Lincoln-Way E., Lockport
take heart in 1-1 draw
Griffins turn corner against motivated Porters
By Steve Millar
LOCKPORT -- Lincoln-Way East’s Stefani Cetera knows the Griffins have reached a high level because they’re no longer satisfied with ties.
“It’s really nice to have so many wins this early in the season,” Cetera said. “I’m not used to it. A tie for our team feels like a loss now. I think that’s a good thing.”
Lincoln-Way East remained unbeaten with its second-straight draw, tying host Lockport 1-1 in a Southwest Suburban crossover Saturday.
For the Porters (2-2-1), the result was a positive one after Thursday’s 3-1 loss to Lincoln-Way Central.
“After Thursday’s effort, we were more motivated to come out strong and show that Thursday wasn’t a true indication of our team,” Lockport coach Todd Elkei said. “The girls did a great job communicating and directing each other, which is something we’ve struggled with in the past. That was good to see.”
The Griffins (7-0-2) spent a good part of the first half on their heels, with a strong wind against them.
Lockport had a couple quality chances in the opening 40 minutes. Its best chance came when Ally Fischer took a pass from Stephanie Quigley and got a good look at a shot from the middle of the box. Lincoln-Way East goalkeeper Kimberly Seper (2 saves) made a lunging stop.
The Griffins came up empty on four first half corner kicks, but broke through for the game’s first goal on their first attempt of the second half.
Cetera sent a cross that Jessica Rajca collected in front of the net and poked past Lockport goalkeeper Cassidy Henson (2 saves) with 32:36 left in the game.
“I was just running front post hoping to get any rebound that would come out, and I saw it come right to me. I just tapped it and hoped it would go in,” Rajca said.
For Rajca, it was a just reward after she was very active in the first half.
It was the first corner Cetera took in the game after Jill Kilrea took all of the Griffins’ corners in the first half.
“Me and Jill usually switch on and off depending on which side we’re on,” Cetera said. “Our coach (Brian Papa) was just like, ‘Cetera, you take it,’ and it worked out. I’ve taken a lot of corners, so I was confident.”
The Porters found the equalizer on their own corner just over 20 minutes later. Brooke Janeczek sent a bending cross that curved past Seper and in.
“I was just trying to cross it, and it just kind of flew in from the wind,” Janeczek said. “I’ll take it.”
The goal earned Janeczek some bragging rights.
“I’m good friends with (Seper), so I was excited to play against her, and I really wanted to win,” Janeczek said.
Janeczek, Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match, also anchored a Porters’ defense which slowed down a Griffins attack that has produced 28 goals on the season. Jamie Hansen and Madiyson Hannion also turned in strong efforts on the back line.
“They’re all sophomores back there, and they’re solid day in and day out,” Elkei said. “To play a team like Lincoln-Way East that is on an incredible run right now and scoring a ton of goals and hold them to one is pretty good.
“Our girls respond. They come back and show their competitive spirit. We got down 1-0, but they didn’t quit.”
Resilience has been key for the Porters early in the season. They responded from a disappointing loss to Minooka with a quality win against Providence and earned Saturday’s draw coming off the defeat at the hands of Lincoln-Way Central.
“We just all know how to come together,” Lockport’s Taylor Stortz said. “Those losses don’t bring us down. They just bring us together. You can tell in the games right after we lose, we just come back stronger. Hopefully it’s not like that all season, though. Hopefully we can get on a hot streak.”
The Porters got a scare when senior forward Sam Calderaro went down with a leg injury in the 20th minute.
Calderaro went to the hospital for X-rays. Trainers feared a broken fibula, but itwas determined she suffered a sprained ankle.
Fischer, a freshman, shined in her absence.
“She did a great job creating chances,” Elkei said. “When Sammy got hurt, we put her up top. She’s the littlest girl on the field, but she’s attacking (East’s Anna Power), the biggest girl on the field, with no fear. That’s what we’re trying to get everybody on the field to do, to know you’ve got to do the extra things and put in the extra effort. Ally’s work led to that corner that we scored on.”
Lincoln-Way East, meanwhile, was happy to at least get a tie, considering it was playing its fifth game in six days.
“We had an off day (Friday) and we were able to rest and recover a bit, so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been,” Rajca said. “We’re definitely a little worn out, though.”
The Griffins were playing without senior captain Hannah Dolan-Cook due to an illness and lost starting defender Jade Christensen to an injury early in the game.
“We had to move (Power) to the middle of the defense when Jade went down, and she did a good job," East coach Brian Papa said.
“The first seven games, we survived a couple times. We won two shootouts and then we had some blowout wins. But now we have fatigue setting in, injuries setting in. Those things are going to take their toll.
“Overall, though, to be 7-0-2. If you told me before the season that’s where we’d be nine games in, I’d have taken it.”
Starting lineups
Lincoln-Way East
GK: Kimberly Seper
D: Jade Christensen
D: Lindsey Murphy
D: Anna Power
M: Jill Kilrea
M: Caroline Kilrea
M: Lauren Sandberg
M: Stefani Cetera
F: Jessica Rajca
F: Emily Scianna
F: Hanna Dawczak
Lockport
GK: Cassidy Henson
D: Brooke Janeczek
D: Jamie Hansen
D: Madiyson Hannion
M: Taylor Stortz
M: Allie Polinski
M: Stephanie Quigley
M: Alexis Hernandez
M: Ally Fischer
F: Sam Calderaro
F: Lauren Pikulski
MVP of the Match: Brooke Janeczek, D, Lockport
Officials: Vince DeFranco, Mike McDermott, Chuck Reynolds
take heart in 1-1 draw
Griffins turn corner against motivated Porters
By Steve Millar
LOCKPORT -- Lincoln-Way East’s Stefani Cetera knows the Griffins have reached a high level because they’re no longer satisfied with ties.
