Chances go awry as Warriors fall to Cuyahoga
By Chris Walker

CLICK HERE FOR WHEATON ACADEMY'S TEAM PAGE

Winston Churchill once said, “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist see the opportunity in every difficulty.”

Churchill didn’t play soccer, but Wheaton Academy does and the Warriors had their share of great opportunities on Saturday afternoon. But the difficulty of finding the back of the net proved to be too burdensome as they came up empty on countless chances, falling 2-0 to Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy (CVCA) of Ohio.

In the second half alone the Warriors had more than a dozen decent scoring chances:

With 36:22 remaining, Adam Hunt misfired from close range.

Then Gareth Flynn was off target (34:46).

Grant Stoneman challenged CVCA keeper Nate Rogers but the scoreboard stayed the same (30:07).

Flynn sent a corner kick to Marshall West who opted for the header, but Rogers saved it (29:05).

Stoneman lined a shot off a defender, which caused the ball to spin upward to Casey Zimmerman whose header was just a few feet too high (24:50).

The home crowd was growing restless and the steady drizzle kept falling.

Thomas Oster got in the action, but his header failed (24:23).

Another corner kick came the Warriors way. Perhaps they’d strike now (22:10)? Nope.

Stoneman found himself several feet in front of the goal and the ball coming his way but couldn’t get a good leg on it in the wet conditions. Rogers made the easy save (13:20).

An equal opportunity soccer squad, Elgin native Reid Culberson got involved and fired just wide left. (12:50).

Teammate Sam Hardy did the same a couple minutes later (10:58).

Stoneman had another chance but a CVCA defender stepped up and deflected it away (10:03).

Another corner kick arrived, but once again it wasn’t followed by cheers (7:50).

They got close, but not close enough, but continued to fight and fight to create better opportunities.

“I missed my chances, but I know that we will be able to build from this,” Stoneman said. “CVCA is a good team, but we didn’t do what we should’ve done. We stepped up and created plenty of chances. We just need to finish a lot better next game.”

Perhaps most frustrating was the fact that Wheaton Academy dominated possession, especially as the game wore on. In the second half, CVCA rarely had the ball on the other side of midfield, constantly being harassed to stop the Warriors rather than create scoring chances of its own.

“We were playing our game and at our pace which was really to our advantage,” Hunt said. “We just couldn’t find the back of the net. Individuals needed to step up and didn’t. We had a lot of opportunities but just didn’t finish and it’s frustrating.”

Wheaton Academy coach Jeff Brooke was pleased with the scoring chances his team created, but was displeased in the sloppy way the Warriors finished those same opportunities.

“What we do in attacking the final third right now isn’t what it needs to be,” he said. “The chances are there and we have a high level of emotion to put it away, but we’re just slotting balls wide of the post, kicking free kicks but not to our targets. There are just some things we need to clean up on.”

The good news is that the season is young and the Warriors can mature quickly in this regard. Last year they had guys like Frank Della Torre, Josh Urban and others to lead the attack. Those guys have framed high school diplomas now so a mixed group of others will need to step up.

“We have some young guys and I think they’re finding themselves in front of the goal and just can’t pocket the ball,” Brooke said. “I don’t think we need to change a lot in our ability to create, but the focus needs to be technical ability at the end, and right in front of the net.”

While the Warriors will assess most of the blame on themselves, some credit should also be given to the winners.

“Our defense really cut down the gaps good and always had their head on the ball,” Rogers said. “They were always there when the ball was coming and that made my job easier.”

CVCA (4-1-0) picked up a goal by Ben Locke to take a 1-0 lead in the first half. It came against the flow of play. Locke also scored with six seconds left in the second half.

“I liked how we were playing even when they scored,” Brooke said. “We responded OK. We just have to be more efficient. Again, we can’t have 15 shots and get shut out.”

A wet field, steady drizzle and a unique rivalry resulted in a field that saw players on the turf often. In addition, four yellow cards were issued.

“Not often do you have two big teams going shoulder to shoulder on every single play,” Wheaton Academy’s Andrew Luetkehans said. “Plus guys were slipping and you had to play the skip of the ball. When you’re getting pushed it’s difficult.”

For several years now, the two private schools have faced each other.

“We love playing them,” Luetkehans said. “They play just as hard as we do and you don’t get that very often. It’s just hard, physical play.”

Rogers shared similar sentiments.

“They’re a fantastic team and there’s not much more I can say because you saw how much pressure they put on us,” he said. “We’re small in comparison to them. It was fun to come out and play them and give all the glory to God.”

The teams were scheduled to have dinner together after the match making the soccer game just one aspect of a fantastic day of fellowship.