Loichinger picks up slack,
Lincoln-Way West tops Eisenhower
Warriors take 3-1 win in season, Windy City opener
By Steve Millar
NEW LENOX -- The top two goal-scorers, Breanna Bembenek and Madison Mikalauski, graduated from Lincoln-Way West's first sectional championship team last spring. That left midfielder Sara Loichinger as the leading returning scorer.
The junior finished with five goals last season, but she’s well on her way to eclipsing that mark this year after scoring twice in Wednesday’s season opener. Loichinger led the host Warriors to a 3-1 win over Eisenhower in the first round of the 32-team Windy City Ram Classic.
“We were excited for the first game, and we played well as a team,” Loichinger said. “I think we did a good job coping with our nerves and first-game jitters. We worked on a lot of set plays in the preseason, and we had good communication to execute them.”
Savina Filip added a goal and an assist for the Warriors (1-0-0), who advanced to take on rival Lincoln-Way Central in the second round.
Lincoln-Way West struck first just six minutes into the season as junior defender Meghan Shick played a nice long ball out of the back and sprung Loichinger open down the left sideline.
Loichinger, Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match, beautifully struck her shot off the inside of the far post.
“I was just hoping to hit the back post, and luckily I got it in,” Loichinger said.
Eisenhower (0-1-0), which returned much of the roster from a 12-win team, was no pushover. The Cardinals answered in the 16th minute when senior Isis Bejarano reeled in a loose ball, quickly turned and fired a shot from 30 yards into the top of the net for the equalizer.
The Warriors made sure the game wasn’t tied long.
Off the ensuing kickoff, Filip played a through-ball down the middle of the field for Loichinger, who fought off a defender and buried her second goal just 26 seconds after Eisenhower evened the match.
“Since we were able to get the through-ball the first time, I figured we might be able to do it again,” Loichinger said. “We did it. Savina played me a great ball, and I just scored.”
The quick response delighted Lincoln-Way West coach Jeff Theiss.
“We had a breakdown in the back, a simple miscommunication that was easily fixable, and they tied it up,” Theiss said. “I saw a couple heads drop, and I’ve got to give our leaders credit there -- what a huge response. That’s a gamechanger there. I was really proud of them for that.”
Filip made it 3-1 in the 20th minute. She took a free kick from 30 yards out along the left sideline and sent a high, looping shot that sailed over the head of Eisenhower goalkeeper Jocelyn Estrada before dipping down into the top of the net.
“Those set pieces are like a gift, especially that close to the net,” Filip said. “You always want to take advantage of those. I feel special to be able to be the person to take those.
“You’ve got all the pressure on you, but I don’t think much about it. They tell me where to go, and I just kick it.”
Filip is one of just four seniors on the Warriors roster. She, defender Katie Honan and goalkeeper Katie King were West’s only senior starters Wednesday. King is a newcomer in the lineup.
“I want to step up, take charge and be a role model for the younger girls,” Filip said. “We have a lot of freshmen coming in, and I want them to feel welcome and make this a team like we were last year.”
Theiss saw his team’s youth on display at times Wednesday, but the Warriors were able to persevere.
“I think we saw some freshmen heads spinning,” Theiss said. “I think we were lacking confidence a little bit. That’s where you expect your juniors and seniors to step up. ‘Loich’ and Savina came through, and Katie Honan did a great job making sure the backline was organized.
“Some of our girls are brand new in the system. It wasn’t pretty at times. There was a lot of kickball out there. There needs to be much more composure on the ball, and that’ll come with time.”
Lincoln-Way West’s backline of Honan, Schick, Sam Sarna and Amanda Yaeger were up to the task as Eisenhower pushed hard to get back in the game in the second half.
The Warriors did a good job limiting the Cardinals’ opportunities, and King came through when they did get them, making four saves.
Speedy forward Nyah Bejarano generated much of the attack for Eisenhower. She fired just high on a free kick from 30 yards midway through the second half and had another attempt on a free kick thwarted by King.
