Tigers win 4-3 at Wheaton Academy
By Gary Larsen

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A first half that saw six goals put on the board quieted down after the break in Saturday’s game between Wheaton Academy and visiting Wheaton Warrenville South.

After a 3-3 tie took shape through 40 minutes, South junior Alia Devick managed the lone goal of the second half in a 4-3 Tigers win.

“We were playing pretty even and it was a lot of back-and-forth,” Tigers junior Dana Miller said. “We’d score and then they’d score. It was hard because we’re not that used to grass, and it’s damp so that made it hard, too.

“But showing that we can finish really helps a lot. We’ve created chances this year but struggled with finding the back of the net. In a lot of our games we’ve been equal with shots on goal, but just haven’t finished them. Even in games we’ve lost we’ve gotten a lot of shots. Today worked out a little better.”

WW South (9-6-3) also got two goals from Lexi Peterson and one from Miller in the four-goal performance, while Wheaton Academy (11-8-1) got a pair of Crystal Thomas goals and one from Ally Witt in the loss.

“It’s always entertaining when we play South and it always seems to be a close game,” Warriors coach Dave Underwood said.

Thomas kicked off the day’s scoring just four minutes into play, when she quick-hit a free kick from just outside the penalty area that surprised the Tigers and found the net.

“That’s the second time she’s done that,” Underwood said. “She was looking at that all the way. I think she made up her mind as she made her run towards the ball. That was a great heads-up play.”

Miller found Peterson two minutes later, and Peterson took a touch around Warriors keeper Kristen Morency and fired into an open net. The Tigers went up 2-1 when Miller flicked a Kate Fowee corner kick that Peterson buried at 16 minutes.

It was 3-1 when Miller blistered a ball from 15 yards out just four minutes later.

“If we have to, at the end of the day, try to outshoot and outscore everyone then so be it,” Tigers coach Guy Callipari said, of a Tigers team that has fought to find its defensive footing this season.

A physical contest ensued thereafter, with a good handful of yellow cards being issued on the high-grass surface of the Warriors’ home field.

“I think the conditions played into that,” Callipari said. “It makes things so slow that people are running into each other and on top of each other because the ball’s not moving as quickly.”

Down 3-1 and seemingly on their heels, the Warriors answered the bell with a second goal at the 25-minute mark when Thomas sprang Ally Witt with a through-ball, and the senior ripped it past Tigers’ keeper Abby Fuster, who had charged off her line to the top of the penalty area.

Two minutes before halftime, Thomas was at it again, dribbling up and past defenders before finding space to tie the game from 18 yards out.

With two goals and an assist through 40 minutes, Thomas was one of the subjects of the Tigers’ halftime talk.

“She’s a very talented player. She ran past half our team,” Miller said. “We’ struggled with that more in the first half. In the second, we finally figured it out at the end. At halftime we talked about having one person at midfield keeping an eye on her and then we she got the ball, to apply pressure.”

“Give credit where it’s due – they fought hard,” Callipari said. “Down 3-1, (Thomas) took the team on her shoulders and said ‘I’ve got this’. If we played tight she got around and if we played loose she just shot. We had to figure that out. We had to be more aware of where she was and then orchestrate collectively.”

Underwood was pleased with his girls’ determination to come back from a two-goal deficit but wanted to see a better defensive effort from his side after the break.

“We were struggling really, really bad in the first half to stay with marks, particularly (Miller) in the first half,” Underwood said. “It was kind of a favor to us when (Callipari) moved her back but I understand why he did. I was surprised that we were getting in as easily as we did in the first half, so putting Miller back there certainly solidified them in the back and kept (Thomas) under wraps a little bit.”

The Tigers scored the game’s deciding final goal at 47 minutes, when Peterson touched around Morency and found Devick near the far post.

“Offensively, their goalie is very active so we needed to get our head up a little bit sooner to see where she was, and maybe take some opportunities that existed that we didn’t recognize earlier in the first half,” Callipari said.

Fuster tipped a Witt shot off the crossbar at 48 minutes, and Thomas sent a freekick off the bar 50 minutes. Morency saved Peterson twice from distance, and then saved a hard-hit Peterson shot at the near post at 75 minutes.

Witt elevated and hammered a head shot over the bar on a wicked Thomas freekick in the second half.

“I can’t believe that anyone got onto the end of that freekick,” Callipari said. “That ball was a laser. My guys would all duck but (Witt) went up there and made something out of it.”

Another goal either way wasn’t to be however. The Tigers’ Casey Ulrich also headed a shot over the ball at the goalmouth in the second half, and Callipari was pleased with the junior’s effort throughout.

“I thought Casey Ulrich did a nice job today, as that ‘X’ factor, that intangible,” Callipari said. “When we found her, she made things happen. On the outside she looked dangerous and when we put her up top she looked dangerous there. She reads the game well and she made an effort today to anticipate what might transpire, and got herself in the right position to try to capitalize.”

Playing its fourth game of the week, Underwood watched his side play slightly out-of-kilter on Saturday.

“Effort things, hustle things that just weren’t there today – we hit the post twice and nobody’s there,” Underwood said. “Corner kicks drawn up exactly the way we practice it, Crystal sent a ball across the six and nobody’s there. Little things like that were missing today. But they did show fight to come back from 3-1, so I was pleased with that.”