As a four-year varsity player, senior forward Ellie Feigl has seen her game grow immensely in her time at Lincoln-Way East, becoming a top-class goal scorer and a Division I recruit who has signed with Missouri State.

But beyond all the physical improvements, Feigl believes the biggest leap she has made has been in her soccer smarts.

“I think back to my freshman year and I was way less intelligent on the mental side of the game,” Feigl said. “That’s something I’ve been working on a lot this year. It pays off in the runs that I’m making when I get the ball or even when I don’t have the ball.

“Just being in the right place at the right time is a huge part of the game, and knowing where to be on the field allows me to finish those goals.”

Feigl was exactly where she was supposed to be Tuesday night. She scored two goals and added an assist as the host Griffins rolled to a 4-0 SouthWest Suburban Conference win over Andrew.

North Central College recruit Kara Waishwell and Payton Lucitt also scored for Lincoln-Way East (11-3-2, 5-1), while Adelyn Thomas dished out three assists.

Annabel Walsh made seven saves and Cassady Heise added four saves for Andrew (11-5-2, 4-3).

Logan Murphy needed to make just one save to record the shutout for the Griffins as a defense led by TCU recruit Camden Cosich, Addison Kozera, Hannah Tokarski and Ava Feigl dominated.

Ava is Ellie Feigl’s sophomore sister, and she has Ellie beaming with pride.

“She’s my sister and my best friend,” Ellie said. “We’ve grown up playing together and it’s so cool to see her being a leader, see her talking on the field and being the stud that she is.

“She’s played such an integral role this season, and we’re just all so proud of her.”

While Ava does her thing on defense, Ellie is pouring in goals on the other end of the field.

She’s up to 12 for the season after scoring twice in the first half Tuesday. The first goal in the 11th minute fired up the Griffins, who avenged a 1-0 loss to Andrew in a shootout in the first week of the season.

“My confidence has definitely gone up and my technical abilities have improved over the years,” Ellie said. “My hard work has really helped me get to this point.”

Lincoln-Way East coach Mike Murphy said Feigl is at her best when it’s needed the most.

“Ellie is coming up with big goals,” Murphy said. “She scored against Naperville North, Naperville Central, Oswego, Lyons, all these big games. She scored two in this one.

“I looked at her earlier (Tuesday) and said, ‘Ellie, you’re scoring goals against all these good teams. That’s all we can ask for.’”

Ava Feigl, who has always looked up to her big sister, is savoring her remaining time as her teammate.

“We’ve played together our whole lives and it’s so fun to have this last season together before she goes off to college,” Ava said. “I’m sad for her to be leaving soon, but hopefully we can just cherish all these moments in these last games we have.”

Ava would love to follow in Ellie’s footsteps and play Division I soccer. When Ellie heads off to Missouri State in the summer, she’ll be fulfilling a longtime goal.

“I think for as long as I can remember soccer has been such a big part of my life,” Ellie said. “Getting the chance to play at the Division I level is honestly my life’s dream up to this point.

“I can’t wait to pursue that and work as hard as I ever have before.”