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NEW LENOX – Olivia Franczyk was determined to keep her team in the game.
The Lincoln-Way West senior keeper made a dozen saves, many on the spectacular side. But unfortunately for the Warriors, it wasn’t enough as they couldn’t dent the scoreboard themselves and lost, 2-0, to Andrew on Friday afternoon in the title game of the Class 3A Lincoln-Way West Regional.
It was the sixth straight regional title, and 13th since 2005, for the Thunderbolts (13-6-1), who will face Lincoln-Way Central, which won its own regional title, 5-0, over Joliet West, at 5 p.m. Tuesday in a sectional semifinal at Sandburg. Lincoln-Way West (13-7-2) won six straight regional championships between 2014 and 2019 but lost in the regional title game for the second straight season.
“I just knew that together we could do it,” Franczyk said of winning the regional. “But I think we were all a little nervous knowing that it could be our last game together.”
It was the last game but not without quite an effort from Franczyk.
The Warriors actually had the first opportunity, a long shot by sophomore forward Ava Peterson 90 seconds into the game. But after that, it was all Andrew for the rest of the first half.
Going with a strong wind, the T-Bolts unleashed five shots in the opening 11 minutes, including three in a two-minute span. But Franczyk found them all, including a great tip away of a shot by senior forward Bella Milazzo that looked destined for the upper right corner.
“She was our heart and soul,” Lincoln-Way West coach Joe Stephens said of Franczyk. “She was awesome and something special for us.”
She certainly was, but the T-Bolts solved her when junior midfielder Emily Tobin ripped a laser from the top of the box that curled into the upper left corner with 23:10 left in the first half. That 1-0 score stood up as the halftime margin.
Lincoln-Way West had the wind in the second half but never got a consistent attack going. Junior forwards Morgan O’Neill and Kylie Murphy along with senior defenseman Casey Bumstead all had opportunities for the Warriors but couldn’t get one past senior keeper Addy Kreydich.
On the other side, Andrew generated more opportunities, including a header by Milazzo that Franczyk made another nice save, her 12th, with just over 14 minutes to play in the game. Senior midfielder Bella Lemus, however, had a rebound shot that found the back of the net with 12:46 remaining to account for the final score.
The Warriors won the regular-season matchup in the SouthWest Suburban Conference Red Division, 3-2, winning a penalty kick shootout, 4-1, on May 5 in New Lenox. They rallied from 2-0 down in that game, but Andrew made sure that didn’t happen again.
“Sometimes it’s just about staying with it, and we did,” said Andrew coach Loren Zolk, who guided his team to a fourth-place finish in Class 3A in 2018. “Lincoln-Way West beat us the last two times we played. They’re a good team, battle strong, and we had to respond.”
Falling behind again, the Warriors just couldn’t respond this time.
“We had a game plan coming in and used a little different formation,” Stephens said. “We have come back from being down before. We just couldn’t take advantage of our opportunities and (junior Jessica Morawski) is a stud defender for them.”
This was Stephens’ first season as head coach.
“We used 15 different lineups,” said Stephens of the season. “It was a season of adversity but our seniors stepped up and showed the way.”
Nine seniors graduate from this season’s Warriors squad. They are Bumstead, Federica Ciotta, Meaghan Fitzpatrick, Franczyk, Elly Hermanson, Bryna Smith, Zoey Trout, Ali Wasowicz, and Kady Winans.
“I’m just sad to see the team go,” Franczyk said. “When we were out there, we just moved as a unit together. The emotions were high for myself and the eight other seniors. Quite a few of us were together all four years, so this is tough.”