LWW 'zingers' fail to break 0-0 deadlock
Hot Bolingbrook goalie, near-misses lead to nonconference draw
By Dave Owen
BOLINGBROOK -- An elite goalkeeper, a dose of tough luck and crazy winds were a frustrating combination for Lincoln-Way West on the road Saturday.
Sending a trifecta of tries shots off the iron (two during a four-minute span of the second half) and denied on several other big chances by the acrobatics of Northern Illinois-bound Bolingbrook goalkeeper Julia Lentz, the Warriors (3-2-1) saw their huge edge in quality threats result in nil – as in a 0-0 tie.
“Their keeper (Lentz) was phenomenal,” Warriors coach Jeff Theiss said. “She’s excellent. She had some huge saves, and we hit three posts.
“We asked the girls to pull the trigger in the second half, and we hit a couple zingers. But they just couldn’t bounce our way today. What more can you ask for?”
Bolingbrook (2-3-1) had steady 40-mile per hour winds out of the south at their backs in the first half. But that factor didn’t deter Lincoln-Way West from producing a huge early chance.
Just 4:20 into the match, Savina Filip made an offensive zone interception and sent a cross to the left post, where Shannon O’Brian sent a 6-yard shot high off the left post. Just 20 seconds later, a Sara Loichinger 25-yard shot went just over the net.
Bolingbrook answered with a string of chances, starting with an Abigail Dellamorte 23-yard shot off the side of the net in the 11th minute.
“I figured for the first half we’d have with the wind so we’d start with an advantage to try to get on them early,” said Lentz, who shared Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors with Lincoln-Way West’s Loichinger. “We were planning to try to play one in, get a goal right away. But it didn’t work out like that.”
Lentz got a workout from the Warriors’ offense, which regained its edge late in the first half.
First, Lentz made a head-high two-handed block of a Loichinger left-side 12-yard shot in the 33rd minute.
“Loich was a beast today in the middle of the field,” Theiss said. “I thought she played 18 to 18, and definitely generated some chances and did a lot of the grunt work for us as well. I thought she was a handful today.”
Loichinger’s defensive contributions included a nice sequence in the 14th minute. She first blocked a shot by Dellamorte, then denied any rebound attempt with good 1-v.-1 defense on the battle for the loose ball.
Later in the first half, Meghan Schick nicely broke up a crossing attempt to the box. And Warriors senior Katie Honan was a key center back in what would eventually evolve into Lincoln-Way West’s third shutout of 2018.
“Katie (Honan) did a great job,” Theiss said. “Bolingbrook had some good forwards. I thought Katie did a great job organizing that backline and giving us depth when we needed to so we could nullify them, because they did counter a couple times. And Katie did a great job cleaning that up for us.”
While limiting Bolingbrook’s wind-aided chances, the Warriors generated another threat 4:15 before halftime when Lentz was forced to leap to swat away a high cross towards Warriors freshman Alyssa Peterson at the right post.
With Lincoln-Way West having the wind howling in its favor in the second half, a breakthrough was expected. But despite waves of chances, the 0-0 draw remained intact.
“In the second half against the wind our defense stepped up, and we were just going crazy,” Lentz said.
“I made sure (at halftime) that I talked to all my defense and told them ‘You guys have to be on your A game and be ready for what’s coming. They’re going to play balls right away, and you have to be ready. Nothing can get over your heads.’ And none of them got balls over their heads.”
When Lentz and the Bolingbrook defense didn’t deny the Warriors, the soccer gods did. With 25:15 left to play, Anna Kirk lined a 23-yard shot high off the right post. Then with 21:20 to go, Filip drove a 35-yard rocket off almost the exact spot of iron.
“We need to finish,” Honan said. “We did a really good job connecting today and were aware of where everyone is, but we need to finish (chances) off. But they had a really good keeper.”
Lentz made her best save of the day with 19:30 to go. After Loichinger was fouled, Filip drove a perfectly struck 25-yard free kick destined for the left side of the net. But Lentz dove all out to her right to deflect the shot wide of the frame.
“She (Lentz) is really good in the air, and it was really hard to pop the ball up hoping it would go in like against normal keepers,” Loichinger said. “And unfortunately we hit the post a couple times.
“You think you have a lot of time left, but the clock keeps ticking down. You’re like, ‘OK, now we need to finish.’”
