Tigers secure a piece of the DVC title in win over West Aurora

By Gary Larsen
Photos courtesy of Diana Fowee

West Aurora coach Laura Wagley weighed in on Wheaton Warrenville South on Tuesday night, and the reviews were good.

“I don’t even know what they did against the Napervilles,” Wagley said of the Tigers. “But I think that’s the best team in the DVC.”

This, after Wagley’s Blackhawks fought a valiant fight to earn a 1-1 halftime tie in the DuPage Valley Conference contest, before a more composed second-half attack from South led to a 5-1 win for the Tigers in Wheaton.

Quality seniors is a redundant phrase at WW South, where every year Tigers coach Guy Callipari has a core of quality seniors pass through his program. This year’s core helped the Tigers calm down and take care of business in the second half.

The Blackhawks defined scrappiness on Tuesday, to be sure, and they a got a fine performance from West keeper Felicia Dattolo throughout the contest. But the Tigers weren’t satisfied with the finer points of their play through 40 minutes.

“I think we were a little nervous. We came out thinking ‘it’s Senior Night, let’s get this done’, but we were panicking in the first half,” Tigers senior Bridget Shrigley said.

“We were passing it out of bounds too much. At halftime we told each other to settle down and when the second half started, we finally did. We settled down and put it in the back of the net.”

West Aurora grabbed a 1-0 lead on a free kick bomb in the game’s 24th midfield. Sophomore Jessica Saffell teed one up from 60 yards out and her 20th goal of the year gave West a surprising 1-0 lead.

The Tigers knotted the score in the 32nd minute on a goal by sophomore Lexi Peterson from 14 yards out, on a feed from senior Liz Ciesielski, leaving the sides even at the break.

“It was a little frustrating and we just wanted to simplify the game,” Tigers coach Guy Callipari said of his halftime talk. “We told them it’s a very simple game and they were making it much more difficult than it needs to be.”

“We talked about confidence in the area and that you don’t have to power everything. Just find your way by using a passing shot, getting it on the frame and stretch the keeper out. Everything in the first half was directly at (Dattolo).”

Seven minutes into the second half, seniors Ciesielski and Shrigley teamed up to give the Tigers a lead they’d never look back from. The Tigers took 11 corner kicks on the night and Shrigley bodied in a Ciesielski corner to give South a 2-1 lead.

“Liz and Haley (Charlton) do a great job getting those balls in, and we finally got onto one,” Shrigley said. “I think we’ll get onto some more (in the postseason).”

The Tigers’ second goal also served to relieve some pressure. In combination with Naperville Central’s DVC win on Tuesday, a Tigers win over the Blackhawks would given them a share of this year’s conference title.

“I think there was some pressure on them, but the other thing is that they need to be able to play through pressure,” Callipari said. “This playoff run is going to be nothing but pressure, so better to have it now and work themselves through it, and they did.”

The Tigers and Naperville Central will share the title with identical 6-0-1 records. The two teams tied 0-0 on April 12, and this season marks the seventh in the last 10 seasons that the Tigers have either shared the DVC crown, or won it outright.

“It’s something we aim for every year,” Tigers senior Jill Langlas said. “It’s a tough conference and it’s a goal we always strive for but haven’t always gotten. I think this is the second time for us, in our four years here.”

After Shrigley’s goal, WWSouth (15-2-3) effectively ended West Aurora’s hopes in a two-minute scoring span. Langlas scored at the goalmouth on a Dana Miller feed in the 59th minute, and McKenna Kiple scored on a Peterson assist one minute later to give the Tigers a 4-1 lead. Senior Nicole Lapetina added a fifth goal on Peterson’s second assist of the night, in the 76th minute of play.

“The bar has been raised to stay up there with Naperville Central and Naperville North,” Callipari said. “We always want to be a part of that.”

“Like I told them -- nobody is going to remember the score or how it was done. They’re going to remember that they were conference champions.”

The Tigers have one remaining regular-season game left, playing at Hinsdale Central at noon on Saturday. They open Class 3A regional play as the No. 6 seed of the formidable Naperville Central sectional, playing No. 11 Plainfield South on Tuesday, May 18.

A win there would put the Tigers in the title game of the Bolingbrook regional, against the winner between No. 3 Downers Grove South and either No. 15 Bolingbrook or No. 19 Plainfield East.

“I think we’re getting there. Today we struggled in the first half in terms of passing, and if we can’t do that we’re not going to succeed in the playoffs,” Shrigley said. “We just have to go game by game.”

Seniors Langlas, Ciesielski, Shrigley, Lapetina, Rachel Adomshick, Heidi Ansiel, and Kara Bimschleger were able to bid farewell to Red Grange stadium in style.

“Jill ran all over the place and exerted her typical energy, Bridget was composed in winning all the balls she needed to win and getting us in transition, and Rachel in the back was just calm and collected. Liz creating chances – those are the things you expect out of your seniors,” Callipari said.

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