Falcons and Rams play to a tie in DVC matchup
By Bill Hupp

One hundred minutes of soccer wasn’t enough to decide another hard-fought DuPage Valley Conference battle on Tuesday night.

Both Wheaton North and Glenbard East had goal-scoring chances, but each was a bit unlucky and the game ended in a 0-0 draw in double overtime.

It was fitting that a last gasp header by Wheaton North’s Lauren Szumski of a corner kick from teammate Anne Denz would be denied by the woodwork, her effort clanging off the outside of the right post as time expired.

“In the second half, we challenged them to string some passes together, to be a little bit more composed so we wouldn’t have to run all over the place – and [our team] did a much better job doing that,” Wheaton North coach Tim McEvilly said. “I can’t ask anything else of those kids. We created some goal-scoring opportunities and it was a nice final 60 minutes.”

As if the Falcons haven’t had to deal with enough injury adversity, they lost tough senior defender Linnae Giuliano to a knee injury early in the second half.

Wheaton North (7-7-2, 2-3-1 in DVC play) had come in having lost four of their last five games as they tried to overcome numerous injuries during a busy part of their schedule. McEvilly didn’t like the energy and focus in the first half, so he delivered an impassioned halftime speech.

“This is the fifth game in five days with prom sandwiched in between on the weekend,” he said. “But Glenbard East isn’t feeling sorry for us, they’re not going to say, ‘Oh gosh, they’ve got all these injured players,’ and take it easy on us. It was about mental toughness, so at halftime, I challenged them to respond and they did.”

Within the first five minutes of the second half, the Falcons had more shots than they mustered in the entire first half. Less than a minute in, Denz belted a lefty shot that rocketed off the underside of the crossbar and stayed out, though she crashed into Rams goalie Veronica Fairburn trying to knock in the rebound.

Then with 11:36 left, Fairbairn fell down as she punched away a corner and the ball fell to Szumski on the far post, but she couldn’t keep her shot down and tap it into the empty net.
Freshman striker Gracie Klatt’s pace down the left wing proved problematic for the Rams.

“When we find her, it makes everybody else more open,” McEvilly said. “When she’s able to exploit the wing, it gives our forwards more space and our midfielders are able to find more players consistently. She’s really grown into her own the last couple weeks as a freshman soccer player.”

While the offense tried to get its legs, the Falcons’ defense held down the fort. Wheaton North goalie Jessica Kiely was important for the Falcons, communicating well, encouraging her teammates and stopping eight shots to her ninth shutout of the season.

“Jess is the kid that never turns off the switch,” McEvilly said. “She did a good job coming off her line today, she keeps us in games.”

Specifically, McEvilly singled out the play of Klatt, Guiliano, Allison Martinez, Emily Berry and newcomer Janelle Blackwell for helping to earn the road tie.

Overall, the game was fairly statistically even, with each team taking about 15 shots and 3-4 corners. The play was so narrow, with each team trading possession in the midfield that the first corner wasn’t taken until 16 minutes remained.

Based on the first half, it only looked like a matter of time before Glenbard East would find the back of the net for the win. They dominated possession in the midfield, stringing together lots of short passes. But long through-balls proved too heavy and the Rams just couldn’t seem to connect in the final third of the pitch.

“That’s something we’ve worked on all year, and the previous 15 games of the season, those are chances we’ve finished that we did not today,” Glenbard East coach Kent Overbey said. “We either had weak shots or missed the goal and you can’t do that. You’ve got to take advantage of the chances that you get.”

The game opened up in the second half, with more long-range shots taken and East really attacking down the left wing. Megan Mrazek and Alex Ruffer were very solid in the midfield, and freshman Brittany Panaguchi did an excellent job as the lone striker, holding the ball up well and battling hard for position all game.

With 12:46 left, Rams senior KJ Nelson’s throw-in reached the box but the ball was quickly cleared back out her. Her attempt at curling a shot into the upper right corner of the net was just high and bounced on the top of the goal.

Overbey credited Fairbairn and his fullbacks Nelson, Kelly Ravenscraft and Maria Berrum for weathering the resurgent Wheaton North push.

“She keeps us in games,” Overbey said of Fairbairn. “She’s an all-conference goalie, that’s the 26th shutout of her career, she obviously made some saves today. It’s a great resource to have back there, especially with a young defense.”

With the draw, Glenbard East (9-3-4, 0-2-3) hasn’t lost since April 10, a span of six games. The Rams play at Wheaton Warrenville South for another DVC game on Thursday before traveling to Lyons Township for a game on Saturday.

Wheaton North plays at St. Ignatius on Saturday before finishing its regular-season schedule by hosting rival Wheaton Warrenville South on Tuesday.