Wheaton Warrenville South
faster than lightning in win
Kerby scores just before weather stoppage ends game
By Matt Le Cren
WHEATON – Wheaton Warrenville South had so many scoring chances Thursday night that everyone felt it was just a matter of time before the Tigers caught lightning in a bottle.
They did and it came from an unlikely source.
Junior defender Charlie Kerby scored on his own rebound following a scramble in the crease with 11:17 remaining in the second half and then 74 seconds later real lightning was spotted off in the distance.
The game was halted and then called 30 minutes later, giving the host Tigers a 1-0 victory over Burlington Central in a PepsiCo Showdown consolation game at Red Grange Field.
“I would say we definitely had been building up to it,” Kerby said. “We were overdue so it was a huge relief taken off our shoulders.”
The goal was just the second of Kerby’s varsity career and his first game-winner. It resulted from the debut of a clever set piece by the Tigers (4-6-0), who outshot Burlington Central 18-4 and completely controlled the action but had nothing to show for it until the 69th minute.
That’s when the Rockets committed a foul just outside their own penalty area, giving the Tigers a free kick from 20 yards out on the top right corner.
Instead of drilling a shot on goal, Anthony Berardi played the ball forward on the ground to Danny Jimenez, who tapped it to his left to Mark Chrisotomo.
Chrisotomo uncorked a shot from just outside the right post that clanged off the inside of the left post. The Rockets failed to clear and Kerby shot from point-blank range.
Kerby’s shot was blocked but he buried the rebound to finally break the stalemate.
“We have four different plays, and that was our first one,” Chrisotomo said. “That’s actually our first time trying that play, and it worked out very well. Other teams just don’t expect it.”
Kerby didn’t expect to be the one who scored on the play but he was determined when the ball came to him.
“As soon as Mark’s ball came off the post, and they didn’t get a perfect clear-out, then it’s time to just do anything you can to get the ball toward the net,” Kerby said. “It took me two tries. I hit one, and it came back and I hit it a second time and got it in.”
The Tigers probably should have scored a few times earlier in the game. Jack Schlegel missed two open nets, including a volley from six yards out off a perfect cross from Felipe Speraggi.
Speraggi had a shot barely miss the left post and also set up Jimenez for a pair of back-to-back, point-blank opportunities. Jimenez’s first shot was rejected by Burlington Central goalie Ryan Fitzgerald and the rebound was blocked by a defender. That sequence occurred three minutes before Kerby’s strike.
“There was a lot of luck that we weren’t getting earlier on set pieces,” Kerby said. “The goalie would get a finger on the header or a defender would be in just the right position. So I think luck was kind of on our side with that, and we finally put it in.”
The Tigers actually unleashed more shots in the first half than the second, but were consistently more dangerous after intermission.
“I think it was just our mindset,” Chrisotomo said. “First half we didn’t start out very well, and then in the second half we just wanted it more. We got a free kick at the 18 and that’s when Charlie finished it off for us.”
The first half was a study in frustration for the Tigers, who couldn’t solve the pack-it-in defense of the Rockets (4-4-1), who sat back and dared the hosts to figure it out.
“It was just a lack of quality in the final third,” Wheaton Warrenville South coach Guy Callipari said. “There’s no luck to that. You shoot it over the net, it’s a technical thing. We had a lot of sitters that we missed.
“At halftime I put some pressure on them to say, you are really required to win here, to beat who you’re supposed to beat. So you have to be able to deal with that pressure. You need to find a way.
“They’re playing half-field pressure, so you’re going to have to find an opportunity to get in behind 10 players. And it took a dead ball to do that, where we can kind of set it up and spread them out and go from there.”
The Tigers now have won four of their last five games by flipping their script. They are still playing close games – seven have been decided by one goal, including two on penalty kicks – but are winning low-scoring games after losing high-scoring affairs in the first two weeks.
After surrendering 16 goals in their first five outings, the Tigers have given up just two in their last five. Burlington Central was held without a shot until the 63rd minute as Wheaton Warrenville South goalkeepers almost were reduced to spectators.
