Warriors edge Falcons in Wheaton Cup clash

By Paul LaTour

The trophy case for the Wheaton Academy girls soccer team is filling up fast. It’s got a couple of state championship trophies, and several sectional and regional plaques.

But one trophy the Warriors added last year is the one they are gunning for right now – the Wheaton Cup.

The Warriors took a step toward retaining the trophy with a 1-0 victory over Wheaton North at Rexilius Field on Tuesday.

"We were fired up for this game – we want to win the Wheaton Cup," said senior Caley Kopp, who assisted on the game's only goal by Ally Witt.

"We won it last year so it's in our trophy case right now. We'd like to keep it there."

The Warriors (10-3) compete for the cup with the Falcons, Wheaton Warrenville South and St. Francis.

They face WW South on Saturday and the Spartans to close out the regular season May 13. The Tigers can clinch the cup with a victory Saturday.

Witt scored in the 10th minute and the Warriors' strong backline of Lindsey Burke, Kerrin Clancy, Christi Dithrich and Alexa Sharkey helped goalkeeper Emily Mulder earn the shutout.

Meanwhile, the Falcons' offensive woes continued. North (9-9) lost its fifth game in a row, all by shutout.

The Falcons have only three goals in their past nine games, going 2-7 in that stretch.

They did put three shots on goal and had several other chances, but couldn't break through.

"The word frustrating doesn't work anymore," Falcons coach Tim McEvilly said. "I don't know what the next word is.

"We are struggling with our level of confidence. Because things have been so tight when they get opportunities they're not making the most of them."

Witt put the Falcons on their heels with 30:43 left in the first half.

Kopp lifted a pass into the penalty area where Witt caught up to the bouncing ball after splitting two defenders. She flicked the ball over goalie Shannon Malahy's head for the early lead.

Witt, who had several excellent scoring chances in the second half, didn't want to take much credit for the goal.

"Really it's the team that did awesome," she said. "I wouldn't have had any opportunities if it weren't for them."

But Kopp deflected the credit right back at Witt as any good teammate would.

"I was just trying to tap it to her – Ally did all the work on that one," Kopp said. "She ran on to it. I just kind of tapped it. She's a hard worker."

That lead loomed large against the Falcons, who were blanked for the ninth time this season, including seven by 1-0 scores.

When a team is having offensive difficulties like this, an early deficit becomes a monstrous obstacle.

It was the Falcons who almost took that early lead. In the fifth minute, junior Kate Wiegman lifted a free kick from 36 yards out over Mulder's head. But the ball went just high, landing on the back of the net.

Another scoring chance came just a few minutes after the Warriors' goal and also went awry.

Tiffany Traxinger sent a corner kick along the ground into the middle where Rebekah Marquez found it. But Marquez's shot popped even higher over the goal than Wiegman's attempt.

In the 20th minute, the Falcons had a similar opportunity with the same result – Chelsea Hupp shot high from inside the penalty area.

The Falcons finished with three shots on goal, and attempted seven.

A bright side during the losing streak has been Malahy's play. If not for her timely saves, Tuesday's final would have been much worse.

Malahy finished with nine saves, including several in the late going when the Falcons started to push forward hoping to tie the game.

Still, Malahy took little solace in her own performance.

"It's been a long two weeks," she said. "We need to get a win. Someone needs to step up and break the habit (of not scoring).

"We're getting used to it, but we shouldn't. We need to keep pushing and get the goal that we need."

Malahy made four point-blank saves in the final six minutes, stopping Kopp on two of those opportunities and Witt on the other two.

"(Malahy) came through on some of those breakaways that you have to give up when you throw those extra numbers forward," McEvilly said.

"She's played fantastic throughout this losing streak. She has played fantastic soccer every single game and given us a chance."

Witt had the better of those late chances. Her first attempt came after she stopped, spun around to lose the defender at the top of the penalty area and blasted a shot that Malahy turned aside.

Then two minutes later, Witt was back with a breakaway down the right side that Malahy handled.

"My goodness, I need a finishing practice right now," Witt said with a laugh. "If I didn't make the one goal I definitely would have been a little angrier."

The Warriors looked poised to defend their Class 2A state championship – and the Wheaton Cup. They've now won five consecutive games and eight of their past nine.

"We're out here for a different reason," Witt said. "State titles are awesome, but as long as we're giving God the glory we feel we're victorious. We have the right mindset and that just gets us more excited."

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