Papa gets 300th victory as Griffins edge Raiders on penalties
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By Steve Millar
Lincoln-Way East’s Kelsey Elam was nervous as she prepared for the potential victory-clinching penalty kick Monday night.
Of course, there was more at stake than just a big conference win over Bolingbrook. East coach Brian Papa’s 300th career win as a girls coach was also on the line.
“I was really nervous at first,” Elam said. “I had confidence in myself, though. I just took a breath and hit it where I always do. It was really exciting to get (Papa) his 300th win.
“We really wanted this win. When it’s 0-0, it just comes down to who wants it more. We really wanted this one after all we’ve been through the last three years.”
Elam’s goal sealed a 4-2 shootout win for the Griffins, and 1-0 victory over the Raiders in a SouthWest Suburban Blue contest.
Papa earned win No. 300 in his first attempt after picking up No. 299 against Lincoln-Way Central on April 11.
“There have been a lot of bus rides,” Papa said. “This has been a long time coming. I have a lot of great memories. I’m speechless. One of our parents said they saw the monkey jump off my back and they’re right. Now we get on with the rest of the season.”
Papa, whose Griffins improved to 5-4-1 and 1-1 in the Blue, was intent on keeping the feat under wraps, but had those plans thwarted.
“I didn’t really want anybody to know but (assistant coach Ryan Decker) told the girls,” Papa said. “I just wanted to get it over with. Now, for me, I can just relax and move on with the rest of the year.”
Papa was presented with a soccer ball signed by all the Griffins’ players to commemorate the occasion.
“We’ve been struggling a lot in this program the last few years,” East senior Jessica Bicek said. “It really meant a lot to get this win for coach and finally get him his 300th win.”
Papa, who began his girls coaching career in 1992 and accumulated the wins at Sandburg, Lincoln-Way and Lincoln-Way East, is believed to be just the second coach in Illinois to win 300 games in both boys and girls soccer, joining Chris Phillips, who accomplished the feat at Crystal Lake Central and Cary-Grove.
Papa won 451 games in 30 years on the boys side. He also is the 11th coach to win 300 in girls competition. There are five other active coaches in that prestigious club.
“I’ve been really lucky to be part of great programs,” Papa said. “I was at Sandburg for two years, then I inherited a very good Lincoln-Way program from Tim Kilrea. Dr. Kilrea is now the superintendent in the Lyons Township district. He did a super job with the girls at Lincoln-Way and I took it over and we had a great run.
“We split the first time and we kept the tradition going with the Griffins. We were very good. After the second split, we lost our place a little bit, but not for lack of effort. We just don’t have the depth that we have in the past. That’s been the plight of our program.
“But right now, we’re getting healthy. All these girls have done what I’ve asked them to do. Every one of them played somewhere in the offseason. We’re really coming around.”
Katie Kazmierczak made two huge saves for the Griffins (5-4-1, 1-1) in the shootout.
“It’s really hard as a goalkeeper to make one save, let alone two, in PKs,” she said. “I just tried to pick a side and I came out victorious. I was really proud of myself. The fact that it was Papa’s 300th win made it even more special.”
Sam Fiorella, Hanna Dolan-Cook and Bicek scored for East in the shootout before Elam delivered the clincher on a high shot.
“This was one of our best wins since I’ve been here,” Bicek said. “I don’t think we’ve ever really done too well in shootouts, so it’s really nice to win this one.
“I think a win like this helps boost the team’s spirit. I think we’re going to carry it on through the rest of conference. We want to do something this year.”
Papa echoed Bicek’s sentiments about shootouts.
“Penalty kicks have been one of my biggest nemeses,” he said. “We finally won a shootout. That’s another monkey off the back.”
Nikia Smith and Andrea Sanchez converted penalty kicks for the Raiders (8-4-3, 1-1), who got four saves from Selena Rodriguez.
Chances were few and far between as the teams engaged in a defensive tussle for 100 minutes.
The lone shot on goal in the first half was a long bouncer from East’s McKenna Fugett that Rodriguez easily handled.
The Griffins managed three more shots on goal in the second half, but Rodriguez was up to the challenge.
East nearly broke through in the second overtime when Fugett beat a defender and sent a shot that bounced off the hands of a leaping Rodriguez and rolled towards the goal line, but was swept out of trouble by Raiders defender Amy Fetters.
Fugett, a freshman, turned in an impressive performance.
“McKenna’s played really well,” Papa said. “We have a few freshmen and sophomores. Our seniors have stepped up. We still haven’t played with (Meghan) Grady. She’ll hopefully get back on the field soon and we’re going to have a rotation.
“We’ll have to find a way to find playing time for all these girls. We haven’t had that problem in a long time, and that’s a good problem to have. Having subs for subs, that’s a nice thing to have.”
Bolingbrook never mounted a serious scoring chance against an East defense that pitched its sixth shutout in seven matches.
After starting 0-3, the Griffins are 5-1-1 over their last seven contests.
“We’ve been telling the girls all year, it’s all about confidence,” Papa said. “It’s like the boys program and how they got the confidence. That’s all it takes. I told the girls they can do that, too. It’s not about an individual, it takes a team, and that’s what we’ve got.
East will host Joliet Central on Tuesday before a Thursday visit to Joliet West.
