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44 | March 22, 2018 | The New Lenox Patriot Sports newlenoxpatriot.com Girls Lacrosse Lincoln-Way shines in first game as IHSA sport Steve Millar Freelance Reporter March 14 was a night Maggie Huizinga had waited a long time for. The Lincoln-Way coop lacrosse team opened its season at home against Naperville Central, for the first time taking the field at Lincoln-Way Central as a school-sponsored team playing an official IHSA sport. Boys and girls lacrosse made its debut as an IHSA sport this season and Huizinga, a senior at Lincoln- Way East, couldn’t be more excited. “It makes us more proud,” she said. “We’ve always represented our schools, but now our schools recognize us. Being able to wear that Lincoln-Way name means a lot, especially because the schools have had so much success in other sports. It’s a prestigious name. “This is my last season, and I want to help start something that’ll hopefully last for a long time. We want to be the founders of a great team and the stepping stones for something great going forward.” Their debut was an auspicious one. Sophomore Caroline Behrens scored six goals, Huizinga added four and Lincoln-Way pulled away late for a 14-5 win. “There are a lot of eyes on us now since we’re the new official sport, and we have expectations we need to uphold,” Huizinga said. “We went out there and delivered. I was really happy with how we went out there and performed.” Lincoln-Way coach Wei Chenh was equally pleased. “We had a lot of teamwork on the field,” she said. “We can definitely work on communication a bit more, but we supported each other as teammates and that was good to see.” It was an exciting night as well for Chenh, who’s been involved with lacrosse in Illinois since high school. She played for Lane Tech from 2001 to 2004 and went on to play at Lindenwood University in Missouri. She’s coached at Lane Tech and Robert Morris College and, most recently, for the Eagles co-op team which has players from Sandburg, Andrew and Stagg. “Now that it’s an IHSA sport, it’s even more exciting,” Chenh said. “I’ve been around for a while and to see the sport growing like this is great to see. If we can get more officials and people who are willing to coach, I can see the sport really taking off in the Midwest.” Behrens led the team in scoring last season with 81 goals, and she picked up right where she left off against Naperville Central, finding the net twice in the opening six minutes to give Lincoln-Way a 2-0 lead. “I love getting our team going,” she said. “I love encouraging everyone to go out there and give it their all and push them to new heights. We came out and got rolling right from the start.” Behrens, who scored again 19 minutes in to put Lincoln- Way up 4-2, said she has to make some adjustments now that opponents know all about her and focus on slowing her down. “I just have to focus on my fundamentals and knowing what I can do,” she said. “It’s about believing in myself, not letting opponents get in my head, and just working around what they do.” Naperville Central got within 5-4 with three minutes left in the first half, but Huizinga and Hayley Brothen, a senior at Lincoln-Way East, scored back-to-back goals to make it 7-4 at halftime. Lincoln-Way rolled in the second half, outscoring Naperville Central 7-1. “Halftime is when you tweak a few things to make it all connect,” Chenh said. “The girls pushed themselves to play even better in the second half.” After Naperville Central scored the first goal of the second half to cut it to 7-5, Lincoln-Way scored the final seven goals of the game. Behrens made it 8-5 before Huizinga scored backto-back goals to push the lead to five with just five minutes to go. “We practiced hard these last few days, coming together as a team with a bunch of new girls,” Behrens said. “We’re meshing well and really working together.” Grace Pawelczyk, Behrens, Brothen and Hannah Laverty all added goals in the final five minutes for Lincoln-Way. Goalie Elizabeth Myotte made one save. Last year, in its final season as a club team, Lincoln- Delia Dohm (middle), from Lincoln-Way Central, runs towards the action on the field March 14 during Lincoln- Way lacrosse’s season opener against Naperville Central in New Lenox. Julie McMann/22nd Century Media Way had its best season in the program’s history, going 11-6. Huizinga said the team developed a new level of confidence that’s carried over into this year. “Last year, we beat all expectations we had,” she said. “Every season we get better and better, so this season the sky’s the limit for us.” Delia Dohm, a junior at Lincoln-Way Central, was thrilled with the way her team played in its first game. “We’ve been strategizing a lot getting ready for this, and it felt to finally get out there and put everything together,” she said. “I think we started out really well. There are still things to work