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44 | September 29, 2016 | The orland park prairie Sports opprairie.com Girls Tennis Lockport duo’s aggressive play overpowers Sandburg RANDY WHALEN Freelance Reporter Taking a first glance at Lockport Township girls tennis doubles partners Gabby Perillo and Kamile Sulkson, one can’t help but notice a bit of a difference in something. Their height. While separated by over 10 inches in height, the junior duo is as tough as they come on the court. They showed that again last week in pulling out a key match at No. 3 doubles. That helped the Porters to a big 4-3 team victory over SouthWest Suburban Blue rival Sandburg on Thursday, Sept. 20, at Lockport. With its second win over a SWSC Blue opponent in less than a week [the other was a 6-1 win on Sept. 15 at Homewood-Flossmoor], Lockport (15-1-1, 3-0) put itself as the favorite to win the conference tournament. That takes place between Thursday, Oct. 6, and Saturday, Oct. 8, at H-F. The loss was a rare one for Sandburg (5-2, 1-1), which was coming off winning its own invite the Saturday [Sept. 17] before. A key match in the Porters win was certainly Perillo and Sulkson. In a close contest they defeated seniors Jenna Gonzales and Elisabeth Wood 6-3, 7-5. “I wasn’t sure if it would work,” Lockport coach Bob Champlin said of the pairing of Perillo and Sulkson. “But it did.” The two are now 14-1 on the season. “Opposites attract,” said Sulkson, who is 5 feet 8 1/2 inches tall, about her pairing with Perillo, who is 4 feet 10 inches tall. “It’s different playing styles and it took awhile, but we got the hang of it. “I’m better at staying back, but we’re good at setting each other up.” Perillo agrees. “We stayed really aggressive at the net,” Perillo said of the strategy against Sandburg. “They try to hit it over me, but [Sulkson] backs me up. We didn’t play together a year ago. We had to work really hard together in the offseason. It may have taken some time, but we did it together.” Both teams have done very well together this season. Of Sandburg’s trio of wins, two came at singles. Those were a 6-1, 6-0 victory at No. 1 singles by sophomore Anna Loureiro over freshman Natallie Barth, and at No. 3 singles freshman Jayme Gross won 6-0, 3-6, 6-2 over senior Jessica Sterna. “She’s a good player and I just played really well,” Loureiro said of facing Barth. “I just stayed focused and whatever happened, happened.” Good things usually happen for the Eagles when Loureiro is on the court. She helped them capture the title of their own invite by winning the first singles title, one of three on the day for Sandburg. “To win the invite felt good and we all played well,” she said. “We’re really getting into a great mindset as a team. We know what we have to do and we go out and practice with a purpose.” The Eagles also captured the longest match of the night in terms of time. That was a 7-5, 7-6 (7-5) win at No. 2 doubles by junior Agnes Florczyk and senior Stephanie Garoufalis over junior Kaitlyn Graves and sophomore Bri Hillock. “We [had] three really big matches [last] week,” said Sandburg coach Brian Ostrander, whose team traveled to Marist on Wednesday, Sept. 21, and hosted H-F on Thursday, Sept. 22. “It’s tough to come on the road and win at Lockport. Their No. 1 doubles team is tremendous and our No. 1 singles player is tremendous. “We’ve got to get to work on the lower levels. But you can’t win the conference [last week]. It’s going to come down to one day [Saturday, Oct. 8 at the SWSC Blue Tournament].” Cassidy Hillock had Lockport’s win at singles. That was at No. 2 where the sophomore was victorious 6-3, 6-2 over freshman Julia Canellis. At No. 1 doubles it was the Porter duo of seniors Mary Kate Buchheit and Tomi Jo Mansell with a 6-1, 6-2 win over seniors Jasmine Abunaim and Sophie Sjo. The No. 4 doubles duo of junior Lauren Hasler and sophomore Maddy Grcevic had a 6-1, 6-4 win over freshman Konstance Delis and junior Sam Warchol. “This was a team win,” Champlin said. “We won at the top and bottom of our lineup. “Our No. 1 doubles had a good win and a good match. Our No. 2 doubles losing might be good in retrospect, because often times you learn more from a loss then a win.” Sandburg sophomore Anna Loureiro — who had a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Lockport Township High School freshman Natallie Barth — plays Thursday, Sept. 20, in Lockport. Julie McMann/22nd Century Media Players from the two teams may very well see each other again this weekend. Lockport hosts another invite at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 30, and continuing at 8 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, and the Eagles are there. Boys Soccer Griffins look to improve after falling 4-0 to Eagles at home Frank Gogola Freelance Reporter Sandburg coach Desi Vuillaume