Wheaton Academy gets it rolling
in win over Downers Grove North
Early tourney Showdown goes to the Warriors, 5-0
By Derek Wolff
WHEATON — You don’t often see two undefeated teams meet in the second round of the nation’s largest high school soccer tournament.
But that was exactly the case on Tuesday night when defending IHSA Class 2A champions Wheaton Academy (8-0-1), the top-ranked team in the Chiagoland Soccer Top 25, brushed aside fourth-ranked Downers Grove North (9-1-0) 5-0 in the second round of the PepsiCo Showdown.
The 2014 Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year, Ty Seager, was held goalless on five shots in the first half but scored twice in a four-goal second half for the Warriors.
“So proud of the guys for coming out of the locker room the way they did the second half,” said Warriors coach Jeff Brooke. “We’ve been talking about it a lot, trying to get no. 2 and trying to get no. 3.
“Tonight we get no. 2 and then boom, we get no. 3, and I think you can feel the whole game change.”
A tentative opening 10 minutes produced just one shot, but Warriors midfielder Jacob Kapitaniuk turned the game on a dime in the 11th.
Simon Spivey bent in a low cross, connecting with Kapitaniuk at the edge of the 18. He pivoted, striking a low, spinning shot on net that just eluded the outstretched arms of Trojans goalkeeper Jimmy Miller.
“I’m getting the ball a lot wider, and we’re getting opportunities in the final third,” said Spivey, Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match. “We’re starting to play well, and we’re starting to get penetrating passes to play quicker in the final third. So it was just a matter of time before someone got a goal.”
Kapitaniuk returned the favor at the start of the second half, playing in a cross from the left side that Spivey converted for his first varsity goal.
Second-seeded Wheaton Academy’s midfield core of Kapitaniuk, sophomore Ethan Stoneman and junior Elias McCloud were particularly impressive in the second half, quickly transitioning from defense to offense to help Seager score to make it 3-0 in the 43rd minute.
“Once you get that second one, you get into a motion, and the third one followed quickly because of the adrenaline rush, but everyone’s moving as a group,” Kapitaniuk said. “We kept switching it well to find our wingers, and that’s how we scored the next two, bringing it wide then sending it back across the middle. So I thought it was great to bring our winger back into it. They worked really hard this game.”
Trojans coach Mike Schmitt was hopeful that his side would come out of halftime on a positive note after giving up just one goal on 10 shots from the Warriors in the first half.
The result was just the opposite in the opening moments of the second half for the unseeded Trojans, one of the surprise teams of the season thus far.
“We came out a little flat,” Schmitt said. “We were hoping for a better show in the second half, and once they got those two goals it really kind of took all the wind out of our sails.”
The Trojans recovered well following Seager’s goal and started pressing numbers forward but couldn’t get anything past Warriors goalkeeper John David Gunn.
Seager scored again in the 63rd on a tap-in right in front of the goalmouth.
With the result already well in the books, Wheaton Academy capped it at 5-0 on a Trojans own-goal in the 75th minute.
Schmitt credited the Warriors with being one of the best programs in the state but said his side’s effort helped make for the lopsided score.
“We should never give up five goals, but at the same time credit to them,” he said. “They’re a fantastic team, extremely hardworking, technically gifted. It’s a little frustrating knowing we could have been better.
“It’s one thing to lose a game playing head-to-head and another thing to not play up to your ability. We didn’t come out strong enough today.”
For the Warriors, it was their fourth shutout in nine tries this season.
Kapitaniuk and Brooke said the next wave of players has learned from the veterans and coaching staff and has bought in to the process.
“We lost a lot of seniors, but a lot of young guys have been stepping up into bigger roles, starting roles, and so far everyone has been improving,” Kapitaniuk said. “We take every training session seriously, we’re all working hard as a team and that shows when we have this kind of result. It’s good to see and it’s good to work on.”
Wheaton Academy will host New Trier on Thursday in the third round.
The unbeaten run might have come to an end a few stops short for Schmitt and the Trojans, but that doesn’t mean it won’t help them get to where they want to go.
“I definitely think we needed this,” Schmitt said. “We’re coming in, really good start, 9-0, but I think we really needed to lose a game to know what it feels like this season and get us back on track to see what we really need to work on.
“Up until this point, it’s hard to gauge what we do need to work on until you see a really, really strong team like we did tonight. It gave us a good idea of what we need to do better going forward.”
Starting lineups
Downers Grove North
GK Jimmy Miller
D Daniel Schuller
D Sam Crowley
D Jack Drobny
M Liam Budnik
M Jack Richards
M Ronaldo Perez
M Jokubus Baranauskas
M Alex Pacheco
F Ethan Akkawi
F Carter Tome
Wheaton Academy
GK John David Gunn
D Sam Bergquist
D Christian Ziesemer
D Timothy Steininger
D Luis Rocha
M Issac Anthony
M Ethan Stoneman
M Elias McCloud
M Jacob Kapitaniuk
M Simon Spivey
F Ty Seager
Man of the Match: Simon Spivey, MF, Wheaton Academy
in win over Downers Grove North
Early tourney Showdown goes to the Warriors, 5-0
By Derek Wolff
WHEATON — You don’t often see two undefeated teams meet in the second round of the nation’s largest high school soccer tournament.
