Sandburg scored inside and outside, on the fast break and off-set plays Monday. Early in the season, the Eagles were clicking on all cylinders offensively.
Sarah Dolitsky led a balanced Sandburg attack with five goals as the Eagles rolled to a 19-10 win over Lincoln-Way North in a SouthWest Suburban crossover in Frankfort.
“It felt really good,” Dolitsky said. “Our teamwork was key. We all have chemistry and we’re able to communicate. Everyone in the pool for us is a shooter. Anyone can score.”
Stephanie Pappas and Danielle Lencioni added four goals each for the Eagles (2-2) and Clare Lawlor scored three to lead the impressive offensive display against a Phoenix squad that finished 24-5 last year.
Niki Beringer scored five times for Lincoln-Way North (3-2).
Sandburg took the pool with some extra motivation. Its coach, Jane Caliendo, has been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing treatment. She was hoping to attend the game, but was having a “bad day” according to Sofia Pappanastos, who is filling in as coach in Caliendo’s absence.
“The girls were playing for a purpose,” Pappanastos said. “They wanted to win to make her feel better. We don’t want to put all that pressure on them, but we definitely talked about it.”
The Eagles had a huge first half, jumping to a 6-3 lead after one quarter behind two goals each from Dolitsky and Lencioni.
Pappas scored three times in the second quarter as Sandburg closed the first half on a 5-0 run to take a 13-4 lead to the break.
“We’re confident in everyone on our offense,” Pappas said. “We can get it to Sarah in the hole, we have good outside shooting. We’re confident in each other.
“When we got tired, we just thought about [Caliendo] and how she’s fighting a tougher battle than us and we knew we could fight through it.”
Sandburg, which led 17-6 after three quarters, also got a goal each from Katie Flaherty, Tricia Mangila and Mara O’Connor and 11 saves from Morgan Bartelment.
Jess Larson scored three goals and Cassidy DeGraff two for North.
