Athlete of the Week: Lincoln-Way Central's Drew Kowalkowski a Soccer Stopper

One of the most significant values of Lincoln-Way Central’s Air Force Junior ROTC is “Excellence in All We Do.”

This past summer, Drew Kowalkowski was selected from the unit to represent the Corps at the Summer Leadership School and was named a “Guide” his flight.

Success seemingly has followed Kowalkowski onto the soccer field as he helped the Knights to a 3-1 record last week in their first week of the season. His work in goal earned him Patch Athlete of the Week honors for New Lenox.

Lincoln-Way Central had been scheduled to open on Aug. 23, but its match against Plainfield South was postponed due to poor weather. Then, the Knights played in bunches, going 2-1 in Bradley-Bourbannais' tournament.

The Knights beat Herscher 2-1 on penalty kicks, breezed past Bishop McNamara 5-1 and lost a tough one in the title match to Bradley-Bourbonnais, 1-0, on penalty kicks.

After having Sunday off, the Knights resumed play on Monday and scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Plainfield Central with under 10 minutes remaining. Kowalkowski and his teammates turned aside countless scoring opportunities by Plainfield Central.

Kowalkowski had to be on his toes throughout the match as the Wildcats had more scoring chances than the Knights. So, the senior had to make several big stops to ensure the victory.

He willingly accepts the job.

"I felt pretty good," Kowalkowski said. "I'm looking forward to a pretty successful season. The whole team is looking fantastic, and I think overall we're going to have a very good season."

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