Seager leads Wheaton Academy
over Wheaton Warrenville South
Senior scores twice, 2014 2A champs open with 3-1 win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
WEST CHICAGO — Continuity is nice but what Wheaton Academy really stressed was that it wanted to start its quest for a second-consecutive state title with a blinding and aggressive start that set a tone.
There to help the Warriors meet their goal was senior forward Ty Seager, the state's best player.
"I feel privileged to play here and to play another year of high school," said the Northwestern-recruit who scored 39 goals and recorded 15 assists for the 25-1-1 Class 2A state champions last season.
"Last year was great, but this is a new year and we still have to prove ourselves. Nobody has proved themselves yet this year. Some teams started yesterday. We started today. Our goal is just to come out and improve day to day."
Chicagoland Soccer's no. 1-ranked team utilized two dominant movements in the first half to establish itself and then rode the extraordinary playmaking talents of Seager for the impressive 3-1 victory over Wheaton Warrenville South here Tuesday night.
Wheaton Academy (1-0) won its 10th-consecutive game stretching to last year and extended its unbeaten streak to 17 games.
Seager scored two goals to power the attack. Senior midfielder Jacob Kapitaniuk was the early offensive catalyst for the Warriors' aggressive and fluid start. His ball in the first minute skipped just wide of the near post, putting the Tigers (0-1) on notice.
"He really controlled the flow of the game, especially at the start," Wheaton Academy coach Jeff Brooke said.
"He has the ball at his feet and he really controlled it for us, especially with how skilled he is in the middle of the field. It set up that set piece for us and got us started."
In the sixth minute, Kapitaniuk worked through the gut of the Tigers' interior and drove left when he was fouled from behind. Seager scored the first goal of the season on the resulting free kick with a high and blazing fast shot that torqued inside the back post.
"I figured if I get it over the wall, keep it on frame and keep it under the crossbar, it had a good chance," Seager said.
On the flip side, the slow start was dispiriting for a visiting team eager to start the new year sharp and imposing.
"We didn't get off the whistle and match the speed of play and the sense of urgency early on," Tigers' coach Guy Callipari said.
"We left ourselves susceptible at times, and [Seager] made the best of a free kick in a dead ball environment and all of a sudden we're down 1-0."
Coming into the game, Callipari was anxious to see how his experienced players meshed with some talented underclassmen and gifted senior forward Felipe Speraggi, a Kaneland transfer who provides an excellent finisher to combine with top returning players Anthony Berardi (senior midfielder) and Danny Jimenez (junior forward).
Wheaton Warrenville South recovered from the slow start and wiped out the early Warriors' momentum with some sharp passing and quality possession time.
"I'd say from the 10-to-25-minute mark of the first half, we had the better play," Berardi said.
Jimenez and junior forward Kevin Noonan put sharp pressure on the Warriors' unproven backline. Sophomore keeper John David Gunn made two excellent diving stops for the Warriors. Other times, the Tigers failed to finish or could not quite get on the end of the ball.
One of the game's defining sequences arrived late in the first half. After Wheaton Academy withstood the Tigers' counterattack, the Warriors settled down and mounted their own skilled attack. Junior reserve forward Isaiah Bedrossian made two spirited forward attacks.
Junior forward Isaac Anthony maintained the pressure and struck a decisive blow for the Warriors. Taking a nice ball from senior defender Christian Ziesemer, Anthony slid and delivered a sharp and hard liner inside the back post in the 38th minute for the 2-0 advantage.
"It was a good team goal," Anthony said. "It wouldn't have happened without the give-and-go between Christian and Kap [Kapitaniuk]. Christian took a man on and made it through the gap, and I was just making an angled run."
Wheaton Academy capitalized on a Wheaton Warrenville South turnover, the kind of sloppy play Callipari knows the team has to tighten up.
"We need to play with a bit more pressure on the ball and win the tackles when we're in that environment," he said.
The Tigers broke through in the 52nd minute when Berardi converted a penalty kick after a Warriors' defender was cited for a handball inside the box.
"We got the goal we needed to make it interesting," Callipari said.
Wheaton Academy has just two full-time returning starters, but those players are Seager and Kapitaniuk. The pair has size, speed and the ability to create in tight windows.
In the 59th minute, Seager returned the two-goal advantage as he elevated in space and drilled a header off a terrific ball from Kapitaniuk. To their credit, Wheaton Academy never panicked after the Tigers' goal.
"It was a great way to come back, especially after we had a little bit of an unlucky situation," said Seager, Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match.
The soft-spoken forward tended toward his modest nature. Callipari was more effusive.
"He just rose in that situation and got over our tallest defender," he said.
Brooke said the play was evidence of the maturity and composure of the Warriors' star.
The coach was pleased with what he saw.
"If you can learn the lesson this early as far as how important that third goal is, that's very important," he said. "We were very excited to come out and get a win at home and defend this place as best as we can.
"Sometimes we almost come out too hyped at home, but today, I thought we were intense but also had a sense of calm. We had some lulls out there, and some things we need to work on, but it was a great start."
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK: Adam Mrzlak
D: Cesar Bucio
D: Jack Schlegel
D: Charles Kerby
D: Christopher Stamatopoulos
M: Anthony Berardi
M: Mark Crisostomo
M: Carlos Moyotl Rosas
M: Kevin Noonan
M: Clyde Wright
F: Danny Jimenez
Wheaton Academy
GK: John David Gunn
D: Samuel Bergquist
D: Christian Ziesemer
D: Ethan Stoneman
D: Jacob Kapitaniuk
M: Elias McCloud
M: Simon Spivey
F: Timothy Steininger
F: Luis Rocha
F: Isaac Anthony
F: Ty Seager
Man of the Match: Ty Seager, F, Wheaton Academy
over Wheaton Warrenville South
Senior scores twice, 2014 2A champs open with 3-1 win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
WEST CHICAGO — Continuity is nice but what Wheaton Academy really stressed was that it wanted to start its quest for a second-consecutive state title with a blinding and aggressive start that set a tone.
