Falcons fall victim to two quick strikes in loss to Conant

By Gary Larsen

Conant has a veteran team able to apply steady attacking pressure and Wheaton North has a young defense with potential that is finding its way.

The result was a 2-1 win for visiting Conant on Thursday, in opening-round play of Lake Park’s Lancer Classic tournament.

Under coach Bryce Cann, Wheaton North’s defense has been as stingy as any program around over the past five years, and he’s aiming to get his boys back on track moving forward.

“Tonight we did some things better that we didn’t do Monday (a 3-2 loss to South Elgin), so there’s been some improvement from Monday to today,” Cann said. “But against a team like Conant, and the constant pressure they put you under, your margin for error just really decreases.

We’ve got guys back there that I think are going to develop into some very good defensive players. We just have some guys that are still learning their way in terms of how varsity soccer is played.”

Falcons senior Jordan Richert sees promise in the development of his side’s attack, and he also noted a defensive difference on the field compared to Game One.

“Our defense is definitely young and we’re working to get better in practice every day,” Richert said. “And they’ve definitely improved from the first game. They’re getting better. (Sophomore) Brooks Joy, especially, was a little nervous at first but you can see him getting better, and more confident.”

Wheaton North grabbed a 1-0 lead early in the contest in the 25th minute on a Mark Carlson goal. The Falcons kept Conant in check to the halftime buzzer, before doom arrived quickly after the break

Goals by Conant’s Nathan Cornell and Joey Bosco put the Cougars in the game’s driver’s seat just five minutes into the second half. The Falcons fought to the final buzzer but the day’s scoring was done.

“The first ten minutes of the second half is the key to the game,” Richert said. “We let up. And we work on set plays every day but that’s what killed us.”

Cornell’s goal came off a set piece when the Falcons struggled to clear a ball out, but Bosco’s rip under the crossbar from 14 yards out was world-class, against one of the area’s best goalkeepers in the Falcons’ Nick Barry.

“The second one was just a great shot,” Cann said. “How you get that over Nick is beyond me.” The rangy and athletic Barry stands at 6-foot-4.

From there to the final buzzer, the Falcons displayed one of the hallmark qualities of North’s program over the years.

“I appreciate the grit they showed,” Cann said. “We talked about it for the last two days, because frankly we didn’t have it on Monday. We fought for a lot more balls through the midfield today.”

“In our first game we only pushed for about the last 25 minutes,” Richert said. “We wanted to come out harder against Conant and we want to push for 80 minutes.”

Falcons defender Zac Gudanik played prominently throughout the contest in helping to thwart Conant’s speedy and skilled attack.

“I thought Gudanik had a great night. He was a rock in the back,” Cann said. “He did a great job of eliminating threats and coming up time and time again. He did a great job of eating up a lot of the chances that Conant had.”

“And I thought Jordan did a good job of holding things down at midfield, and being consistent overall. Jordan’s not a flashy kid, but he’s steady.”
 
The Falcons continue play in the Lancer Classic at Downers Grove North on Saturday, where they’ll take on Streamwood, before taking on Buffalo Grove, Niles West, and host Lake Park in tournament play next week.