Memories, future bright
for Wheaton Academy's Goebel
By Dave Owen
The cancellation of play due to COVID-19 left seniors in spring sports nationwide wondering what might have been.
As seniors nationwide ponder the happy endings that might have been, Wheaton Academy’s Emma Goebel can reflect on a high school career that had an incredible beginning.
As a freshman in 2017, Goebel helped Wheaton Academy reach the Class AA state finals – a memory that the cancellation of the 2020 season from the COVID-19 virus can never blemish.
“The biggest thing I remember is just the intensity that the upperclassmen had, and our team captains and the coaches,” said Goebel, the lone freshmen on that squad. “And once we got into postseason, that feeling of ‘We can’t lose.’
“Each player on our team had to be all in for us to accomplish that and get that far. It was just a really cool rush of adrenalin for that whole three weeks (of the postseason) that we were a part of it.”
Wheaton Academy had won the 2016 state title in Class A, and didn’t let the move up a level in 2017 dim hopes for a repeat.
“All season we had a pretty good season (a 21-6-0 record) and a strong team. Once we won sectionals (1-0 over 2016 sectional champ Latin), I remember we went into supersectionals, and I was like ‘Wait, we could actually have a chance at this (title).’ It was probably that game that was a turning point.”
Beating Prairie Ridge in the supersectional propelled the Warriors on to one of the most closely contested state weekends imaginable.
First in the semifinals against Lemont, a 0-0 tie through regulation and overtimes carried over into an equally tight penalty kick session.
After a marathon 12-round PK session in which Goebel was one of the shooters, Wheaton Academy emerged with a 7-6 edge (clinched by Sophie Lindquist’s conversion) to advance to the title game.
Similar drama awaited there. After another 0-0 draw with Triad through 100 minutes of soccer went unresolved, seven rounds of penalty kicks were needed before Triad emerged with a 5-4 edge and the state championship.
“Just looking back now as a senior, I have a lot more respect for the seniors that led us that far and carried us that far,” said Goebel, who finished 2017 with two goals and two assists.
“And obviously having that experience of going that far, as a senior that was something I was hoping to carry into this season and do this season.”
While COVID-19 denied that hope, Goebel isn’t done with soccer at the college level. And when she arrives this fall at Taylor University in Indiana, a feeling of deja vu will be everywhere.
First, on the Taylor roster.
“I’ve actually had two teammates (from Wheaton Academy) who play there, one is two years older than me, Erin Teevans, and then one year older than me, Anne Camille (A.C.) Hardy.”
In that magic 2017 season, Teevans (18 goals, 24 assists) and Hardy (six goals, five assists) were both major contributors.
Teevans has had the same impact in two seasons at Taylor, leading the team in goals in 2018 (with 12) and scoring in 2019 (six goals and seven assists for 19 points, helping Taylor to a 12-5-1 record).
The two former and future teammates paved the way for Goebel’s road to Taylor. And the familiar feel of the campus and team was the clincher.
“They were committed to play there,” Goebel said, “so (Taylor) coach (Scott) Stan came to one of my games as a sophomore. I met him, and he loved the game of soccer. I could tell that just meeting him.
“Then I visited the campus, and the team had a good team atmosphere very similar to Wheaton Academy. Unity and uplifting, and all the teammates were like best friends. That’s something I’ve loved from Wheaton Academy, and I’d love to have in my college career.
“Me and the coach kept talking,” Goebel added, “and I was like ‘There’s no other place I’d rather play soccer.’
Goebel has already declared a major in chemistry education.
“I’m hoping to maybe be a chemistry teacher, or maybe take some other science path, maybe medical,” she said.
“The biggest reason I wanted to go there (to Taylor) was the similarity to my high school program. Everyone holds the same values of playing soccer for a bigger purpose, not just for ourselves but for the glory of Christ. That’s really powerful to be a part of.”
In 2017 and beyond, Goebel was part the perennially strong Wheaton Academy program.
The Warriors went 13-7-2 in 2018, falling in two overtimes to Fenwick at sectionals.
Then last year, Goebel had nine goals and 12 assists, teaming with seniors Lindquist and Hardy to spark another 13-win season and sixth-straight regional championship.
“I definitely grew in confidence,” Goebel said of her high school career. “Freshman year I was timid, kind of scared.
“As a freshman on varsity I wanted to play good soccer, and didn’t want to mess up. I think as the years went on my teammates and coaches encouraged me a lot, and were like ‘You are a good player.’ Knowing that and having that support, I was able to try new things and work harder. That confidence piece, I think that’s what helped me to be a good player.”
Goebel also showed versatility, seeing time at both defender and midfielder.
“Definitely that state run was the experience of a lifetime as a little freshman,” she said. “And sophomore year too. I played center back, which wasn’t my position, and that kind of stands out as something that shaped me as a player.”
But midfield has always felt more natural.
