Wildcats can't get go-ahead goal, fall to Warriors

By Curt Herron

 

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After yielding 13 goals and going 1-2 against three quality opponents during recent play, Wheaton Academy looked for a different type of match on Thursday.

The Warriors hoped that playing on their own field might make the difference as they took on another good side in Plainfield Central in Pepsi Showdown play.

Things started well for WA following a quick score but three shots that deflected off the woodwork and a Wildcat equalizer assured a 1-1 score at the break.

Then PHS came out strong in the second half and put all sort of pressure on the net but the hosts held it off and responded with some threats of their own.

Wheaton Academy scored twice within a 5:38 span to regain the lead and then kept the visitors at bay to capture a 3-1 win on a rainy night in West Chicago.

Ty Seager, Marshall West and Gareth Flynn scored goals for the Warriors (6-4) while Grant Stoneman added an assist and Spencer Graf posted the win in goal.

"We talked before the game and said that we needed to enjoy the game of soccer again," WA coach Jeff Brooke said. We found ourselves in some intense situations where we were trying to play the role of the underdogs and I felt that our guys were pretty hard on themselves in some of those losses.

"We came out and played one- and two-touch soccer all throughout the first half and hit the crossbar twice and the post once. So we told our guys that if we stayed committed to the things that we believe in and the disciplined style of the game, good things were going to happen in the second half.

"After the game we talked about how we absorbed their wave of energy and emotion and quality soccer toward our goal at the start of the second half. I'm proud of our guys since sometimes when you hit the post, you can use it as an excuse but our guys hung in there and kept fighting for each other."

Despite being disappointed about his squad yielding two goals in the final 17 minutes, PHS coach Kevin Fitzgerald was happy with much of his team's play.

The Wildcats (3-5-1) bounced back from the early deficit and had several great chances to move ahead after the break but just couldn't find the key score.

"We might have outplayed them during the first 20 minutes of the second half," Fitzgerald said. "Obviously the game is 80 minutes and they won the other 60, but for the first part of the second half we played really well. We moved the ball well and created chances but we just needed to get a goal.

"We didn't come out ready at the start and we also need to clear the ball better out of the box, but despite that, I don't think that we played poorly. They're a good team that's big, fast and skilled and I thought that we played well against them, but we just didn't play well enough to win.

"I wanted to see us get more shots on a night like this with the slippery grass. When you don't clear the ball well, good teams like this are going to finish against you. I thought Miguel Sanchez was outstanding and Mo Rashid may have played just as well and our guys in the midfield also played hard."

Seager got things started on the right foot for the Warriors when he connected in the second minute of a match which was played in its entirety in the rain.

PHS responded to that score in the 19th minute when John Hurley sent in a corner kick to Mo Rashid, who put in an attempt which once again leveled things.

However, it didn't look like matters would remain even for long because WA's Adam Hunt fired off the first of several tries which nearly resulted in goals.

The Warrior senior experienced some bad luck, though, since two of his shots bounced off the crossbar and another deflected off the post before the break.

Wildcat keeper Tyler Badertscher also halted a trio of attempts during that stretch as the hosts did their best to try to regain the advantage in the match.

Meanwhile, the visitors struggled to challenge Graf, who watched a liner from Rashid go over the net shortly before he hauled in a free kick from the same.

In the second half, Rashid and Miguel Sanchez challenged Graf with tries before Casey Zimmerman and Nick Belom exchanged shots to cap the a frenzied start.

About a quarter of an hour in, Sanchez had a shot cleared for a corner and Rashid forced another corner which ultimately led to a shot from Ozzie Gutierrez.

Not long after Gabe Partain was thwarted by Badertscher, the Warriors finally connected following a free kick where Stoneman set up West for a short shot.

Nick Castellucci chipped an effort to Graf a short time later before the Warriors wrapped things up when Flynn's close-range try went in off of the post.

Shortly after the final goal, the Wildcat keeper dove to snuff a liner from Stoneman but the visitors were unable to challenge the remainder of the way.

"We had to win a big game at our pitch," Hunt said. "We came off of a few big games where we performed well in some but didn't step up in others. We've been working on a lot of things in practice in order to get individuals to step up.

"We moved the ball nicely during the first half but I hit the post once and the crossbar twice. So we figured some things out and we bounced back in the second half. They came at us hard and we knew that we had to match that and we did.

"On the back of our jerseys and shirts we have two letters, ST, which stands for stronger together. We're a really tight-knit group of guys who come together to play soccer to honor the Lord. That's what makes Wheaton Academy so special."

Both squads conclude Pepsi Showdown play on Saturday at West field in LaGrange. WA meets up with Oak Park and River Forest while PHS takes on East Aurora.