Before he became a talented goalkeeper, Lincoln-Way Central’s Jimmy McKendry was a striker.
And he was having the time of his life being a goal-scoring forward.
“I was a little kid, and I was pretty crazy as a striker,” McKendry said. “But when I was like 6 or 7, they put me in the goal, and I loved it and stuck with it ever since.
“When you get that great save … I don’t know … what a feeling it is. That’s why I love it.”
McKendry loved it Wednesday night. The sophomore goalie five big saves in a 2-0 victory over Andrew to help the host Knights share the SouthWest Suburban Conference title with Lockport.
Jackson Meyer scored with 33:30 left in the first half for Lincoln-Way Central (14-3, 7-1). Reilly Follett then scored with 39:15 to go in the second half to stymie the Thunderbolts (14-5, 6-2).
McKendry has certainly seen the ups and downs of minding the net in recent weeks. On Sept. 26, he was having a great game against rival Lincoln-Way East, being credited with seven saves.
But in the final second, the Griffins beat the buzzer with a goal, a 1-0 heartbreaker for the Knights.
For a little while, McKendry took that loss to heart.
“I stood there for a minute thinking about it,” he said of the goal. “I couldn’t stop thinking about it. What if I came out a little earlier? What if I just reacted a little quicker?
“It’s a horrible feeling, but I knew I had to get back in it. I would say it stuck with me for three or four days. Once we played our next game, I was back in it and ready to play.”
That next game was a 3-0 shutout over Lincoln-Way West.
If the Knights were going to end up having a shot at winning conference, there was no margin for error. McKendry and the Knights went on to beat Homewood-Flossmoor 4-0, Bradley-Bourbonnais 3-0 and Sandburg 1-0 before coming up with a huge 4-2 win over Lockport on Oct. 10.
And after Wednesday’s clean sheet against Andrew, McKendry appears to be back on track.
“He’s an all-around keeper,” Meyer said. “He does everything right. He made some clutch saves, for sure.”
McKendry also had to recover from a right hand injury he suffered during tryouts. He played his first full game Sept. 19 in a 3-1 win over Downers Grove South and has been impressive since.
“He certainly has all of the trust in the world for me in terms of being a sophomore back there,” Lincoln-Way Central coach David Brown said. “He’s not a sophomore anymore.
“He has good size to him. He has a good understanding of the game. He can make plays in the air and make plays with his hands and on the ground making saves, too.”
Brown was also pleased that Meyer, nicknamed Turk, was able to break the ice with the first goal.
“Turk does Turk things,” Brown said. “He brings an element to the team that no one else has and has a little physicality, speed and size to him. He also plays baseball and he’s not a traditional soccer player, but I would take 20 Turk Meyers on my team all day long.”
McKendry, meanwhile, is enjoying his team’s winning ways heading into the playoffs. The Knights are seeded third in the Class 3A Joliet West Sectional behind Lincoln-Way East and Lockport.
“The chemistry is all there and we’re all great friends,” McKendry said. “It’s been a great experience. Going from JV to varsity is such a big leap, and it’s a great feeling being on this team.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