“Eisenhower is a handful,” Theiss said. “They were very organized through the middle of the field. I thought they were more composed than we were at times. They’ve got some girls up-top that are a handful. It was a great game for us to start with. These are the types of teams we want to play.”
Eisenhower coach Iran Rodriguez was pleased by his team’s effort. The Cardinals are two-time defending South Suburban Red champions.
“Our girls played a lot better in the second half, shutting them out,” Rodriguez said. “We made some adjustments here and there, and it worked to our favor. We had some chances and couldn’t capitalize. Their keeper played well.
“We played well for our first game of the season against a great team, a sectional champ. This is what we want. We want to play against good teams. We know we’ll win some and lose some, but as long as our girls get better as a team, as individuals, we’ll take that any day. I’m glad we started out against a team like this and we’ll learn from it.”
The Cardinals will now look to work their way through the consolation bracket of the tournament, with a trip to Toyota Park for the consolation championship game providing motivation.
“Getting a chance to play at Toyota is always exciting, so we’ll definitely shoot for that,” Rodriguez said. “We just want to keep getting better every game."
Starting lineups
Eisenhower
GK: Jocelyn Estrada
D: Ailyn Gallardo
D: Naomy Gallardo
D: Stephanie Mendoza
D: Emily Mundo
M: Anese English
M: Karina Delgado
M: Isis Bejarano
M: Gisselle Almazan
F: Nyah Bejarano
F: Chantal Rodriguez
Lincoln-Way West
GK: Katie King
D: Sam Sarna
D: Meghan Schick
D: Katie Honan
D: Amanda Yaeger
M: Madelyn Burdelik
M: Savina Filip
M: Sara Loichinger
M: Anna Kirk
M: Jane Pinkerton
F: Kylee Brandau
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Sara Loichinger, jr., MF, Lincoln-Way West
Scoring Summary
First half
Lincoln-Way West: Sara Loichinger (Meghan Schick), 6th minute
Eisenhower: Isis Bejarano (unassisted), 16th minute
Lincoln-Way West: Loichinger (Savina Filip), 16th minute
Lincoln-Way West: Filip (unassisted), 20th minute
Lincoln-Way West tops Eisenhower
Warriors take 3-1 win in season, Windy City opener
By Steve Millar
NEW LENOX -- The top two goal-scorers, Breanna Bembenek and Madison Mikalauski, graduated from Lincoln-Way West's first sectional championship team last spring. That left midfielder Sara Loichinger as the leading returning scorer.
The junior finished with five goals last season, but she’s well on her way to eclipsing that mark this year after scoring twice in Wednesday’s season opener. Loichinger led the host Warriors to a 3-1 win over Eisenhower in the first round of the 32-team Windy City Ram Classic.
“We were excited for the first game, and we played well as a team,” Loichinger said. “I think we did a good job coping with our nerves and first-game jitters. We worked on a lot of set plays in the preseason, and we had good communication to execute them.”
Savina Filip added a goal and an assist for the Warriors (1-0-0), who advanced to take on rival Lincoln-Way Central in the second round.
Lincoln-Way West struck first just six minutes into the season as junior defender Meghan Shick played a nice long ball out of the back and sprung Loichinger open down the left sideline.
Loichinger, Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match, beautifully struck her shot off the inside of the far post.
“I was just hoping to hit the back post, and luckily I got it in,” Loichinger said.
Eisenhower (0-1-0), which returned much of the roster from a 12-win team, was no pushover. The Cardinals answered in the 16th minute when senior Isis Bejarano reeled in a loose ball, quickly turned and fired a shot from 30 yards into the top of the net for the equalizer.
The Warriors made sure the game wasn’t tied long.
Off the ensuing kickoff, Filip played a through-ball down the middle of the field for Loichinger, who fought off a defender and buried her second goal just 26 seconds after Eisenhower evened the match.
“Since we were able to get the through-ball the first time, I figured we might be able to do it again,” Loichinger said. “We did it. Savina played me a great ball, and I just scored.”
The quick response delighted Lincoln-Way West coach Jeff Theiss.