There to help the Warriors meet their goal was senior forward Ty Seager, the state's best player.
"I feel privileged to play here and to play another year of high school," said the Northwestern-recruit who scored 39 goals and recorded 15 assists for the 25-1-1 Class 2A state champions last season.
"Last year was great, but this is a new year and we still have to prove ourselves. Nobody has proved themselves yet this year. Some teams started yesterday. We started today. Our goal is just to come out and improve day to day."
Chicagoland Soccer's no. 1-ranked team utilized two dominant movements in the first half to establish itself and then rode the extraordinary playmaking talents of Seager for the impressive 3-1 victory over Wheaton Warrenville South here Tuesday night.
Wheaton Academy (1-0) won its 10th-consecutive game stretching to last year and extended its unbeaten streak to 17 games.
Seager scored two goals to power the attack. Senior midfielder Jacob Kapitaniuk was the early offensive catalyst for the Warriors' aggressive and fluid start. His ball in the first minute skipped just wide of the near post, putting the Tigers (0-1) on notice.
"He really controlled the flow of the game, especially at the start," Wheaton Academy coach Jeff Brooke said.
"He has the ball at his feet and he really controlled it for us, especially with how skilled he is in the middle of the field. It set up that set piece for us and got us started."
In the sixth minute, Kapitaniuk worked through the gut of the Tigers' interior and drove left when he was fouled from behind. Seager scored the first goal of the season on the resulting free kick with a high and blazing fast shot that torqued inside the back post.
"I figured if I get it over the wall, keep it on frame and keep it under the crossbar, it had a good chance," Seager said.
On the flip side, the slow start was dispiriting for a visiting team eager to start the new year sharp and imposing.
"We didn't get off the whistle and match the speed of play and the sense of urgency early on," Tigers' coach Guy Callipari said.
"We left ourselves susceptible at times, and [Seager] made the best of a free kick in a dead ball environment and all of a sudden we're down 1-0."
Coming into the game, Callipari was anxious to see how his experienced players meshed with some talented underclassmen and gifted senior forward Felipe Speraggi, a Kaneland transfer who provides an excellent finisher to combine with top returning players Anthony Berardi (senior midfielder) and Danny Jimenez (junior forward).
Wheaton Warrenville South recovered from the slow start and wiped out the early Warriors' momentum with some sharp passing and quality possession time.
"I'd say from the 10-to-25-minute mark of the first half, we had the better play," Berardi said.
Jimenez and junior forward Kevin Noonan put sharp pressure on the Warriors' unproven backline. Sophomore keeper John David Gunn made two excellent diving stops for the Warriors. Other times, the Tigers failed to finish or could not quite get on the end of the ball.
One of the game's defining sequences arrived late in the first half. After Wheaton Academy withstood the Tigers' counterattack, the Warriors settled down and mounted their own skilled attack. Junior reserve forward Isaiah Bedrossian made two spirited forward attacks.
Junior forward Isaac Anthony maintained the pressure and struck a decisive blow for the Warriors. Taking a nice ball from senior defender Christian Ziesemer, Anthony slid and delivered a sharp and hard liner inside the back post in the 38th minute for the 2-0 advantage.
"It was a good team goal," Anthony said. "It wouldn't have happened without the give-and-go between Christian and Kap [Kapitaniuk]. Christian took a man on and made it through the gap, and I was just making an angled run."
Wheaton Academy capitalized on a Wheaton Warrenville South turnover, the kind of sloppy play Callipari knows the team has to tighten up.
"We need to play with a bit more pressure on the ball and win the tackles when we're in that environment," he said.
The Tigers broke through in the 52nd minute when Berardi converted a penalty kick after a Warriors' defender was cited for a handball inside the box.
"We got the goal we needed to make it interesting," Callipari said.
Wheaton Academy has just two full-time returning starters, but those players are Seager and Kapitaniuk. The pair has size, speed and the ability to create in tight windows.
In the 59th minute, Seager returned the two-goal advantage as he elevated in space and drilled a header off a terrific ball from Kapitaniuk. To their credit, Wheaton Academy never panicked after the Tigers' goal.
"It was a great way to come back, especially after we had a little bit of an unlucky situation," said Seager, Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match.
The soft-spoken forward tended toward his modest nature. Callipari was more effusive.
"He just rose in that situation and got over our tallest defender," he said.
Brooke said the play was evidence of the maturity and composure of the Warriors' star.
The coach was pleased with what he saw.
"If you can learn the lesson this early as far as how important that third goal is, that's very important," he said. "We were very excited to come out and get a win at home and defend this place as best as we can.
"Sometimes we almost come out too hyped at home, but today, I thought we were intense but also had a sense of calm. We had some lulls out there, and some things we need to work on, but it was a great start."
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK: Adam Mrzlak
D: Cesar Bucio
D: Jack Schlegel
D: Charles Kerby
D: Christopher Stamatopoulos
M: Anthony Berardi
M: Mark Crisostomo
M: Carlos Moyotl Rosas
M: Kevin Noonan
M: Clyde Wright
F: Danny Jimenez
Wheaton Academy
GK: John David Gunn
D: Samuel Bergquist
D: Christian Ziesemer
D: Ethan Stoneman
D: Jacob Kapitaniuk
M: Elias McCloud
M: Simon Spivey
F: Timothy Steininger
F: Luis Rocha
F: Isaac Anthony
F: Ty Seager
Man of the Match: Ty Seager, F, Wheaton Academy