Griffins can't find net as Warriors get first-ever L-Way win

 

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By Chris Walker

Lincoln-Way East isn't the kind of team that is going to make excuses.

There are several reasons why the Griffins weren't at their best during Thursday's SouthWest Suburban Conference crossover against Lincoln-Way West but they tried to fight through the adversity the best they could.

While East put up a fight, it wasn't enough to keep West from picking up its first victory against another Lincoln-Way school in program history, as the Warriors received a goal midway through the second half and it was all they needed in a 1-0 victory in Frankfort.

"We're struggling to score goals and we have a lot of guys out and a lot of guys playing out of control," East coach Brian Papa said. "I think they're trying too doggone hard, but I keep telling them it's adversity and there's really no excuse to not put the ball on frame."

Senior captain midfielder Anthony Cetera did not play due to illness, Michael Roth was out of action due to patella tendonitis, Manny Rios saw limited action before his night was cut short due to a red card and defender Jimmy Ralph played, but was gritting through the pain of a sore hamstring.

While their unavailability or limited availability certainly slowed the Griffins, Papa had planned on utilizing the entire roster for the crossover anyway, especially since the team has been in a rut.

"The kids are trying no matter what. Jimmy's (Ralph) got a bad, bad hammy and he was out there playing his butt off," Papa said. "The kids are trying and we made an attempt to get the kids playing time.

"When you're playing 1-0 and 0-0 games, and these kids have been practicing all the time and don't even get a chance to play, you want to make an effort to get the kids in.

"And we didn't get everyone at least a minute, every kid got at least 20 minutes tonight. We have two more crossover games and we'll do that again to give these kids an opportunity, because we're not scoring goals and these kids didn't come out here to sit the bench."

East (3-5-4) had its fair share of scoring chances in the first half, but more times than not, the Griffins didn't even force West keeper Chris Maj to make a play.

Ralph, Spencer Bartczak, Jake Stokes and Seth Adams all took shots in the first half but saw their attempts go wide left, wide right or well over the top of the net.

With under two minutes left, Alan Hernandez played a great feed ahead to Adams who just couldn't collect the pass quickly enough to get a solid boot on it.

"I thought we played well in the first half and had opportunities but when you don't put the ball on the frame, you don't have a chance," Papa said.

"I think we had like 19 chances but the goalie didn't even make four saves. That's troublesome, and then our corner kicks were right on the doorstep, but we're just not putting it in and I've been saying that a long time."

It was the third time in five matches that the Griffins have been shut out.

West (3-6-4) made sure it wasn't going to be held scoreless. The Warriors scored the game-winner in the 61st minute when senior Brandon Waterland controlled a possession from midfield and quickly dribbled down the sideline to find an open look.

"The ball came back and then I saw the opening and played a great ball over the top. I just ran onto it and finished," Waterland said. "I'm just glad that we were able to pull one out against a Lincoln-Way team. It's taken awhile. I'm glad we were finally able to do it."

The equalizer never arrived in the final 20 minutes of play for the Griffins, but it certainly wasn't for a lack of trying.

East had three corner kicks in the final 10 minutes but couldn't finish any of them off. John Ulrich tried to get a shot past Maj on a distant free kick, but it was gobbled up.

Ralph ended up having the last good chance for the Griffins as he pounced on the ball right in front of the right corner of the goal with 2:41 remaining. He got a solid connection on his shot attempt, but it went right at Maj who smothered it to seal the victory.

"Like I told the kids, I liked what we saw the last 10 minutes when we went one man down," Papa said. "They didn't quit. They kept going forward. It wasn't a lack of effort. We'll take the loss, but our record is now 0-0 and let's start over now."

For the Warriors, the win will go down in program history. The team had come close to beating one of its District 210 previously, but now they had finally done it.

"We finally got over the hump. The team played really well together and we got the victory," West senior captain Eric Staniszewski said. "It was a really scrappy game, but that's how it is. We're a really simple team and we got the win. It means a lot. It was a Lincoln-Way school so it's huge."

While Papa utilized his entire roster on Thursday, his counterpart pointed to the effort of more than a dozen kids.

"I really could point to 14 kids that played today that really shut it down," said Warriors coach Ryan McAllister, a former Griffin assistant under Papa. "Our back four stayed strong, our outside mids did a nice job of closing down space.

"The thing about our team is there isn't anyone that thinks about anybody else. They all know they have to work for each other, so I think the 15 that played today are the unsung heroes."