Wheaton Academy shows
resolve in win over Downers N.
Showdown gives Warriors showcase for their progress
By Patrick Z. McGavin
LA GRANGE — The PepsiCo Showdown is a great many things: tournament, invitational and most important a showcase that provides a valuable outlet for players and teams outside the normal channels to get exposure or have their talent verified and acknowledged.
In the last couple of years, Wheaton Academy has emerged a powerful program on the rise. The team’s profile has been elevated at the state tournament the last two years — though the result there was bittersweet. In back-to-back campaigns, Wheaton Academy advanced to an elite stage only to falter down the stretch.
Two years in a row the Warriors have finished fourth in Class 2A, a great accomplishment in its own right, but disappointing in ending the year with consecutive losses. The season has many parts, and the PepsiCo Showdown is a chance to play teams outside the Warriors’ wheelhouse and comfort level.
That is a good thing.
Wheaton Academy entered the start of Saturday’s first-round play here not really having been tested in outscoring its competition by a stunning 29-3. “We’re excited to play in the tournament,” Wheaton Academy coach Jeff Brooke said. “We’re excited to have a good seed.
“We want to come here and play well.”
Behind the superb all-around play of star junior forward Ty Seager, fourth-seeded Wheaton Academy demonstrated resolve, talent and discipline in running past a vastly improved Downers North side 3-0 at the Lyons Soccer Complex here Saturday afternoon.
Seager, Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match, scored two goals and assisted on the final score.
The score misleads somewhat. The game was 1-0 until the last 10 minutes. “Downers North defended us really well, I thought, and they had numbers behind the ball and it took us a while to crack that,” Brooke said.
The game served other purposes, a kind of validation the Warriors are out to secure, the proof the team is more than just one great player but a cohesive collection.
“After getting fourth the last two years, we’re in it this year to win state,” senior forward Reid Culberson said. The team has 13 seniors on the roster. Our team has been together for basically four years, so the chemistry is really solid.”
Wheaton Academy has now put together 50 wins since the 2012 season. “We lost a lot of seniors last year, but we have a big senior class, 13, and they are all stepping up,” Seager said. He is the team’s linchpin, the wheel from which the rest of the attack develops. He scored 29 goals and recorded nine assists last year.
Seager is averaging a gaudy two goals a game, having already scored 14 in the team’s first seven games. Realizing the Trojans could not run with the Warriors, Downers North adopted a defensive, almost siege mentality and often dropped back five players. They conceded possession and tried to throttle Wheaton Academy by thwarting its attack and denying it a smooth or fluid offensive rhythm. The strategy worked — to a point.
Downers North forged a scoreless game at the break. Wheaton Academy suggested the inevitable, requiring only time to finally punch one in. “We were knocking on the door the whole game,” Culberson said. “We knew something had to happen for us.”
The breakthrough happened in the 47th minute. With its forward attack, Wheaton Academy worked diligently to find open spaces in the Trojans’ backline. Rangy defender Parker Setran lofted a cross that Seager elevated on and in one swirling and emphatic motion performed a open wheel kick that he buried into the back of the net.
“I spent a lot of time in the summer working on that first touch,” Seager said.
Downers North (4-3) fought valiantly and played to its strengths. “I thought we worked very hard and very effective defensively,” first-year coach Mike Schmitt said. The problem was in massing so many bodies to its backline, the Trojans could never muster sufficient strength to counter the Warriors.
“A lot of times we were running one player at their whole backline, and that’s never going to pan out,” Schmitt said. “Getting numbers forward was our biggest issue.”
The signs at Downers North are encouraging. Schmitt is working hard to alter the recent culture of losing. “It’s definitely a transition year, but I think it’s the start of something really special,” he said.
The team has already exceeded its victory total (3-16-3) of last year. “This group is working very hard and they’re going to set the tone for the teams that follow,” Schmitt added.
As hard as the Trojans fought, the superior numbers and talent of Wheaton Academy exerted their toll. Still, Wheaton Academy was engaged in a tough battle until the end as Seager effectively put the match away by scoring his second goal, a rocket shot from the left edge, and then assisting Grant Rougas, in the 69th and 70th minutes, respectively.
The torque on Seager’s second goal was something to behold. “He’s a calm kid, but he has an element of power, and you saw that on that shot, about 25 yards out and to be able to generate that kind of speed,” Brooke said.
Rougas’ final goal symbolized perseverance. “Rougas had a really nice finish today,” Brooke said. “He’s been having chance after chance, and he finally put that one away.”
It turned out to be an apt metaphor for the entire team. Wheaton Academy hosts Saint Viator, a 3-0 winner over Oak Park and River Forest, in a second-round game on Tuesday.
Starting lineups
Wheaton Academy
G: Drew Sezonov
D: Michael Carver
D: Hunter Finnegan
D: Andrew VanNispen
D: Parker Setran
M: Grant Rougas
M: Jha’Lon Johnson
M: Elias McCloud
M: Ethan Stoneman
F: Reid Culberson
F: Ty Seager
Downers North
G: Alex Wall
D: Jack Drobny
D: Jake Stevenson
D: Brett Pyburn
D: Sam Crowley
M: Liam Budnik
M: Trace Dimos
M: Matthew Metzler
F: Michael Molloy
F: Steven Klasing
F: Carter Tome
Referees: Francisco Damien, Tim Csuri, Francisco Lauriano
Man of the match: Ty Seager, Wheaton Academy
resolve in win over Downers N.
