Wheaton Academy's youth
is served in PepsiCo win
Warriors defeat Highland Park by seizing momentum
By Patrick Z. McGavin
SCHAUMBURG — The season for Wheaton Academy is in its infancy with just five games recorded in the ledger. Another game remains on hold, a dominant 3-0 first-half lead over Glenbard South that was suspended after two lightning delays on Thursday.
The team's roster is decked with youth — at every position on the field, many of its leading prospects still not old enough to drive. As such, the Warriors have shot out of the gate with a purpose.
One of those emerging young stars, sophomore forward Gretchen Pearson, showcased her ability and helped illustrate the great promise and excitement around the Warriors' program.
Pearson scored a goal that helped the Warriors seize control and assisted on the crucial second goal as upstart Wheaton Academy dominated Highland Park 3-0 in a first-round PepsiCo Showdown game here Saturday at Olympic Park.
Talented sophomore keeper Lianna Ledesma recorded her third shutout of the year. In a way, she was the loneliest player on the field. Most impressively, Wheaton Academy (4-1) dominated possession time and thwarted the Giants' offense from mounting counterattacks. The ball stayed almost exclusively on the Giants' side.
"The thing we liked was that we just didn't give them a whole bunch of shots at all, maybe one or two at most," Wheaton Academy coach David Underwood said.
The score probably would have been even more one-sided if not for some spectacular work by Highland Park sophomore keeper Maile Lunardi.
"She's a fantastic keeper and she made a couple of great saves," Underwood said.
Keeper is the strength of the Giants (1-4-1), whose normal starter, Grace Quirk, is a Wisconsin recruit and one of the best keepers in the country. Quirk missed last year after breaking her finger. Highland Park won its division of the Central Suburban three times in the last four years.
Highland Park coach Kate Straka is experimenting with her formations. She gave Lunardi the start because she wanted to give the sophomore some exposure.
"We want to have more athleticism in the middle and in the back," she said. "Our best defender, Hannah VanCleve, tore her ACL and is out for the year. We've been playing our best offensive player, Lily Pinkus, at more of a defensive position, a holding midfielder, and trying to let our younger players generate more of the offense."
The team could not match up with the Warriors' athleticism, perimeter speed or ability to control possession time.
Lunardi managed on her own to keep the game as close as possible. Under a barrage of shots from the Warriors, Lunardi recorded 11 saves, six in the first half, many of them at impossible angles or fighting off breakaways.
In the 12th minute, Pearson broke open and provided one shot Lunardi could not return. Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match sliced through the Giants' back line and found herself one on one with Lunardi.
"It was just me and the goalie, and I was hoping I could hit it low and in the [left] corner or the near post, and that's what I did," Pearson said. "We wanted to come out super fast and get a goal right away.
"That's our attitude of how we want to play the whole season. We want to come out hard and fast. Once we do that, we try to continue that pace and tempo throughout the game."
The furious work rate paid huge dividends for the Warriors. It was perhaps not reflected in hard results, like goals, but the effect was considerable. Wheaton Academy established the tone and consistency of play and forced Highland Park to adjust to its style. The Giants could never quite catch up.
"We were happy with that," Underwood said. "We felt we had a couple of other shots that we could have put away, but like I said, their keeper made some great saves."
The Warriors' back line of Molly Thorson, Abbie Mercaldo and Britta Cassell is talented. Underwood's team tries to overpower the opponent's middle and open up angles of attack.
"We felt we were able to create some numerical superiority there, and it created some good chances," he said.
Still, every coach's worst nightmare is to dominate play despite holding only a narrow lead and allowing a fluke goal to unhinge everything.
"You're never at ease there when you're up just 1-0," Underwood said.
Enter the gifted young freshman forward Erin Teevans. She scored seven goals in the first four games. She has excellent balance, good footwork and knows how to create space on her shot.
Working in unison with Pearson, Teevans broke the game open in the 49th minute by smashing in a ball from about 14 yards at the left edge.
"I think that, confidence-wise, we needed one more [goal] to know that we actually had this game," Teevan said. "I knew we needed a goal there to help the team, and that really changed a lot."
Reserve defender Holland Kosiek put the finishing touches on the one-sided victory with a goal from the Warriors' preferred left side, lofting a ball from about 11 yards that caught Lunardi by surprise in catching inside the far post.
"We got beat by a better team," Straka said. "I thought they were super quick, and they did a good job of possessing the ball and finding their rhythm in the second half."
Starting lineups
Wheaton Academy
GK: Lianna Ledesma
D: Molly Thorson
D: Abbie Mercaldo
D: Britta Cassell
MF: Emmerson Fuller
MF: A.J. Setran
MF: Gabi LaMantia
MF: Jamie Netzley
F: Rebecca Smith
F: Erin Teevans
F: Gretchen Pearson
Highland Park
GK: Maile Lunardi
D: Lauren Shotts
D: Maddie Andrews
D: Hannah Metzner
D: Lindsey Friedman
M: Nikki Shiner
M: Lily Pinkus
M: Gaby Cruz
M: Robin Israel
F: Mary Ramirez
F: Josie Dee
MVP of the Match: Gretchen Pearson, F, Wheaton Academy
Officials: Tim Csuri, Franciso Laurzano, Francisco M. Laurzano
is served in PepsiCo win
Warriors defeat Highland Park by seizing momentum
By Patrick Z. McGavin
SCHAUMBURG — The season for Wheaton Academy is in its infancy with just five games recorded in the ledger. Another game remains on hold, a dominant 3-0 first-half lead over Glenbard South that was suspended after two lightning delays on Thursday.
