Tigers fall to Hersey following PK's in Pepsi Showdown

 

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By Darryl Mellema
Photos courtesy of Diana Fowee

However well you play, if you can't score, then obviously the best you can do is tie.

And if you're playing a tournament match, which is what Wheaton Warrenville South was doing on Thursday night, that's not an option, either.

The Tigers had most of the chances in their Pepsi Showdown contest with Hersey at Red Grange Field, but never scored through regulation time or a pair of sudden death overtimes.

So the match was decided on penalty kicks and Hersey converted all five of its kicks while Wheaton Warrenville South missed its first – and ultimately lost 5-3 in the shootout.

"The game is sometimes not fair, but at least it's true,” WW South coach Guy Callipari said. "If you don't produce and if you don't put the ball in the back of the net, you always leave yourself susceptible for anything.

"And PK's are something that has to come around, and if you're not efficient there either, you shouldn't advance."

The match took some time to start producing chances, and the hosts had the majority of them, though few were gilt-edged opportunities.

Natalie Jensen hit a rasping free kick seven minutes before halftime with the dipping shot moving just over the bar.

Some halftime adjustments helped open WW South's attack as players began to pass the ball into space for side-to-side attacks.

"One of the things they didn't adjust to was that, defensively (Hersey) played with three in the back," Callipari said. "That always left themselves susceptible. But give them credit, they did a great job.

"What we tried to do from the first half to the second half was that we tried to move our front runners wide and played somebody high on the sweeper. I thought they'd take somebody out of the midfield to cover, but they didn't. That left seams in between the fullback and the sweeper for us to fill, and we started to mount more pressure."

One of those passes came 11 minutes into the second half when Katherine Fowee sent a ball from the right side to Erica Filarski on the left side. The move didn't result in a scoring chance, but it showed that the Tigers were beginning to move for passes.

Shortly after that move, Dana Miller hit a low drive that forced a save and 15 minutes into the half, Mary Heaton ended a strong spell of WW South pressure when she drove a shot from distance that forced a further save from Hersey goalie Erin Reiff.

"It's a really good victory for us," Hersey coach Brad Abel said. "We knew they had a pretty high-profile offense. We wanted to be able to limit their shots, to hold our shape and, if we were able, to come through to overtimes and PK's. And we came out on the lucky end when it came to PK's."

The overtimes saw a resurgent Tigers attack. Heaton, Kelly Langlas and Filarski all had solid efforts at goal in the first overtime and Miller fed Fowee twice in succession in the second overtime for scoring chances, with the first leading to WW South's last strong scoring effort.

"I think we probably felt we were the better team in terms of possession, getting pressure and certainly getting shots taken," Callipari said. "But at the end of the day, again, that's the way the game is played."

Hersey went first in the penalty kick shootout and the Huskies made all five of their kicks. Filarski missed WW South's first kick but then Langlas, Miller and Katrina Geannopolous all scored.

But with Hersey refusing to miss, and Eileen Zydek scoring Hersey's fifth kick, there was no possibility the Tigers could win.

"In this type of format, there's going to be a winner one way or the other," Callipari said. "And Hersey won today."

On a night when the Tigers defense didn't come under extended periods of pressure, Noelle Ekonomou stood out for her composed clearances, which were usually controlled passes that found midfielders.

"Noelle's come along," Callipari said. "She's a senior with a lot of experience. She just needs more confidence. But I think the last two games, this one included, were her best high school games. That helps us."

The sophomore Jensen was a controlling force at times in the midfield, and as the overtimes progressed, Hailey Gill became more and more active in a front-running role.

At other times, Langlas as an advanced central midfielder or Fowee out wide or Miller from a slightly deeper-lying role showed moments. But none of it produced a goal.

"When you are without a player like Lexi Peterson, as we are for another month, you're without a player who can take the game on their shoulders," Callipari said. "I think (Miller) is trying to take on that role, and as a sophomore, that's difficult.

"But you look at who's gathering points for us, and it's spread fairly-evenly across the board. They're all combining to help us along."

In the course of the season, WW South participates in three tournaments. After the Pepsi Showdown, the Tigers move into the Naperville Invitational, which features many of the state's top teams.

Then, like every team in Illinois, WW South will compete in the IHSA playoffs. Callipari said the experience of feeling tournament pressure is a skill all players can benefit from.

"That's why it's a little disheartening to be out so early in this, because as you go deeper, there's more pressure and you play better teams," Callipari said.

"We want to be seasoned. When you have to go into the (IHSA) tournament at the end, if you want to come out of our bracket, you have to want to have experienced that to some extent. You need to know what pressure feels like at that level."