Things click for Griffins in 4-0 victory over Warriors

By Curt Herron

It's been a real juggling act so far this season for Lincoln-Way East coach Brian Papa and assistant Ryan Decker.

The two coaches have come up with all sorts of different possibilities as to who should play where for the Griffins.

But following some good recent performances, they may be getting closer to finding which players should be in what spots.

On Tuesday, East turned in one of those efforts, when it met up with the newest school in its district Lincoln-Way West.

The Griffins easily dominated in possession and shots as they captured a 4-0 SouthWest Suburban Conference win in Frankfort.

East's four-goal outburst was noteworthy since the squad hadn't scored two goals in a match since its opener against Marian Catholic.

In fact, the Griffins (5-4) had only scored a total of four goals during their next seven matches as they struggled to create chances.

That certainly wasn't the case against the Warriors (3-5), who seemed to be on the defensive throughout the majority of the contest.

East put consistent pressure on West keeper Kayla Bryant, who did a fine job of preventing the final margin of being any larger.

Things really clicked for the hosts after the break, when they scored two goals a little over a minute apart to expand on a 1-0 lead.

Click to hear coach Brian Papa interview

Freshman Kelsey Elam scored late in the first half to give the Griffins the only goal that they would eventually need.

Theresa Tynski and Stacy Sons connected early in the second half to make it 3-0 and Giselle Sabal contributed a late score.

Nicole Ernat and Corie Elam, Kelsey's sister, assisted on the Griffins' first two scores while other other goals were solo efforts.

East keeper Arianna Nie faced few threatening attempts in net before being relieved during the late going by Emily Boyich.

Kelsey Kurey controlled things as center midfielder, where she was joined by Corie Elam, while Kelly McGovern was the holding mid.

Although the Griffins dominated in all areas in the initial 40 minutes, they had to settle for a 1-0 lead at the break.

About eight minutes in, Sons sent a cross in front of the net to Elizabeth Grever, who sent a slow roller toward the net.

Two minutes later, Erin Mangia began the first the first in a series of well-placed corner kicks that Bryant had to haul in.

With just over 14 minutes gone in the match, Mangia lined a short attempt which forced the Warrior keeper to make a diving stop.

A little over three minutes after that, Becca Dobrich headed an attempt off the post following a corner kick from Mangia.

Just past the midpoint of the opening half, McGovern sent a cross toward Mangia, who fired off a liner to Bryant.

Click to hear Erin Mangia interview

Then Nie even got into the act offensively when she had a free kick from about 50 yards away that was grabbed by her counterpart.

Things finally clicked for the Griffins with just under 11 minutes remaining in the first half when the young Elam found the net.

Ernat started the sequence with a grounder that Bryant deflected away but Kelsey Elam was able to put the short rebound try away.

McGovern, Sons and Kelsey Elam all added threatening shot attempts during the final eight minutes of the opening half.

It was more of the same for East following the break, except the results finally started to improve in the final 40 minutes.

Kelsey Elam began things with two good scoring chances during the early going and Kurey also sent a shot try to Bryant.

Mangia and Ernat continued to apply the pressure during the next few minutes but their attempts were slightly off the mark.

West had a couple of chances about 12 minutes into the new half but neither really resulted in any threatening attempts.

Kylie Hermanson sent in a corner but both Kelly Forbus and Kalin Winans couldn't get off shots against East's physical defense.

The Griffins responded less than a minute later with a shot that was free in front of the net before being cleared by Kara Winans.

With 27:01 remaining, East grabbed a 2-0 lead when Corie Elam sent a pass toward Tynski, who connected from close range.

Click to hear Corie Elam interview

Then with 25:45 left, the Griffins were at it again when Sons came up with a loose ball and put shot to make a 3-0 match.

The Warriors tried to respond moments later when Kalin Winans sent in a good cross but two players were unable to get good shots.

It looked like it would remain a three-goal margin after Ernat was stopped on a short try and Kurey had two attempts halted.

But with 3:41 to go in the match, Sabal lined a long shot that floated over the Warrior keeper's head to complete the scoring.

The four goals was the most that the Warriors had allowed since yielding five in their first-ever match with Homewood-Flossmoor.

Coach Jeff Theiss' squad had only allowed five goals during their last three matches, with no more than two in any contest.

Click to hear coach Jeff Theiss interview

East returns to action on Saturday against an undetermined opponent in the Pepsi Showdown at Schaumburg's Olympic Park.

West, which hadn't played since last Monday's win over Oak Lawn, now doesn't play again until it hosts Andrew next Tuesday.

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