Audrey Stephens scores game winner
Chicago Dutch Lions FC finished their inaugural regular season with a winning record and secured 2nd place in the Conference standings after a 1-0 win on the road vs Milwaukee Bavarians. An Audrey Stephens goal early in the first half was all the Lions needed to secure its fourth win of the regular season, which capped off a second-place finish in Lake Michigan Conference play with 16 points and a 4-2-4 record overall.
Nikhil Erlebach was very pleased with the way his group that developed in a few weeks time mixing local talent with a European style of play that he takes tremendous pride in. While he was happy to get the victory and cap off the season on a high note, he recognizes that no lead is ever safe, regardless of the opponent. “We had only scored one goal,” Erlebach said. “It was 1-0. So, in this beautiful game, you never
know [what’s going to happen]. It’s never over until it’s over. If you’re only up by one goal, anything can happen.” Erlebach is happy to have the Lions’ inaugural season under their belt considering that
only a few months ago, the thought of organizing a team and also performing seemed rather difficult due to covid and late scheduling. “It feels great to have the first season in the bag,” he said. “Not only because of the second-place finish, but mainly because we played attractive, good team "futbol". To be honest, it was not really a focus [to be successful during the first season]. We just wanted to provide a great environment for these young women and play good, positive soccer right out of the bag, [while] creating opportunities every game. We wanted to outplay our opponents every game. That was our goal. The positive results were the side bonus. We’re happy about second-place finish and I think it was very deserved. I even think we could have gotten more points, but let's not forget we had a very, very young team. So overall it’s all positive.”
Chicago Dutch Lions FC likes to thank all players, staff, fans, partners and ownership for their hard work and commitment and will look to build the club further towards the 2022 season.