Lincoln-Way E. seeks to continue
district's streak against Glenbard E.
Meet in Windy City Ram Classic final Monday at Toyota Park
By Dave Owen
Glenbard East is back on the big stage at Toyota Park on Monday, playing for the Windy City Ram Classic tournament title for the second year in a row.
A 1-0 loss to eventual state semifinalist Lincoln-Way North denied the Rams the tourney title last year. This time another formidable team from the same district provides the title game opposition.
Lincoln-Way East (4-0) comes off close wins of 1-0 over Stagg in the quarterfinals and a PKs-score (1-1 regulation tie, 4-2 penalty advantage) over Providence in Wednesday’s Classic semifinals.
Glenbard East coach Kent Overbey’s concerns with the Griffins start with two key players.
“Jillian Kilrea and Jillian Murphy,” Overbey said. “They’re two very strong players in the midfield and defensively. The Griffins have talent all over the field, and they are certainly well coached.
“(Coach) Brian Papa has been doing this for a long time and maintained a very high level of success and quality of play.”
Papa coached four teams (two girls and two boys) to second-place state finishes at what is now Lincoln-Way Central. Goals for similar success at East start with matches like Monday at the 30,000-seat home of the MLS Chicago Fire.
“Glenbard East has been to the finals last year,” Papa said. “This is our first experience in this type of setting. We are hoping that our girls will settle into the rhythm of the game and forget about where they are playing at and who we are playing.
“As for their team, I was able to see them play last year in the finals at Toyota so I have a pretty good idea about their style of play.”
Glenbard East (5-1) dominated the first four rounds of Windy City Classic play, outscoring opponents 12-0 in the process. A nonconference loss to state power Naperville North on Thursday is the Rams' lone setback. They got back on track with a 9-0 win over Addison Trail on Saturday.
“The key to our team’s play so far is our experience,” Overbey said. “We have six players who are in their third year as varsity starters. Each of those six have 45 starts apiece. And our goalkeeping is a strong as ever.”
Leading the talented and experienced group is junior Brittany Paganucci, who already has five goals this season.
“Brittany Paganucci, of course, is playing well,” Overbey said, “and Holly Ward has really stepped up. She has three goals and four assists in our past three games. And (sophomore) Paige Taylor has really stepped up for us defensively.”
The Rams blanked the newly branded IC Catholic (formerly Immaculate Conception), Lincoln-Way West and Beecher in succession en route to the title.
Most impressive was the 2-0 quarterfinal win at defending Class 2A sectional finalist Lincoln-Way West. That game has the Rams primed for the next test from the far south suburbs.
“I thought our best game was against Lincoln-Way West,” Overbey said. “We controlled the game and were able to take advantage of our chances.”
Despite a rough start in Thursday’s 6-1 loss to Naperville North, Overbey feels his team is still on track.
“We had a rough one against Naperville North,” he said. “We came out flat, wind in our face, and they jumped all over us. After halftime we were able to settle down and actually looked like we wanted to be in the game. We'll be ready for Lincoln-Way East.”
While IC and Beecher (each with less than 370 students) appeared on paper as mismatches for Glenbard East, with its more than 2,300 students, beating more comparably-sized and highly-skilled Lincoln-Way West silenced any possible doubts.
“We love this tournament because we get to see a bunch of different teams, in short games,” Overbey said. "This gives us an opportunity to ease into our 80-minute game schedules without overloading the players physically. I really believe it helps us avoid injury as the season progresses.”
One team will claim the Windy City Classic title. Both sides expect the literally big-league experience to pay off down the road.
“The benefit is getting the girls the experience of playing on a real soccer field,” Papa said. “Like I told them before, now you will experience what it is like to be a pro.
“As for the game, it gives us tournament experience in the early stage of the season. We’ll learn from it and build off of it.”
district's streak against Glenbard E.
Meet in Windy City Ram Classic final Monday at Toyota Park
By Dave Owen
Glenbard East is back on the big stage at Toyota Park on Monday, playing for the Windy City Ram Classic tournament title for the second year in a row.
A 1-0 loss to eventual state semifinalist Lincoln-Way North denied the Rams the tourney title last year. This time another formidable team from the same district provides the title game opposition.
Lincoln-Way East (4-0) comes off close wins of 1-0 over Stagg in the quarterfinals and a PKs-score (1-1 regulation tie, 4-2 penalty advantage) over Providence in Wednesday’s Classic semifinals.
Glenbard East coach Kent Overbey’s concerns with the Griffins start with two key players.
“Jillian Kilrea and Jillian Murphy,” Overbey said. “They’re two very strong players in the midfield and defensively. The Griffins have talent all over the field, and they are certainly well coached.
“(Coach) Brian Papa has been doing this for a long time and maintained a very high level of success and quality of play.”
Papa coached four teams (two girls and two boys) to second-place state finishes at what is now Lincoln-Way Central. Goals for similar success at East start with matches like Monday at the 30,000-seat home of the MLS Chicago Fire.
“Glenbard East has been to the finals last year,” Papa said. “This is our first experience in this type of setting. We are hoping that our girls will settle into the rhythm of the game and forget about where they are playing at and who we are playing.
“As for their team, I was able to see them play last year in the finals at Toyota so I have a pretty good idea about their style of play.”
Glenbard East (5-1) dominated the first four rounds of Windy City Classic play, outscoring opponents 12-0 in the process. A nonconference loss to state power Naperville North on Thursday is the Rams' lone setback. They got back on track with a 9-0 win over Addison Trail on Saturday.
“The key to our team’s play so far is our experience,” Overbey said. “We have six players who are in their third year as varsity starters. Each of those six have 45 starts apiece. And our goalkeeping is a strong as ever.”
Leading the talented and experienced group is junior Brittany Paganucci, who already has five goals this season.
“Brittany Paganucci, of course, is playing well,” Overbey said, “and Holly Ward has really stepped up. She has three goals and four assists in our past three games. And (sophomore) Paige Taylor has really stepped up for us defensively.”
The Rams blanked the newly branded IC Catholic (formerly Immaculate Conception), Lincoln-Way West and Beecher in succession en route to the title.
Most impressive was the 2-0 quarterfinal win at defending Class 2A sectional finalist Lincoln-Way West. That game has the Rams primed for the next test from the far south suburbs.
“I thought our best game was against Lincoln-Way West,” Overbey said. “We controlled the game and were able to take advantage of our chances.”
Despite a rough start in Thursday’s 6-1 loss to Naperville North, Overbey feels his team is still on track.
“We had a rough one against Naperville North,” he said. “We came out flat, wind in our face, and they jumped all over us. After halftime we were able to settle down and actually looked like we wanted to be in the game. We'll be ready for Lincoln-Way East.”
While IC and Beecher (each with less than 370 students) appeared on paper as mismatches for Glenbard East, with its more than 2,300 students, beating more comparably-sized and highly-skilled Lincoln-Way West silenced any possible doubts.
“We love this tournament because we get to see a bunch of different teams, in short games,” Overbey said. "This gives us an opportunity to ease into our 80-minute game schedules without overloading the players physically. I really believe it helps us avoid injury as the season progresses.”
One team will claim the Windy City Classic title. Both sides expect the literally big-league experience to pay off down the road.
“The benefit is getting the girls the experience of playing on a real soccer field,” Papa said. “Like I told them before, now you will experience what it is like to be a pro.
“As for the game, it gives us tournament experience in the early stage of the season. We’ll learn from it and build off of it.”