Big second half propels Andrew

Taryn Linke received a pretty good talking to from coach Ryan Lodes early in the third period of Lincoln-Way East’s 11-3 Lincoln-Way Central Sectional semifinal win over Lincoln-Way North on Friday.

She wasn’t shooting enough.

“Yeah,” Linke said with a smile. “When I get the ball I need to learn to shoot it and not hold on to it for awhile. But I like to pass to my teammates and give them an opportunity to score, too.”

It’s fairly certain her teammates weren’t complaining. The senior wing collected five assists and was an excellent table-setter for the No. 1-seeded Griffins, who beat No. 5 North for the third time this season.

The shooting stars for East (23-5) were Haley McCabe (5 goals) and Lauren VanderVelde (4 goals). Niki Beringer scored twice for North (15-16).

The win didn’t come quite as easily for East as the two during the regular season. It was only 3-0 at the half, and it would have been closer had not East goalkeeper Jill Connolly made three saves on point blank shots, and help from the crossbar and posts.

“The crossbar was very helpful,” Connolly said, laughing. “But it always feel good to stop the ball. One less goal against your team means it’s easier for us. It felt really good knowing I was helping the team out in that way.”

Beringer’s first goal on a nice pass from Cassidy DeGraff with 6:11 remaining in the third period drew North within 3-1. McCabe responded for East, though, with two goals in less than a minute.

Andrew 7, Lincoln-Way Central 2: No. 2 Andrew, clinging to a 2-1 lead early in the third period, caught a spark when Megan Hofer scored to begin a 5-0 outburst.

“It’s all about momentum,” Hofer said. “We still had the lead, but you just want to keep scoring. And our defense was off the charts.”

Hofer and Caily Friel had three goals each, while Anna Tamulonis made 13 saves for the Thunderbolts (23-5).

Liz Klock scored both goals for No. 3 Central (16-14).