Defender gets offensive
in Lincoln-Way West rout
Wyskiel's 2 goals lead Warriors past Reavis
By Matt Le Cren
SCHAUMBURG – Emily Wyskiel no longer gets to play an attacking role for Lincoln-Way West, but that hasn’t curbed her hunger to score.
The four-year starter recently switched from midfield to defense. But she still has a nose for the goal, as she proved Saturday by scoring on two spectacular shots to lead the Warriors to a 5-1 rout of Reavis in the Gatorade Bracket on the opening day of the Pepsi Showdown at Olympic Park.
“We moved Emily to center back to solidify some things, so I think that just leads to her hunger when we do get a set piece,” Lincoln-Way West coach Jeff Theiss said. “When she gets an opportunity to go forward, she takes it.”
Wyskiel is dangerous on free kicks, but the four-year starter scored both of her goals through the run of play.
The first came in the 37th minute and gave the Warriors (7-3) a 2-0 lead. A corner kick was headed up in the air by Brianna Heyer to a spot near the middle of the Reavis box. Wyskiel ran to the ball and blasted a left-footed volley past Reavis goalkeeper Maribel Carmona.
“I’m always hungry [for goals],” said Wyskiel, who now has four this spring. “When I get the chance to go forward, I've got to get one.”
Wyskiel got her second late in the second half when she made a steal in the midfield, dribbled up the middle and uncorked a 30-yard cracker that went into the upper right corner to finish the scoring.
“Those [goals] are quality,” Theiss said. “[The first] was just a quality hit, the full volley with the left foot.
“She’s a four-year starter and her leadership has grown tremendously throughout the years. She’s comfortable with the ball at her foot. Her game sense, her soccer IQ is on another level.
“She reads the game so well and she simplifies things, and that [second goal] is a prime example. She finds herself a few yards of space, takes a touch and has a quality hit on net.”
The Warriors delivered plenty of quality hits, outshooting the Rams 16-6. Heyer, Natalie Tannura and Meghann Lange also scored for Lincoln-Way West, which led 3-0 before Karina Lopez buried a rebound after a long shot hit the crossbar just a minute after Heyer’s goal.
Lange and Wyskiel scored in the final 10 minutes for the Warriors, who were never seriously threatened. Many different players excelled all over the field.
“That’s been our talk all season -- the dynamic of this team,” Theiss said. “There’s definitely more than one weapon, so we stress day in and day out that 11 need to get involved in the attack, 11 need to defend. We’re starting to see that come around that we can score from anywhere.
“We’re moving players around to different positions. I think moving Lange outside, she found a lot of space out there and was very dangerous, so credit to her for exploiting that space and then cutting inside and looking to shoot.”
The Warriors embrace that philosophy.
“We have a lot of really good players all across the field, and all of us can find it,” Wyskiel said. “It’s good to have even our outside backs be offense-minded.”
Lincoln-Way West made its debut at the Pepsi Showdown, which has doubled in size to 64 teams this year in order to accommodate its growing popularity. The Warriors are in the Gatorade Bracket, one notch below the main Aquafina Bracket, but they don’t mind.
“This is a really cool tournament because of teams and college coaches around, and it’s good to get other teams looking at you, bringing [attention] to your high school," said Lange. "It gives us a lot of confidence.
“This tournament is nice also because we play a lot of teams we haven’t seen before, so it will be a good way for us to see competition we don’t normally get to see. Some of the best teams in the state are out here. We could see them and really prove how well we can do in a postseason run. I think it’s going to be a good sign of how we can do.”
Lincoln-Way West, which is the 12th seed in its bracket, will travel to No. 5 seed West Aurora, which beat Oak Forest 5-1, for a second-round game Tuesday.
“This is really nice,” said Wyskiel, Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match. “We’ve never done anything like this before, so it’s a new experience for everyone. I think it’s very good team bonding-wise, and it’s been good to get our name out there and show everyone what we’ve got."
Theiss said the tournament, with 34 games spread out over five adjacent fields, reminded him of his youth soccer days.
“It’s such a great experience for the kids to be a part of this,” Theiss said. “I know they’re excited about it.
“I was able to come out here at 9 this morning and watch a couple games and see some teams we could potentially run into down the road, so just having everybody at one site is so convenient.”
Starting lineups
Lincoln-Way West
GK: Audrey Pearson
D: Emily Wyskiel
D: Teagan Lyke
D: Breanna Bembenek
D: Brianna Heyer
M: Madison Mikaluaski
M: Meghann Lange
M: Meredith Buldak
M: Brittany Stover
F: Kaitlyn Souder
F: Natalie Tannura
Reavis
GK: Maribel Carmona
D: Ashley Pala
D: Hazel Andrade
D: Vicky Paczkowska
D: Karina Lopez
D: Leslie Reyes
M: Jessica Boblak
M: Celeste Lara
M: Patty Kaminska
M: Arlette Hernandez
F: Ewelina Kmin
MVP of the Match: Emily Wyskiel, D, Lincoln-Way West
in Lincoln-Way West rout
Wyskiel's 2 goals lead Warriors past Reavis
By Matt Le Cren
SCHAUMBURG – Emily Wyskiel no longer gets to play an attacking role for Lincoln-Way West, but that hasn’t curbed her hunger to score.
