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frankfortstation.com SPORTS
the frankfort station | November 3, 2016 | 47
fastbreak
Boys Soccer
LW East reflects on comeback season
Adam Jomant/22nd Century
Media
1st-and-3
Swimming to glory
1. Kristina Winter
(ABOVE)
The Lincoln-Way East
freshman teamed up
with state veterans
Makayla Varga, Cailin
Merck and Michaela
Mitchell and helped
the quartet win the
200-medley relay
at the Friday, Oct.
28-Saturday, Oct. 29
SWSC Blue meet.
2. Makayla Varga
The East junior, who
already has a trio of
individual 13th place
state finishes in her
career, won the 100-
yard butterfly and the
100 backstroke at
the SWSC Blue meet.
3. Cailin Merck
The East senior
took home the
championship in the
100 breaststroke
during the SWSC
Blue meet and also
placed second in
the 200 individual
medley.
Bloom defeats East
6-0 in East's final
game of the season
Frank Gogola
Freelance Reporter
They stood on the sideline
and stared on in silence.
Lincoln-Way East senior
Nicholas Conces put one arm
around senior Marko Nedeljkovic,
to his left, and put
the other around senior captain
Liam Elsden, to his right.
There were about 15 minutes
left in the sectional semifinal
against Bloom Township
on Oct. 25, but East
coach Ryan Decker emptied
his bench with the Griffins
down 5-0. The season,
defined by two distinctive
halves and a shocking playoff
run, came to a crashing end at
Lincoln-Way Central.
“We were just thinking
about how when we first
started playing together,”
PRESSBOX PICKS
Our staff’s predictions for
the top games in Week 10
No. 19 Lincoln-Way Central (6-3) at No. 14 Reavis (7-2)
No. 18 Lincoln-Way East (7-2) against No. 15 Taft (8-1)
No. 27 Lockport Township (6-3) at No. 6 St. Charles East (9-0)
No. 31 Lincoln-Way West (5-4) at No. 2 East St. Louis Sr. (9-0)
No. 11 Marist (8-1) hosts No. 22 New Trier (7-2)
Elsden said. “Just happy
thoughts.”
It was a postseason run
that didn’t seem possible in
late September. East (9-9-1)
struggled with getting players
from Lincoln-Way North on
the same page with Decker’s
system after North closed.
The offense and defense
were mostly absent despite
talented individuals. The
result was a 2-7-1 record
through 10 games.
The season began to shift
on the same field where it
would ultimately end. East
opened conference play with
a 2-0 win over Central on
Sept. 27 at the New Lenox
high school. It was the start
of a 7-2 finish.
“If you would have told me
when we were 2-7-1 come
conference time that we were
going to end up .500, I would
have told you ‘there ain’t no
chance,’ with the way things
were going for us,” Decker
said. “We completely turned
Tim Carroll | Contributing
Editor
• LW Central 46, Reavis 37. This is
a tough one, but I will take the
Knights in a shootout on the road.
• LW East
• St. Charles East
• East St. Louis Sr.
• Marist
31-14
things around, and it was the
boys. The boys did a great
job. They refocused [and] relooked
at how we were as a
group.”
The key to the turnaround
was spurred by a reinvigorated
defense that led to offense.
East had been out-scored
21-8 in its 2-7-1 start, but outscored
the opposition 21-7 to
close the season, not counting
the 6-0 loss to Bloom.
“It had everything to do
with defending,” Decker
said. “It was limiting chances
at goal. It was defending as a
unit. And then we were finding
success in front of the net.
That’s a recipe for wins. We
found our identity, and that
was important to the guys.”
The Griffins went 4-1 in
conference play and entered
the playoffs with the motto
“Advance to survive.” The No.
15 seed in the sectional, they
beat No. 18 Richards in double
overtime 5-1, a win Decker
said East “backed into.”
30-15
Tom Czaja | Contributing
Editor
• Reavis 34, LW Central 27. Rams
take early lead and hold on
late to end Knights’ season and
advance.
• LW East
• St. Charles East
• East St. Louis Sr.
• Marist
They also pulled a stunning
upset against then-unbeaten
No. 2 Oak Lawn, 4-0, and
they defeated No. 7 Stagg,
2-1, to win the regional title.
However, the defense that
had carried them vanished
against No. 3 Bloom. East
trailed 2-0 at the half and had
chances to keep the game
close but couldn’t convert.
Bloom (21-4-1) added four
goals in the final 26 minutes
to win 6-0, with junior forward
Anthony Aldape accounting
for four goals and
one assist.
“We simply couldn’t contain
their counter,” Decker
said. “The floodgates opened
today.”
For the East seniors, it
wasn’t only the end of the
season but the end of their
high school careers. A rare
smile broke across Elsden’s
face when he talked about
how he’ll most remember
the practices – “the fun ones,
the goof-around ones” – and
30-15
Max Lapthorne |
Contributing Editor
• Reavis 20, LW Central 14. The
Knights and Rams take it down
to the wire, but the home team
survives and advances.
• LW East
• St. Charles East
• East St. Louis Sr.
• New Trier
26-19
Joe Coughlin | Publisher
• LW Central 38, Reavis 28.
Knights’ tough schedule has them
prepared for big program win.
• LW East
• St. Charles East
• East St. Louis Sr.
• Marist
the friendships he built with
teammates over four years.
East could have finished
with another 5-15 or 6-13 season,
like in the past two years,
after the 2-7-1 start. The season
was salvaged as the players
learned to work as one unit
and win together, not as individuals
trying to play “hero
ball” and win on their own.
“What it really came down
to [was] the adversity that
we saw at the beginning of
the season,” Decker said. “It
was frustrating for me. It was
frustrating for them. I think
that’s a life lesson: When
things get tough, what do you
do? Do you just pack it up
and quit, or do you find another
way? These guys found
another way.
“That’s something to build
on for next year. These guys
set a new tone going forward.
… These guys left their legacy.
I think it was a successful
season when it comes down
to it.”
24-21
Heather Warthen | Chief
Operating Officer
• Reavis 27, LW Central 17. Reavis
continues to roll to Round 2.
• LW East
• Lockport
• East St. Louis Sr.
• New Trier
Listen Up
“They are unbelievable, and they make some catches that I
haven’t seen be made before. They really help me out and
everybody else on the offense.”
Jake Arthur — quarterback for the Lincoln-Way East football team, on
the help he receives on offense
TUNE IN
Girls Volleyball
TBA Saturday, Nov. 5
• The Lincoln-Way East varsity football team
hosts Waubonsie Valley for Week 2 of the
playoffs.
Index
41 – ATOW
42 – AOTM
FASTBREAK is compiled by Editor Rebecca Susmarski.
Send any questions or comments to rebecca@frankfortstation.com
or call (708) 326-9170 ext. 14.