Griffins struggle to connect in loss to rival Phoenix

 

 

By Steve Millar

The good news for Lincoln-Way East following Saturday’s 4-0 loss to crosstown rival Lincoln-Way North was that there’s still a long season ahead for the Griffins.

And the defeat didn’t diminish coach Brian Papa’s belief that his team will be much improved in 2013.

“I told the girls ‘You have to keep your heads up,’” Papa said. “It’s week one and we’ve only been outside three times.

“We will be better than we’ve been the last couple years. Give us time. I really believe we have strong midfielders out there, but we have two freshmen (Stephanie Cetera and Stephanie Zobel) and two sophomores (Jillian Kilrea and Hannah Dolan-Cook) out there.

“We’re trying to play three attackers only because we need to generate offense, and right now they don’t know how to do it. We’ve been working so much on defensive shape, but next week we will look to correct some things offensively.”

The host Griffins (0-2) were strong defensively in the early stages Saturday. North had strong winds at its back and put a lot of pressure on but was kept off the scoreboard for the first 25 minutes.

The match changed, however, when East goalie Katie Kazmierczak injured her knee in a collision with a North attacker and left just over 10 minutes in.

Senior Kelsey Elam moved from the back line into the net and filled in admirably, but without one of their top defenders, the Griffins struggled to slow down North.

The Phoenix (1-0) broke through with 14:48 left in the first half when a long pass somehow eluded three East defenders and wound up on the feet of Unique Manns. Manns corralled the pass 35 yards out and finished on a breakaway.

“We had a breakdown and that never should have happened, but it did,” Papa said. “You lose your starting goalkeeper, and we’re mixing and matching with girls on defense who don’t practice there.

“Then what happens? The girls put their heads down, we fail to clear a ball out, and we’re down 2-0.”

On the second goal, East broke up a Manns cross off a corner kick, but could not clear the ball out of the zone and it eventually found its way back to Manns in the corner.

Manns’ second attempt at a cross found Lexi Cesario in the box, and Cesario put it away with her left foot for her first of two goals on the day.

Down 2-0 at the half, but with the wind in his team’s favor in the second half, Papa was still optimistic.

“2-0 is the worst lead to have in soccer,” he said. “We try to explain that to the girls and we’ve got the 20 mile per hour wind in the second half, so we’re trying to build the girls up. But we came out frustrated for some reason and we just never really connected the ball.”

East threatened more after the break, but never got a shot on goal.

The Griffins’ best chances came on free kicks in the final 12 minutes, but Elam had one shot blocked and fired just above the crossbar on the other. Sam Fiorella missed wide on another shot attempt.

“We never got the ball inside the 18,” Papa said. “We never got the ball in a crossing position. That was our failure to pass the ball. That’s us. That has nothing to do with the other team. That’s just us not being able to make a pass.

“Our biggest problem right now is passing to the other team. Even on throw-ins, we throw the ball to the other team.”

Elam finished with six saves. Kazmierczak, who returned in the second half, had two. North got second-half goals from Cesario and Grace Sheetz.

“We didn’t know who would score for us, and it was really nice to see a whole bunch of people step up and have opportunities to score,” North coach Mike Murphy said. “I would never have thought we’d score four goals in our first game.”

Despite the loss, the Griffins had reason to be excited with a game against Lockport at Toyota Park looming Sunday.

“I’m bringing 25 or 26 girls and I told them everyone’s going to play,” Papa said. “We’re not worried about wins or losses. If we start the year 0-3, fine. I want the girls to have that experience to go on that field.

“They’re now going to be professional soccer players, for one day in their life.”