opened the team’s postgame talk with a question: “Why are we only good in the second half?” Several players blurted out answers. Some were inaudible. None were acceptable, Vuillaume would say several minutes later. “You guys are going to get rolled if we don’t start picking things up in the first half,” assistant coach Scott Wilkins told the team. “Otherwise, it’s not going to be good. It’s going to end quick for you guys in the playoffs if you don’t starting picking it up in the first half.” This was the talk that a 4-0 win over Lincoln-Way East on Thursday, Sept. 22, had earned Sandburg (5-6-1). The Eagles have scored 25 goals on the season, but only eight have come in the first half. They’ve picked up the pace with six of their eight first-half goals in the past four games, but Vuillaume wants to see improvements with conference play beginning and regionals less than one month away. “We settle in too quick and we just don’t see that fire,” Vuillaume said. “We need to play the whole 80 minutes like what we saw in the second half. It should have been 4-0 at the half. … We haven’t found what motivates this team yet, but we’ll get there.” East (2-7) has had its own problems this season. The roster of nine East players and 12 former Lincoln-Way North players have struggled to mesh together. “We haven’t figured out how to play with each other, and we’re fighting each other,” said East coach Ryan Decker. “Not that we’re literally fighting each other, but in the game there’s no chemistry, no flow. … We’re just not applying what we’re doing in training to those game moments.” Decker sat three regular starters in the first half because they showed up late to the pregame meeting. He pulled captain Liam Elsden and Spencer Hein in the 57th minute after they got yellow cards for talking back to a referee. Both instances, Decker said, were symptoms of the Griffins’ losing problem. “Respecting the refs, the opponent, the game itself is one of the principles I’m trying to teach these guys about character,” Decker said. “That’s not character. Yeah, you’re frustrated; you’re losing. If you don’t like it, fix it. Yelling at the refs isn’t going to fix the problem.” Sandburg sophomore forward Colin Kroll and senior midfielder Frank Connelly were cleared from injuries that Thursday. Kroll, who leads the team in scoring despite playing only four games, didn’t play. Connelly got hit in the head while contesting a header in his first minute of action and spent the rest of the game on the bench in what Vuillaume called a precautionary move. The Eagles got the first three shots on goal, but Marko Nedeljkivic had a prime chance to put East up 1-0 in the eighth minute. East’s Nicholas Conces drew Sand- Please see sOccer, 41 San from Fran
opprairie.com Sports the orland park prairie | September 29, 2016 | 45 Football Rough homecoming night ends well for Sandburg Brittany Kapa Assistant Editor PRESSBOX PICKS Our staff’s predictions for the top games in Week 6 Lockport (4-1) hosts Bolingbrook (2-3) Tinley Park (3-2) at Bremen (2-3) Lincoln-Way West (4-1) hosts Normal Community (4-1) Lincoln-Way Central (4-1) hosts Bradley-Bourbonnais (5-0) Andrew (0-5) hosts Lincoln-Way East (4-1) “Anytime we play Stagg we know we’re going to get their best effort. They’re well coached, and we’re happy to come out with the victory. We knew it would be a tough game.” Scott Peters — Eagles football coach, on the team taking on one of its Consolidated High School District 230 rivals Amid the excitement of students, parents and spectators, the Sandburg High School football team ran out onto the field for its homecoming match against district rival Stagg Friday night, Sept. 23, in an effort to not only improve its record, but also start homecoming weekend off right. It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t quick and it wasn’t easy, but none of that mattered after the final scoreboard read 22 points on the home side and just 16 for the visitors. “We didn’t perform as well as we could, but we came away with the victory,” Sandburg running back Jawon Richards said. Despite a promising 7-6 Sandburg (2-3) lead at the end of the first, the second quarter would prove to be tough for the home team. Stagg’s Jake Thielmann returned an interception for a touchdown to give Stagg a 16-7 at the end of the first half. It was one of four interceptions thrown by the Eagles, who dug themselves a major hole early — not that it fazed them. “We’ve been dealing with adversity the whole season, that was just another setback,” Richards said. It took a bit, but Sandburg regained momentum around midway through the fourth quarter. Richards and Friedsam developed good chemistry as the night progressed. Richards ended the night with 60 yards rushing. Lady Luck seemed to be on Sandburg’s side; all the Eagles had to do was capitalize, which