on, but it was nice to see us all come together and play like we did.” Dohm said she and her teammates are like a family. “I feel like we all have a special connection to each other, even though we go to different schools,” she said. “It’s like anywhere you go, you have a friend.” This Week In... Knights varsity athletics Baseball ■March ■ 23 - host Hinsdale South, 4:30 p.m. ■March ■ 26 - at Richards, 11 a.m. ■March ■ 28 - at Naperville Central, 11 a.m. ■March ■ 29 - at Sandburg, 4:30 p.m. Softball ■March ■ 26 - at Sandburg, 4:30 p.m. ■March ■ 27 - at Lake Park, 1 p.m. ■March ■ 29 - at Lincoln-Way East, 10 a.m. Boys track and field ■March ■ 24 - at Illinois Prep Top Times Meet, TBA Boys water polo ■March ■ 27 - at Lincoln-Way West, 5 p.m. ■March ■ 28 - at Lincoln-Way East, 10 a.m. Girls water polo ■March ■ 24 - at Lyons Township Tournament, 8 a.m. ■March ■ 27 - host Lincoln-Way West, 5 p.m. ■March ■ 28 - host Lincoln-Way East Boys volleyball ■March ■ 23 - at Marist Invitational, 5 p.m. ■March ■ 24 - at Marist Invitational, 8 a.m. ■March ■ 27 - host TF North, 5:30 p.m. ■March ■ 28 - at WWS Tiger Classic, 5 p.m. ■March ■ 29 - at WWS Tiger Classic, 5 p.m. Girls badminton ■March ■ 24 - host Knights Quad, 9 a.m. ■March ■ 27 - host Sandburg, 8 a.m. ■March ■ 29 - at Bolingbrook Quad, 4:30 p.m. Boys lacrosse ■March ■ 26 - at District 230, 6 p.m. Girls lacrosse ■March ■ 24 - host Marian Catholic, 2:30 p.m. ■March ■ 22 - at Metea Valley, 6:30 p.m. Girls soccer ■March ■ 24 - at Reavis Tournament, TBA ■March ■ 26 - at Shepard, 2:45 p.m. ■March ■ 29 - at Tinley Park, 10 a.m. Boys tennis ■March ■ 26 - host Oak Forest, 4:30 p.m. Griffins varsity athletics Baseball ■March ■ 23 - at Lenz Jamboree, TBA ■March ■ 24 - at Lenz Jamboree, TBA ■March ■ 26 - host Thornridge, 10 a.m. ■March ■ 28 - at Lincoln-Way West, 11 a.m. ■March ■ 29 - host Thornton, 11 a.m. Softball ■March ■ 24 - host Trinity, 11 a.m. ■March ■ 26 - host Thornton, 11 a.m. ■March ■ 27 - host New Trier, 10 a.m.
newlenoxpatriot.com Sports the New Lenox Patriot | March 22, 2018 | 45 Girls Soccer ‘Melde’-ing offense and defense to victory Maddie Melde puts Knights on top, defense does the rest in shutout Steve Millar Freelance Reporter Lincoln-Way Central senior forward Maddie Melde had a little extra spring in her step when she took the field for the Windy City Ram Classic second-round game against Lincoln-Way West on Thursday, March 15. “The adrenaline was pumping before the game,” Melde said. “They’re one of our rival schools, and we were very excited to play them. We wanted to start strong.” With a strong wind at their backs, the Knights did just that. Melde and Nicolette Gossage each scored firsthalf goals and visiting Central held on to top the Warriors 2-0. The victory over West, a defending Class 3A sectional champion, was a huge earlyseason accomplishment for the Knights (2-0), according to Melde. “This boosts our confidence a lot,” she said. “It’ll just push us to keep playing harder in our next games.” Melde put the Warriors (1- 1) in an early hole, scoring on a beautiful strike in the 16th minute. The Knights’ Megan Lucchetti took a throw-in from 25 yards out and sent a strong throw into the box. West goalkeeper Katie King punched the ball out, but Central’s Abbey Ward collected the rebound and sent a quick pass back to Melde. From just outside the box, Melde sent a rocket under the crossbar for her first goal of the season. “I got the ball, took a touch and just fired away,” Melde said. “Top corner.” West coach Jeff Theiss credited Melde, but also regretted the way his team handled the play. “We talked about desire and willingness to put a head on the ball,” he said. “First, we didn’t get our head on the punt, and that led to the throw-in. Then we don’t get a head on it again, and it ends up with Melde burying one from outside the box. “It was a heck of a finish, so you’ve got to give her credit, but we let our mistakes snowball. We talk all the time about how one mistake might not hurt you, but if you make two, three, four in a row, you’re going to be digging the ball out of the back of the net.” Central coach Dan Radz, meanwhile, wasn’t surprised to see Melde finish. “That was a bomb,” he said. “I knew she had it in her, though. She has such a powerful left foot and when she swings that ball in, oh man.” The Knights made it 2-0 12 minutes later when junior forward Nicolette Gossage got free down the left side of the field and tucked a shot inside the near post. It was Gossage’s third goal of the young season after she scored twice in a season-opening 3-0 win over Addison Trail. “Nicolette is like the Energizer Bunny,” Radz said. “She keeps going and going. I don’t think she ever gets tired. She’s really tough for any of our opponents to deal with.” The first half went according to plan for the Knights. “The wind was definitely an advantage and we went out there and did a good job controlling the