Wheaton Academy finds things
to fine-tune in win over Hoffman Estates
Warriors prevail 1-0 in run-up to playoffs
By Jared Birchfield
WEST CHICAGO -- Wheaton Academy closed out its regular-season home schedule with a 1-0 win over Hoffman Estates on Wednesday at Performance Trust Field.
Senior Emily Setran broke the scoreless deadlock with a goal at the 38:35 mark of the second half.
The Warriors wrap up the regular-season with a bang when they play at St. Francis on Friday with the Metro Suburban Conference Blue Division title on the line.
Wheaton Academy is 5-0-x in league play and needs a win or tie to secure sole possession of first place. Riverside-Brookfield finished its league season at 5-1-x, and St. Francis sits at 4-1-x. The league uses shootouts to break ties.
Wheaton Academy is 13-5-2 overall.
The Warriors had several chances to score in the first half, but shots were either broken up by the Hawks’ backline or stopped by goalkeeper Paige Schneider (four saves).
In addition to the frustration of not scoring in the first half, Warriors coach Maria Selvaggio felt the lack of putting a number on the scoreboard let Hoffman Estate’s defense gain self-confidence.
“We had opportunities to score early especially in the first few minutes, but the ball went wide, or we just didn't quite get a good foot on it and that just kept them in the game, building their confidence defensively,” Selvaggio said.
However, the Wheaton Academy coach felt the experience will be beneficial for the state tournament.
“Every chance you get is valuable. This was good practice for us in preparation for playoffs where your chances may be few and far between or maybe often, but it doesn't matter if you can't score,” she said.
“Our takeaway for tonight is you’ve got to take care of your chances when you get them even if you feel like you’re getting plenty of them. Somebody's got to step up and find the net.”
Most of the action in the first half took place on Hoffman Estates’ side of the pitch. The Hawks had only two scoring opportunities, both on long distance free kicks.
Hawks coach Mary Dansdill thought her teams’ woes started before the kickoff.
“I thought we had a really poor warmup. We came out really sluggish. We weren't connecting; we weren't moving off the ball very well and we were constantly on the defensive end,” she said. “I thought we were lucky to be tied 0-0 at halftime.
“Our goalie Paige was exceptional, and she's been exceptional all season. She's kept us in a lot of games.”
Selvaggio felt both teams were lively in the last 40 minutes.
“They came out with good energy in the second half. I feel like they were playing very aggressive, stepping hard, putting the pressure on us. We had much less time to settle the ball and do what we do which is possess and connect,” the Wheaton Academy coach and graduate said.
“We settled down, but I think it took us few minutes after the first whistle. We were just trying to get our feet under us, because they were pressing so hard.
“We just kept pressing, and we found our chance to score.”
Setran, a Wheaton College commit, took a pass from Haley Serna, dribbled upfield and took a shot from 10 yards on the left side of the net.
“Haley found me on the left wing, I got the ball and found the goal,” said Setran, the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of Match.
An offside call waived off a second Wheaton Academy goal in the 52nd minute.
With 12:13 left to play, the Warriors had another scoring opportunity. Jillian Paulson’s shot from 25 yards out was blocked by Schneider. Anna Africa snared the rebound and fired a shot that bounced off the crossbar.
Hoffman Estates picked up its game after the halftime pep talk, which was a review of the fine points of the beautiful game, according to Dansdill.
“At halftime, we talked about doing the little things like getting into passing lanes, making runs for our teammates, focusing on our first touch, delivering good passes, challenging 50-50 balls,” she said. “I think that was the difference-maker.
“(In the second half) we started doing the little things well, and we started building up out of the back. We connected in the middle, and we started making forward runs. I thought we played more aggressively which allowed us to keep the ball in our third for a longer time. And we got more offensive chances.”
Hawks forward Karina Niemet wasted little time putting Dansdill’s speech into action. Forty-three seconds into the second half, the senior took Hoffman Estates’ first shot on goal. The 20-yarder was stopped by Wheaton Academy keeper Sara Swoboda, who will play at Grove City College next year. The senior made three saves, all in the second half, for the clean-sheet.
Dansdill wished her team was more efficient with shots on goal.
