Falcons battle late but can't catch West Chicago

 

By Matt Le Cren
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At 2:15 p.m. on Friday, Wheaton North dismissed its students for a week of leisure. At 4:30 p.m. the Falcons took on visiting West Chicago “and unfortunately in the first forty minutes today, I think we were already on spring break,” North coach Tim McEvilly said.

Wheaton North lost 3-2 to the visiting Wildcats in the first DuPage Valley Conference game for both teams this year, but the Falcons were down 2-0 at halftime before they knew what hit them.

Actually, the Falcons knew full well what hit them.

“You can’t give (Meagan) Radloff that kind of space,” McEvilly said of the West Chicago senior, who scored twice in the first half in Wheaton. “We talk about how you can’t ever let the other team’s best player beat you, and she’ll scare any team they play.

“We did a much better job in the second half, of not allowing her and (Bianca) Navejas room to operate, but if you’re not ready to play the first forty against a rivalry team like West Chicago then you’re in trouble.”

Wheaton North (3-1, 0-1 in DVC play) fell behind 3-0 on a goal scored early in the second half by the Wildcats’ Andie Lazzerini before pride and energy helped the Falcons go into spring break on a positive note.

After being unable to do anything in the first half against a West Chicago defense spearheaded by freshman fullback Shelly Molskow and senior goalie Kelsey Myers, Wheaton North averted the shutout with 4:25 left when Isabelle Santana knocked home a cross from Ashley Oltman from close range even though Myers got a piece of it.

Then with 1:22 remaining, Sidney Sharkey made a nifty move to get free in the left corner and sent a left-footed cross into the middle that Myers dove forward to cut off. But Myers could not hang on to the ball and Kate Wiegman, who earlier in the game was stopped on a breakaway by Myers, was there to blast it home from 10 yards out to make things interesting.

“In the second half we put pressure on the defense right away because they like to possess back there,” Wheaton North senior Kate Wiegman said. “Our forwards were putting pressure on them. And I think we just focused more and realized we had to mark up certain individuals. We did that in the second half and our intensity definitely stepped up.”

West Chicago didn’t give up another shot in the final 1:22 in securing the win, but McEvilly was pleased with the way his girls fought back to within one goal of earning a tie.

“Our forwards possessed and Ashley Oltman played extraordinarily well at outside mid. Sidney Sharkey was beating people consistently and beating people throughout the second half,” McEvilly said. “And Madie Fagan has been playing outstanding at outside back, and Sarah (Weatherred) and Natalie (Waterman) are starting to figure out that central back role.”

“These kids are fighters and they play with heart. Everybody’s going to come out and lay an egg in the first forty minutes once in a while, but it takes a lot of courage to be able to put yourself back in the game. Down 3-0, most teams would mail it in at that point but our kids continued to play. That’s the most impressive thing is that I still saw that true desire to want to play.”

For West Chicago (2-1, 1-0), the Eastern Illinois-bound Radloff now has four goals in three games this season after torching opponents for 26 last spring.

“That was definitely one of the best games we’ve had,” Radloff said. “For the four years I’ve been here we’ve never beaten Wheaton North, so we really wanted to get one win against them at least, so it’s good that we finally did.”

Junior Jenny Amaro set up the first score, tapping a short pass to Radloff at the top of the penalty area. Radloff was guarded fairly tightly but made one move to get a clear look and sent the shot inside the right post, stunning the Falcons just 4:17 into the contest.

The senior struck again at the 25:37 mark, running onto a long lead pass up the right wing from senior midfielder Bianca Navejas. Radloff had a defender running stride-for-stride with her but after taking a few dribbles she launched a 20-yard shot into the upper left corner.

“That was just a great play overall and she knows how to finish,” Amaro said. “She basically knows what to do whenever she has the ball.

“I really appreciate [that] we have her as a team player. She leads our team. Without her I don’t know how we would do it. Yeah, we have some good players but she just does incredible [things].”

Radloff wasn’t through causing trouble for the Falcons, who spent nearly the entire first half chasing the ball. She barely missed the hat trick with 12:08 to go in the first half when she drilled a 25-yard free kick off the crossbar. Eight minutes later, Radloff dribbled to the right endline and sent a cross in front to Andie Lazzerini, whose one-timer sailed high.

That highlighted the fact that Radloff is equally dangerous as a distributor. With Navejas, Amaro and Jessica Quinn controlling the midfield, the Wildcats had a huge first-half advantage in time of possession.

The Wildcats have other weapons, too, notably Lazzerini. The sophomore made up for her first half miss by scoring on a breakaway with 34:47 left in the second half to make it 3-0. Lazzerini showed poise on the play, winning a challenge from Wheaton North goalie Emily Barry 35 yards out and then rolling a long shot into the net while being chased by two Falcons.

“It’s neat to have the backing of a solid 12 people returning,” West Chicago coach Cesar Gomez said. “They know what we try to do and they bought into it. I enjoy possession soccer. It’s productive. If you possess, that’s the name of the game.”

Radloff’s ability to do that is rubbing off on her teammates, who are learning from their captain’s example.

“The sweet thing about it is the reason you are in coaching is to find somebody who will listen to you and just kind of pay attention, and she’s that,” Gomez said. “Whatever you ask of her, she will play and it’s so much fun coaching her. She’s going to give her all every game.

“Some people are good, but they want to be good on their own, meaning they don’t need the coach’s help.  She just soaks in whatever we say to her. We will miss her leadership and the fun that she brings.”