But that finish never came, as Lentz had the answer to two more huge Warriors chances. With 14:50 to go, she made a diving catch at the left post of a low Filip 30-yard drive. Then five minutes later, Loichinger made an offensive zone steal and drove a high shot from 25 yards that Lentz leaped to deflect over the crossbar.
“It’s all instinct,” said Lentz. “I saw the shots and went with my gut.”
Said Bolingbrook coach Matt Kocourek: “Julia’s been with us for four years (as starting varsity keeper), and she’s fantastic. And we have a little bit more continuity in the back (this year).
“Krystal Herrera came in at right back today and started, and we moved Lizzy Paz to left center back. Both did a nice job. We just need to get a little more continuity with the offense and a little more combinations, but otherwise we stepped up defensively. And we have a nice keeper who kept us in the game.”
The Warriors’ last threat came with 2:30 left. A chance off a Peterson throw-in was blocked in the box, and Lentz followed with a one-hop save on Amanda Yaeger’s ensuing 28-yard rebound try.
Angela Skonicki was another catalyst for the Warriors’ relentless second half attack.
“We just tried to keep passing the ball around,” Loichinger said. “When we were getting stronger in the back, we were able to move the ball and switch the field easily.
“We were able to break down their backline and get some attacking plays and corner kicks, driving in and getting into their defensive third.”
But Bolingbrook’s ability to withstand the heat was impressive.
“We told the girls that a tie today is a win,” Kocourek said. “They’re a good program, and we’ve struggled against them the last couple of years. We’ve played them tough but lost like 2-0, 3-0.”
Even in past losing efforts like that, Lentz made improbable point-blank saves to keep her team close. Now with a stronger and deeper roster this spring, those types of efforts are starting to show up in better results.
“I feel that since we have a lot of younger girls now, they feel the pressure to step up with the seniors,” Lentz said. “And we have 11 seniors this year, so with all the positive influence it’s more of a cohesive team.
“And everyone’s busting their butts. There’s no giving up in the middle of the game. It’s continued hard work.”
That effort was needed to deny the Warriors.
“Playing against a good team, we were able to continue to work hard,” Lentz said. “Even though they were pressuring us, we didn’t let go. We still kept going. And I feel that’s something we can use for momentum going forward.”
Lincoln-Way West goalkeepers Katie King (first half) and Grace Pearse (second half) combined on their own shutout effort. The Warriors have allowed just four goals this season, one in the last three matches.
“I think our defense is coming together,” Honan said. “We’re getting used to each other, and I think we’re finally covering each other where we need to be. Now we can start pushing up, and we’ll be good.”
A constant hurdle Saturday was the wind.
“The wind is always a factor for us, especially with our school kind of in the middle of nowhere (in a sparsely developed area of southeast New Lenox),” Loichinger said. “But the wind was really tough today. But I guess the more experience you get with the wind, the better we can try to get ahead of it for our next game.”
One facet of handling the wind was especially daunting.
“Our biggest thing was judging balls in the air,” Theiss said. “We struggled -- we were allowing balls to bounce over our heads. That’s something we need to take a look at. It’s an absolute game changer, timing those balls in the air and keeping everything in front of you.
“We talked about a game like this, that you simply have to target each others’ feet. Trying to play balls into space is not going to be effective.”
Through the raging winds and ups and downs of the scoreless tie Saturday, the Warriors see reasons for optimism heading into April.
“At times I thought we had sparks where we were knocking the ball really well,” said Theiss. “And then at other times we’d lack composure when we needed to. It’s just a matter of finding that balance.
“But they were confident on the goal. We tell them all the time that we can be a very dangerous team. And we see spurts of that. It’s coming.”
Starting lineups
Lincoln Way West
GK Katie King
D Meghan Schick
D Katie Honan
D Sam Sarna
D Amanda Yaeger
M Alyssa Peterson
M Savina Filip
M Anna Kirk
M Alex Orrico
F Shannon O’Brian
F Jane Pinkerton
Bolingbrook
GK Julia Lentz
D Graciela Navas
D Krystal Herrera
D Rachel Perez
D Lizvette Paz
M Jasmine Urbanek
M Paige Smith
M Abigail Dellamorte
M Jane Villagran
F Ariana Hopewell
F Ayo Fowora
MVPs of the Match: Julia Lentz, sr. GK, Bolingbrook
Sara Loichinger, jr. M, Lincoln-Way West
Hot Bolingbrook goalie, near-misses lead to nonconference draw
By Dave Owen
BOLINGBROOK -- An elite goalkeeper, a dose of tough luck and crazy winds were a frustrating combination for Lincoln-Way West on the road Saturday.
