Wheaton North overcomes
Wheaton Warrenville South
Rivalry game combines thrills with big-time skills
By Matt Le Cren
WHEATON – One player just beginning her high school career and another one nearing the end of hers teamed up to lift host Wheaton North to a 2-1 victory over Wheaton Warrenville South on Tuesday night at Rexilius Field.
The crosstown rivals have played plenty of memorable games featuring exciting endings, but few could match this thriller of a DuPage Valley Conference opener.
Senior striker Lexi Pelafas scored the game-winning goal on a penalty kick with 29.2 seconds left after being tripped in the box, but just a minute before that it was freshman goalkeeper Zoe Welsh who made the play of the game, thwarting Erin Madigan on a breakaway that would have given the Tigers the lead.
“She’s really good,” Pelafas said of Welsh, Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match. “She plays her heart out every single time she steps out on the field and she’s not afraid of anyone. She’ll go out for any ball any time.”
The 5-foot-5 Welsh flashed big-time skills and poise beyond her years, making five saves in the best game of her nascent career.
None was bigger than her most recent one. It came when the Tigers dumped a long ball over the top of the defense to Madigan, who was in full stride as she made one touch at the top of the box as Welsh sprinted out to confront her.
Madigan, Wheaton Warrenville South’s talented multisport star, unleashed a wicked drive, but Welsh went down and blocked the shot just a split second before Madigan ran her over with 1:30 remaining.
“I was thinking in my mind, pretty much you have to go to it. If you don’t go to it, it's a goal,” Welsh said. “You have to go all out, and if you hesitate, it’s a goal.
“She had took a pretty big touch and I was a far distance from her, but then I came out and she just whammed it. The ball actually deflected off my knees and then she ran into me.”
Both girls hit the deck after the collision but both got up unscathed.
The same could not be said for the Tigers (2-1, 0-1), who continued to press for the go-ahead goal but got caught in a counterattack.
Pelafas, who had to sit out the first half because she missed a practice, was the only Falcon to get a shot off in the second half. Her first three were off target, including a chip shot from 35 yards that caught Wheaton Warrenville South goalkeeper Nell Rosenthal out of her net but bounced wide of the right post.
The fourth time was the charm. Pelafas got the ball just outside the box, made a nifty move to beat one defender and then was knocked down by a second. With the outcome on her foot, Pelafas buried the ensuing penalty kick into the upper right corner for her fifth goal of the season.
“I know we had (29) seconds left and we really wanted it,” Pelafas said. “It was our crosstown rivalry, and I was really nervous because everyone was watching. I just knew I needed to get it right in the corner because I needed to score.”
Pelafas has taken plenty of penalty kicks in her career but none with the game on the line in the waning seconds.
“No, that’s why I’m usually not nervous when I take PKs,” Pelafas said. “It is different when its 29 seconds left, crosstown rivalry and you want to win.”
The dramatic ending made the victory even sweeter for the Falcons (3-0-2, 1-0), who remained unbeaten and got the league season started on a high note.
“It feels really good,” Pelafas said. “We have been looking forward to this game all year. This is our favorite game of the year. Even though the season isn’t ending and we have a long way to go, it’s a good that we got this win. It’s really important to us.”
It was a win that almost didn’t happen.
The Falcons grabbed a 1-0 lead just 3:48 into the match when Hannah Atkinson scored off a turnover, but they couldn't add to the cushion despite creating several good chances.
Niamh Kane got a good look at a corner kick but sent a power header wide of the right post midway through the first half.
Rosenthal made two saves, including a difficult deflection of Bailey Gates’ high-arcing cross from the right wing that was headed under the crossbar. Rosenthal tipped that ball away from the crossbar, and defender Allie Harvey cleared it out of trouble.
The Falcons missed another chance with 1:55 to go before intermission when Cara Maxwell’s shot from a severe angle struck the outside of the right post, and Gates put the rebound over the crossbar from 12 yards out.
Intermission provided the Tigers some time to regroup, and Wheaton Warrenville South coach Guy Callipari reassured his troops.
“We said we’ve got 40 minutes to play; we’ll get it back. Just continue to believe in yourselves and I thought [the Tigers] did a great job,” Callipari said. “We were not going to try to kick and run. We were going to try and play.
“[Wheaton North] had one shot [on frame] – which was the penalty shot – in the whole second half, so I thought we really figured things out and controlled the thirds of the game.”
In doing so, Callipari found out that his team is legitimately good.
“Tonight I knew we were going to play up against a team that had some impact players and a lot of numbers behind the ball,” Callipari said. “[I didn’t know] whether or not we were going to be creative enough to figure things out and I thought we did a pretty good job of getting some pretty good looks.”
The Tigers outplayed the Falcons for most of the second half, gradually wearing down Wheaton North’s defense with constant pressure and counterattacks.
Anna Fank and Tori Adomshick both barely missed the net on shots from just outside the 18 and the Tigers also failed to connect on dangerous crosses into the box. Welsh also stymied Fank on a hard shot to the near post.
But the Tigers finally got the equalizer with 6:35 remaining when Madigan went around the left end and sent a sharp cross through the crease to Adomshick, who tapped it in.