The team's roster is decked with youth — at every position on the field, many of its leading prospects still not old enough to drive. As such, the Warriors have shot out of the gate with a purpose.
One of those emerging young stars, sophomore forward Gretchen Pearson, showcased her ability and helped illustrate the great promise and excitement around the Warriors' program.
Pearson scored a goal that helped the Warriors seize control and assisted on the crucial second goal as upstart Wheaton Academy dominated Highland Park 3-0 in a first-round PepsiCo Showdown game here Saturday at Olympic Park.
Talented sophomore keeper Lianna Ledesma recorded her third shutout of the year. In a way, she was the loneliest player on the field. Most impressively, Wheaton Academy (4-1) dominated possession time and thwarted the Giants' offense from mounting counterattacks. The ball stayed almost exclusively on the Giants' side.
"The thing we liked was that we just didn't give them a whole bunch of shots at all, maybe one or two at most," Wheaton Academy coach David Underwood said.
The score probably would have been even more one-sided if not for some spectacular work by Highland Park sophomore keeper Maile Lunardi.
"She's a fantastic keeper and she made a couple of great saves," Underwood said.
Keeper is the strength of the Giants (1-4-1), whose normal starter, Grace Quirk, is a Wisconsin recruit and one of the best keepers in the country. Quirk missed last year after breaking her finger. Highland Park won its division of the Central Suburban three times in the last four years.
Highland Park coach Kate Straka is experimenting with her formations. She gave Lunardi the start because she wanted to give the sophomore some exposure.
"We want to have more athleticism in the middle and in the back," she said. "Our best defender, Hannah VanCleve, tore her ACL and is out for the year. We've been playing our best offensive player, Lily Pinkus, at more of a defensive position, a holding midfielder, and trying to let our younger players generate more of the offense."
The team could not match up with the Warriors' athleticism, perimeter speed or ability to control possession time.
Lunardi managed on her own to keep the game as close as possible. Under a barrage of shots from the Warriors, Lunardi recorded 11 saves, six in the first half, many of them at impossible angles or fighting off breakaways.
In the 12th minute, Pearson broke open and provided one shot Lunardi could not return. Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match sliced through the Giants' back line and found herself one on one with Lunardi.
"It was just me and the goalie, and I was hoping I could hit it low and in the [left] corner or the near post, and that's what I did," Pearson said. "We wanted to come out super fast and get a goal right away.
"That's our attitude of how we want to play the whole season. We want to come out hard and fast. Once we do that, we try to continue that pace and tempo throughout the game."
The furious work rate paid huge dividends for the Warriors. It was perhaps not reflected in hard results, like goals, but the effect was considerable. Wheaton Academy established the tone and consistency of play and forced Highland Park to adjust to its style. The Giants could never quite catch up.
"We were happy with that," Underwood said. "We felt we had a couple of other shots that we could have put away, but like I said, their keeper made some great saves."
The Warriors' back line of Molly Thorson, Abbie Mercaldo and Britta Cassell is talented. Underwood's team tries to overpower the opponent's middle and open up angles of attack.
"We felt we were able to create some numerical superiority there, and it created some good chances," he said.
Still, every coach's worst nightmare is to dominate play despite holding only a narrow lead and allowing a fluke goal to unhinge everything.
"You're never at ease there when you're up just 1-0," Underwood said.
Enter the gifted young freshman forward Erin Teevans. She scored seven goals in the first four games. She has excellent balance, good footwork and knows how to create space on her shot.
Working in unison with Pearson, Teevans broke the game open in the 49th minute by smashing in a ball from about 14 yards at the left edge.
"I think that, confidence-wise, we needed one more [goal] to know that we actually had this game," Teevan said. "I knew we needed a goal there to help the team, and that really changed a lot."
Reserve defender Holland Kosiek put the finishing touches on the one-sided victory with a goal from the Warriors' preferred left side, lofting a ball from about 11 yards that caught Lunardi by surprise in catching inside the far post.
"We got beat by a better team," Straka said. "I thought they were super quick, and they did a good job of possessing the ball and finding their rhythm in the second half."
Starting lineups
Wheaton Academy
GK: Lianna Ledesma
D: Molly Thorson
D: Abbie Mercaldo
D: Britta Cassell
MF: Emmerson Fuller
MF: A.J. Setran
MF: Gabi LaMantia
MF: Jamie Netzley
F: Rebecca Smith
F: Erin Teevans
F: Gretchen Pearson
Highland Park
GK: Maile Lunardi
D: Lauren Shotts
D: Maddie Andrews
D: Hannah Metzner
D: Lindsey Friedman
M: Nikki Shiner
M: Lily Pinkus
M: Gaby Cruz
M: Robin Israel
F: Mary Ramirez
F: Josie Dee
MVP of the Match: Gretchen Pearson, F, Wheaton Academy
Officials: Tim Csuri, Franciso Laurzano, Francisco M. Laurzano