Showdown gives Warriors showcase for their progress
By Patrick Z. McGavin
LA GRANGE — The PepsiCo Showdown is a great many things: tournament, invitational and most important a showcase that provides a valuable outlet for players and teams outside the normal channels to get exposure or have their talent verified and acknowledged.
In the last couple of years, Wheaton Academy has emerged a powerful program on the rise. The team’s profile has been elevated at the state tournament the last two years — though the result there was bittersweet. In back-to-back campaigns, Wheaton Academy advanced to an elite stage only to falter down the stretch.
Two years in a row the Warriors have finished fourth in Class 2A, a great accomplishment in its own right, but disappointing in ending the year with consecutive losses. The season has many parts, and the PepsiCo Showdown is a chance to play teams outside the Warriors’ wheelhouse and comfort level.
That is a good thing.
Wheaton Academy entered the start of Saturday’s first-round play here not really having been tested in outscoring its competition by a stunning 29-3. “We’re excited to play in the tournament,” Wheaton Academy coach Jeff Brooke said. “We’re excited to have a good seed.
“We want to come here and play well.”
Behind the superb all-around play of star junior forward Ty Seager, fourth-seeded Wheaton Academy demonstrated resolve, talent and discipline in running past a vastly improved Downers North side 3-0 at the Lyons Soccer Complex here Saturday afternoon.
Seager, Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match, scored two goals and assisted on the final score.
The score misleads somewhat. The game was 1-0 until the last 10 minutes. “Downers North defended us really well, I thought, and they had numbers behind the ball and it took us a while to crack that,” Brooke said.
The game served other purposes, a kind of validation the Warriors are out to secure, the proof the team is more than just one great player but a cohesive collection.
“After getting fourth the last two years, we’re in it this year to win state,” senior forward Reid Culberson said. The team has 13 seniors on the roster. Our team has been together for basically four years, so the chemistry is really solid.”
Wheaton Academy has now put together 50 wins since the 2012 season. “We lost a lot of seniors last year, but we have a big senior class, 13, and they are all stepping up,” Seager said. He is the team’s linchpin, the wheel from which the rest of the attack develops. He scored 29 goals and recorded nine assists last year.
Seager is averaging a gaudy two goals a game, having already scored 14 in the team’s first seven games. Realizing the Trojans could not run with the Warriors, Downers North adopted a defensive, almost siege mentality and often dropped back five players. They conceded possession and tried to throttle Wheaton Academy by thwarting its attack and denying it a smooth or fluid offensive rhythm. The strategy worked — to a point.
Downers North forged a scoreless game at the break. Wheaton Academy suggested the inevitable, requiring only time to finally punch one in. “We were knocking on the door the whole game,” Culberson said. “We knew something had to happen for us.”
The breakthrough happened in the 47th minute. With its forward attack, Wheaton Academy worked diligently to find open spaces in the Trojans’ backline. Rangy defender Parker Setran lofted a cross that Seager elevated on and in one swirling and emphatic motion performed a open wheel kick that he buried into the back of the net.
“I spent a lot of time in the summer working on that first touch,” Seager said.
Downers North (4-3) fought valiantly and played to its strengths. “I thought we worked very hard and very effective defensively,” first-year coach Mike Schmitt said. The problem was in massing so many bodies to its backline, the Trojans could never muster sufficient strength to counter the Warriors.
“A lot of times we were running one player at their whole backline, and that’s never going to pan out,” Schmitt said. “Getting numbers forward was our biggest issue.”
The signs at Downers North are encouraging. Schmitt is working hard to alter the recent culture of losing. “It’s definitely a transition year, but I think it’s the start of something really special,” he said.
The team has already exceeded its victory total (3-16-3) of last year. “This group is working very hard and they’re going to set the tone for the teams that follow,” Schmitt added.
As hard as the Trojans fought, the superior numbers and talent of Wheaton Academy exerted their toll. Still, Wheaton Academy was engaged in a tough battle until the end as Seager effectively put the match away by scoring his second goal, a rocket shot from the left edge, and then assisting Grant Rougas, in the 69th and 70th minutes, respectively.
The torque on Seager’s second goal was something to behold. “He’s a calm kid, but he has an element of power, and you saw that on that shot, about 25 yards out and to be able to generate that kind of speed,” Brooke said.
Rougas’ final goal symbolized perseverance. “Rougas had a really nice finish today,” Brooke said. “He’s been having chance after chance, and he finally put that one away.”
It turned out to be an apt metaphor for the entire team. Wheaton Academy hosts Saint Viator, a 3-0 winner over Oak Park and River Forest, in a second-round game on Tuesday.
Starting lineups
Wheaton Academy
G: Drew Sezonov
D: Michael Carver
D: Hunter Finnegan
D: Andrew VanNispen
D: Parker Setran
M: Grant Rougas
M: Jha’Lon Johnson
M: Elias McCloud
M: Ethan Stoneman
F: Reid Culberson
F: Ty Seager
Downers North
G: Alex Wall
D: Jack Drobny
D: Jake Stevenson
D: Brett Pyburn
D: Sam Crowley
M: Liam Budnik
M: Trace Dimos
M: Matthew Metzler
F: Michael Molloy
F: Steven Klasing
F: Carter Tome
Referees: Francisco Damien, Tim Csuri, Francisco Lauriano
Man of the match: Ty Seager, Wheaton Academy