Weisheit misses, then hits to lift
Wheaton Warrenville South past Batavia
Tigers seniors celebrate their night with 1-0 win
By Matt Le Cren
WHEATON -- Converting a penalty kick seems like the easiest thing to do on a soccer field, which is why it can be embarrassing when a player fails.
That would seem to be especially true when you're a senior and you flub one on Senior Night.
Wheaton Warrenville South forward Jason Weisheit knows the feeling. It happened to him Thursday night at Red Grange Field, when he fired wide from the spot with 22:14 left in the first half against Batavia.
But befitting the senior co-captain that he is, Weisheit made up for it by scoring on a great individual effort 18 minutes later. About an hour later, he and his teammates basked in the success of a 1-0 DuKane Conference victory.
It was the first league win for the host Tigers (5-4-2, 1-2-1) and first "league loss for the visiting Bulldogs (5-6, 2-1), who might have met a better fate if not for Weisheit’s hustle.
"PKs are just a mental thing," Weisheit said. "Everybody should be able to hit it, but unluckily I missed the one.
"It's in your head for 30 seconds, and then it's s right back out. Obviously, you have to keep your head. I'm grateful that I bounced back and scored one, got redemption."
Wheaton Warrenville South coach Guy Callipari thought Batavia goalkeeper Logan Saenz may have put a flicker of doubt in Weisheit's mind by leaning to his left early. Weisheit went the other way but missed the frame.
"You've got to be calm, cool and collected in those moments, and it was uncharacteristic of him to go to that direction," Callipari said. "I think the goalie moving the one way maybe got his attention a little bit. So he decided to go hard the other way and wasn't quite balanced the way he needed to be.
"He was a little mentally out of it for a little bit, but he found his way again and then found opportunity. That's what he's good at doing -- making something out of nothing."
Indeed, it didn't seem like anything was in the offing when the Tigers sent a long ball into attacking third in the 36th minute. A defender got to the bouncing ball first, only to have Weisheit swoop in and steal it.
Weisheit took three quick dribbles into the box and fired a 15-yard shot past the charging Saenz for his fourth goal of the yearwith 4:42 left before intermission.
"It was just in an awkward position for him (the defender)," Weisheit said. "I think it bounced off his thigh, and he had his back to me.
"So I'm coming off his blind side, and then I just took it away. I hope I don't miss those ones."
The play was reflective of Weisheit's capabilities.
"He can be a physical player," Callipari said. "And he has a low center of gravity, and he has pace."
Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco agreed.
"He's a very strong guy," Gianfrancesco. "That was the difference. That was just a small difference in the game."
Otherwise, it was an evenly played match that could have gone either way. Both teams had shots cleared off the line by defenders: Tim Lopez did the honor for the Tigers; and Brody Seitzinger matched him for the Bulldogs.
Seitzinger was unlucky not to get the equalizer eight minutes into the second half. He rose up to meet a corner kick and powered forward a header from 12 yards that struck the crossbar flush before it was cleared.
"He played well," Gianfrancesco said. "He's been picking up ... in the box on free kicks. He's been doing well."
Gianfrancesco felt the Bulldogs did well collectively, though they had nothing to show for it.
"I think we had some really good chances in the second half at least to get a tie, but it just didn't fall our way tonight," he said. "I thought we looked pretty solid overall, moved the ball really well. Some sequences were really good in the first half.
"But it's a tough conference. Every day is a tough game.
"Whatever the record is, you're going to get a team that's well-organized. They're going to give you a battle, and that's what they did. You move forward and keep improving."
That's what Wheaeton Warrenville South has done after a tough start to the DKC slate. They did it with a strong showing from their backline led by Drew Murman, Nikhil Bawa, Jerry Cuatzo and Patrick Brocious.
Murman, a senior co-captain, was particularly impressive.
"The whole backline really played well," Callipari said. "Drew just played the best game he's played all year.
"That's what we needed, because they're big, they're strong and they move well off the ball."
Murman said the Tigers drew energy from their fans.
