Mission accomplished:
Wheaton A. takes Class A title
Lindquist's OT goal gives Warriors 3rd title in 13 years
NAPERVILLE – Wheaton Academy freshman Sophie Lindquist wasn’t on the varsity team when the 2016 season started.
Thus she wasn’t privy to what the Warriors had planned for themselves.
“We talked from Day 1 (that) our goal is to win a state championship,” Wheaton Academy coach Dave Underwood said. “For us to achieve that goal is spectacular.”
Lindquist played a key role in the Warriors’ doing so. Her goal with 3:53 left in the first overtime Saturday turned out to be the difference in Wheaton Academy’s 2-1 double-overtime victory over Marian Central in the Class A state championship game at North Central College.
It was the third state title for the Warriors (22-3-3), who won the Class A championship in 2004 under Underwood and the Class 2A crown in 2009 with Scott Marksberry at the helm.
Unlike those previous championship teams, this group had its eyes on the prize right from the beginning, though Lindquist did not know it.
“I did not,” Lindquist said. “I didn’t even know it was a huge possibility that we were going to make it to the state championship, so it was really fun to be here.”
Lindquist, who began the season on the JV squad before being promoted two weeks into the season, bagged her seventh goal of the season with an aggressive play after taking a pass from junior forward Gretchen Pearson.
Lindquist dribbled into space in the right side of the Marian Central penalty area, cut back to her left and beat Hurricanes goalkeeper Kersten Green with a shot to the far post.
“It was really fun, surreal and unbelievable,” Lindquist said.
Pearson shared Lindquist’s sentiments, except for the unbelievable part.
“The center was wide open,” Pearson said. “The ball was just sitting there so I dribbled it for a little bit to see what was open.
“I saw Sophie running up and so I passed to her. I knew she would put it in.”
Underwood, too, had confidence in the rookie and was thrilled to see her convert.
“That was incredible,” Underwood said. “What was funny was that when she had come off the field before, she was really upset.
“She said, ‘I had two great chances, and I didn’t score.’ Well, on one of them the goalie made an incredible save and right before overtime we said, ‘Listen, ladies, you cannot be lamenting missed opportunities. You have to go out and make something happen now.' She sure did.”
While the Warriors still had nearly 14 minutes of overtime left, they were confident Lindquist’s goal would prove decisive, which it did.
Scrappy Marian Central (14-6-2) was outshot 16-2 and did not sniff an opportunity in either 10-minute extra session. Wheaton, meanwhile, had six shots in overtime and nearly scored again in the second overtime.
Green punched away a 25-yard free kick from junior defender Emmerson Fuller, then made a diving save on Lindquist’s rebound that nearly snuck inside the near post with 7:00 remaining. Three minutes later, Fuller just missed high on a 20-yard free-kick.
Fuller was a factor throughout the game, combining with fellow backliners Gabi LaMantia, Izzy McNally and Britta Cassel to take the sails out of the Hurricanes’ offense.
Fuller and LaMantia proved to be effective on offense as well, combining on the game’s first goal, which came just 2:05 after kickoff.
Fuller sent a 50-yard free kick into the box to LaMantia, who chested the ball to her feet, settled in and blasted a 10-yard shot past Green for a 1-0 lead. It was LaMantia’s fifth goal of the season and the fifth assist for Fuller.
“Great ball from Emmerson,” Underwood said. “She’s been doing that all year long.
“Emmerson and Gabi are unbelievable in the box. For (LaMantia) to get a great touch on that, keep it in front of her and just bury it, that’s senior leadership. That’s getting it done.”
The early strike proved to be more important than anyone realized because the Hurricanes allowed only three other shots in the first half to keep the game close.
“Throughout the whole playoffs we’ve always tried to get the game going right away and tried to set the pace for the game,” LaMantia said. “Whenever we have a chance to get a set-piece, Emmerson just has such a great kick. Then I just try to get in there and get anything on it. I just felt really good about that one.”
The Warriors were expected to win state after being moved down from Class 2A before the season. Though they lived up to those expectations and dominated the action against Marian Central, the game proved much tougher than expected.
“Credit to (the Hurricanes) because they were physical, they were aggressive and they defended extremely well,” Underwood said. “All season long, a benchmark was our forwards and our speed and being able to get behind opposing defenses, and they really limited that.
“Yeah, we did possess much of the time, particularly in the overtime period, but we felt that the ball was at our feet almost the entire time. We struggled to get behind them and that’s to their credit.”
Also to Marian Central’s credit was their ability to rally. The Hurricanes stunned the crowd when Alyssa Sutherland tied the game on a powerful header into the upper-90 off a corner-kick from Karlie Blaz at the 26:33 mark of the second half.
“It was like a wake-up call,” Pearson said. “We knew they were good at set-pieces.