“It’s been a pretty impressive turnaround after that first week where I don’t know how many goals we gave up,” Kerby said. "I think we have the pieces. It just took us a while to put them together and especially now that our midfield is starting to come back with us, we’re starting to become a set unit.
“What we saw in the beginning of the year was, we don’t play with each other in the off-season, so it was just we don’t know what the guy in front of me is going to do. We’ve adjusted to each other and now we’re working better as a unit to win the ball and get the ball in transition and create something, instead of just kind of clear and let the other team come back.”
Wheaton Warreville South has used several different combinations in the back, with Kerby, Ethan Weseman, Jackson Keske and Cesar Bucio getting the starts Thursday, but the big difference was Callipari’s decision to move Berardi into a holding midfielder role.
“We had Anthony Berardi, offensive-minded, kind of underneath the two front-runners for the first half of the season, but we were giving up three goals a game,” Callipari said. “Since we’ve changed that even the backline is fortified.
“They’re getting to know each other a little bit more, a little bit more in sync. They have a better understanding of their roles.
“We’ve given up two goals in our last five games against some good competition, so we’re pleased with that.”
So is Kerby, who welcomed the change.
“It’s a huge help for us because it takes a lot of pressure off of us,” Kerby said. “Instead of having to step consistently, the times where we have to step it’s kind of like when they have a 1-on-1 where they have a good play and it’s up to us to just destroy at that point. Early in the season, we just had this gap that we had to fill, which as defenders put strain on us.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
G Nathan Friedle
D Cesar Busio
D Ethan Weseman
D Charlie Kerby
D Jackson Keske
M Anthony Berardi
M Carolos Moyoti-Rosas
M Kyle Faith
F Felipe Speraggi
F Danny Jimenez
F Jack Schlegel
Burlington Central
G Ryan Fitzgerald
D Danny Hall
D Noah Jahangir
D AJ Gouriotis
D Mitchell Gosse
M Cole Tecza
M Tony Rodriguez
M Victor Rodriguez
M Jack Schramme
M Luke Schramme
M Tony Rodriguez
Man of the Match – Charlie Kerby, D, Wheaton Warrenville South
faster than lightning in win
Kerby scores just before weather stoppage ends game
By Matt Le Cren
WHEATON – Wheaton Warrenville South had so many scoring chances Thursday night that everyone felt it was just a matter of time before the Tigers caught lightning in a bottle.
They did and it came from an unlikely source.
Junior defender Charlie Kerby scored on his own rebound following a scramble in the crease with 11:17 remaining in the second half and then 74 seconds later real lightning was spotted off in the distance.
The game was halted and then called 30 minutes later, giving the host Tigers a 1-0 victory over Burlington Central in a PepsiCo Showdown consolation game at Red Grange Field.
“I would say we definitely had been building up to it,” Kerby said. “We were overdue so it was a huge relief taken off our shoulders.”
The goal was just the second of Kerby’s varsity career and his first game-winner. It resulted from the debut of a clever set piece by the Tigers (4-6-0), who outshot Burlington Central 18-4 and completely controlled the action but had nothing to show for it until the 69th minute.
That’s when the Rockets committed a foul just outside their own penalty area, giving the Tigers a free kick from 20 yards out on the top right corner.
Instead of drilling a shot on goal, Anthony Berardi played the ball forward on the ground to Danny Jimenez, who tapped it to his left to Mark Chrisotomo.
Chrisotomo uncorked a shot from just outside the right post that clanged off the inside of the left post. The Rockets failed to clear and Kerby shot from point-blank range.
Kerby’s shot was blocked but he buried the rebound to finally break the stalemate.
“We have four different plays, and that was our first one,” Chrisotomo said. “That’s actually our first time trying that play, and it worked out very well. Other teams just don’t expect it.”
Kerby didn’t expect to be the one who scored on the play but he was determined when the ball came to him.
“As soon as Mark’s ball came off the post, and they didn’t get a perfect clear-out, then it’s time to just do anything you can to get the ball toward the net,” Kerby said. “It took me two tries. I hit one, and it came back and I hit it a second time and got it in.”