proved to be the tricky part. After a Stagg fumble on an offensive snap, Sandburg’s defensive back Jamie Marines snatched up the ball and carried it for 28 yards down to the 2-yard line. With a golden opportunity on first-and-goal, the Eagles’ snap was sent wildly over the head of Friedsam, who recovered but for a loss of 23 yards. A 20-yard pass to Parker was a few yards 20-5 Max Lapthorne | Contributing Editor • Lockport 21, Bolingbrook 20. Porters take their second consecutive against the Raiders in exciting fashion. • Tinley Park • LW West • Bradley-Bourbonnais • LW East short on a fourth-and-23, so, again Sandburg couldn’t close the gap. The fourth quarter, however, proved to be the motivation the Eagles needed. Friedsam found Jamare Parker on a 27-yard touchdown strike with 3 minutes 55 seconds left, and despite a missed two-point conversion, Sandburg had taken the lead, 20-16. Having been quiet most of the game, the stands nearly burst as Sandburg found its stride late in the fourth. After a poor return, Stagg had a long field, 95 yards, ahead of it before it could challenge the Eagles’ lead. Sandburg wouldn’t let it get that close, as Patrick Brucki came up with a huge sack in the end zone to give the Eagles a game-clinching safety. On the ensuing Chargers’ 18-7 Tom Czaja | Contributing Editor • Lockport 20, Bolingbrook 17. The Porters will secure a playoff berth by knocking off the ‘Brook a second straight year. • Tinley Park • Normal Community • Bradley-Bourbonnais • LW East 17-8 possession, Sandburg secured an interception to finish off the 22-16 homecoming win. While the win may have not been the dominating effort Sandburg hoped for, it was the win they needed on homecoming night in Orland Park. “Anytime we play Stagg we know we’re going to get their best effort,” Eagles coach Scott Peters said. “They’re well coached, and we’re happy to come out with the victory. We knew it would be a tough game.” Friedsam knows that this is a game he can learn from. The quarterback laid aside the early turnovers and made the big throws when he had to. “[Friedsam] made a bad read or two early,” Peters said. “He put those to the side, and played better in the second half. He had a Joe Coughlin | Publisher • Lockport 17, Bolingbrook 14. Porters eke one out at home for a statement win on path to postseason. • Tinley Park • LW West • LW Central • LW East 17-8 Tim Carroll | Contributing Editor • Bolingbrook 22, Lockport 18. More than anything, I make this pick to spite Max Lapthorne. • Tinley Park • Normal Community • Bradley-Bourbonnais • LW East couple big throws at the end that were huge for us.” Friedsam couldn’t thank his teammates enough for keeping the Eagles in the game during the early struggles. “I had a rough game,” he said. “My offensive line and the rest of the guys around me picked me up, [and] we overcame that. We got that touchdown at the end, which was very crucial to put us ahead.” Brucki finished with 36 total rushing yards, a touchdown and the safety that finished things off. Grant Glover contributed to the running game with 35 yards, and Friedsam himself added 33 yards to bring the team total to 164 rush yards for the night. For Stagg closing with a win in the fourth quarter has been a continual challenge this season. Stagg came into Friday’s game winless, and it stayed that way with their overall record going to 0-5 for the season. Chargers coach Mike Fahey is well aware of what his team needs to work on. “We have to put together our fourth-quarter game, and we just haven’t done that yet,” Fahey said. 13-12 Heather Warthen | Chief Operating Officer • Lockport 17, Bolingbrook 14. A tough Porters team downs the Raiders at home. • Tinley Park • LW West • Bradley-Bourbonnais • LW East This Week In ... Eagles Varsity Athletics Football ■Sept. ■ 30 — host Homewood- Flossmoor, 7 p.m. Boys Cross Country ■Oct. ■ 1 — at St. Charles North Invite, 9 a.m. ■Oct. ■ 1 — at Peoria Invite, 9 a.m. Girls Cross Country ■Oct. ■ 1 — at Wheaton North Invite, 8:30 a.m. Girls Volleyball ■Sept. ■ 30 — at Mother McAuley Challenge, TBA ■Oct. ■ 1 — at Mother McAuley Challenge, TBA ■Oct. ■ 4 — at Stagg, 5:30 p.m. ■Oct. ■ 6 — host Lincoln-Way East, 5:30 p.m. Boys Soccer ■Oct. ■ 4 — host Lockport, 6:15 p.m. ■Oct. ■ 6 — at Homewood- Flossmoor, 5 p.m. Girls Swimming ■Sept. ■ 29 — host Stagg, 5 p.m. ■Sept. ■ 30 — host Sandburg Invite (Diving), 5 p.m. ■Oct. ■ 1 — host Sandburg Invite (Swimming) 11 a.m. ■Oct. ■ 6 — host Lincoln-Way East, 5 p.m. Girls Tennis ■Sept. ■ 29 — at Thornwood, TBA ■Sept. ■ 30 — at Lockport Invite, 3:30 p.m. ■Oct. ■ 1 — at Lockport Invite, 8 a.m. Boys Golf ■Oct. ■ 4 — at IHSA Regional, 9 a.m. Girls Golf ■Oct. ■ 5 — at IHSA Regional, 8:30 a.m. Reach 96,000 Readers Each Week in the Classifieds! 708.326.9170 www.22ndcenturymedia.com
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