Versatile Bembenek leads
LWW to 1st round Windy City win
Junior's goal, defense aid Warriors in 2-0 triumph over Marian
By Steve Millar
NEW LENOX - Lincoln-Way West coach Jeff Theiss was excited when he saw how junior Breanna Bembenek was performing in the offseason.
“She came into the season with an extra step, a chip on her shoulder,” Theiss said. “She’s a third-year varsity starter as a junior. She has a ton of experience, and we’ve talked about needing leadership from her. She’s bought into that. She’s hungry.”
In Tuesday’s season opener, Bembenek was a vital contributor in multiple ways. After starting in the midfield, she spent a good portion of the game playing on the backline, aiding a young unit.
Later, she moved back to the midfield and scored a big insurance goal as the host Warriors topped Marian 2-0 in a Windy City Ram Classic first-round game.
Lincoln-Way West (1-0-0) will host Eisenhower, a 4-0 winner over Addison Trail, at 6 p.m. Thursday in the second round of the 32-team event.
“We started six freshmen, and it was good for them to get acclimated to the speed of the varsity game and to get the shutout,” Theiss said. “There were some jitters early on, and there’s a lot to clean up. But we’re happy to get that first game under our belts and get a win.”
Bembenek’s victory-sealing goal came off a beautiful pass from one of those freshmen, midfielder Jane Pinkerton, who corralled the ball in the middle of the field and slotted a perfect ball ahead to Bembenek, racing down the right side.
Bembenek finished with a shot inside the far post to make it 2-0 with just 4:20 to go in the match.
“It was an awesome pass from Jane,” Bembenek said. “It was a great play, and I just got to the spot and put it in the back of the net.”
Theiss was impressed with the junior’s finishing prowess.
“I’m definitely proud of her having the ability to step up and having the composure in the box to bury that ball,” he said. “I think she’s going to be a handful this season.”
Bembenek was also a contributor to the shutout. She played a about half the game on the backline.
“It’s really nice to be able to play all over the field, get a handle of every position, and use that to help me become a better overall player,” she said.
“We have a lot of good freshmen. We have a young team. We’re there for each other and help each other out.”
After the teams played a scoreless first half, the Warriors broke through just two minutes into the second half as senior Brianna Heyer headed home a corner kick from junior Madison Mikalauski.
“It felt good to get it with my head,” Heyer said. “Those always feel the best. They’re tougher to get. It was kind of a rush. It was definitely a relief for us to get that first goal.”
Heyer, a starter since her freshman season, has played various roles on the backline and in the midfield during her career with the Warriors, but had never started at forward until Tuesday night.
“I’m excited about playing forward, but it’s definitely a new one,” she said. “It took some getting used to, but I’m glad I get the chance to do it and hopefully help my team score some goals.”
Theiss liked what Heyer, who scored 21 goals last season, brought as a forward Tuesday, but said he still expects her to move around throughout the year.
“She’s a handful up top, but there’s probably a good chance she’s not going to stay there the whole season,” he said. “She’s so versatile, and we’re going to move her around. We know we can count on her anywhere on the field.”
In the first half, it was Marian that got off to the better start.
The Spartans nearly broke through in the third minute when Ariana Arriaga played a through ball to Adriana Garcia, who was alone down the right side of the box, but fired her shot wide left.
“I was happy I got the chance to score,” Garcia said. “We just have to work on finishing. Our girls have to get up there and put it in, finish it off.
“I think we did a very good job for our first game, especially against a good team. We’ve made progress.”
Theiss liked the way his defense adjusted to Garcia’s speed in the second half.
“(Garcia) was a spark plug for them,” he said. “She gave us a lot of problems in the first half. Give credit to Brittany Stover, our senior captain in the back. She helped organize the girls in the second half, and we did a much better job.”
Stover’s veteran presence is huge for the Warriors, who start freshmen Megan Shelton and Samantha Sarna on the backline. Another freshman, Anna Kirk, also spent time at defender.
