Midfielder Margarita Rendon couldn’t believe it. Coach Mike Kandra couldn’t bear it. For the second straight year, Kelly’s girls soccer team lost the Public League championship match on a penalty kick.
Lane Tech’s Genave Daniel’s penalty-shot goal at 34:07 of the first half turned out to be the deciding goal. The penalty came when Lidia Kiorkis was taken down inside the box by a Kelly defender. Lane held on to win 2-1 and claim its first girls city soccer title.
Daniel’s chip-shot goal gave the Indians (12-5-5) a 2-0 lead. Lane sophomore Kristin Nelson had already scored 12 minutes into the game.
Rendon scored her ninth goal of the year at 17:39 of the second half to pull Kelly (13-2-2) to within one. The Trojans had their opportunities late, but a shot by Maria Ramirez hit the post, and a line drive by Rendon was stopped by Lane goalkeeper Noreen Koradsheh.