritzker coaches are proud of the progress the team showed in the PepsiCo Showdown. They understand that mistakes happen on the field and only care that players recover from those mistakes. Meyers says that her philosophy is, "Coach, then trust." Together, Meyers and Espinoza do not yell during games. They believe that the coaching is done during practice and then they trust the players to perform on the playing field.
Upon heading into the PepsiCo Showdown, Espinoza and Meyers prepared their team for what to expect from the other teams. They are faster, stronger and they have more resources. Pritzker, meanwhile, does not have access to a playing field every day. There are seven sports competing for gym space in the spring, meaning Pritzker soccer has only two days a week to practice in the gym at school. Even then, they practice on a basketball court. On good days, the team will practice at Humboldt Park. The girls run from school to the park, which is a little over a mile, while Espinoza puts all of the equipment in her car and Meyers takes the girls' backpacks. They have practiced outside about five times this year.
Despite these obstacles, Pritzker has some stand-out players, a few of which in particular stood out against the tough competition at PepsiCo. Captain and center midfielder Keyla Romero prioritizes the team over herself, says Meyers. "She's the kind of player who will distribute a pass instead of taking a shot so that somebody else can get the glory," Meyers says. "She understands what it means to be humble. She knows what to do and when to do it."
Sophomore midfielder Joanna Bahena was also successful at distributing the ball throughout the tournament rather than taking that final shot, making her one of the important playmakers on the team. Sweeper Adrienie Cornejo provided strong, reliable defense throughout. "She knows what to do with the ball before it is even at her feet," Meyers says.
Moving forward for the rest of the season, Pritzker is focused on the conference and state tournaments. Meyers says that the team is working on the rate at which they play in order to move the ball faster. "It's all about urgency," Meyers says. "You know where to put the ball. Now, do it faster."
No matter the game though, one thing remains constant for the Pritzker Jaguars. "Before we play any game," Meyers says. "We say that you come off the field with your heads held high, knowing you did the best you could."
Pritzker went on to cap off an undefeated Noble League season with a win over Noble Street in the conference championship game to claim its fifth-straight league title.