“We just didn’t really mark as well. But after that goal we were just trying to get any goal that we could.”
It was no surprise the Warriors did, though most figured either Pearson or Erin Teevans would be the one to score it. Pearson led the team with 27 goals this season, including one in Friday’s 3-0 semifinal win over Marquette (Alton), while Teevans bagged 25.
Instead it was Lindquist with the historic goal and Pearson setting it up. Pearson, a forward, had switched positions just 22 seconds before the goal, replaced senior midfielder Julia Della Torre, who was forced out of the game with a broken foot.
Della Torre, who played all season with a hairline fracture, limped off when the bone finally broke. She wasn’t on the field when the final horn sounded, but she was right next to her sister, assistant coach Maria Selvaggio who played on the Warrior's 2004 state title team, during the celebration afterward.
That kind of grit and versatility was indicative of how much tougher the Warriors became since a season-opening 3-2 loss to West Aurora.
“We talked all season long about closing the gap between potential and performance,” Underwood said. “We lost the first game of the season when we gave up two goals in the last two minutes. So for us to be able to close out games, we learned how to do that, so I’m proud of the girls.”
The players are proud of themselves and each other.
LaMantia, who along with Della Torre, Cassel, forward Jamie Netzley, goalkeeper Liana Ledesma and reserve forward Eleah Augustine ended their high school careers as champions, said the key to winning was the skill of the underclassmen but that camaraderie played a role, too.
“Whenever anyone is having a bad game, we lift each other up and try to stay together, and we try to play as one,” LaMantia said. “It’s just a really amazing thing to have such amazing teammates to hold you up all the time.”
As for winning state as a senior?
“It’s amazing,” LaMantia said. “I couldn’t want anything else.”
Starting line-ups
Wheaton Academy
GK Liana Ledesma
D Emmerson Fuller
D Gaby LaMantia
D Izzy McNally
D Britta Cassel
M Julia Della Torre
M Holland Kosiek
M Anna Joy Setran
F Erin Teevans
F Jamie Netzley
F Gretchen Pearson
Marian Central
GK Kersten Green
D Makala Villont
D Hannah Villont
D Alyssa Sutherland
D Diana Slater
M Tiffany Teubert
M Addison Fortin
M Skyler Teegan
F Emily Herff
F Kailin Fortin
F Karlie Blaz
MVP of the Match: Sophie Lindquist, F, Wheaton Academy
Wheaton A. takes Class A title
Lindquist's OT goal gives Warriors 3rd title in 13 years
NAPERVILLE – Wheaton Academy freshman Sophie Lindquist wasn’t on the varsity team when the 2016 season started.
Thus she wasn’t privy to what the Warriors had planned for themselves.
“We talked from Day 1 (that) our goal is to win a state championship,” Wheaton Academy coach Dave Underwood said. “For us to achieve that goal is spectacular.”
Lindquist played a key role in the Warriors’ doing so. Her goal with 3:53 left in the first overtime Saturday turned out to be the difference in Wheaton Academy’s 2-1 double-overtime victory over Marian Central in the Class A state championship game at North Central College.
It was the third state title for the Warriors (22-3-3), who won the Class A championship in 2004 under Underwood and the Class 2A crown in 2009 with Scott Marksberry at the helm.
Unlike those previous championship teams, this group had its eyes on the prize right from the beginning, though Lindquist did not know it.
“I did not,” Lindquist said. “I didn’t even know it was a huge possibility that we were going to make it to the state championship, so it was really fun to be here.”
Lindquist, who began the season on the JV squad before being promoted two weeks into the season, bagged her seventh goal of the season with an aggressive play after taking a pass from junior forward Gretchen Pearson.
Lindquist dribbled into space in the right side of the Marian Central penalty area, cut back to her left and beat Hurricanes goalkeeper Kersten Green with a shot to the far post.
“It was really fun, surreal and unbelievable,” Lindquist said.
Pearson shared Lindquist’s sentiments, except for the unbelievable part.
“The center was wide open,” Pearson said. “The ball was just sitting there so I dribbled it for a little bit to see what was open.
“I saw Sophie running up and so I passed to her. I knew she would put it in.”
Underwood, too, had confidence in the rookie and was thrilled to see her convert.
“That was incredible,” Underwood said. “What was funny was that when she had come off the field before, she was really upset.
“She said, ‘I had two great chances, and I didn’t score.’ Well, on one of them the goalie made an incredible save and right before overtime we said, ‘Listen, ladies, you cannot be lamenting missed opportunities. You have to go out and make something happen now.' She sure did.”
While the Warriors still had nearly 14 minutes of overtime left, they were confident Lindquist’s goal would prove decisive, which it did.