"We knew what was at stake for this game, especially Senior Night in front of the home crowd," Murman said. "Our mindset and preparations for the games in the past haven't been too good, but coming into this game I kind of felt an energy, with the crowd exploding on every play.
"We just held our shape. We stuck to our game plan and got the job done. It was awesome."
But stout play in the back wasn't the only reason for the win. Murman was impressed with the play of Weisheit and his fellow forwards Marco Gonzalez and Cristian Munoz.
"I think our pressure up-top was just awesome," Murman said. "Every time Batavia had it on defense it felt like our forwards were creating pressure and winning the ball back and then immediately getting an opportunity to score."
Wheaton Warrenville South will have an opportunity to record back-to-back wins for the second time this season when they travel to Glenbard West for a nonconference match Saturday. Then it is back home Tuesday for the annual conference crosstown clash with Wheaton North for the Wheaton Cup.
"We all knew going into this we needed the three points in the conference and to boost our confidence up, because we've got Glenbard West on Saturday and then we got our rivals on Tuesday," Weisheit said. “We knew we needed some momentum going into it."
Callipari concurred.
"Getting one point from St. Charles North was good, but losing to St. Charles East and Geneva the way we did was disappointing," Callipari said. "But now we're a little bit in the climb, so hopefully we have some momentum."
Starting lineups
Batavia
GK Logan Saenz
D Quinn Salyers
D Brody Seitzinger
D Grant LeRettte-Kauffman
D Owen Stahl
M Will Bardol
M Ben Hanson
M Josh Denault
F Ryan Kahley
F Alec Crum
F Manasas Monarrez
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK Owen Haas
D Patrick Brocious
D Jerry Cuatzo
D Nikhil Bawa
D Drew Murman
M Gabe Waszak
M Edgar Guzman
M Chase Kedzior
F Jason Weisheit
F Marco Gonzalez
F Cristian Munoz
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jason Weisheit, sr., F, Wheaton Warrenville South
Scoring summary
First half
WWS: Jason Weisheit (unassisted) 4:42 remaining
Second half
No scoring
Wheaton Warrenville South past Batavia
Tigers seniors celebrate their night with 1-0 win
By Matt Le Cren
WHEATON -- Converting a penalty kick seems like the easiest thing to do on a soccer field, which is why it can be embarrassing when a player fails.
That would seem to be especially true when you're a senior and you flub one on Senior Night.
Wheaton Warrenville South forward Jason Weisheit knows the feeling. It happened to him Thursday night at Red Grange Field, when he fired wide from the spot with 22:14 left in the first half against Batavia.
But befitting the senior co-captain that he is, Weisheit made up for it by scoring on a great individual effort 18 minutes later. About an hour later, he and his teammates basked in the success of a 1-0 DuKane Conference victory.
It was the first league win for the host Tigers (5-4-2, 1-2-1) and first "league loss for the visiting Bulldogs (5-6, 2-1), who might have met a better fate if not for Weisheit’s hustle.
"PKs are just a mental thing," Weisheit said. "Everybody should be able to hit it, but unluckily I missed the one.
"It's in your head for 30 seconds, and then it's s right back out. Obviously, you have to keep your head. I'm grateful that I bounced back and scored one, got redemption."
Wheaton Warrenville South coach Guy Callipari thought Batavia goalkeeper Logan Saenz may have put a flicker of doubt in Weisheit's mind by leaning to his left early. Weisheit went the other way but missed the frame.
"You've got to be calm, cool and collected in those moments, and it was uncharacteristic of him to go to that direction," Callipari said. "I think the goalie moving the one way maybe got his attention a little bit. So he decided to go hard the other way and wasn't quite balanced the way he needed to be.
"He was a little mentally out of it for a little bit, but he found his way again and then found opportunity. That's what he's good at doing -- making something out of nothing."
Indeed, it didn't seem like anything was in the offing when the Tigers sent a long ball into attacking third in the 36th minute. A defender got to the bouncing ball first, only to have Weisheit swoop in and steal it.