ball, knocking it around a lot,” Radz said. Melde said ball movement was the key to the Knights’ strong start. “When we control the ball and possess, that’s when we’re most successful,” she said. With the wind advantage in the second half, the Warriors generated more of an attack, but the Knights prevented any serious bids at goal. West’s best chances came on long shots from Kylee Brandau and Savina Filip that were easily stopped by Central goalkeeper Peyton Vecchiet. Filip also had a good look on a free kick with 23 minutes to go, but fired the ball into the wall. “We tried to send some extra numbers forward,” Theiss said. “One thing we stressed was having composure on the ball, and we’d like to see a little more creativity from the girls. We told them don’t be afraid to make a mistake.” Vecchiet finished with three saves to record her second shutout of the season. She got plenty of help from her back line, led by Lucchetti, Lauren Limpin, Megan Andjelic and Dana Boucher. “We kept the ball in front of us and didn’t let them get the ball past us,” Lucchetti said. “We worked together as a team and covered for each other. “I think we’re doing great. We have a lot of trust in each other and know that each other is going to be there to cover each other. We know we have Peyton back there to cover for us, too.” The Knights are hungry for a strong season. Last year, they started 8-2 but struggled in the second half of the year, finishing 10-13-1 with a regional final loss to West. “This year, we have a great connection,” Lucchetti said. “Everybody’s ready to push each other to make it a strong season.” Melde missed six weeks last season with a hamstring injury. Having her back to complement Gossage up top makes the Knights’ attack more dangerous. “After sitting out all that time last year, I’m definitely ready for this year,” Melde said. “I was ready to come back and play hard. It’s my senior year and I’ve got to give it my all.” Going forward, Radz plans to continue to tweak the Knights’ lineup to find the perfect combinations. “We’re making some adjustments with our lineup and hopefully we can find ways for our players to complement each other more and more as the year goes in,” he said. Radz said he was optimistic about this year’s team after seeing his players practice in the preseason. “All these girls have great attitudes and they’re fun to be around,” he said. “Working with the kids in practice, I thought, OK, we’ve got something special here. But we can’t take anything for granted. We have to keep playing hard.” The Warriors, meanwhile, return seven starters from the team that won the first sectional championship in program history last year. West is young, however, with just four seniors on its roster, led by Filip and King. “Being one of those seniors, I want to step up, take charge and be a role model for the other girls, especially the freshmen coming in because we have so many,” Filip said. “I want them to feel welcome and make it a team like we were last year.” Junior midfielder Sara Loichinger will be counted on to ignite the offense. She scored twice in the seasonopening 3-1 win over Eisenhower. “We’ve got girls who gained the experience of playing in a supersectional last year,” Theiss said. “Not many athletes get to say that. To return seven starters from that group, those are the girls that need to step up. “We’ve got some freshmen that we’re playing who are brand new to the system. There’s going to be a growing process there, but we’ll get there.” Theiss hopes the loss will serve as a wake-up call for his players. “This kind of brings us back to earth,” he said. “We’re going to use it as fuel. It shows that every single day, you’ve got to show up to compete. You can’t just step up and say because we were there last year, we’ll be there again. We always tell the girls, ‘A year older doesn’t mean a year better. You’ve got to earn it.’” ■March ■ 27 - host New Trier, Noon ■March ■ 28 - at Andrew, 10 a.m. ■March ■ 29 - host Lincoln-Way Central. 10 a.m. Boys track and field ■March ■ 24 - at Jones Prep Fast Times Invite, 4 p.m. Girls track and field ■March ■ 24 - at Whitney Young Fast Times Invite, 10 a.m. Boys water polo ■March ■ 24 - at Stevenson, 1 p.m. ■March ■ 27 - host Sandburg, 9 a.m. ■March ■ 28 - host Lincoln-Way Central, 10 a.m. Girls water polo ■March ■ 23 - at St. Pats Invite, TBA ■March ■ 27 - at Sandburg, 9 a.m. ■March ■ 28 - at Lincoln-Way Central, 5 p.m. Girls soccer ■March ■ 24 - Windy City Classic, TBA ■March ■ 27 - host Stagg, 11 a.m. Girls badminton ■March ■ 24 - at Knights Quad, 9 a.m. ■March ■ 29 - host Bradley- Bourbonnais, 10 a.m. Boys tennis ■March ■ 29 - at Joliet Catholic Academy, 4:30 p.m. Boys volleyball ■March ■ 24 - at New Trier, 3 p.m. ■March ■ 28 - at Wheaton Warrenville South Tiger Classic, 5 p.m. ■March ■ 29 - at Wheaton Warrenville South Tiger Classic, 5 p.m.
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