By Darryl Mellema

There wasn’t anything normal about Wheaton Warrenville South’s match-tying goal against Wheaton Academy on Thursday night in West Chicago.

First Alec Brazeau, a left-footed player playing left midfield, cut back the ball to his right foot to deliver a cross into the penalty area.

Then Erik Yamane, a solid goalscorer but never a very good header of the ball, headed the goal that created the 1-1 tie the teams shared.

Yamane’s goal and the resulting tie allowed Wheaton Warrenville South to claim the 2011 Wheaton Cup.

“I can’t get up high very much so I’m trying to work on that,” Yamane said. “The ball was perfect, coming to me from (Brazeau.) I focused on it.”

That goal, scored with just under 12 minutes to play in the match also provided the capstone to a game played at a blistering pace throughout the entire 80 minutes.

“It feels great, though I wish we had won the game as well,” Yamane said.

Wheaton Academy (13-6-3) took the lead with four minutes left in the first half when Zeb Lewis pounced on a loose ball at the top of the penalty area just to the left of the “D” and rifled a shot into the right portion of the net.

“I was calling for it, but I didn’t expect it to come free,” Lewis said. “It was just kind of a ball going around the box and it came free and I finished. I thought when I shot that it was going to go in.”

Lewis’ goal kept the Warriors in the lead for roughly a half hour of the match until Yamane scored.

“I thought that was going to be the game-winner,” Lewis said. “I thought we had the game sealed, but apparently not.

"They’re a good side so I’m pleased that we tied. It feels, to our team, like we lost because we didn’t get the trophy. But I’m glad that we at least got the tie.”

The match showcased both offenses as well as both goalkeepers. South’s Tim Reinders had to make huge saves throughout the match.

“I had a lot of fun this game,” Reinders said. “The goal is unfortunate, but I had a lot of fun. I thought our defense, we played really well.”

As the keeper who was busier through the night, Reinders said his focus was very sharp.

“I especially felt, in the second half, that edge,” Reinders said. “It’s hard to describe, but it was a great feeling. My reactions were just a little bit sharper. Everything was a little bit sharper tonight.”

Arguably Reinders’ best saves came three minutes into the second half. First Gareth Flynn forced a save and the defense half-cleared the ball to Casey Zimmerman, whose effort was also saved by Reinders.

“I was really happy that the defense – I think it was Jarrod (Jakobowski) – or it might have been Joe Holz – that cleared it,” Reinders said.

On the other end, Jesse Carmody had to step up on several occasions for Wheaton Academy. Neither goalkeeper played with flashy eccentricity but both were incredibly efficient.

“We definitely wanted to win this one,” Carmody said. “It was a tough result. But they deserved their goal and we deserved ours.”

In many professional leagues, teams intentionally water their pitch heavily prior to the start of the match in order to speed play and enhance passing moves. An all-day soaking rain provided the same situation at Wheaton Academy on Thursday.

“The wet grass made it even faster,” Carmody said. “It was a fun game. There was a lot of pace and the teams possessed really well and there were some chances on both sides.”

Defenses were strong on both sides despite the conditions and on several occasions, last-ditch tackles and defensive clearances kept the ball from staying in the penalty areas long enough to become problems.

“I thought my D played really well in front of me,” Carmody said. “There were some shots that came, but I was able to save most of them. (Yamane) buried his header, and you’ve got to give him credit. That was nice.”

Wheaton Academy attacked from the opening kickoff and Bryan Cairncross volleyed a mid-range effort wide.

On balance, not only did the hosts lead at halftime but the Warriors had the better of the play as well. Flynn forced Reinders to make a save after six minutes and had a shot saved by Reinders after 11 minutes.

Lewis sent a wayward effort toward goal after 13 minutes and with 18 minutes to go in the half, Zimmerman hit the post twice after taking a Flynn pass.

Zimmerman shot, hit the post and the rebound came directly to him, and his rebound effort also hit the post. Finally, three minutes before Lewis’ goal, Andrew Leutkehans got loose in the penalty area and Nick Smith had to make a desperation tackle in the penalty area.

Though South (13-6-4) had to defend more in the first half, the Tigers had their share of chances, too.

Dan Burns forced Carmody to make a save after 18 minutes for the Tigers’ best chance. Still, the visitors had things to sort out at halftime.

“I said at halftime that we were fortunate to still be in the game,” South coach Guy Callipari said. “They scored the goal and had some other opportunities where they walked in one-on-one with (Reinders) and he just happened to be in the right spot.”

As the second half began, the Tigers moved immediately to try to equalize. Tom Kerby sent a through ball toward Burns two minutes into the half and Carmody had to move quickly to reach it before Burns.

Still, the match featured strong rushes through midfield and missed opportunities until Yamane’s goal.

With six minutes to play, the Tigers had their best chance to win the match when Javier Rojas and Burns combined on the left side of the penalty area before finding Smith open on the right wing. Smith’s shot, however, went high.

Wheaton Academy will hope to use Thursday’s result to both ease the feelings of Wednesday’s 1-0 loss to Marian Central Catholic and to build momentum heading into the IHSA postseason.

“We thought we played well enough to win,” Wheaton Academy coach Jeff Brooke said. “We’ve had some ups and downs throughout the year and in different games. I think they felt they played well enough to win and they created numerous dangerous opportunities against a good team.”

The loss to Marian meant the Warriors shared the Suburban Catholic Conference title instead of claiming the title outright.

“That was a goal,” Brooke said. “I don’t think the guys overlooked the opponent. I think we fell into a situation where we couldn’t put the ball away early. We gave up an odd PK and they put a lot of numbers back and did their job. Tonight was great for us to be reminded of the style that we can play.”

Wheaton Academy hosts a Class 2A Regional and the Warriors face the winner of Saturday’s Solorio Academy-Noble Street Charter/Muchin contest in Tuesday’s semifinals.

De La Salle and St. Francis are the other teams in the regional, which ends with an October 22 title match at 6 p.m.

“(Thursday), for me, was a huge positive,” Brooke said. “If you watched the way we played – we had space on this field and we used the space. We created attacking opportunities. For me, as a coach, identifying where we are with our style as we head into the postseason – I feel great after our game.”

South is still adjusting its defense to account for the loss of senior Will Huesing, who has a torn ACL and is will not play again this season. The Tigers' defense on Thursday was Jarrod Jakubowski, Joe Spera, Cody Drafke and Mike Kania.

“I went with a diamond in defense in the second half so we could slip one of those defenders into the midfield to help,” Callipari said. “But when that happened, we needed to push somebody up top so we could keep their outside backs in a non-supportive position to their two inside guys.

"Then we hoped they would make a mistake or chase the ball and then we would find space behind them, and that’s kind of what happened a little bit.”

Callipari said that defensive quartet worked well together on Thursday.

“We’ve had to reinvent,” Callipari said. “Spera’s a sophomore and he wasn’t ready at the start of the season. (Drafke), we had to get his papers taken care of – he’s from Texas and he’s new to the game here. Then (Spera) stepped in and did a great job. (Jakubowski) is by all definition more of a midfield player.”

The Tigers face West Aurora at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in the Naperville Central Regional semifinals. The winner faces either the host Redhawks or Plainfield South at 3 p.m. on October 22.

“You take this and look at everything else we’ve done this month and you kind of look and can feel pretty good about it,” Callipari said. “We were emotional about the loss of (Huesing.) But we have been inspired by it to this point in time.

"Our play is much improved since the beginning of the year and I think we are getting as much of what we can out of who we have, and that’s all you can ask for.”