“The adjustment from center back to midfield was pretty smooth for me, just because midfield is good for me,” Goebel said. “I’m very forward-minded: I love the get forward and get the ball going forward.
“In that center back position I would kind of feel trapped. I had to stay back there. At midfield you have the freedom to just go, which I love.
“As the season went forward (as a 2018 defender),” Goebel added, “I would go up on set pieces, and my coach (Jeff Brooke) was also like ‘If you get the ball you can just go,’ and we would have someone slide back into that position. It was just my natural instinct.”
As her Wheaton Academy career progressed, Goebel’s other natural skills also kicked in.
“As I got older, I would definitely say I became a leader on the team in the way I pulled people together,” she said.
“I just love the idea of bringing the freshmen and seniors together to be friends, and making unlikely friendships happen. And I feel I did a really good job of that.
“I gained more confidence and boldness to do that,” Goebel added, “and now by my senior year it was really cool. Even the preseason this year, I got to be a leader and have some cool conversations with freshmen about not just soccer but life. That’s something I kind of focused on starting junior year, and it’s been really fruitful for me.”
As a player and person, Goebel is the complete package.
“She works incredibly hard to be the best she can be and have an impact on the field,” Warriors coach Maria Selvaggio said. “She also has a heart to serve her teammates and put the team first, and is a fantastic role model for our underclassmen.”
Goebel has her own praise for Selvaggio, a former star player at Wheaton Academy and longtime assistant coach who had taken over as head coach this spring.
“Maria is awesome,” Goebel said. “She knows the game of soccer so well. I would be able to ask her specific questions and kind of learn the technique and the ideas behind soccer and how to be a good player.
“She helped my technical skill, and something I definitely saw come out of her a lot this year (as a new head coach) is that she’s very intense, she wants to win.
“That drove the team a lot, and drove the team’s energy level up a lot. It gave me a lot of energy and excitement for this season. She knows what it takes to win.”
With a state final trip and two other regional titles under her belt, Goebel added her own winning footprint to the Warriors rich history.
But Goebel’s impact on the field was matched by Wheaton Academy’s impact on her.
“Honestly that Wheaton Academy program, it just feels like the biggest honor and like gift to be a part of it,” she said. “It has a legacy of incredible soccer players, but incredible people too.
“And people who loved people, people you would want to be friends with and have on your team. To have my name be a part of that (program history) ... just the word honor comes to mind. And I’m really lucky to be a part of it.”
for Wheaton Academy's Goebel
By Dave Owen
The cancellation of play due to COVID-19 left seniors in spring sports nationwide wondering what might have been.
As seniors nationwide ponder the happy endings that might have been, Wheaton Academy’s Emma Goebel can reflect on a high school career that had an incredible beginning.
As a freshman in 2017, Goebel helped Wheaton Academy reach the Class AA state finals – a memory that the cancellation of the 2020 season from the COVID-19 virus can never blemish.
“The biggest thing I remember is just the intensity that the upperclassmen had, and our team captains and the coaches,” said Goebel, the lone freshmen on that squad. “And once we got into postseason, that feeling of ‘We can’t lose.’
“Each player on our team had to be all in for us to accomplish that and get that far. It was just a really cool rush of adrenalin for that whole three weeks (of the postseason) that we were a part of it.”
Wheaton Academy had won the 2016 state title in Class A, and didn’t let the move up a level in 2017 dim hopes for a repeat.
“All season we had a pretty good season (a 21-6-0 record) and a strong team. Once we won sectionals (1-0 over 2016 sectional champ Latin), I remember we went into supersectionals, and I was like ‘Wait, we could actually have a chance at this (title).’ It was probably that game that was a turning point.”
Beating Prairie Ridge in the supersectional propelled the Warriors on to one of the most closely contested state weekends imaginable.
First in the semifinals against Lemont, a 0-0 tie through regulation and overtimes carried over into an equally tight penalty kick session.
After a marathon 12-round PK session in which Goebel was one of the shooters, Wheaton Academy emerged with a 7-6 edge (clinched by Sophie Lindquist’s conversion) to advance to the title game.
Similar drama awaited there. After another 0-0 draw with Triad through 100 minutes of soccer went unresolved, seven rounds of penalty kicks were needed before Triad emerged with a 5-4 edge and the state championship.
“Just looking back now as a senior, I have a lot more respect for the seniors that led us that far and carried us that far,” said Goebel, who finished 2017 with two goals and two assists.
“And obviously having that experience of going that far, as a senior that was something I was hoping to carry into this season and do this season.”
While COVID-19 denied that hope, Goebel isn’t done with soccer at the college level. And when she arrives this fall at Taylor University in Indiana, a feeling of deja vu will be everywhere.
First, on the Taylor roster.
“I’ve actually had two teammates (from Wheaton Academy) who play there, one is two years older than me, Erin Teevans, and then one year older than me, Anne Camille (A.C.) Hardy.”
