Falcons put 6 on the board in regional opener
By Gary Larsen
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The postseason is a clean slate and Wheaton North is out to prove something.
The Falcons’ 6-0 win over Proviso West on Friday was a start, in opening-round play of this year’s Class 3A Wheaton North Regional.
“We’ve been trying to prove ourselves the whole year,” Falcons senior captain Brooks Joy said. “Our record doesn’t really speak to how good we are. We play a lot of the best teams in the state, and a lot of people might look at our record and think we’ll be pretty easy. But I think a game like this shows what we can do.”
The Falcons got a hat-trick from Dan Norton, two goals from Julian Barrera, and one from Sam Mason in the win, as defenders Joy, Nathan Robinson, EthanTaira, and keepers A.J. Bibergall and Alex Jiskra led the way to North’s fifth shutout of the season.
The Falcons (3-12-5) are seeded 14th in this year’s York Sectional, and they’ll host top-seeded St. Charles East (16-2-1) on Tuesday in a regional semifinal game.
Falcons coach Bryce Cann knows that knocking off the Upstate Eight Conference champs will be a tall order.
“They’re very organized and they’ll be a huge challenge. They play big,” Cann said. “From what I’ve heard, there’s no doubt that they’re a good team. I think the benefit for us is that I know our schedule has prepared us for that.”
Outside of its annually tough DVC schedule, North has also taken on MSL powers Buffalo Grove and Palatine, WSC power Leyden, and Class 2A powers Saint Viator and Wheaton Academy this year. They’ve had their ups and downs but the Falcons’ schedule has shown them exactly where the bar is set.
“I’ve been saying that we have a good amount of talent, and it’s been a matter of putting together consistent play in this area,” Cann said. “You can throw a rock and hit a top-six sectional seed around here, so when you don’t play at that level, you’re going to get beat. But we’ve also showed that we can play with teams like that, so it’s been a matter of getting that consistency, and that’s just a tough thing to learn to do.”
North showed that consistency on Friday by keeping the attacking pressure on throughout the second half, despite owning a 4-0 halftime lead over the Panthers.
“We connected passes well and we looked to keep attacking, which is always good,” Barrera said.
North junior Jeremy Stapleton provided early grit in the attacking third, and it was his serve from the right side that led to North’s first goal, when Norton slipped a shot underneath Panthers keeper Matthew Cabrales just eight minutes into the game.
North took a 2-0 lead when Barrera stretched the back netting from 10 yards out on a feed sent forward from Mason at 26 minutes. Four minutes later, Stapleton tore into a ball at the near post that forced a reaction save from Cabrales, and Barrera slid the rebound over to Mason for a point-blank shot and a third goal.
Mason’s finish marked the first time this year the Falcons have scored more than two goals in a game.
“I thought our frontline did a nice job of playing aggressive,” Cann said. “Jeremy (Stapleton) created some early opportunities for us, taking advantage of some short-field opportunities, and that was real important for us. “
Norton struck again at 34 minutes on a shot from distance that somehow snuck its way past Cabrales, and North had its 4-0 halftime lead.
“We got it to the corners well and were able to get it across, which is how a lot of goals are scored,” Joy said. “Especially at the beginning of the game, we had so many chances by just getting it to the corners, getting it in, crossing across the box and hoping someone puts it in. We had a lot of shots today. We’ve practiced it a lot and today it was paying off.”
Barrera, who transitioned from the backline to the attack this season, proved his worth again at 43 minutes. Teammate Julian Robinson sent in a corner kick and Barrera elevated at the goalmouth and challenged Cabrales hard for it.
The ball squirted loose from Cabrales’ control, and Barrera buried it.
“Julian is a strong kid,” Cann said. “He has shown us that he can be helpful for us in a few different areas. It’s nice to have an athlete like that who’s strong, fast, and aggressive. He was an outside back for us to start the year and we’re fortunate that we have some other guys that we can move around, which has allowed for us to move him into the attack.”
Norton finished the day’s scoring at 50 minutes with a goal scored in transition, on a ball sent ahead by Isaac Roberts. Cann was happy with the central midfield play of Roberts, Aaron Deeke, and Mason, “and I thought our outside backs did a nice job tonight – Nathan Robinson and Ethan Taira. It wasn’t anything flashy but they just got the job done for us.”
Proviso West has struggled this season but the Panthers do have a player with a major-league leg in Daniel Delgado, whose blistering shots from distance tested Bibergall and Jiskra on several occasions. Both keepers made tough saves that were instrumental in keeping Proviso out of net.
“We’re happy with the clean sheet and it was something we wanted as the game progressed,” Cann said. “We wanted to make sure we were getting back to some of the fundamental concepts we started the year with, but might have strayed from just a bit. So it was nice to keep them contained, to where most of their opportunities came from outside of twenty yards.
“They had some great strikes and forced our keepers to make some saves, but they weren’t getting behind us to create those opportunities.”
Joy has been the heart and soul of the Falcons’ backline this year, and Cann has watched the varsity veteran grow into a true team leader.
“He’s our vocal leader, an emotional leader, he keeps us calm and organized, lifts us when we need it,” Cann said. “He’s a third-year player and he’s been fantastic this year. The way he carries himself has been so impressive. Regardless of what he chooses to do next year, he’s going to be a great young man and he’ll do well.”
The days are now numbered for every senior on every team’s roster, and the Falcons have six of them in Joy, Roberts, Barrera, George Barg, Shelton Thompson, and Jack McHenney. The Falcons intend to do everything they can to prolong their varsity careers, and knocking off the top-seeded Saints is now the task at hand.
“We learned throughout the season that if you’re not on your game, anyone can beat anybody,” Joy said. “Our goal (vs. St. Charles East) is to keep them out of the net. If we’re on our game, we can keep them out of the net or hold them to one goal.”
