Big second half earns Lincoln-Way East sectional championship over Lincoln-Way Central

JOLIET -The first time Lincoln-Way East and Lincoln-Way Central faced off this season in girls soccer, the result was a win for the Griffins.

When they played each other Friday, though, it was for the Class 3A Joliet West Sectional title.

With stakes that high between two conference and Lincoln-Way rivals, anything could happen.

For the first 40 minutes, it was a totally different game from the fist time they met.

When the clock hit zero, however, it was the exact same result.

Lincoln-Way East scored all three of its goals in the second half while the defense stymied the Knights all game. The result was a 3-0 victory to take home the sectional championship and send the Griffins to Bloomington for the supersectional.

Lincoln-Way East (19-3-1) had an evident advantage in possession for the first 40 minutes, but was unable to convert several chances into goals. Solid defending also ended the few opportunities the Knights managed in the opening half.

When the second half started, though, the Griffins only needed three minutes to take the lead. Senior captain Ellie Feigl got possession of the ball right in front of the goal and managed to clear the first hurdle for Lincoln-Way East.

The scoring came in bunches as senior Payton Lucitt knocked one in six minutes later to make it a two-score advantage. Four minutes after that, freshman Adelyn Thomas secured her ninth goal in four postseason games to give Lincoln-Way East all it needed.

“We just had to work as a team,” Lucitt said. “I think passing outside instead of going up the middle definitely worked. We have to use the outside instead of the middle. All of my teammates put me in a good position to score and I’m so thankful for that.”

Perhaps what was most impressive about the offensive effort in the second half was how dominant the Knights’ defense had been prior to Friday. Lincoln-Way Central hadn’t given up a goal in eight of its past nine games, including five straight. Yet the Griffins hung three on them.

The Lincoln-Way Central offense had been just as strong, scoring 42 goals in that nine-game win streak. Against the Lincoln-Way East backline, led by center backs Camden Cosich and Ava Feigl, the Knights rarely got a shot off.

“Lincoln-Way Central is a great team that’s well coached and deserves a lot of credit,” Lincoln-Way East coach Mike Murphy said. “You’ve got to give our defense credit for holding (Knights forward) Madi Watt and their forwards in check until the very end. Everyone that scores deserves credit, but it was our defense coming up big for us.”

Lincoln-Way Central (17-4) had an impressive run throughout the season, including winning the Windy City Tournament. The Knights graduate eight seniors, including Loyola commit Abby Sudkamp and Eastern Illinois signee Madi Watt.

However, Lincoln-Way Central will also return six starters, including rising seniors Flynn Myer and Sydney Zale. They’ll join rising sophomore Jolie Kolosh and a quartet of soon-to-be juniors to provide the Knights with a solid core to build around.

“I can’t say enough about the whole group,” Lincoln-Way Central coach Sean Fahey said. “The seniors did everything and helped keep the bar where it’s been. It’s hard to continue to win in this area and they just kept working their butts off. ... We saw an elite group of athletes on that East team and we gave them everything we had so I’m super proud of the effort for sure.”

Lincoln-Way East is one win away from making it back to the 3A state tournament for the second time in three years. The Griffins have to knock off O’Fallon in the supersectional at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Bloomington to get there.

Lucitt believes the key to making it back to state is simple.

“We just have to work as a team,” she said. “It’s about believing..”