“It’s interesting,” Stover said. “I didn’t think coming into this year that I’d have all freshmen on the backline with me, but they’re awesome. I like playing with them and definitely when we play more games, we’ll get a lot better. I can already see the progress we’ve made in the first game.”
Stover helps to be a mentor to the freshmen.
“Last year, I had a role model, Emily Wyskiel, who was a senior,” she said. “That’s kind of my goal, to be that for them. I want to show them just how to stay balanced, how to communicate on the backline. You’ve got to work together.”
Junior goalkeeper Erin Toomey, making her first varsity start, had to make just one save to record the shutout.
With 18:40 left to go in the match, Marian's Garcia moved in on a counter attack and beat a defender down the right side of the field. But Toomey came out of the net to cut off the angle on Garcia’s shot and made the stop.
Marian goalkeeper Colette Scheffers made six saves.
While the Warriors continue their quest to get to Toyota Park for the Windy City Ram Classic championship, Marian will look to regroup in the consolation bracket.
“This year we have a lot of new players who are in the process of learning their roles and positions,” Spartans coach Nasser Shahtaji said. “We have a lot of teaching to do. It’s going to probably take a while for them to jell together. We did OK this game. We had a couple chances. It’s a learning process.”
Starting line-ups
Marian
GK: Colette Scheffers
D: Ariana Arriaga
D:: Kali Blackwell
D: Emma Kresal
D: Tori White
MF: Keyara Hampton
MF: Maggie Jaworski
MF: Renae Malone
MF: Sydney Wood
MF: Rachel Churilla
F: Adriana Garcia
Lincoln-Way West
GK: Erin Toomey
D: Samantha Sarna
D: Brittany Stover
D: Megan Shelton
MF: Anna Kirk
MF: Meghan Schick
MF: Breanna Bembenek
MF: Jane Pinkerton
MF: Madison Mikalauski
F: Brianne Owen
F: Brianna Heyer
MVP of the Match: Breanna Bembenek, MF, Lincoln-Way West
LWW to 1st round Windy City win
Junior's goal, defense aid Warriors in 2-0 triumph over Marian
By Steve Millar
NEW LENOX - Lincoln-Way West coach Jeff Theiss was excited when he saw how junior Breanna Bembenek was performing in the offseason.
“She came into the season with an extra step, a chip on her shoulder,” Theiss said. “She’s a third-year varsity starter as a junior. She has a ton of experience, and we’ve talked about needing leadership from her. She’s bought into that. She’s hungry.”
In Tuesday’s season opener, Bembenek was a vital contributor in multiple ways. After starting in the midfield, she spent a good portion of the game playing on the backline, aiding a young unit.
Later, she moved back to the midfield and scored a big insurance goal as the host Warriors topped Marian 2-0 in a Windy City Ram Classic first-round game.
Lincoln-Way West (1-0-0) will host Eisenhower, a 4-0 winner over Addison Trail, at 6 p.m. Thursday in the second round of the 32-team event.
“We started six freshmen, and it was good for them to get acclimated to the speed of the varsity game and to get the shutout,” Theiss said. “There were some jitters early on, and there’s a lot to clean up. But we’re happy to get that first game under our belts and get a win.”
Bembenek’s victory-sealing goal came off a beautiful pass from one of those freshmen, midfielder Jane Pinkerton, who corralled the ball in the middle of the field and slotted a perfect ball ahead to Bembenek, racing down the right side.
Bembenek finished with a shot inside the far post to make it 2-0 with just 4:20 to go in the match.
“It was an awesome pass from Jane,” Bembenek said. “It was a great play, and I just got to the spot and put it in the back of the net.”
Theiss was impressed with the junior’s finishing prowess.
“I’m definitely proud of her having the ability to step up and having the composure in the box to bury that ball,” he said. “I think she’s going to be a handful this season.”
Bembenek was also a contributor to the shutout. She played a about half the game on the backline.