Sending a trifecta of tries shots off the iron (two during a four-minute span of the second half) and denied on several other big chances by the acrobatics of Northern Illinois-bound Bolingbrook goalkeeper Julia Lentz, the Warriors (3-2-1) saw their huge edge in quality threats result in nil – as in a 0-0 tie.
“Their keeper (Lentz) was phenomenal,” Warriors coach Jeff Theiss said. “She’s excellent. She had some huge saves, and we hit three posts.
“We asked the girls to pull the trigger in the second half, and we hit a couple zingers. But they just couldn’t bounce our way today. What more can you ask for?”
Bolingbrook (2-3-1) had steady 40-mile per hour winds out of the south at their backs in the first half. But that factor didn’t deter Lincoln-Way West from producing a huge early chance.
Just 4:20 into the match, Savina Filip made an offensive zone interception and sent a cross to the left post, where Shannon O’Brian sent a 6-yard shot high off the left post. Just 20 seconds later, a Sara Loichinger 25-yard shot went just over the net.
Bolingbrook answered with a string of chances, starting with an Abigail Dellamorte 23-yard shot off the side of the net in the 11th minute.
“I figured for the first half we’d have with the wind so we’d start with an advantage to try to get on them early,” said Lentz, who shared Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors with Lincoln-Way West’s Loichinger. “We were planning to try to play one in, get a goal right away. But it didn’t work out like that.”
Lentz got a workout from the Warriors’ offense, which regained its edge late in the first half.
First, Lentz made a head-high two-handed block of a Loichinger left-side 12-yard shot in the 33rd minute.
“Loich was a beast today in the middle of the field,” Theiss said. “I thought she played 18 to 18, and definitely generated some chances and did a lot of the grunt work for us as well. I thought she was a handful today.”
Loichinger’s defensive contributions included a nice sequence in the 14th minute. She first blocked a shot by Dellamorte, then denied any rebound attempt with good 1-v.-1 defense on the battle for the loose ball.
Later in the first half, Meghan Schick nicely broke up a crossing attempt to the box. And Warriors senior Katie Honan was a key center back in what would eventually evolve into Lincoln-Way West’s third shutout of 2018.
“Katie (Honan) did a great job,” Theiss said. “Bolingbrook had some good forwards. I thought Katie did a great job organizing that backline and giving us depth when we needed to so we could nullify them, because they did counter a couple times. And Katie did a great job cleaning that up for us.”
While limiting Bolingbrook’s wind-aided chances, the Warriors generated another threat 4:15 before halftime when Lentz was forced to leap to swat away a high cross towards Warriors freshman Alyssa Peterson at the right post.
With Lincoln-Way West having the wind howling in its favor in the second half, a breakthrough was expected. But despite waves of chances, the 0-0 draw remained intact.
“In the second half against the wind our defense stepped up, and we were just going crazy,” Lentz said.
“I made sure (at halftime) that I talked to all my defense and told them ‘You guys have to be on your A game and be ready for what’s coming. They’re going to play balls right away, and you have to be ready. Nothing can get over your heads.’ And none of them got balls over their heads.”
When Lentz and the Bolingbrook defense didn’t deny the Warriors, the soccer gods did. With 25:15 left to play, Anna Kirk lined a 23-yard shot high off the right post. Then with 21:20 to go, Filip drove a 35-yard rocket off almost the exact spot of iron.
“We need to finish,” Honan said. “We did a really good job connecting today and were aware of where everyone is, but we need to finish (chances) off. But they had a really good keeper.”
Lentz made her best save of the day with 19:30 to go. After Loichinger was fouled, Filip drove a perfectly struck 25-yard free kick destined for the left side of the net. But Lentz dove all out to her right to deflect the shot wide of the frame.
“She (Lentz) is really good in the air, and it was really hard to pop the ball up hoping it would go in like against normal keepers,” Loichinger said. “And unfortunately we hit the post a couple times.
“You think you have a lot of time left, but the clock keeps ticking down. You’re like, ‘OK, now we need to finish.’”
