Warriors fight back to tie Eisenhower in Blue Island

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By Gary Larsen

Once his girls answered the bell, Lincoln-Way West coach Jeff Theiss was more than happy with the way his Warriors competed on Monday.

That “bell” was a goal that gave host Eisenhower a 1-0 lead in the first half of a nonconference game in Blue Island. The Warriors took that goal to heart and found another gear thereafter in eventually earning a 1-1 tie.

But playing from behind is never a place you want to be.

“This is a good group. They’ve got heart, they play to the final whistle every single day, and I’m just trying to show them that we can make things a little bit easier on ourselves if we pick it up sooner,” Theiss said.

“We didn’t come out as strong as we usually do,” Warriors junior Kalin Winans said. “Once they scored I think it clicked in our heads that we didn’t want to lose.”

Capping a strong first half of play by Eisenhower, the Cardinals’ Gigi Garcia scored in a crowd near the goalmouth in the game’s 31st minute, after a few failed clearing attempts by the Warriors.

“We were getting caught off-guard and flat-footed, and we weren’t ready for them,” the Warriors’ Lea Gindville said. “They were very fast and they liked to go very aggressive at you, which we had to counter back at. It was hard for us at the beginning, but we got used to it.”

Garcia’s goal lit the proverbial fire under Lincoln-Way West, as the Warriors began attacking hard into the wind and pressuring net.

Kara Winans hit the post after penetrating deep on the right side in the 34th minute, and teammate Kelly Forbus sent a shot off the crossbar three minutes after that. Kalin Winans had a shot saved and Cori Brennan hit a shot just wide, but Eisenhower’s lead held to halftime.

Intensity levels that rise and fall aren’t new to soccer, and the first-year varsity program at West isn’t immune to that ebb and flow.

“We have our days,” Winans said. “There are days when we come out so hard, and days when we come out not ready to play. Sometimes it takes a little while for us to click, but once it does click we play like we want it.”

With a wind at their back in the second half, the Warriors (8-12-1) applied steady pressure to the Cardinals’ back line from the outset. After a few corner kicks and another couple shots sent wide, the Winans sisters teamed up to tie the game in the 49th minute.

Freshman Kara Winans went on a diagonal dribble-drive towards the top of Eisenhower’s penalty area, and then pushed a ball forward into the box. Junior Kalin Winans ran onto it and scored from 8 yards out, for her 9th goal of the season.

“(Kara) made a nice cut and got it in to me,” Winans said. “I just got a nice touch on it and scored. The keeper was near post so I shot it far post.”

With his squad facing a 1-0 deficit at halftime, Theiss changed formation in search of the equalizing goal that Winans ultimately provided.

“It forced us to play more direct,” Theiss said. “We had to go to a 3-4-3 in the second half, and even though I was happy with our pace in the second half, that’s not a pace you’re going to be able to keep up for eighty minutes.”

The game see-sawed from there, with the Winans nearly teaming up for another goal and Eisenhower testing Warriors’ keeper Kayla Bryant a few times to the final buzzer.

Lincoln-Way West posted its first three-game winning streak recently, ticking off victories over Addison Trail, Queen of Peace, and Plainfield East, before losing by a goal to Marian Catholic.

West has shown improvement throughout the season.

“They’re a lot more composed on the ball,” Theiss said. “We started the year playing very direct but now they’re taking a touch, getting their heads up, and trying to find feet, and we’ve had some success with that.”

“We’ve come so far as a team,” Winans said. “We started our season practicing in a gym at five in the morning and we’ve developed so much as a team. We’ve come together both on and off the field.”

Gindville agreed with Winans’ assessment.

“Everybody has improved. We’re connecting better and winning balls out of the air at midfield,” Gindville said. “Our defense is really tight with each other and we work well with each other. And (Bryant) has been awesome. She has come up real big for us.”

After Monday’s game, Theiss was happy with players up and down the pitch for his Warriors.

“In the second half I kind of left Emily Kowalski out to dry a little bit back there,” Theiss said. “With three in the back, she played center back very well. And I thought Corissa (Wolak) played very well. She played right back maybe twice this season and she won a lot of balls for us in the second half, in dangerous situations.”

“Lea Gindville was hustling up and down the field and Ashley Sichak won a lot of balls in the middle of the field. Kelly Forbus was getting up and down, and then we had the three forwards play well in the second half.”

Cori Brennan and the Winans sisters kept good pressure on Eisenhower’s back line throughout the second half.

“Kara and Cori are both very direct players, and they’re really good at handling the ball,” Winans said. “Up top they’re just magic up there, in terms of getting shots off.”

The first varsity season for any new program is a learning process, and Theiss likes where his girls are at after 21 games. The Warriors will compete in the Class 2A postseason beginning on Tuesday. West will host a regional as a No. 2 regional seed, taking on No. 3 Morris at 6:30 p.m.

Joliet Catholic is the top seed in New Lenox, taking on No. 4 Streator at 4:30 p.m.

“We should hopefully be able to compete there,” Theiss said. “This is my third year with this group, and it’s a fun group. The juniors have really built a good foundation, we’ve got some good youth coming in down the road, and I think we’ll be able to compete.”

“But I owe more to them than to say ‘let’s build for four years from now’. I’m telling them to play for this year. Take it game by game. Morale has been high throughout the season, and they don’t quit. I can never question this team’s work ethic.”

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