“It’s really nice to have so many wins this early in the season,” Cetera said. “I’m not used to it. A tie for our team feels like a loss now. I think that’s a good thing.”
Lincoln-Way East remained unbeaten with its second-straight draw, tying host Lockport 1-1 in a Southwest Suburban crossover Saturday.
For the Porters (2-2-1), the result was a positive one after Thursday’s 3-1 loss to Lincoln-Way Central.
“After Thursday’s effort, we were more motivated to come out strong and show that Thursday wasn’t a true indication of our team,” Lockport coach Todd Elkei said. “The girls did a great job communicating and directing each other, which is something we’ve struggled with in the past. That was good to see.”
The Griffins (7-0-2) spent a good part of the first half on their heels, with a strong wind against them.
Lockport had a couple quality chances in the opening 40 minutes. Its best chance came when Ally Fischer took a pass from Stephanie Quigley and got a good look at a shot from the middle of the box. Lincoln-Way East goalkeeper Kimberly Seper (2 saves) made a lunging stop.
The Griffins came up empty on four first half corner kicks, but broke through for the game’s first goal on their first attempt of the second half.
Cetera sent a cross that Jessica Rajca collected in front of the net and poked past Lockport goalkeeper Cassidy Henson (2 saves) with 32:36 left in the game.
“I was just running front post hoping to get any rebound that would come out, and I saw it come right to me. I just tapped it and hoped it would go in,” Rajca said.
For Rajca, it was a just reward after she was very active in the first half.
It was the first corner Cetera took in the game after Jill Kilrea took all of the Griffins’ corners in the first half.
“Me and Jill usually switch on and off depending on which side we’re on,” Cetera said. “Our coach (Brian Papa) was just like, ‘Cetera, you take it,’ and it worked out. I’ve taken a lot of corners, so I was confident.”
The Porters found the equalizer on their own corner just over 20 minutes later. Brooke Janeczek sent a bending cross that curved past Seper and in.
“I was just trying to cross it, and it just kind of flew in from the wind,” Janeczek said. “I’ll take it.”
The goal earned Janeczek some bragging rights.
“I’m good friends with (Seper), so I was excited to play against her, and I really wanted to win,” Janeczek said.
Janeczek, Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match, also anchored a Porters’ defense which slowed down a Griffins attack that has produced 28 goals on the season. Jamie Hansen and Madiyson Hannion also turned in strong efforts on the back line.
“They’re all sophomores back there, and they’re solid day in and day out,” Elkei said. “To play a team like Lincoln-Way East that is on an incredible run right now and scoring a ton of goals and hold them to one is pretty good.
“Our girls respond. They come back and show their competitive spirit. We got down 1-0, but they didn’t quit.”
Resilience has been key for the Porters early in the season. They responded from a disappointing loss to Minooka with a quality win against Providence and earned Saturday’s draw coming off the defeat at the hands of Lincoln-Way Central.
“We just all know how to come together,” Lockport’s Taylor Stortz said. “Those losses don’t bring us down. They just bring us together. You can tell in the games right after we lose, we just come back stronger. Hopefully it’s not like that all season, though. Hopefully we can get on a hot streak.”
The Porters got a scare when senior forward Sam Calderaro went down with a leg injury in the 20th minute.
Calderaro went to the hospital for X-rays. Trainers feared a broken fibula, but itwas determined she suffered a sprained ankle.
Fischer, a freshman, shined in her absence.
“She did a great job creating chances,” Elkei said. “When Sammy got hurt, we put her up top. She’s the littlest girl on the field, but she’s attacking (East’s Anna Power), the biggest girl on the field, with no fear. That’s what we’re trying to get everybody on the field to do, to know you’ve got to do the extra things and put in the extra effort. Ally’s work led to that corner that we scored on.”
Lincoln-Way East, meanwhile, was happy to at least get a tie, considering it was playing its fifth game in six days.
“We had an off day (Friday) and we were able to rest and recover a bit, so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been,” Rajca said. “We’re definitely a little worn out, though.”
The Griffins were playing without senior captain Hannah Dolan-Cook due to an illness and lost starting defender Jade Christensen to an injury early in the game.
“We had to move (Power) to the middle of the defense when Jade went down, and she did a good job," East coach Brian Papa said.
“The first seven games, we survived a couple times. We won two shootouts and then we had some blowout wins. But now we have fatigue setting in, injuries setting in. Those things are going to take their toll.
“Overall, though, to be 7-0-2. If you told me before the season that’s where we’d be nine games in, I’d have taken it.”
Starting lineups
Lincoln-Way East
GK: Kimberly Seper
D: Jade Christensen
D: Lindsey Murphy
D: Anna Power
M: Jill Kilrea
M: Caroline Kilrea
M: Lauren Sandberg
M: Stefani Cetera
F: Jessica Rajca
F: Emily Scianna
F: Hanna Dawczak
Lockport
GK: Cassidy Henson
D: Brooke Janeczek
D: Jamie Hansen
D: Madiyson Hannion
M: Taylor Stortz
M: Allie Polinski
M: Stephanie Quigley
M: Alexis Hernandez
M: Ally Fischer
F: Sam Calderaro
F: Lauren Pikulski
MVP of the Match: Brooke Janeczek, D, Lockport
Officials: Vince DeFranco, Mike McDermott, Chuck Reynolds