Before Monday night’s breast cancer awareness game, Lincoln-Way East midfielder Brooklyn Mortell and fellow senior teammates Madison Dziedzic and Mia Hedrick held hands as they took the field with Cheryl Fortier, a breast cancer survivor.
Mortell said she has been inspired by Cheryl, the mother of former Griffins goalkeeper Lindsay Fortier, who graduated last year and is playing at St. Norbert.
“Lindsay’s my best friend and her mom is like a second mom to me, so this was really sentimental,” Mortell said. “I watched her go through breast cancer, and it was really horrible, but she was so strong.
“Madison and Mia were there, too. We were with her the whole way, and I know it meant a lot to her for us to walk out with her since her daughter couldn’t be here.”
Mortell’s extra motivation paid off as she scored a first-half goal to help lift the host Griffins to a 2-1 win over Lincoln-Way West in a SouthWest Suburban Conference crossover.
Dziedzic also scored for Lincoln-Way East (11-2). Elizabeth Burfeind assisted on Mortell’s goal, while Mattea Arroyo made four saves.
Nora Gaffney scored and Mikayla Adrieansen made six saves for Lincoln-Way West (8-4-2).
With Mortell and Dziedzic both scoring goals and Hedrick leading the defensive effort, it turned into a pretty special night for the trio that walked out together with Cheryl Fortier.
“That was one of our motivators going out,” Mortell said. “We were not playing for ourselves — we were playing for her. I thought it was really sentimental that Madison and I both could score because she was watching us.”
Dziedzic echoed those sentiments.
“I was really excited that I could score,” she said. “Brooklyn and I both scoring, it was really cool. We were definitely motivated.”
Mortell finished off a nice combination play in the 20th minute as the ball went from Dziedzic to Burfeind to Mortell in front of the net, where she ripped it in from 10 yards.
It was the second goal of the season for Mortell, who has several assists and has contributed in many other ways, according to Lincoln-Way East coach Mike Murphy.
“She’s been our best captain and our best leader,” Murphy said of Mortell. “She’s brought a lot of energy to the field. She’s been very consistent with getting crosses in there. She missed one game, and we struggled without her.
“But I told her, ‘We need you to sit this one out because we need you in the next few games. You’re our heart and soul right now.’ That’s what she is. She’s been outstanding.”
As happy as she was with her goal, Mortell was equally excited just a little over five minutes later to see Dziedzic rip in a high, 30-yard shot to make it 2-0.
Mortell said there were bragging rights at stake Monday with several club teammates playing for the Warriors.
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“Madison made a move on someone we play with, so it’s kind of a joke now,” Mortell said. “She’s never going to live that down. That’s the fun of it.”
Lincoln-Way West rallied with Gaffney’s goal coming with 16:50 left in the second half. The Warriors put some more pressure on late but could not find the equalizer.
“I’m very pleased with the effort that they gave,” Lincoln-Way West coach Joe Stephens said. “We’re just trying to find that final touch and score some more goals.
“Playoffs are our big focus, and we’ve still got a few weeks to get everything clicking.”
Both sides were happy to contribute to a greater good, with raffles raising money for breast cancer awareness and research.
“No matter what the outcome was, it was for a great cause,” Murphy said. “I thought it was outstanding. I have to give credit to the parents for setting everything up.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
