Athlete of the Week: L-Way West's Kowalski is the 1

After losing its first three matches and then finding itself deadlocked at 2-2 with Bloom with less than a minute left, it appeared as if Lincoln-Way West would leave the field on Tuesday still winless in girls soccer.

But senior Emily Kowalski made a 40-yard run out of the back to catch up with a ball sent in by Kara Winans. Kowalski beat Bloom goalkeeper Kaitlin Wallek to the ball and hammered a liner for the game-winner. It gave the Warriors (1-3-0) their first victory of the spring.

For her heroics, Kowalski is honored as the Patch Athlete of the Week.

“This was Emily’s first varsity goal and, based on what I’ve seen, I can anticipate it will not be her last,” Lincoln-Way West coach Jeff Theiss said. “Her hard work in the offseason has shown by her increased ability to get forward out of the back and produce dangerous scoring opportunities.”

Kowalski played outside back last year, but Theiss expects to push her forward more often, especially if it can lead to results like it did against Bloom.

Kowalski has committed to play next year at the University of St. Francis.