Tigers recover from early score to beat St. Francis in opener

By Matt Le Cren
Photos courtesy of Terry Matichak

A muddy field prevented Wheaton Warrenville South from taking full advantage of its superior speed early on in its season opener Monday afternoon at St. Francis, but the Tigers eventually were able to race to a 5-1 victory.

Senior forward Elizabeth Ciesielski scored two goals and sophomore forwards Katherine Fowee and Lexi Peterson and freshman midfielder McKenna Kiple all scored one for WW South (1-0), which outshot the Spartans 21-8 after falling behind 1-0 early.

"It was really hard with this field but we all worked around it and I thought we did really well," Ciesielski said.

At the outset it was St. Francis (1-1) that looked more prepared. The Spartans, who have never beaten the Tigers, surprisingly took a 1-0 lead on a goal by freshman Kaity Bucaro with 27:55 left in the first half.

"That was a little bit of a wake-up call but I think we bounced back well," Peterson said.

"After they scored that goal everyone was just like, 'Oh, we need to get going,' " Ciesielski said. "It was tough to get started but I think we all have really good chemistry and we play well together."

That's especially true of Ciesielski and Peterson up front, who appear capable of wreaking havoc with their combination of speed and strength.

Ciesielski tied the game at the 22:54 mark when she ripped a 25-yard shot into the upper right corner of the net. Just 22 seconds later, Fowee took advantage of a defensive breakdown to score from eight yards out to give the visitors a 2-1 lead.

That was the turning point, as the Tigers dominated the action after that, consistently winning challenges in the midfield and getting in behind the St. Francis defense with runs from Peterson and Ciesielski.

"Even though I thought we showed well the first 5-6 minutes, I think we were playing maybe a little bit overconfident," WW South coach Guy Callipari said. "We didn't gauge the risk that we were under because of the field conditions and we tried to turn, we fell down and they got behind us and it's 1-0.

"I thought [the Tigers] showed a lot of resiliency coming back. I thought for a couple minutes there we looked a little rushed but they settled in as we got some experience on the field and it was just a matter of time. Their goalie came up big a couple of times and it looked as though it might be a long day, but we started to find opportunities."

Ciesielski made it 3-1 with a shot off the inside of the right post with 4:43 remaining in the half and midway through the second half the Tigers scored twice more in a 1:57 span. Both plays were set up by Peterson's runs around the right wing.

On the first, she got to the touchline and slid a pass in front to Kiple for a tap-in, and on the second she got around the corner and scored herself from a severe angle.

"We're going to need that [speed] against the better programs," Callipari said. "To stretch out the defense you're going to have to commit people in different ways. As talented as we might be, you're going to need speed to isolate people one-on-one."

But the Tigers look to be solid at each end of the field. At one point, three freshmen - Kiple, Natalie Jensen and Dana Miller - were in the midfield giving starters Haley Charlton, Mary Heaton, Jill Langlas and Nicole Lapetina a rest and the team didn't miss a beat.

Laine Jackson, Bridget Shrigley and Erica Filarski were tough on the back line in front of keepers Kelsey Graham and Arianna Lee, who had to make only three saves.

"I think we have strong kids all around," Peterson said. "We have good combinations throughout the field. We have a great midfield that can control the ball and get back at the same time, and our defense is looking to create all the time and keep possession."

The Tigers return home to face Plainfield North Tuesday night.

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