In that magic 2017 season, Teevans (18 goals, 24 assists) and Hardy (six goals, five assists) were both major contributors.
Teevans has had the same impact in two seasons at Taylor, leading the team in goals in 2018 (with 12) and scoring in 2019 (six goals and seven assists for 19 points, helping Taylor to a 12-5-1 record).
The two former and future teammates paved the way for Goebel’s road to Taylor. And the familiar feel of the campus and team was the clincher.
“They were committed to play there,” Goebel said, “so (Taylor) coach (Scott) Stan came to one of my games as a sophomore. I met him, and he loved the game of soccer. I could tell that just meeting him.
“Then I visited the campus, and the team had a good team atmosphere very similar to Wheaton Academy. Unity and uplifting, and all the teammates were like best friends. That’s something I’ve loved from Wheaton Academy, and I’d love to have in my college career.
“Me and the coach kept talking,” Goebel added, “and I was like ‘There’s no other place I’d rather play soccer.’
Goebel has already declared a major in chemistry education.
“I’m hoping to maybe be a chemistry teacher, or maybe take some other science path, maybe medical,” she said.
“The biggest reason I wanted to go there (to Taylor) was the similarity to my high school program. Everyone holds the same values of playing soccer for a bigger purpose, not just for ourselves but for the glory of Christ. That’s really powerful to be a part of.”
In 2017 and beyond, Goebel was part the perennially strong Wheaton Academy program.
The Warriors went 13-7-2 in 2018, falling in two overtimes to Fenwick at sectionals.
Then last year, Goebel had nine goals and 12 assists, teaming with seniors Lindquist and Hardy to spark another 13-win season and sixth-straight regional championship.
“I definitely grew in confidence,” Goebel said of her high school career. “Freshman year I was timid, kind of scared.
“As a freshman on varsity I wanted to play good soccer, and didn’t want to mess up. I think as the years went on my teammates and coaches encouraged me a lot, and were like ‘You are a good player.’ Knowing that and having that support, I was able to try new things and work harder. That confidence piece, I think that’s what helped me to be a good player.”
Goebel also showed versatility, seeing time at both defender and midfielder.
“Definitely that state run was the experience of a lifetime as a little freshman,” she said. “And sophomore year too. I played center back, which wasn’t my position, and that kind of stands out as something that shaped me as a player.”
But midfield has always felt more natural.
“The adjustment from center back to midfield was pretty smooth for me, just because midfield is good for me,” Goebel said. “I’m very forward-minded: I love the get forward and get the ball going forward.
“In that center back position I would kind of feel trapped. I had to stay back there. At midfield you have the freedom to just go, which I love.
“As the season went forward (as a 2018 defender),” Goebel added, “I would go up on set pieces, and my coach (Jeff Brooke) was also like ‘If you get the ball you can just go,’ and we would have someone slide back into that position. It was just my natural instinct.”
As her Wheaton Academy career progressed, Goebel’s other natural skills also kicked in.
“As I got older, I would definitely say I became a leader on the team in the way I pulled people together,” she said.
“I just love the idea of bringing the freshmen and seniors together to be friends, and making unlikely friendships happen. And I feel I did a really good job of that.
“I gained more confidence and boldness to do that,” Goebel added, “and now by my senior year it was really cool. Even the preseason this year, I got to be a leader and have some cool conversations with freshmen about not just soccer but life. That’s something I kind of focused on starting junior year, and it’s been really fruitful for me.”
As a player and person, Goebel is the complete package.
“She works incredibly hard to be the best she can be and have an impact on the field,” Warriors coach Maria Selvaggio said. “She also has a heart to serve her teammates and put the team first, and is a fantastic role model for our underclassmen.”
Goebel has her own praise for Selvaggio, a former star player at Wheaton Academy and longtime assistant coach who had taken over as head coach this spring.
“Maria is awesome,” Goebel said. “She knows the game of soccer so well. I would be able to ask her specific questions and kind of learn the technique and the ideas behind soccer and how to be a good player.
“She helped my technical skill, and something I definitely saw come out of her a lot this year (as a new head coach) is that she’s very intense, she wants to win.
“That drove the team a lot, and drove the team’s energy level up a lot. It gave me a lot of energy and excitement for this season. She knows what it takes to win.”
With a state final trip and two other regional titles under her belt, Goebel added her own winning footprint to the Warriors rich history.
But Goebel’s impact on the field was matched by Wheaton Academy’s impact on her.
“Honestly that Wheaton Academy program, it just feels like the biggest honor and like gift to be a part of it,” she said. “It has a legacy of incredible soccer players, but incredible people too.
“And people who loved people, people you would want to be friends with and have on your team. To have my name be a part of that (program history) ... just the word honor comes to mind. And I’m really lucky to be a part of it.”