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54 | May 4, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger SPORTS
mokenamessenger.com
Griffins play for ‘warriors,’ ‘angels’
Steve Millar
Freelance Reporter
Lincoln-Way East coach
Mike Murphy was thrilled
with his team’s 3-1 win April
25 over Lincoln-Way West.
The night, though, was
about more than soccer.
The rivals came together
for the annual Kick For a
Cure breast cancer awareness
game, raising money
for cancer research.
“I love this game, because
it teaches the girls and everyone
else that when we’re on
the field we’re competing,
but off the field we’re competing
for a common cause,”
Murphy said. “The parents
at both schools put in a lot of
effort. West did a great job
hosting. To give back to the
community is outstanding.”
The teams wore special
T-shirts and helped organize
gift baskets that were auctioned
off. Proceeds were
donated to Silver Cross Hospital
Cancer Center.
“We’ve now raised over
$30,000 since we started the
event in 2009,” West coach
Jeff Theiss said. “This continues
to grow every year.
It’s always a special experience
to see the community
come together for a bigger
cause.”
On the field, East’s star
midfielder Bianca Galassini
proved to be unstoppable.
The South Carolina recruit
had a hat trick, scoring three
goals on headers, as the visiting
Griffins prevailed in a
SouthWest Suburban game.
It was the conference opener
for East (10-3-1, 1-0) and a
key victory over the Warriors
(9-6-1, 1-1), who had established
themselves as a major
contender in the league with
their win over Andrew.
“We knew West was going
to be a tough opponent,”
Galassini said. “This was
a big result to improve our
spot in conference and with
our sectional seeding.”
Galassini got the Griffins
on the board in the 30th minute,
heading in a long throwin
from Anna Power.
It was the start of a strong
performance from Power.
“Anna did a great job winning
headers,” Murphy said.
“She played some dangerous
balls outside, and she was
dangerous on the throws. I
was really happy with how
she played.”
After playing nearly the
entire first half on the offensive
side of the field with
strong winds at its back,
East led 1-0 and faced the
challenge of having the wind
against it in the second half.
The Griffins, though, negated
that disadvantage by
scoring two goals off corner
kicks early in the half.
Galassini headed in
Kelsey McInturff’s corner
kick with 38:35 left in the
match, then did it again with
28:29 to go.
“I love taking corner
kicks,” McInturff said. “I
know as long as I do what I
need to do, Bianca is going
to finish it.”
McInturff was especially
Lincoln-Way East’s Bianca Galassini (left) and West’s Sara
Loichinger vie for the ball April 25 during the cross-district
Kick for a Cure cancer benefit game. Julie McMann/22nd
Century Media
motivated by the Kick For a
Cure event.
Players who have had family
members or friends affected
by cancer were recognized
before the game and wore
patches on their uniform in
honor of their “angels,” those
who died from cancer, and
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