Warriors bounce back with SWSC Red win over Chargers

 

 

By Curt Herron

After dropping close decisions in its last two outings, Lincoln-Way West really needed to bounce back with a win on Wednesday.

But that would prove to be easier said than done considering the Warriors were facing a Stagg squad that had lost just twice.

A quick goal seemed to boost those hopes but the Chargers complicated matters by getting the equalizer shortly after the break.

With the outcome still very much in the air, West scored twice within a span of five minutes to regain control in the match.

Thanks to the late surge, the Warriors were able to claim a 3-1 SouthWest Suburban Conference Red win over Stagg in New Lenox.

Natalie Tannura, Bri Darlage and Cori Brennan all scored for West (10-5-2, 1-2) while Brennan added an assist on Darlage's goal.

"I don't want to say that we needed this one but we did need this one," West coach Jeff Theiss said. "For the effort and the work that the girls have been putting in over the past couple of weeks and as close as we've been competing against some high-level teams in this area, losing close ones becomes frustrating and it's easy to drop your head.

"Coach (Sean Fahey) and I were talking about the importance of coming out quickly and getting that result and Natalie stepped up huge as an outside mid by creating something out of absolutely nothing. We thought she could play negative but she ended up turning, beating the first defender then carried inside and attacked the near post and slotted one to the back post, it was textbook.

"I wish that we could have come out a little harder in the second half, and we knew the importance of that and not being satisfied with a 1-0 lead, but credit to Stagg for pouring it on in the first 10 minutes. But what I loved was that once they scored, the composure was there and we maintained our organization and continued to try to play feet.

"Credit to Bri as a freshman to take a touch in that situation rather than just trying to hit it one-time to get the ball off of your foot, that shows composure beyond her years and that was a huge goal for us."

As the regular season winds down, the Warriors coach hopes that his veteran senior cast leads the way for the younger players.

West only has four matches left, starting with today's SWSC Red contest at Bradley-Bourbonnais and ending with Lincoln-Way North.

"We know that we have a solid core a freshmen, sophomores and juniors but our senior class has been through the grind from day one," Theiss said. "We bring up consistently the way that they walked off of that field last year against Providence and that's been their drive and they don't want this season to end.

"This is such a genuine group of kids that have embraced every moment. I think they've had a difficult time choosing their colleges based on the fact that they don't want this run to be over. We definitely want to make sure that everyone is doing their part to end their careers on as high as a note as possible.

"We've got to bounce back quickly against Bradley, who it have been playing fairly well of late. Then we have a week stretch where we'll try to get healthy and to work on some things. It was nice to have almost everyone back today and that was critical. We're looking to make a push as we head into the playoffs."

The Warriors will find out about their playoff possibilities over the next couple of days, when seeds and pairings are announced.

West and Lemont figure to be the favorites in an otherwise wide-open field in the Class 2A sectional that the Warriors will host.

As for Wednesday's match, West was feeling good at halftime after getting the first goal and having most of the better chances.

But there's a reason why Stagg (5-3-2, 0-2) had played draws with the likes of Lockport and Sandburg, and it demonstrated that.

The Chargers started the final half with a flurry, with Joanna Gawlak being halted on a try from the side by keeper Kayla Lojas.

But there wasn't very much that she could do in the 49th minute when Jazmin Castanon got free for a short try to create a tie.

West tried to respond quickly to that goal but efforts from Tannura and Kara Winans were both thwarted and things stayed even.

The Warriors finally got their break in the 63rd minute when Brennan got off a good shot, which was deflected by a defender.

Darlage happened to be in the vicinity and alertly got to the loose ball and put a nice touch on it to put it in an open net.

"After Stagg scored, we didn't let it get to us and we didn't put our heads down and we kept going strong," Darlage said. "When my chance opened up, there were players in the box but I just figured that a shot wouldn't hurt.

"Coming off of two conference losses we really needed a win to get us going and we came out with a lot of heart for this game. We never give up, we work hard in practice every day and we've definitely jelled as a team."

Not long after Emily Wyskiel was denied, Brennan got the clearance and sent in a 50-yard effort for a goal in the 68th minute.

Down the stretch, Lojas stopped shots from Ann Marie Gal and Gawlak which were sandwiched around one more attempt from Brennan.

Things started well for West, which moved in front about 10 minutes in when Tannura got past defenders and put in a nice score.

"After two losses, we really needed to come back with a win," Tannura said. "We needed to have the right mindset because after two losses it's easy to drop your head. When Stagg scored its goal, everyone stepped up and no one dropped their heads, which is big.

"At the beginning of the season we were all excited and didn't think that we had to put in all of the work in order to get to where we are but now we have the mindset that we have to put the work in to get the result that we want."

Near the first half's midpoint, Lojas stopped a liner from Alex Abed on a corner and Meghann Lange was denied on the other end.

A few minutes later, Brennan was denied on a free kick and then Charger keeper Jessica Garcia hauled in a liner from Wyskiel.

As play approached the intermission, Brennan had another effort halted and Lea Gindville suffered the same fate on a free kick.