The Tigers probably should have scored a few times earlier in the game. Jack Schlegel missed two open nets, including a volley from six yards out off a perfect cross from Felipe Speraggi.
Speraggi had a shot barely miss the left post and also set up Jimenez for a pair of back-to-back, point-blank opportunities. Jimenez’s first shot was rejected by Burlington Central goalie Ryan Fitzgerald and the rebound was blocked by a defender. That sequence occurred three minutes before Kerby’s strike.
“There was a lot of luck that we weren’t getting earlier on set pieces,” Kerby said. “The goalie would get a finger on the header or a defender would be in just the right position. So I think luck was kind of on our side with that, and we finally put it in.”
The Tigers actually unleashed more shots in the first half than the second, but were consistently more dangerous after intermission.
“I think it was just our mindset,” Chrisotomo said. “First half we didn’t start out very well, and then in the second half we just wanted it more. We got a free kick at the 18 and that’s when Charlie finished it off for us.”
The first half was a study in frustration for the Tigers, who couldn’t solve the pack-it-in defense of the Rockets (4-4-1), who sat back and dared the hosts to figure it out.
“It was just a lack of quality in the final third,” Wheaton Warrenville South coach Guy Callipari said. “There’s no luck to that. You shoot it over the net, it’s a technical thing. We had a lot of sitters that we missed.
“At halftime I put some pressure on them to say, you are really required to win here, to beat who you’re supposed to beat. So you have to be able to deal with that pressure. You need to find a way.
“They’re playing half-field pressure, so you’re going to have to find an opportunity to get in behind 10 players. And it took a dead ball to do that, where we can kind of set it up and spread them out and go from there.”
The Tigers now have won four of their last five games by flipping their script. They are still playing close games – seven have been decided by one goal, including two on penalty kicks – but are winning low-scoring games after losing high-scoring affairs in the first two weeks.
After surrendering 16 goals in their first five outings, the Tigers have given up just two in their last five. Burlington Central was held without a shot until the 63rd minute as Wheaton Warrenville South goalkeepers almost were reduced to spectators.
“It’s been a pretty impressive turnaround after that first week where I don’t know how many goals we gave up,” Kerby said. "I think we have the pieces. It just took us a while to put them together and especially now that our midfield is starting to come back with us, we’re starting to become a set unit.
“What we saw in the beginning of the year was, we don’t play with each other in the off-season, so it was just we don’t know what the guy in front of me is going to do. We’ve adjusted to each other and now we’re working better as a unit to win the ball and get the ball in transition and create something, instead of just kind of clear and let the other team come back.”
Wheaton Warreville South has used several different combinations in the back, with Kerby, Ethan Weseman, Jackson Keske and Cesar Bucio getting the starts Thursday, but the big difference was Callipari’s decision to move Berardi into a holding midfielder role.
“We had Anthony Berardi, offensive-minded, kind of underneath the two front-runners for the first half of the season, but we were giving up three goals a game,” Callipari said. “Since we’ve changed that even the backline is fortified.
“They’re getting to know each other a little bit more, a little bit more in sync. They have a better understanding of their roles.
“We’ve given up two goals in our last five games against some good competition, so we’re pleased with that.”
So is Kerby, who welcomed the change.
“It’s a huge help for us because it takes a lot of pressure off of us,” Kerby said. “Instead of having to step consistently, the times where we have to step it’s kind of like when they have a 1-on-1 where they have a good play and it’s up to us to just destroy at that point. Early in the season, we just had this gap that we had to fill, which as defenders put strain on us.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
G Nathan Friedle
D Cesar Busio
D Ethan Weseman
D Charlie Kerby
D Jackson Keske
M Anthony Berardi
M Carolos Moyoti-Rosas
M Kyle Faith
F Felipe Speraggi
F Danny Jimenez
F Jack Schlegel
Burlington Central
G Ryan Fitzgerald
D Danny Hall
D Noah Jahangir
D AJ Gouriotis
D Mitchell Gosse
M Cole Tecza
M Tony Rodriguez
M Victor Rodriguez
M Jack Schramme
M Luke Schramme
M Tony Rodriguez
Man of the Match – Charlie Kerby, D, Wheaton Warrenville South