In the past, Makenna Klacko was content to blend into the background and be a role player for Lockport. She was described by teammates and coaches as being “shy” on the field.
Not anymore. Klacko, a senior midfielder, has developed the self-belief needed to take charge. And she has blossomed into the Porters’ leading goal scorer.
“This year, I knew I had to be more confident in myself, especially taking on more of a leadership role on the field,” Klacko said. “It’s being able to take those shots that I maybe wouldn’t have taken last year. It’s knowing that I can make those good passes.
“It’s just knowing what I can do and performing to the best of my abilities.”
Klacko was ready to step up in Lockport’s playoff opener. Despite coming off the bench in a brief change of roles, she scored two goals Tuesday night to lead the host Porters to a 6-0 win over Shepard in a Class 3A Lockport Regional semifinal.
Bowling Green recruit Yuridia Hernandez and Ewa Para each provided a goal and an assist for Lockport (13-7-1). Wisconsin-Parkside commit Hayden Spodarek and Addison Eagan chipped in a goal apiece.
“We got off to a slow start, but we played a good game after that,” Hernandez said. “We just wanted to win and keep our season going.”
Olivia Luecke and Madisyn Dumbauld
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combined for the shutout in the net, with Dumbauld making two saves as the duo got plenty of help from a defense led by Spodarek, Lily Sponaugle, Layla Shafiabady and Luciana Bongiovanni.The seventh-seeded Porters will take on fourth-seeded Lincoln-Way West (15-4-1) — a 9-0 winner over T.F. United — at 5 p.m. Friday in the regional final.
Jannel Balbuena made 12 saves for 12th-seeded Shepard (10-10-1).
Klacko, meanwhile, scored her 12th and 13th goals of the season after finishing with just two last spring.
“It’s senior year, so I’ve got to take as many chances as I can,” Klacko said. “It’s my last season playing and it’s about making the most of everything.
“We lost some of the girls who scored a lot of goals last year, so I knew I had to step up.”
Lockport coach Todd Elkei chose to bring Klacko off the bench Tuesday night for a different dynamic.
“We were talking to her (Monday) at practice about wanting her to be a little more aggressive, so we brought her off the bench trying to spark a little bit of fire from her and she responded,” Elkei said. “She won’t be coming off the bench on Friday.”
Klacko broke a scoreless tie in the 21st minute, ripping in a high shot off a pass from Hernandez.
That came a few minutes after the game resumed following a 40-minute delay as Lockport’s Alexandra Podgorski suffered a leg injury and had to be taken away in an ambulance.
“Seeing her get hurt right after she went in was tough,” Klacko said. “We already knew we needed to win to move on, but seeing her get hurt just gave us that extra motivation to win.”
Klacko added a goal in the second half as the Porters pulled away from a 3-0 halftime lead.
Hernandez has seen Klacko emerge as a major force this season.
“It’s huge,” Hernandez said. “Without her goals, we couldn’t have won some of the games that we won. She’s definitely come on a lot this year. She’s not as shy anymore. She’s shooting a lot more and she’s having fun.”
Klacko has drawn soccer inspiration from her dad, PJ, who starred at Sandburg and played at Illinois Wesleyan.
“After the game, we always do our little debrief and talk about stuff and he’ll ask if I want any pointers,” Klacko said. “I always say, ‘Sure.’ Constructive criticism is always great.
“When he’s like, ‘You had a really good game,’ it means that much more coming from him.”