Warriors bounce back from loss with two shutouts in invite
By Steve Millar
Lincoln-Way West wanted badly to win its own invitational this weekend. So when the Warriors fell 2-1 to Minooka in their tournament opener Friday night, it was tough to swallow.
West, though, used it as motivation.
“We left it on the field,” the Warriors’ Cori Brennan said. “After the game we all talked about it and we played our hearts out the entire time until the last second.
“It was really hard to lose that one, but we were saying ‘Remember this feeling, and we’ll bring it to the games (Saturday).’ That motivated us to play better (Saturday) and get a couple wins.”
The Warriors bounced back well Saturday, topping Crete-Monee 4-0 and Oak Forest 2-0 to finish second in the Warrior Invitational.
Minooka earned wins of 2-0 over Oak Forest and 5-0 over Crete-Monee to finish 3-0 and win the round-robin event.
“It’s really hard coming back from a loss,” West’s Jenna Serrano said, “but we bounced back and played at our hardest. Even when we’re not winning, we just want to play our best at all times.”
Taking on Oak Forest in the tournament’s final game, the Warriors (9-3-2) controlled play throughout, but could not break through in the game’s first 61 minutes.
West finally broke through with 18:12 left. Brennan made a strong rush down the right side of the field and sent a cross towards the middle of the box.
Bengals goalie Nour Salah (9 saves) came out to try to break it up, but was beaten to the ball by Serrano, who scored into the open net.
“It felt awesome,” Serrano said. “We’re all working really hard out there. Sometimes we have a hard time putting it away, but we got it. Then we got our momentum and we kept going.”
West coach Jeff Theiss was happy with the adjustments his team made offensively in the second half.
“We talked to the girls about how in the first half, I thought we were doing very good things,” Theiss said. “Our spacing was excellent. We were trying to move the ball. It was good to see Lea Gindville in the back showing composure and asking for the ball, demanding the ball and building from the back.
“Our final touch was off and our final run off the ball was off. We talked to the forwards about stretching the field wide to create that seam for either the inside mid to carry into or to play the through the ball on. I thought we did a much better job of that in the second half.”
Brennan put the icing on the cake with 3:21 to go, breaking free down the right side and beating Salah with a shot inside the near post.
“It was a little frustrating not scoring in the first half,” Brennan said. “We talked at halftime about what we had to do and the proper runs we had to make and the balls we had to play so we’d have more chances and better opportunities to find one (goal) and it worked. Second half we got two good ones.”
The Warriors got a strong performance from freshman Brianna Heyer. Typically a defender, Heyer played in the midfield Saturday and created a lot of offense.
Heyer nearly scored early in the second half, sending a shot that was ticketed for the net inside the post, but was denied on a diving save from Salah.
“I usually play defense most of the time so I’m still trying to learn how their offensive style is,” Heyer said. “They play a lot different than we do with my club. I’m just trying to get the hang out of it.”
Theiss said Heyer is catching on fast.
“She’s a fun kid to coach,” he said. “She works wherever we need her. We’ve used her at center back, we’ve started her as strictly a marking back and now with Emily Wyskiel out, we’ve thrown her in the middle of the field. We know she’s going to be a workhorse and a huge ball of energy wherever we put her. She’s huge for us right now.”
Saturday morning, Heyer, Brennan, Kara Winans and Kendall Watson each scored in the win over Crete-Monee. Gindville dished out two assists.
Kayla Lojas posted shutouts in both games.
Theiss was pleased with his team’s effort Saturday, and – despite the outcome – in Friday’s loss to Minooka.
“It was a great game up and down,” he said of the Minooka contest. “Jill Hetfleisch is a great player for Minooka. I thought we controlled most of the first half, but Jill got behind us and got a goal and that changed the complexion of the game.
“After we tied it, the last 20 minutes or so were back-and-forth at a high pace. Minooka found a goal and you have to give them credit.
“The girls wanted it. You see the tears in their eyes after that and you remind them that’s why we work because you don’t want that feeling. I think both teams left the field (Friday night) a better team.”
The Warriors open up SouthWest Suburban Red play Monday against Lincoln-Way Central, and Brennan thinks they’re ready.
“I think we can only get better,” she said. (Saturday morning), I said to one of the players that we were playing like a totally different team (Saturday). We were connecting so well.
“We can only go up from here. I think it’s going to be a fun ride.”