The momentum was on the side of the Tigers, but the Falcons didn’t back down.
“It’s not the best thing when the other team scores in the last five minutes, but I knew right then that we weren’t going to give up,” Pelafas said. “We were going to score another goal, and everyone was going to fight their hardest.”
That included Welsh, who kept calm in the crucible of her first crosstown clash, which featured plenty of physical play.
“I honestly had no idea what was going to happen,” Welsh said. “I heard a lot of rumors and everything, but I didn’t want that in my head, so I just felt like it was a normal game. [It was] just a little bit bigger rivalry, so I just played my game.”
Welsh said she took a beating but she was in better spirits than the Tigers, who played well but had nothing to show for, mostly because of the rookie goalie’s play, especially the big stop on Madigan.
“It was a tremendous save and she made one a little bit earlier before that,” Callipari said. “She was very courageous, very committed and she’s all or none, as they say. She really came out and saved it for them because that would have put them on their heels, and I would have played six in the back and that might have closed things out.
“She’s their player of the game, without question. She kept in the game the entire time. Credit to them.”
Callipari was less pleased with the call that led to the penalty kick, though it could be argued Pelafas deserved to draw a penalty kick earlier in the second half when she was tripped in the box. But the dramatic ending was merely the latest in a long string of fantastic finishes in crosstown clashes.
“We’ve had last-minute heroics through the course of play, which would have served us better, of course,” Callipari said. “You hate to see a PK kind of end it, and whether or not it was or was not [a penalty] is irrelevant.
“I think we played negative when we had possession, put ourselves under a little bit of pressure and left ourselves coming forward to get a winner and leaving ourselves a little susceptible in the back. That’s too bad because I thought [the Tigers] played extremely well throughout the game.
“We left ourselves susceptible for some sort of counterattack at the end of it and they took advantage of it with the type of player that can make that happen. [Pelafas] is going to dance and be pretty predictive and she’s a great athlete and she finished nicely on the penalty kick.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK Nell Rosenthal
D Rachel Conrady
D Ava Fickle
D Allie Harvey
M Emily Calloway
M Sarah Burns
M Tori Adomshick
M Nikki Molino
F Alexis Jakuszewski
F Erin Madigan
F Anna Fank
Wheaton North
GK Zoe Welsh
D Naimh Kane
D Janelle Blackwell
D Morghin Klein
D Lauren Haley
M Bailey Gates
M Gwyneth Phillips
M Gina Leone
M Becca Kouwe
F Hannah Atkinson
F Clare Kocher
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Zoe Welsh, GK, Wheaton North
Wheaton Warrenville South
Rivalry game combines thrills with big-time skills
By Matt Le Cren
WHEATON – One player just beginning her high school career and another one nearing the end of hers teamed up to lift host Wheaton North to a 2-1 victory over Wheaton Warrenville South on Tuesday night at Rexilius Field.
The crosstown rivals have played plenty of memorable games featuring exciting endings, but few could match this thriller of a DuPage Valley Conference opener.
Senior striker Lexi Pelafas scored the game-winning goal on a penalty kick with 29.2 seconds left after being tripped in the box, but just a minute before that it was freshman goalkeeper Zoe Welsh who made the play of the game, thwarting Erin Madigan on a breakaway that would have given the Tigers the lead.
“She’s really good,” Pelafas said of Welsh, Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match. “She plays her heart out every single time she steps out on the field and she’s not afraid of anyone. She’ll go out for any ball any time.”
The 5-foot-5 Welsh flashed big-time skills and poise beyond her years, making five saves in the best game of her nascent career.
None was bigger than her most recent one. It came when the Tigers dumped a long ball over the top of the defense to Madigan, who was in full stride as she made one touch at the top of the box as Welsh sprinted out to confront her.
Madigan, Wheaton Warrenville South’s talented multisport star, unleashed a wicked drive, but Welsh went down and blocked the shot just a split second before Madigan ran her over with 1:30 remaining.
“I was thinking in my mind, pretty much you have to go to it. If you don’t go to it, it's a goal,” Welsh said. “You have to go all out, and if you hesitate, it’s a goal.
“She had took a pretty big touch and I was a far distance from her, but then I came out and she just whammed it. The ball actually deflected off my knees and then she ran into me.”
Both girls hit the deck after the collision but both got up unscathed.
The same could not be said for the Tigers (2-1, 0-1), who continued to press for the go-ahead goal but got caught in a counterattack.
Pelafas, who had to sit out the first half because she missed a practice, was the only Falcon to get a shot off in the second half. Her first three were off target, including a chip shot from 35 yards that caught Wheaton Warrenville South goalkeeper Nell Rosenthal out of her net but bounced wide of the right post.
The fourth time was the charm. Pelafas got the ball just outside the box, made a nifty move to beat one defender and then was knocked down by a second. With the outcome on her foot, Pelafas buried the ensuing penalty kick into the upper right corner for her fifth goal of the season.
“I know we had (29) seconds left and we really wanted it,” Pelafas said. “It was our crosstown rivalry, and I was really nervous because everyone was watching. I just knew I needed to get it right in the corner because I needed to score.”
