Porters continue winning ways with shutout against Vikings
By Steve Millar
Lockport coach Todd Elkei is seeing his team’s mentality change for the better at the perfect time.
“Our confidence is going up,” he said. “In the beginning of the year, people weren’t sure of their roles because we had lost so many people from last year. We weren’t sure who were going to be the emotional leaders and we were just kind of standing around waiting.
“Frannie (Vargas) and Leah (Plescia) and Brynn (Feeley) and Ally Brehm, (Alyssa) DeYoung, all the seniors have done a great job stepping up. They all said ‘enough is enough.’”
On Wednesday, the host Porters followed up Monday’s huge win over Sandburg by rolling past Homewood-Flossmoor 4-0 behind a hat trick from Lacey Clarida, who scored all of her goals in the second half.
The Porters (8-3-1, 4-0) are now in great position to repeat as SouthWest Suburban Blue champions. They can win the league outright with victories over Bolingbrook and Joliet Central.
“Winning conference again was our goal from day one,” Vargas said. “We’re close now.”
It was the fourth straight win for Lockport since back-to-back losses in the Pepsi Showdown.
The Porters spent virtually the entire first half on the attack, getting off 11 shots, including six on goal.
Goalie Kim Boehm (11 saves), who started as a freshman for Elkei in his last season at H-F, came up huge to keep Lockport off the board early.
In the sixth minute, Mary Licata twice broke up H-F clearing attempts in the box, eventually corralling the ball and getting off a shot that Boehm smothered.
Boehm also denied a strong chance for Clarida, who was open for a shot off a Vargas steal and pass.
Clarida hit the crossbar on a free kick from just outside the box with 31:35 left in the first half.
Vargas helped the Porters get on the board with a well-placed corner kick that Plescia headed off the bottom of the crossbar and in with 11:23 left in the first half.
“Fran played a perfect ball and I got a head on it and it ended up being a laser off the bar,” Plescia said. “I didn’t know if it was going to go in or not, but thankfully it did.”
Vargas was not surprised to see Lockport cash in on a corner.
“Our corners are our strongest things,” she said. “We’ve been working really hard to get to them in the air. When we first started playing we weren’t that strong in the air, but we’ve improved a lot.”
It was Vargas’ fourth straight game with an assist.
“We’ve made an adjustment going with three in the back and Frannie in front and she’s done a really nice job kind of controlling things for us along with Brynn and Leah,” Elkei said. “Lacey, any time she gets the ball she’s dangerous. Brehm’s been flying around. Everyone’s stepping up at the right time.”
Vargas, who began the year as a defender, is enjoying the position change.
“Coach said since I had strong leg, he believed I’d be good in that spot,” she said. “Ever since he put me there, I’ve been getting a lot of assists.”
The second half was all Clarida.
She beautifully one-timed a pass from Brehm to make it 2-0 with 37:43 left.
Clarida put the match away for good with two goals in a 51-second span, the first coming with 21:49 to go off a great pass into the box from Jenny Meyer.
“We came out with a lot of momentum from the first half and (Elkei’s) halftime speech fired us up,” Clarida said.
The Porters’ backline shut down H-F all day. Lockport goalie Alyssa DeYoung was tested just once, making a save on a Rachel Kirschslanger shot with 3:32 to go.
“Taylor Burek, Melina Ramirez and Jenny Meyer have been doing a great job in the back,” Elkei said. “They’re communicating well. If they do get by, Taylor’s always in the right spot. She’s a very smart player. She can play anywhere on the field. She’s really stepped up lately.”
Plescia has seen the team grow over the past few matches.
“We’ve been better distributing to the midfield,” she said. “We’re talking more in the back. I think we’re just a lot more composed than we were in the beginning of the season.”
It’s been an exciting week for Elkei. Aside from his team’s victories, he said he was happy to see Lincoln-Way East coach Brian Papa pick up his 300th win as a girls coach Monday.
“I want to say congratulations to Brian Papa,” he said. “He was my mentor when I first started 16 years ago. I have a lot of respect for him.”
The Porters will compete in the Tournament of Champions in Burlington, Iowa from Thursday to Saturday – a trip that Elkei said “is always a bonding experience” – before visiting Bolingbrook on Tuesday.
“We’re really excited about this trip,” Clarida said. “We’ve really started to focus for these big games. We’re starting to show that we’re a good team.”
