Senior Caroline Mortonson appreciates and pays back the friendship from teammates when she was a freshman starting on varsity for the Lyons Township High School girls soccer team.
“I had the most amazing group of seniors who drove me everywhere, really picked me up,” Mortonson said. “When I missed the (penalty kick) to lose our game in the playoffs, they took me to get food after so I try to do that to the people here. We have a car pool with both of the freshmen because they live right by me.”
Reserve midfielder Lauren Salvino, one of those freshmen, helped the Lions’ postseason ride continue Friday. Salvino scored their first two goals – both off of dangerous crosses by Mortonson – as the Lions rallied for a 3-1 victory over Fenwick in the Class 3A Reavis Regional final.
The Lions (10-9-1), the No. 5 seed in the Downers Grove South Sectional, played No. 1 Hinsdale Central (18-5) in Tuesday’s sectional semifinals.
Mortonson, a two-time all-state forward/midfielder, has been part of four regional champions and last year’s sectional titlist.
“This is definitely the most competitive (regional final),” Mortonson said. “We’ve gone down first in a lot of games and worked our way back. We didn’t put our head down but kept working hard and it paid off.”
The Lions, who have won five of their last six games, captured their 12th straight regional title but first among those by defeating a higher seeded.
“It’s something this group should really be proud of because we’ve had some ups and downs this season but they’ve stuck together,” LTHS coach Bill Lanspeary said. “It’s great to see that work pay off with the regional championship.”
No. 4 Fenwick (11-9-1) scored first 21:17 before halftime but Salvino answered only 1:15 later after Mortonson’s left-corner cross was blocked by a defender but left uncleared in the crease.
Salvino put the Lions ahead 13:09 before halftime when Mortonson’s right-corner cross was initially stopped by the goalie but leaked through the crease. Mortonson added a 24-yard scoring blast with 32:26 to play.
“Both of (my goals) actually were from Caroline’s amazing crosses,” said Salvino, whose freshman teammate is long-time friend Emma Thimm. “The goals themselves are just getting to the ball first, wanting to win for the team.”
Mortonson certainly has helped. The Miami (Ohio) recruit has a team-best 15 goals and nine assists, followed by injured junior Carolina Capzzi (7 goals, 9 assists), who hasn’t played since May 9, Salvino (5 goals) and six players with three goals.
Despite incomplete scoring records, Mortonson certainly is among the top-10, if not top five, in LTHS history.
“She’s kind of an unassuming kid. She doesn’t have an ego, works hard, and is extremely likeable,” Lanspeary responded. “She’s not your typical vocal senior leader. She just quietly works hard and gets the job done. I think because of her ability but not having an ego, players are naturally drawn to her and feed off her subtle confidence and work ethic.”
Primarily as offensive juggernaut as a freshman forward, Mortonson has expanded her game off the ball and in creating opportunities.
“I’m proud of growing as a player and person through the teams,” Mortonson said. “Through all of the years I’ve stepped into different roles of more of a leader and outspoken person on the team, which I feel is important on and off the field. I feel like my confidence on the field has improved. When I made mistakes (as a freshman), I would always get down on myself. I realized it’s OK to make mistake. You just have to get the next one.”
Mortonson is extra-emotional about this season. This will probably be the last playing alongside sophomore sister Claire Mortonson, another key contributor Friday as a defensive midfielder.
“I have three younger sisters. I’m really close with all of them. It’s so fun playing with (Clarie), just everything, getting ready together, going to the games, leaving the games,” Mortonson said. “Probably my favorite memories are when we have big wins. There’s just good energy on the field and the feeling of winning as a team when everyone plays their role is so fun. Or big games like sectional championships are definitely my favorite because it’s what you’ve finally worked for.”
RB soccer
Despite enduring a nine-match losing streak in April, the Bulldogs refused to quit.
The season ended with a 3-0 loss to No. 7 seed Morton in the 3A Morton Regional semifinals May 20, but No. 10 RBHS (6-14-1) emerged from the streak with a 3-3-1 record over its last seven games.
“The last month especially, you could really see everything we’ve worked on finally coming together. We finally got to end on a good note,” said senior Lucy Drenth. “We lost a ton of starters (from 2024). Not a ton of us had played together before. We didn’t always get the results that we wanted, but I still think we had a lot of games that we should be very proud of.”
The Bulldogs graduate seven players and five regional starters – co-captains Drenth and Raleigh Jesswein, leading scorer Ella Caputo (7 goals, 7 assists), Katie Doyle and Abbi Jurkovic, as well as injured starter Isa Hernandez and Taryn Schultz.
RBHS previously lost to Morton 5-0 March 25 and 2-0 April 5.
“Looking back on this season, overall it was successful just in the way that we progressed. We really progressed,” Jesswein said. “We didn’t win any of these games (with Morton) but we really showed the improvement we had one and off the field. Everyone should be proud of the work they put in and we should be proud of each other.”