“Senior leadership” boosts
Lincoln-Way East into Classic semis
1-0 win vs. Stagg earns date with Providence on Tuesday
By Derek Wolff
FRANKFORT -- Driving against the wind and looking to score upper 90 on the near side, Jillian Kilrea’s first half free kick from 18 yards slammed into the crossbar.
The ball bounced off the framework straight to Lindsey Murphy, whose right-footed strike in the 20th minute gave Lincoln-Way East (3-0) the decisive goal in a 1-0 victory over Stagg on Saturday morning in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Windy City Ram Classic.
The goal, Murphy’s third in as many games, was the result of being in the right place at the right time, the senior defender said.
“I always just follow through and lucky enough I was right there to knock it in for her (Kilrea),” Murphy said.
The win came in the most competitive match the Griffins have seen in the early going this season. They blew out Leyden 6-1 and Oak Forest 8-1 earlier in the tournament.
“I think the girls are listening and buying into what we're saying,” said Lincoln-Way East coach Brian Papa on the successful play thus far. “Remember, we've been young; we have five sophomores up and one freshman. All except for the freshman have varsity experience; that's the difference.
“You have girls with experience since they got it out of their system last year, and we were successful the last two years. Now they're starting to believe 'Oh, I can do this,' where they question it when they're younger.
"That's what you see with Stagg; they're going to learn off this. This was a good game for them. They're young and they're going to learn and build off this.”
Lincoln-Way East had the better opportunities in the first half. In the fifth minute, Murphy missed a goal on a shot that climbed barely over the bar.
Stagg goalkeeper Claire Heneghan fended off chances from Murphy and junior forward Hanna Dawczkak before Kilrea earned the free kick on a foul just outside the box.
Murphy’s finishing touch earned the golden goal on one of 12 East shot attempts in the game.
“We got a restart right at the top of the box,” Kilrea said. “I bent it in and it hit the top post, rebounded back in and Lindsey was there to clean it up. It was a great shot by her. We were looking for more finishes on net, but if that's what wins us the game, that's what wins us the game.”
Both sides had better opportunities to score in the second half after a feeling-out process in the first half. It came, in part, due to the tournament’s use of 30-minute halves instead of the traditional 40.
“We're more of a second-half team more than anything because we have to build up our play in the first half,” Murphy said. “In the second half we're used to what's going on, and we usually use the momentum gained there to win.”
Stagg’s best chance to tie the game came in the 39th minute.
Chargers senior midfielder Hannah Mussallem’s odd-angle shot from the left side of the box forced Griffins goalkeeper Kimberly Seper to pad the ball towards a scramble in front of the net, but the follow-up shot went wide of the far post.
Lincoln-Way East's Dawczak had a chance to double her team’s lead in the 50th minute but her shot riccocheted off the post and out of bounds for a goal kick.
The Grifffins' backline held strongly in the final two minutes of the game, and cleared a Chargers corner kick safely back into the midfield to end the contest and preserve the win.
The veteran presence that’s helped contribute to 15 goals in three games and increased shooting attempts in the game Saturday is a step up from seasons past, Papa said.
“The freshmen and sophomores look for that senior leadership,” he said. “This year our seniors are very good. In the past, we'd get maybe two or three shots in a game. Today we had 12 (attempts). We didn't get that before and that's been the difference right now.
"And our defense is holding. For the youth that we've got back there and the inexperience, they're holding their own and doing their job and that's the name of the game.”
Kilrea said the Griffins’ concept of team defense has enabled the team to jell well.
“We're just really connecting a lot as a team this year, on and off the field,” Kilrea said. “On the field, everyone is willing to work back on defense. (Forward) Hanna Dawczak is running girls down from their goal to our goal. Everyone is willing to put in the work and that's what's giving us the wins.”
The victory advanced the Griffins to a Tuesday afternoon semifinal matchup with Providence, 1-0 victors over Lincoln-Way North on Saturday, with a trip to Toyota Park for the championship game on the line.
The Griffins play Providence back-to-back this week with a scheduled nonconference game on Thursday.
“We're going to do what we've been doing, keep connecting on offense," Kilrea said. "We didn't finish as well as we would have liked to today, but we're going to finish those chances against Providence.”
Starting lineups
Stagg
GK Claire Heneghan
D Allison Stefan
D Emily Stefan
D Alexandria Abed
M Maja Persa
M Alexandra Guzman
M Hannah Mussallem
M Jazmin Castanon
M Erini Kosmas
F Paulina Stafira
F Allyson Mussallem
Lincoln-Way East
GK Kimberly Seper
D Jessica Rajca
D Lindsey Murphy
D Jade Christensen
M Kelsee Schofield
M Killian Kilrea
M Caroline Kilrea
M Hanna Dolan-Cook
M Emily Bicek
F Emily Scianna
F Hannah Dawczak
MVP of the Match: Lindsey Murphy, D, LWE
Box Score
STAGG 0 0-0
LWE 1 0-1
Scoring
1st Half
LWE: Lindsey Murphy (3), assist Jillian Kilrea, 20th minute
2nd Half
No scoring
Officials: Frank Rego, Mark Watman.
