Coaching foes share three
decades of mutual respect
Lincoln-Way East, Lockport matchup stands test of time
By Steve Millar
Lincoln-Way East coach Brian Papa and Lockport coach Todd Elkei have squared off dozens of times over the years, with both spending the majority of their long careers in the Southwest Suburban Conference.
It’s a rivalry built on mutual respect.
“When I first started at Crete-Monee in 1996, Papa mentored me,” Elkei said. “He gave me a lot of advice. He’s a guy I respect a lot, and I always look forward to playing his teams.”
Papa shares Elkei's enthusiasm, saying, “Todd was like a sponge when he was younger. Anything you told him, he took in. You look at his record and it speaks for itself. He wins. It’s always a challenge playing his team.”
The two will meet again when the Porters host the Griffins at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Lincoln-Way East (7-0-1), which won the Windy City Ram Classic championship, enters on a roll, though it did leave the field without a victory for the first time Thursday, tying Joliet Central 1-1.
Saturday’s match will be the Griffins’ fifth in six days.
“It’s tough, and it shouldn’t happen,” Papa said. “We tried to reschedule a couple things, and it just didn’t work out. The (Windy City Ram Classic) championship was supposed to be Saturday and it got moved to Monday. The Joliet Central game was our fourth in four days, and that’s tough on anyone’s legs.
“We’re taking Friday off, not practicing or anything, so hopefully we’ll be ready to go Saturday.”
Lincoln-Way East has scored 27 goals already, getting most of its production from the senior trio of Jill Kilrea, Hannah Dolan-Cook and Lindsey Murphy. Murphy, a defender, scored four times in Wednesday’s 8-0 rout of Marian Catholic.
“Those three are our senior captains and they have all really stepped up,” Papa said.
Elkei has taken notice.
“Papa has them really rolling,” he said. “They’re playing with a lot of confidence. They took it to us last year and beat us 3-0. Hopefully we can use that as motivation and come out ready to go.”
The Porters enter the game off Thursday’s 3-1 loss to Lincoln-Way Central, which dropped their record to 2-2.
Tuesday, they had a big 2-0 win over Providence.
“The Providence win was a great bounce-back game for us after losing to Minooka,” Elkei said. “We came out and got two early goals and held on. It was great to see our girls respond so well after knowing they didn’t play as well as they should have against Minooka.”
Lockport has gotten goals from three freshmen: Ally Fischer, Stephanie Quigley and Lauren Pikulski.
decades of mutual respect
Lincoln-Way East, Lockport matchup stands test of time
By Steve Millar
Lincoln-Way East coach Brian Papa and Lockport coach Todd Elkei have squared off dozens of times over the years, with both spending the majority of their long careers in the Southwest Suburban Conference.
It’s a rivalry built on mutual respect.
“When I first started at Crete-Monee in 1996, Papa mentored me,” Elkei said. “He gave me a lot of advice. He’s a guy I respect a lot, and I always look forward to playing his teams.”
Papa shares Elkei's enthusiasm, saying, “Todd was like a sponge when he was younger. Anything you told him, he took in. You look at his record and it speaks for itself. He wins. It’s always a challenge playing his team.”
The two will meet again when the Porters host the Griffins at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Lincoln-Way East (7-0-1), which won the Windy City Ram Classic championship, enters on a roll, though it did leave the field without a victory for the first time Thursday, tying Joliet Central 1-1.
Saturday’s match will be the Griffins’ fifth in six days.
“It’s tough, and it shouldn’t happen,” Papa said. “We tried to reschedule a couple things, and it just didn’t work out. The (Windy City Ram Classic) championship was supposed to be Saturday and it got moved to Monday. The Joliet Central game was our fourth in four days, and that’s tough on anyone’s legs.
“We’re taking Friday off, not practicing or anything, so hopefully we’ll be ready to go Saturday.”
Lincoln-Way East has scored 27 goals already, getting most of its production from the senior trio of Jill Kilrea, Hannah Dolan-Cook and Lindsey Murphy. Murphy, a defender, scored four times in Wednesday’s 8-0 rout of Marian Catholic.
“Those three are our senior captains and they have all really stepped up,” Papa said.
Elkei has taken notice.
“Papa has them really rolling,” he said. “They’re playing with a lot of confidence. They took it to us last year and beat us 3-0. Hopefully we can use that as motivation and come out ready to go.”
The Porters enter the game off Thursday’s 3-1 loss to Lincoln-Way Central, which dropped their record to 2-2.
Tuesday, they had a big 2-0 win over Providence.
“The Providence win was a great bounce-back game for us after losing to Minooka,” Elkei said. “We came out and got two early goals and held on. It was great to see our girls respond so well after knowing they didn’t play as well as they should have against Minooka.”
Lockport has gotten goals from three freshmen: Ally Fischer, Stephanie Quigley and Lauren Pikulski.