“We had a breakdown in the back, a simple miscommunication that was easily fixable, and they tied it up,” Theiss said. “I saw a couple heads drop, and I’ve got to give our leaders credit there -- what a huge response. That’s a gamechanger there. I was really proud of them for that.”
Filip made it 3-1 in the 20th minute. She took a free kick from 30 yards out along the left sideline and sent a high, looping shot that sailed over the head of Eisenhower goalkeeper Jocelyn Estrada before dipping down into the top of the net.
“Those set pieces are like a gift, especially that close to the net,” Filip said. “You always want to take advantage of those. I feel special to be able to be the person to take those.
“You’ve got all the pressure on you, but I don’t think much about it. They tell me where to go, and I just kick it.”
Filip is one of just four seniors on the Warriors roster. She, defender Katie Honan and goalkeeper Katie King were West’s only senior starters Wednesday. King is a newcomer in the lineup.
“I want to step up, take charge and be a role model for the younger girls,” Filip said. “We have a lot of freshmen coming in, and I want them to feel welcome and make this a team like we were last year.”
Theiss saw his team’s youth on display at times Wednesday, but the Warriors were able to persevere.
“I think we saw some freshmen heads spinning,” Theiss said. “I think we were lacking confidence a little bit. That’s where you expect your juniors and seniors to step up. ‘Loich’ and Savina came through, and Katie Honan did a great job making sure the backline was organized.
“Some of our girls are brand new in the system. It wasn’t pretty at times. There was a lot of kickball out there. There needs to be much more composure on the ball, and that’ll come with time.”
Lincoln-Way West’s backline of Honan, Schick, Sam Sarna and Amanda Yaeger were up to the task as Eisenhower pushed hard to get back in the game in the second half.
The Warriors did a good job limiting the Cardinals’ opportunities, and King came through when they did get them, making four saves.
Speedy forward Nyah Bejarano generated much of the attack for Eisenhower. She fired just high on a free kick from 30 yards midway through the second half and had another attempt on a free kick thwarted by King.
“Eisenhower is a handful,” Theiss said. “They were very organized through the middle of the field. I thought they were more composed than we were at times. They’ve got some girls up-top that are a handful. It was a great game for us to start with. These are the types of teams we want to play.”
Eisenhower coach Iran Rodriguez was pleased by his team’s effort. The Cardinals are two-time defending South Suburban Red champions.
“Our girls played a lot better in the second half, shutting them out,” Rodriguez said. “We made some adjustments here and there, and it worked to our favor. We had some chances and couldn’t capitalize. Their keeper played well.
“We played well for our first game of the season against a great team, a sectional champ. This is what we want. We want to play against good teams. We know we’ll win some and lose some, but as long as our girls get better as a team, as individuals, we’ll take that any day. I’m glad we started out against a team like this and we’ll learn from it.”
The Cardinals will now look to work their way through the consolation bracket of the tournament, with a trip to Toyota Park for the consolation championship game providing motivation.
“Getting a chance to play at Toyota is always exciting, so we’ll definitely shoot for that,” Rodriguez said. “We just want to keep getting better every game."
Starting lineups
Eisenhower
GK: Jocelyn Estrada
D: Ailyn Gallardo
D: Naomy Gallardo
D: Stephanie Mendoza
D: Emily Mundo
M: Anese English
M: Karina Delgado
M: Isis Bejarano
M: Gisselle Almazan
F: Nyah Bejarano
F: Chantal Rodriguez
Lincoln-Way West
GK: Katie King
D: Sam Sarna
D: Meghan Schick
D: Katie Honan
D: Amanda Yaeger
M: Madelyn Burdelik
M: Savina Filip
M: Sara Loichinger
M: Anna Kirk
M: Jane Pinkerton
F: Kylee Brandau
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Sara Loichinger, jr., MF, Lincoln-Way West
Scoring Summary
First half
Lincoln-Way West: Sara Loichinger (Meghan Schick), 6th minute
Eisenhower: Isis Bejarano (unassisted), 16th minute
Lincoln-Way West: Loichinger (Savina Filip), 16th minute
Lincoln-Way West: Filip (unassisted), 20th minute