Pelafas has taken plenty of penalty kicks in her career but none with the game on the line in the waning seconds.
“No, that’s why I’m usually not nervous when I take PKs,” Pelafas said. “It is different when its 29 seconds left, crosstown rivalry and you want to win.”
The dramatic ending made the victory even sweeter for the Falcons (3-0-2, 1-0), who remained unbeaten and got the league season started on a high note.
“It feels really good,” Pelafas said. “We have been looking forward to this game all year. This is our favorite game of the year. Even though the season isn’t ending and we have a long way to go, it’s a good that we got this win. It’s really important to us.”
It was a win that almost didn’t happen.
The Falcons grabbed a 1-0 lead just 3:48 into the match when Hannah Atkinson scored off a turnover, but they couldn't add to the cushion despite creating several good chances.
Niamh Kane got a good look at a corner kick but sent a power header wide of the right post midway through the first half.
Rosenthal made two saves, including a difficult deflection of Bailey Gates’ high-arcing cross from the right wing that was headed under the crossbar. Rosenthal tipped that ball away from the crossbar, and defender Allie Harvey cleared it out of trouble.
The Falcons missed another chance with 1:55 to go before intermission when Cara Maxwell’s shot from a severe angle struck the outside of the right post, and Gates put the rebound over the crossbar from 12 yards out.
Intermission provided the Tigers some time to regroup, and Wheaton Warrenville South coach Guy Callipari reassured his troops.
“We said we’ve got 40 minutes to play; we’ll get it back. Just continue to believe in yourselves and I thought [the Tigers] did a great job,” Callipari said. “We were not going to try to kick and run. We were going to try and play.
“[Wheaton North] had one shot [on frame] – which was the penalty shot – in the whole second half, so I thought we really figured things out and controlled the thirds of the game.”
In doing so, Callipari found out that his team is legitimately good.
“Tonight I knew we were going to play up against a team that had some impact players and a lot of numbers behind the ball,” Callipari said. “[I didn’t know] whether or not we were going to be creative enough to figure things out and I thought we did a pretty good job of getting some pretty good looks.”
The Tigers outplayed the Falcons for most of the second half, gradually wearing down Wheaton North’s defense with constant pressure and counterattacks.
Anna Fank and Tori Adomshick both barely missed the net on shots from just outside the 18 and the Tigers also failed to connect on dangerous crosses into the box. Welsh also stymied Fank on a hard shot to the near post.
But the Tigers finally got the equalizer with 6:35 remaining when Madigan went around the left end and sent a sharp cross through the crease to Adomshick, who tapped it in.
The momentum was on the side of the Tigers, but the Falcons didn’t back down.
“It’s not the best thing when the other team scores in the last five minutes, but I knew right then that we weren’t going to give up,” Pelafas said. “We were going to score another goal, and everyone was going to fight their hardest.”
That included Welsh, who kept calm in the crucible of her first crosstown clash, which featured plenty of physical play.
“I honestly had no idea what was going to happen,” Welsh said. “I heard a lot of rumors and everything, but I didn’t want that in my head, so I just felt like it was a normal game. [It was] just a little bit bigger rivalry, so I just played my game.”
Welsh said she took a beating but she was in better spirits than the Tigers, who played well but had nothing to show for, mostly because of the rookie goalie’s play, especially the big stop on Madigan.
“It was a tremendous save and she made one a little bit earlier before that,” Callipari said. “She was very courageous, very committed and she’s all or none, as they say. She really came out and saved it for them because that would have put them on their heels, and I would have played six in the back and that might have closed things out.
“She’s their player of the game, without question. She kept in the game the entire time. Credit to them.”
Callipari was less pleased with the call that led to the penalty kick, though it could be argued Pelafas deserved to draw a penalty kick earlier in the second half when she was tripped in the box. But the dramatic ending was merely the latest in a long string of fantastic finishes in crosstown clashes.
“We’ve had last-minute heroics through the course of play, which would have served us better, of course,” Callipari said. “You hate to see a PK kind of end it, and whether or not it was or was not [a penalty] is irrelevant.
“I think we played negative when we had possession, put ourselves under a little bit of pressure and left ourselves coming forward to get a winner and leaving ourselves a little susceptible in the back. That’s too bad because I thought [the Tigers] played extremely well throughout the game.
“We left ourselves susceptible for some sort of counterattack at the end of it and they took advantage of it with the type of player that can make that happen. [Pelafas] is going to dance and be pretty predictive and she’s a great athlete and she finished nicely on the penalty kick.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK Nell Rosenthal
D Rachel Conrady
D Ava Fickle
D Allie Harvey
M Emily Calloway
M Sarah Burns
M Tori Adomshick
M Nikki Molino
F Alexis Jakuszewski
F Erin Madigan
F Anna Fank
Wheaton North
GK Zoe Welsh
D Naimh Kane
D Janelle Blackwell
D Morghin Klein
D Lauren Haley
M Bailey Gates
M Gwyneth Phillips
M Gina Leone
M Becca Kouwe
F Hannah Atkinson
F Clare Kocher
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Zoe Welsh, GK, Wheaton North