Warriors bounce back with scoreless draw against Raiders

 

 

By Curt Herron

After falling 3-1 to Carl Sandburg on Wednesday, it was a safe bet that Lincoln-Way West might not have much left in the tank for the following day.

And that was problematic since the Warriors were going up against another quality side, Bolingbrook, whose lone loss this season had come on penalties.

But West showed a lot of toughness by battling throughout their nonconference road match with the Raiders, who had not competed since last Saturday.

In a contest where the defenses dictated the play, both sides had some chances but neither could connect, with the end result being a scoreless draw.

The Warriors were particularly troubled by Nikia Smith, a junior who has committed to Northwestern, who disrupted many of their best scoring efforts.

"Nikia in the back is fantastic," West coach Jeff Theiss said. "She's an excellent player who reads the game so well and dictates the pace of the game from the back. We knew that coming in so we tried to stretch the field wide and use the space outside to try to draw her out.

"Our final touch was off, it's as simple as that. Our opportunities were limited and when we did have chances we didn't strike the ball cleanly. At the same time, the girls had a tough battle last night with limited subs. We tried to recreate the same energy that we had yesterday and it wasn't there.

"You'd think the legs would be a little tired in the second half, but I thought that we came out a little bit harder. We threw the kitchen sink at them and had three girls up trying to create as much pressure as possible. We figured in a game like this that it would take one goal but we couldn't get it.

"It was good to see a team like Bolingbrook and Martin (Uscila) does a phenomenal job with them. They're very organized and play the flat four. It's good to battle a quality program like this and we're going to learn from it. We're still at times playing one-touch soccer and we've got to get out of that."

While the Raiders (5-1-1) were in the process of collecting their fifth shutout, the Warriors (6-2-2) were also doing a good job of limiting chances.

Behind the efforts of senior Lea Gindville and freshmen Bri Heyer and Bri Darlage, West also was able to record its fifth clean sheet of the campaign.

"Lea was at center back, as usual, but we went with the freshmen connection of Bri and Bri because we needed some speed back there," Theiss said. "Bri Heyer is a lockdown defender who does a great job and we're able to put Bri Darlage all over the field and we're comfortable with her in the back, as well."

The squads seemed to alternate chances in the first half as Kayla Lojas deflected deflected a try by Melissa Verdin and then Natalie Tannura was denied.

About a quarter of an hour in, Tannura got free and was driving toward the net but Smith got between her and the ball and managed to force a goal kick.

During the final few minutes of the opening half, Verdin again was thwarted by Lojas while Selena Rodriguez halted a short attempt from Katie Brncich.

west kicked off the threats after the break with Cori Brennan getting stopped on a long try and then Rodriguez shutting down a rebound try by Tannura.

Just before the half's midway mark, Tannura was again on the move toward the Raider net when Smith stepped in and was able to clear the attempt away.

Bolingbrook countered with a Caroline Harvey header that hit a teammate and then a floater from Jamie Gutierrez that was hauled in by West's keeper.

With under a quarter hour left, Tannura was denied on one effort and then was about to try again following a Brennan pass but the keeper intervened.

In the final 10 minutes of the match, Kara Winans had a liner halted and Emily Wyskiel stole a pass and sent in a dangerous try that went just wide.

After Lojas stopped Verdin, Smith cleared away a free kick by Wyskiel and then the Warrior keeper hauled in attempts from Bianca Rivera and Harvey.

"We came close on some of our chances but I think we also got caught up in things because it was such a physical game and we were so tired that we couldn't get the shots off fast enough or connect well," said Tannura, who scored off a Brennan assist a day earlier.

"At halftime the coaches left us so just the team could talk among themselves and that's when we all got pumped up and decided to do it for each other. We got to really test ourselves in these last two games and I think that we did a good job of getting ourselves.

"We have a lot of good freshman on this team and we're also working a lot on connecting better. We have a lot of things outside of soccer where we can bond. I'm really proud of how we're working together more as a team and not just kicking the ball to one player."

The Warriors host Joliet Central on Tuesday before competing against Minooka, Crete-Monee and Oak Forest in their own tournament next weekend.

Meanwhile, the Raiders hope to build off of their fast start in which they've only lost to unbeaten Fenwick in the Reavis Invite championship.

Coach Martin Uscila has had to shake things up after striker Rachel Schneider tore her ACL. That's key since the Raiders play with one forward.

Also, the Raiders lost their keeper to injury in the Fenwick match so Rodriguez was moved up from the junior-varsity and is quickly improving.

"We're doing okay," Uscila said. "Losing Rachel makes a big difference because we one play one striker so now we're trying to develop another one. But with that said, we're still doing our thing, it just looks a little different.

"Lincoln-Way West is a really good team and they just played last night and I thought they played well. It was a competitive game and I like the fact that both teams played hard and clean. We're pretty comparable so 0-0 is fair.

"Nikia is phenomenal and is one of those once in a lifetime-type talents. I couldn't be more proud of my defense, which includes Tyler Holmes, Corrin Bronersky and Dayle Trietjen. We're young in the back but they work well together.

"I like how these girls fight for each other and get along so well. I've been coaching here for eight years and this is the first time where every girl supports one another. There's a good vibe around the kids and that's refreshing."