The four-year starter recently switched from midfield to defense. But she still has a nose for the goal, as she proved Saturday by scoring on two spectacular shots to lead the Warriors to a 5-1 rout of Reavis in the Gatorade Bracket on the opening day of the Pepsi Showdown at Olympic Park.
“We moved Emily to center back to solidify some things, so I think that just leads to her hunger when we do get a set piece,” Lincoln-Way West coach Jeff Theiss said. “When she gets an opportunity to go forward, she takes it.”
Wyskiel is dangerous on free kicks, but the four-year starter scored both of her goals through the run of play.
The first came in the 37th minute and gave the Warriors (7-3) a 2-0 lead. A corner kick was headed up in the air by Brianna Heyer to a spot near the middle of the Reavis box. Wyskiel ran to the ball and blasted a left-footed volley past Reavis goalkeeper Maribel Carmona.
“I’m always hungry [for goals],” said Wyskiel, who now has four this spring. “When I get the chance to go forward, I've got to get one.”
Wyskiel got her second late in the second half when she made a steal in the midfield, dribbled up the middle and uncorked a 30-yard cracker that went into the upper right corner to finish the scoring.
“Those [goals] are quality,” Theiss said. “[The first] was just a quality hit, the full volley with the left foot.
“She’s a four-year starter and her leadership has grown tremendously throughout the years. She’s comfortable with the ball at her foot. Her game sense, her soccer IQ is on another level.
“She reads the game so well and she simplifies things, and that [second goal] is a prime example. She finds herself a few yards of space, takes a touch and has a quality hit on net.”
The Warriors delivered plenty of quality hits, outshooting the Rams 16-6. Heyer, Natalie Tannura and Meghann Lange also scored for Lincoln-Way West, which led 3-0 before Karina Lopez buried a rebound after a long shot hit the crossbar just a minute after Heyer’s goal.
Lange and Wyskiel scored in the final 10 minutes for the Warriors, who were never seriously threatened. Many different players excelled all over the field.
“That’s been our talk all season -- the dynamic of this team,” Theiss said. “There’s definitely more than one weapon, so we stress day in and day out that 11 need to get involved in the attack, 11 need to defend. We’re starting to see that come around that we can score from anywhere.
“We’re moving players around to different positions. I think moving Lange outside, she found a lot of space out there and was very dangerous, so credit to her for exploiting that space and then cutting inside and looking to shoot.”
The Warriors embrace that philosophy.
“We have a lot of really good players all across the field, and all of us can find it,” Wyskiel said. “It’s good to have even our outside backs be offense-minded.”
Lincoln-Way West made its debut at the Pepsi Showdown, which has doubled in size to 64 teams this year in order to accommodate its growing popularity. The Warriors are in the Gatorade Bracket, one notch below the main Aquafina Bracket, but they don’t mind.
“This is a really cool tournament because of teams and college coaches around, and it’s good to get other teams looking at you, bringing [attention] to your high school," said Lange. "It gives us a lot of confidence.
“This tournament is nice also because we play a lot of teams we haven’t seen before, so it will be a good way for us to see competition we don’t normally get to see. Some of the best teams in the state are out here. We could see them and really prove how well we can do in a postseason run. I think it’s going to be a good sign of how we can do.”
Lincoln-Way West, which is the 12th seed in its bracket, will travel to No. 5 seed West Aurora, which beat Oak Forest 5-1, for a second-round game Tuesday.
“This is really nice,” said Wyskiel, Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match. “We’ve never done anything like this before, so it’s a new experience for everyone. I think it’s very good team bonding-wise, and it’s been good to get our name out there and show everyone what we’ve got."
Theiss said the tournament, with 34 games spread out over five adjacent fields, reminded him of his youth soccer days.
“It’s such a great experience for the kids to be a part of this,” Theiss said. “I know they’re excited about it.
“I was able to come out here at 9 this morning and watch a couple games and see some teams we could potentially run into down the road, so just having everybody at one site is so convenient.”
Starting lineups
Lincoln-Way West
GK: Audrey Pearson
D: Emily Wyskiel
D: Teagan Lyke
D: Breanna Bembenek
D: Brianna Heyer
M: Madison Mikaluaski
M: Meghann Lange
M: Meredith Buldak
M: Brittany Stover
F: Kaitlyn Souder
F: Natalie Tannura
Reavis
GK: Maribel Carmona
D: Ashley Pala
D: Hazel Andrade
D: Vicky Paczkowska
D: Karina Lopez
D: Leslie Reyes
M: Jessica Boblak
M: Celeste Lara
M: Patty Kaminska
M: Arlette Hernandez
F: Ewelina Kmin
MVP of the Match: Emily Wyskiel, D, Lincoln-Way West