But that finish never came, as Lentz had the answer to two more huge Warriors chances. With 14:50 to go, she made a diving catch at the left post of a low Filip 30-yard drive. Then five minutes later, Loichinger made an offensive zone steal and drove a high shot from 25 yards that Lentz leaped to deflect over the crossbar.
“It’s all instinct,” said Lentz. “I saw the shots and went with my gut.”
Said Bolingbrook coach Matt Kocourek: “Julia’s been with us for four years (as starting varsity keeper), and she’s fantastic. And we have a little bit more continuity in the back (this year).
“Krystal Herrera came in at right back today and started, and we moved Lizzy Paz to left center back. Both did a nice job. We just need to get a little more continuity with the offense and a little more combinations, but otherwise we stepped up defensively. And we have a nice keeper who kept us in the game.”
The Warriors’ last threat came with 2:30 left. A chance off a Peterson throw-in was blocked in the box, and Lentz followed with a one-hop save on Amanda Yaeger’s ensuing 28-yard rebound try.
Angela Skonicki was another catalyst for the Warriors’ relentless second half attack.
“We just tried to keep passing the ball around,” Loichinger said. “When we were getting stronger in the back, we were able to move the ball and switch the field easily.
“We were able to break down their backline and get some attacking plays and corner kicks, driving in and getting into their defensive third.”
But Bolingbrook’s ability to withstand the heat was impressive.
“We told the girls that a tie today is a win,” Kocourek said. “They’re a good program, and we’ve struggled against them the last couple of years. We’ve played them tough but lost like 2-0, 3-0.”
Even in past losing efforts like that, Lentz made improbable point-blank saves to keep her team close. Now with a stronger and deeper roster this spring, those types of efforts are starting to show up in better results.
“I feel that since we have a lot of younger girls now, they feel the pressure to step up with the seniors,” Lentz said. “And we have 11 seniors this year, so with all the positive influence it’s more of a cohesive team.
“And everyone’s busting their butts. There’s no giving up in the middle of the game. It’s continued hard work.”
That effort was needed to deny the Warriors.
“Playing against a good team, we were able to continue to work hard,” Lentz said. “Even though they were pressuring us, we didn’t let go. We still kept going. And I feel that’s something we can use for momentum going forward.”
Lincoln-Way West goalkeepers Katie King (first half) and Grace Pearse (second half) combined on their own shutout effort. The Warriors have allowed just four goals this season, one in the last three matches.
“I think our defense is coming together,” Honan said. “We’re getting used to each other, and I think we’re finally covering each other where we need to be. Now we can start pushing up, and we’ll be good.”
A constant hurdle Saturday was the wind.
“The wind is always a factor for us, especially with our school kind of in the middle of nowhere (in a sparsely developed area of southeast New Lenox),” Loichinger said. “But the wind was really tough today. But I guess the more experience you get with the wind, the better we can try to get ahead of it for our next game.”
One facet of handling the wind was especially daunting.
“Our biggest thing was judging balls in the air,” Theiss said. “We struggled -- we were allowing balls to bounce over our heads. That’s something we need to take a look at. It’s an absolute game changer, timing those balls in the air and keeping everything in front of you.
“We talked about a game like this, that you simply have to target each others’ feet. Trying to play balls into space is not going to be effective.”
Through the raging winds and ups and downs of the scoreless tie Saturday, the Warriors see reasons for optimism heading into April.
“At times I thought we had sparks where we were knocking the ball really well,” said Theiss. “And then at other times we’d lack composure when we needed to. It’s just a matter of finding that balance.
“But they were confident on the goal. We tell them all the time that we can be a very dangerous team. And we see spurts of that. It’s coming.”
Starting lineups
Lincoln Way West
GK Katie King
D Meghan Schick
D Katie Honan
D Sam Sarna
D Amanda Yaeger
M Alyssa Peterson
M Savina Filip
M Anna Kirk
M Alex Orrico
F Shannon O’Brian
F Jane Pinkerton
Bolingbrook
GK Julia Lentz
D Graciela Navas
D Krystal Herrera
D Rachel Perez
D Lizvette Paz
M Jasmine Urbanek
M Paige Smith
M Abigail Dellamorte
M Jane Villagran
F Ariana Hopewell
F Ayo Fowora
MVPs of the Match: Julia Lentz, sr. GK, Bolingbrook
Sara Loichinger, jr. M, Lincoln-Way West