Weisheit took three quick dribbles into the box and fired a 15-yard shot past the charging Saenz for his fourth goal of the yearwith 4:42 left before intermission.
"It was just in an awkward position for him (the defender)," Weisheit said. "I think it bounced off his thigh, and he had his back to me.
"So I'm coming off his blind side, and then I just took it away. I hope I don't miss those ones."
The play was reflective of Weisheit's capabilities.
"He can be a physical player," Callipari said. "And he has a low center of gravity, and he has pace."
Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco agreed.
"He's a very strong guy," Gianfrancesco. "That was the difference. That was just a small difference in the game."
Otherwise, it was an evenly played match that could have gone either way. Both teams had shots cleared off the line by defenders: Tim Lopez did the honor for the Tigers; and Brody Seitzinger matched him for the Bulldogs.
Seitzinger was unlucky not to get the equalizer eight minutes into the second half. He rose up to meet a corner kick and powered forward a header from 12 yards that struck the crossbar flush before it was cleared.
"He played well," Gianfrancesco said. "He's been picking up ... in the box on free kicks. He's been doing well."
Gianfrancesco felt the Bulldogs did well collectively, though they had nothing to show for it.
"I think we had some really good chances in the second half at least to get a tie, but it just didn't fall our way tonight," he said. "I thought we looked pretty solid overall, moved the ball really well. Some sequences were really good in the first half.
"But it's a tough conference. Every day is a tough game.
"Whatever the record is, you're going to get a team that's well-organized. They're going to give you a battle, and that's what they did. You move forward and keep improving."
That's what Wheaeton Warrenville South has done after a tough start to the DKC slate. They did it with a strong showing from their backline led by Drew Murman, Nikhil Bawa, Jerry Cuatzo and Patrick Brocious.
Murman, a senior co-captain, was particularly impressive.
"The whole backline really played well," Callipari said. "Drew just played the best game he's played all year.
"That's what we needed, because they're big, they're strong and they move well off the ball."
Murman said the Tigers drew energy from their fans.
"We knew what was at stake for this game, especially Senior Night in front of the home crowd," Murman said. "Our mindset and preparations for the games in the past haven't been too good, but coming into this game I kind of felt an energy, with the crowd exploding on every play.
"We just held our shape. We stuck to our game plan and got the job done. It was awesome."
But stout play in the back wasn't the only reason for the win. Murman was impressed with the play of Weisheit and his fellow forwards Marco Gonzalez and Cristian Munoz.
"I think our pressure up-top was just awesome," Murman said. "Every time Batavia had it on defense it felt like our forwards were creating pressure and winning the ball back and then immediately getting an opportunity to score."
Wheaton Warrenville South will have an opportunity to record back-to-back wins for the second time this season when they travel to Glenbard West for a nonconference match Saturday. Then it is back home Tuesday for the annual conference crosstown clash with Wheaton North for the Wheaton Cup.
"We all knew going into this we needed the three points in the conference and to boost our confidence up, because we've got Glenbard West on Saturday and then we got our rivals on Tuesday," Weisheit said. “We knew we needed some momentum going into it."
Callipari concurred.
"Getting one point from St. Charles North was good, but losing to St. Charles East and Geneva the way we did was disappointing," Callipari said. "But now we're a little bit in the climb, so hopefully we have some momentum."
Starting lineups
Batavia
GK Logan Saenz
D Quinn Salyers
D Brody Seitzinger
D Grant LeRettte-Kauffman
D Owen Stahl
M Will Bardol
M Ben Hanson
M Josh Denault
F Ryan Kahley
F Alec Crum
F Manasas Monarrez
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK Owen Haas
D Patrick Brocious
D Jerry Cuatzo
D Nikhil Bawa
D Drew Murman
M Gabe Waszak
M Edgar Guzman
M Chase Kedzior
F Jason Weisheit
F Marco Gonzalez
F Cristian Munoz
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jason Weisheit, sr., F, Wheaton Warrenville South
Scoring summary
First half
WWS: Jason Weisheit (unassisted) 4:42 remaining
Second half
No scoring