Lincoln-Way East into Classic semis
1-0 win vs. Stagg earns date with Providence on Tuesday
By Derek Wolff
FRANKFORT -- Driving against the wind and looking to score upper 90 on the near side, Jillian Kilrea’s first half free kick from 18 yards slammed into the crossbar.
The ball bounced off the framework straight to Lindsey Murphy, whose right-footed strike in the 20th minute gave Lincoln-Way East (3-0) the decisive goal in a 1-0 victory over Stagg on Saturday morning in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Windy City Ram Classic.
The goal, Murphy’s third in as many games, was the result of being in the right place at the right time, the senior defender said.
“I always just follow through and lucky enough I was right there to knock it in for her (Kilrea),” Murphy said.
The win came in the most competitive match the Griffins have seen in the early going this season. They blew out Leyden 6-1 and Oak Forest 8-1 earlier in the tournament.
“I think the girls are listening and buying into what we're saying,” said Lincoln-Way East coach Brian Papa on the successful play thus far. “Remember, we've been young; we have five sophomores up and one freshman. All except for the freshman have varsity experience; that's the difference.
“You have girls with experience since they got it out of their system last year, and we were successful the last two years. Now they're starting to believe 'Oh, I can do this,' where they question it when they're younger.
"That's what you see with Stagg; they're going to learn off this. This was a good game for them. They're young and they're going to learn and build off this.”
Lincoln-Way East had the better opportunities in the first half. In the fifth minute, Murphy missed a goal on a shot that climbed barely over the bar.
Stagg goalkeeper Claire Heneghan fended off chances from Murphy and junior forward Hanna Dawczkak before Kilrea earned the free kick on a foul just outside the box.
Murphy’s finishing touch earned the golden goal on one of 12 East shot attempts in the game.
“We got a restart right at the top of the box,” Kilrea said. “I bent it in and it hit the top post, rebounded back in and Lindsey was there to clean it up. It was a great shot by her. We were looking for more finishes on net, but if that's what wins us the game, that's what wins us the game.”
Both sides had better opportunities to score in the second half after a feeling-out process in the first half. It came, in part, due to the tournament’s use of 30-minute halves instead of the traditional 40.
“We're more of a second-half team more than anything because we have to build up our play in the first half,” Murphy said. “In the second half we're used to what's going on, and we usually use the momentum gained there to win.”
Stagg’s best chance to tie the game came in the 39th minute.
Chargers senior midfielder Hannah Mussallem’s odd-angle shot from the left side of the box forced Griffins goalkeeper Kimberly Seper to pad the ball towards a scramble in front of the net, but the follow-up shot went wide of the far post.
Lincoln-Way East's Dawczak had a chance to double her team’s lead in the 50th minute but her shot riccocheted off the post and out of bounds for a goal kick.
The Grifffins' backline held strongly in the final two minutes of the game, and cleared a Chargers corner kick safely back into the midfield to end the contest and preserve the win.
The veteran presence that’s helped contribute to 15 goals in three games and increased shooting attempts in the game Saturday is a step up from seasons past, Papa said.
“The freshmen and sophomores look for that senior leadership,” he said. “This year our seniors are very good. In the past, we'd get maybe two or three shots in a game. Today we had 12 (attempts). We didn't get that before and that's been the difference right now.
"And our defense is holding. For the youth that we've got back there and the inexperience, they're holding their own and doing their job and that's the name of the game.”
Kilrea said the Griffins’ concept of team defense has enabled the team to jell well.
“We're just really connecting a lot as a team this year, on and off the field,” Kilrea said. “On the field, everyone is willing to work back on defense. (Forward) Hanna Dawczak is running girls down from their goal to our goal. Everyone is willing to put in the work and that's what's giving us the wins.”
The victory advanced the Griffins to a Tuesday afternoon semifinal matchup with Providence, 1-0 victors over Lincoln-Way North on Saturday, with a trip to Toyota Park for the championship game on the line.
The Griffins play Providence back-to-back this week with a scheduled nonconference game on Thursday.
“We're going to do what we've been doing, keep connecting on offense," Kilrea said. "We didn't finish as well as we would have liked to today, but we're going to finish those chances against Providence.”
Starting lineups
Stagg
GK Claire Heneghan
D Allison Stefan
D Emily Stefan
D Alexandria Abed
M Maja Persa
M Alexandra Guzman
M Hannah Mussallem
M Jazmin Castanon
M Erini Kosmas
F Paulina Stafira
F Allyson Mussallem
Lincoln-Way East
GK Kimberly Seper
D Jessica Rajca
D Lindsey Murphy
D Jade Christensen
M Kelsee Schofield
M Killian Kilrea
M Caroline Kilrea
M Hanna Dolan-Cook
M Emily Bicek
F Emily Scianna
F Hannah Dawczak
MVP of the Match: Lindsey Murphy, D, LWE
Box Score
STAGG 0 0-0
LWE 1 0-1
Scoring
1st Half
LWE: Lindsey Murphy (3), assist Jillian Kilrea, 20th minute
2nd Half
No scoring
Officials: Frank Rego, Mark Watman.