Scrappy Marian Central (14-6-2) was outshot 16-2 and did not sniff an opportunity in either 10-minute extra session. Wheaton, meanwhile, had six shots in overtime and nearly scored again in the second overtime.
Green punched away a 25-yard free kick from junior defender Emmerson Fuller, then made a diving save on Lindquist’s rebound that nearly snuck inside the near post with 7:00 remaining. Three minutes later, Fuller just missed high on a 20-yard free-kick.
Fuller was a factor throughout the game, combining with fellow backliners Gabi LaMantia, Izzy McNally and Britta Cassel to take the sails out of the Hurricanes’ offense.
Fuller and LaMantia proved to be effective on offense as well, combining on the game’s first goal, which came just 2:05 after kickoff.
Fuller sent a 50-yard free kick into the box to LaMantia, who chested the ball to her feet, settled in and blasted a 10-yard shot past Green for a 1-0 lead. It was LaMantia’s fifth goal of the season and the fifth assist for Fuller.
“Great ball from Emmerson,” Underwood said. “She’s been doing that all year long.
“Emmerson and Gabi are unbelievable in the box. For (LaMantia) to get a great touch on that, keep it in front of her and just bury it, that’s senior leadership. That’s getting it done.”
The early strike proved to be more important than anyone realized because the Hurricanes allowed only three other shots in the first half to keep the game close.
“Throughout the whole playoffs we’ve always tried to get the game going right away and tried to set the pace for the game,” LaMantia said. “Whenever we have a chance to get a set-piece, Emmerson just has such a great kick. Then I just try to get in there and get anything on it. I just felt really good about that one.”
The Warriors were expected to win state after being moved down from Class 2A before the season. Though they lived up to those expectations and dominated the action against Marian Central, the game proved much tougher than expected.
“Credit to (the Hurricanes) because they were physical, they were aggressive and they defended extremely well,” Underwood said. “All season long, a benchmark was our forwards and our speed and being able to get behind opposing defenses, and they really limited that.
“Yeah, we did possess much of the time, particularly in the overtime period, but we felt that the ball was at our feet almost the entire time. We struggled to get behind them and that’s to their credit.”
Also to Marian Central’s credit was their ability to rally. The Hurricanes stunned the crowd when Alyssa Sutherland tied the game on a powerful header into the upper-90 off a corner-kick from Karlie Blaz at the 26:33 mark of the second half.
“It was like a wake-up call,” Pearson said. “We knew they were good at set-pieces.
“We just didn’t really mark as well. But after that goal we were just trying to get any goal that we could.”
It was no surprise the Warriors did, though most figured either Pearson or Erin Teevans would be the one to score it. Pearson led the team with 27 goals this season, including one in Friday’s 3-0 semifinal win over Marquette (Alton), while Teevans bagged 25.
Instead it was Lindquist with the historic goal and Pearson setting it up. Pearson, a forward, had switched positions just 22 seconds before the goal, replaced senior midfielder Julia Della Torre, who was forced out of the game with a broken foot.
Della Torre, who played all season with a hairline fracture, limped off when the bone finally broke. She wasn’t on the field when the final horn sounded, but she was right next to her sister, assistant coach Maria Selvaggio who played on the Warrior's 2004 state title team, during the celebration afterward.
That kind of grit and versatility was indicative of how much tougher the Warriors became since a season-opening 3-2 loss to West Aurora.
“We talked all season long about closing the gap between potential and performance,” Underwood said. “We lost the first game of the season when we gave up two goals in the last two minutes. So for us to be able to close out games, we learned how to do that, so I’m proud of the girls.”
The players are proud of themselves and each other.
LaMantia, who along with Della Torre, Cassel, forward Jamie Netzley, goalkeeper Liana Ledesma and reserve forward Eleah Augustine ended their high school careers as champions, said the key to winning was the skill of the underclassmen but that camaraderie played a role, too.
“Whenever anyone is having a bad game, we lift each other up and try to stay together, and we try to play as one,” LaMantia said. “It’s just a really amazing thing to have such amazing teammates to hold you up all the time.”
As for winning state as a senior?
“It’s amazing,” LaMantia said. “I couldn’t want anything else.”
Starting line-ups
Wheaton Academy
GK Liana Ledesma
D Emmerson Fuller
D Gaby LaMantia
D Izzy McNally
D Britta Cassel
M Julia Della Torre
M Holland Kosiek
M Anna Joy Setran
F Erin Teevans
F Jamie Netzley
F Gretchen Pearson
Marian Central
GK Kersten Green
D Makala Villont
D Hannah Villont
D Alyssa Sutherland
D Diana Slater
M Tiffany Teubert
M Addison Fortin
M Skyler Teegan
F Emily Herff
F Kailin Fortin
F Karlie Blaz
MVP of the Match: Sophie Lindquist, F, Wheaton Academy