Spartans postseason run ends in supersectional game
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By Steve Nemeth
Despite being the day after Halloween, Wheaton St. Francis’ “Cinderella” season reverted into pumpkin status Tuesday night as the Spartans found themselves overmatched in a 7-1 loss to Chicago Mather in a DeKalb-hosted 2A SuperSectional.
Originally a number nine seed, the Spartans shocked a St. Joseph crew with a 2-0 loss on Saturday in the finale for the Riverside-Brookfield Sectional. However Tuesday night saw Mather’s Rangers stun St. Francis just 2:33 into the match and it became clear early on that the Public League program was deeper, quicker and stronger.
Boasting a senior-dominated line-up that includes several foreign players, Mather claimed a 4-0 halftime lead and never looked back en route to improving to 19-3-1.
“I don’t want to make this about (Mather)… I want to make this about my boys and what they did,” St. Francis coach Kristin Keigley said when asked to assess Mather’s skill.
“This is the farthest we’ve made in the tourney and my boys were able to score, they played with heart and they played with intensity, so I don’t care to mention anything about (Mather). I want to keep this about my kids.
“We weren’t expected to make it this far, but the boys definitely wanted it, they had the heart for it,” Keigley continued in regard to the Spartans’ 13-11-4 record. “They came together and things came into place and it was all about them wanting it. It’s a good senior class we’re losing. They came out at the start of the season kind of goofy, and then they realized ‘oh, we actually want to advance.’ They got a lot more serious.”
Mather’s Qudus Lawal displayed a serious touch from every distance and his unassisted 27-yarder from the right side started the Mather scoring and was part of a two-goal, two assist performance. The Rangers’ Kevin Ramirez boomed a 25-yard direct free kick just under the crossbar at 9:40. A minute later another Lawal strike was erased when Mather was whistled for being offside.
But before the half would end, Lawal set up teammates Eseh Godman and Chizom Ogbonna --- two more of the five-man contingent hailing from Nigeria --- for the 4-0 halftime lead. Steven Younus assisted on a second Godman goal before Ogbonna set up Lawal. The Rangers’ Sizar Jaba scored to make it a 7-0 contest with 9:19 remaining which, under the IHSA mercy rule, reduced the time to 4:59.
St. Francis avoided the potential shutout with 1:13 left to be played when a scramble in front of the Mather goal resulted in Brett Jungles netting a four-yard header. While Mather compiled a 26-8 advantage for overall attempts and a 17-4 edge in shots directly on goal, the second-half time would have been reduced sooner if not for some solid stops and saves by Ryan Suerte.
“My assistant coach and I keep saying that Suerte, the last five or six matches has been playing out of his mind,” Keigley noted. “He definitely has been on his toes, he’s been a cat pouncing on balls, and not giving up rebounds. He definitely has come into his own as a keeper, all four years he’s done a stellar job and I hope he’ll play (somewhere) next year.”
When asked about his recent success the senior keeper was quick to share credit before also putting the season in perspective.
“My defenders have done a real good job, yes we had a rough time tonight, but they kept their heads up and we accomplished so much,” Suerte insisted. “The first supersectional in school history, that’s a great accomplishment and we’ve left a legacy. No one expected us to come this far, a supersectional, let alone a regional final.
“We were a ninth seed, but kept believing in ourselves, but all good things do come to an end,” Suerte added. “For my senior, there’s no other way to go out other than leaving it all on the field.”
“We have a good number of sophomores and juniors who will be starters next year, so it’ll be interesting to see what they can do after having such a sharp senior class,” Keigley added. “I’m looking forward to next season.”