“It’s really nice to be able to play all over the field, get a handle of every position, and use that to help me become a better overall player,” she said.
“We have a lot of good freshmen. We have a young team. We’re there for each other and help each other out.”
After the teams played a scoreless first half, the Warriors broke through just two minutes into the second half as senior Brianna Heyer headed home a corner kick from junior Madison Mikalauski.
“It felt good to get it with my head,” Heyer said. “Those always feel the best. They’re tougher to get. It was kind of a rush. It was definitely a relief for us to get that first goal.”
Heyer, a starter since her freshman season, has played various roles on the backline and in the midfield during her career with the Warriors, but had never started at forward until Tuesday night.
“I’m excited about playing forward, but it’s definitely a new one,” she said. “It took some getting used to, but I’m glad I get the chance to do it and hopefully help my team score some goals.”
Theiss liked what Heyer, who scored 21 goals last season, brought as a forward Tuesday, but said he still expects her to move around throughout the year.
“She’s a handful up top, but there’s probably a good chance she’s not going to stay there the whole season,” he said. “She’s so versatile, and we’re going to move her around. We know we can count on her anywhere on the field.”
In the first half, it was Marian that got off to the better start.
The Spartans nearly broke through in the third minute when Ariana Arriaga played a through ball to Adriana Garcia, who was alone down the right side of the box, but fired her shot wide left.
“I was happy I got the chance to score,” Garcia said. “We just have to work on finishing. Our girls have to get up there and put it in, finish it off.
“I think we did a very good job for our first game, especially against a good team. We’ve made progress.”
Theiss liked the way his defense adjusted to Garcia’s speed in the second half.
“(Garcia) was a spark plug for them,” he said. “She gave us a lot of problems in the first half. Give credit to Brittany Stover, our senior captain in the back. She helped organize the girls in the second half, and we did a much better job.”
Stover’s veteran presence is huge for the Warriors, who start freshmen Megan Shelton and Samantha Sarna on the backline. Another freshman, Anna Kirk, also spent time at defender.
“It’s interesting,” Stover said. “I didn’t think coming into this year that I’d have all freshmen on the backline with me, but they’re awesome. I like playing with them and definitely when we play more games, we’ll get a lot better. I can already see the progress we’ve made in the first game.”
Stover helps to be a mentor to the freshmen.
“Last year, I had a role model, Emily Wyskiel, who was a senior,” she said. “That’s kind of my goal, to be that for them. I want to show them just how to stay balanced, how to communicate on the backline. You’ve got to work together.”
Junior goalkeeper Erin Toomey, making her first varsity start, had to make just one save to record the shutout.
With 18:40 left to go in the match, Marian's Garcia moved in on a counter attack and beat a defender down the right side of the field. But Toomey came out of the net to cut off the angle on Garcia’s shot and made the stop.
Marian goalkeeper Colette Scheffers made six saves.
While the Warriors continue their quest to get to Toyota Park for the Windy City Ram Classic championship, Marian will look to regroup in the consolation bracket.
“This year we have a lot of new players who are in the process of learning their roles and positions,” Spartans coach Nasser Shahtaji said. “We have a lot of teaching to do. It’s going to probably take a while for them to jell together. We did OK this game. We had a couple chances. It’s a learning process.”
Starting line-ups
Marian
GK: Colette Scheffers
D: Ariana Arriaga
D:: Kali Blackwell
D: Emma Kresal
D: Tori White
MF: Keyara Hampton
MF: Maggie Jaworski
MF: Renae Malone
MF: Sydney Wood
MF: Rachel Churilla
F: Adriana Garcia
Lincoln-Way West
GK: Erin Toomey
D: Samantha Sarna
D: Brittany Stover
D: Megan Shelton
MF: Anna Kirk
MF: Meghan Schick
MF: Breanna Bembenek
MF: Jane Pinkerton
MF: Madison Mikalauski
F: Brianne Owen
F: Brianna Heyer
MVP of the Match: Breanna Bembenek, MF, Lincoln-Way West