But that was exactly the case on Tuesday night when defending IHSA Class 2A champions Wheaton Academy (8-0-1), the top-ranked team in the Chiagoland Soccer Top 25, brushed aside fourth-ranked Downers Grove North (9-1-0) 5-0 in the second round of the PepsiCo Showdown.
The 2014 Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year, Ty Seager, was held goalless on five shots in the first half but scored twice in a four-goal second half for the Warriors.
“So proud of the guys for coming out of the locker room the way they did the second half,” said Warriors coach Jeff Brooke. “We’ve been talking about it a lot, trying to get no. 2 and trying to get no. 3.
“Tonight we get no. 2 and then boom, we get no. 3, and I think you can feel the whole game change.”
A tentative opening 10 minutes produced just one shot, but Warriors midfielder Jacob Kapitaniuk turned the game on a dime in the 11th.
Simon Spivey bent in a low cross, connecting with Kapitaniuk at the edge of the 18. He pivoted, striking a low, spinning shot on net that just eluded the outstretched arms of Trojans goalkeeper Jimmy Miller.
“I’m getting the ball a lot wider, and we’re getting opportunities in the final third,” said Spivey, Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match. “We’re starting to play well, and we’re starting to get penetrating passes to play quicker in the final third. So it was just a matter of time before someone got a goal.”
Kapitaniuk returned the favor at the start of the second half, playing in a cross from the left side that Spivey converted for his first varsity goal.
Second-seeded Wheaton Academy’s midfield core of Kapitaniuk, sophomore Ethan Stoneman and junior Elias McCloud were particularly impressive in the second half, quickly transitioning from defense to offense to help Seager score to make it 3-0 in the 43rd minute.
“Once you get that second one, you get into a motion, and the third one followed quickly because of the adrenaline rush, but everyone’s moving as a group,” Kapitaniuk said. “We kept switching it well to find our wingers, and that’s how we scored the next two, bringing it wide then sending it back across the middle. So I thought it was great to bring our winger back into it. They worked really hard this game.”
Trojans coach Mike Schmitt was hopeful that his side would come out of halftime on a positive note after giving up just one goal on 10 shots from the Warriors in the first half.
The result was just the opposite in the opening moments of the second half for the unseeded Trojans, one of the surprise teams of the season thus far.
“We came out a little flat,” Schmitt said. “We were hoping for a better show in the second half, and once they got those two goals it really kind of took all the wind out of our sails.”
The Trojans recovered well following Seager’s goal and started pressing numbers forward but couldn’t get anything past Warriors goalkeeper John David Gunn.
Seager scored again in the 63rd on a tap-in right in front of the goalmouth.
With the result already well in the books, Wheaton Academy capped it at 5-0 on a Trojans own-goal in the 75th minute.
Schmitt credited the Warriors with being one of the best programs in the state but said his side’s effort helped make for the lopsided score.
“We should never give up five goals, but at the same time credit to them,” he said. “They’re a fantastic team, extremely hardworking, technically gifted. It’s a little frustrating knowing we could have been better.
“It’s one thing to lose a game playing head-to-head and another thing to not play up to your ability. We didn’t come out strong enough today.”
For the Warriors, it was their fourth shutout in nine tries this season.
Kapitaniuk and Brooke said the next wave of players has learned from the veterans and coaching staff and has bought in to the process.
“We lost a lot of seniors, but a lot of young guys have been stepping up into bigger roles, starting roles, and so far everyone has been improving,” Kapitaniuk said. “We take every training session seriously, we’re all working hard as a team and that shows when we have this kind of result. It’s good to see and it’s good to work on.”
Wheaton Academy will host New Trier on Thursday in the third round.
The unbeaten run might have come to an end a few stops short for Schmitt and the Trojans, but that doesn’t mean it won’t help them get to where they want to go.
“I definitely think we needed this,” Schmitt said. “We’re coming in, really good start, 9-0, but I think we really needed to lose a game to know what it feels like this season and get us back on track to see what we really need to work on.
“Up until this point, it’s hard to gauge what we do need to work on until you see a really, really strong team like we did tonight. It gave us a good idea of what we need to do better going forward.”
Starting lineups
Downers Grove North
GK Jimmy Miller
D Daniel Schuller
D Sam Crowley
D Jack Drobny
M Liam Budnik
M Jack Richards
M Ronaldo Perez
M Jokubus Baranauskas
M Alex Pacheco
F Ethan Akkawi
F Carter Tome
Wheaton Academy
GK John David Gunn
D Sam Bergquist
D Christian Ziesemer
D Timothy Steininger
D Luis Rocha
M Issac Anthony
M Ethan Stoneman
M Elias McCloud
M Jacob Kapitaniuk
M Simon Spivey
F Ty Seager
Man of the Match: Simon Spivey, MF, Wheaton Academy