“I think we need to be a little more opportunistic. Sometimes we wait for the perfect shot or the perfect pass or the perfect play when we just really need to be more effective,” she said.
Selvaggio had high praise for both Swoboda and her center backs, Paulson, a junior and Lexi Rojek, a freshman.
“Jillian and Lexi are just solid -- very strong, stepped very well and helped us to win balls and keep the ball,” the Warriors coach said. “They were solid for us as well as Swoboda. She cleaned up very well.”.
Dansdill gave accolades to defender Samantha Roberts, a William Penn commit.
“Samantha played very well especially in the second half,” she said. “She won a lot of balls in the air. She kept our team organized.
“Sam has come a long way from the beginning of the year. She's playing more aggressively and more confidently I have really liked seeing her improve this season. I think this is preparing her for what she can do next year at the college level.”
Wheaton Academy gets a double dose of St. Francis in the next six days. In addition to the regular-season finale Friday, the Warriors go back-to-back with the Spartans next Wednesday (May 18) in the semifinal round of the Class AA Nazareth Regional.
After taking third place in Class A last spring, the Warriors were bumped to Class AA,
“It's not ideal, but it'll be nice to play them Friday to see what they're working with,” said Selvaggiom whose team received a five-seed. “They've had some results all over the place but it's always an exciting one since they are our cross-town rival.
“We’ll definitely be up for it. It's going to be tough to play them two times in a week. But it will be helpful to see what we're working with Friday and then prepare for playoffs.”
If Wheaton Academy gets past 10th-seeded St. Francis, they would meet either the third-seeded host school or no. 14 Providence.
The Nazareth Regional title would bring them home for sectionals.
Hoffman Estates (4-12-0) opens the state tournament Tuesday against Wheaton Warrenville South in the Class 3A Geneva Regional. Dansdill is upbeat about the chances of her 14th-seeded club against its fifth-seeded foe.
“I feel like if we play like we did in the second half tonight, I think we have an opportunity to compete and possibly upset Wheaton Warrenville South,” she said. “We need to be prepared and focus for all 80 minutes of the game.
Starting lineups
Hoffman Estates
GK – Paige Schneider
D – Maya Schmidt
D – Emily Rios-Palacios
D – Madison Garcia
D – Samantha Roberts
M – Hailey Weidner
M – Mallory Anderson
M – Katelyn Paszkiewicz
F – Natasha Navarro
F – Bella Wehrle
F – Karina Niemet
Wheaton Academy
G – Sara Swoboda
D – Jillian Paulson
D – Haleigh Manske
D – Ella Pennial
D – Lexi Rojek
M – Katelyn Schoepke
M – Eva Desouza
M – Emily Setran
F – Haley Serna
F – Lilly Lebo
F – Jocelyn Royce
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match:
Emily Setran, sr., MF, Wheaton Academy
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
WA: Emily Setran (Haley Serna) 42nd minute
to fine-tune in win over Hoffman Estates
Warriors prevail 1-0 in run-up to playoffs
By Jared Birchfield
WEST CHICAGO -- Wheaton Academy closed out its regular-season home schedule with a 1-0 win over Hoffman Estates on Wednesday at Performance Trust Field.
Senior Emily Setran broke the scoreless deadlock with a goal at the 38:35 mark of the second half.
The Warriors wrap up the regular-season with a bang when they play at St. Francis on Friday with the Metro Suburban Conference Blue Division title on the line.
Wheaton Academy is 5-0-x in league play and needs a win or tie to secure sole possession of first place. Riverside-Brookfield finished its league season at 5-1-x, and St. Francis sits at 4-1-x. The league uses shootouts to break ties.
Wheaton Academy is 13-5-2 overall.
The Warriors had several chances to score in the first half, but shots were either broken up by the Hawks’ backline or stopped by goalkeeper Paige Schneider (four saves).
In addition to the frustration of not scoring in the first half, Warriors coach Maria Selvaggio felt the lack of putting a number on the scoreboard let Hoffman Estate’s defense gain self-confidence.
“We had opportunities to score early especially in the first few minutes, but the ball went wide, or we just didn't quite get a good foot on it and that just kept them in the game, building their confidence defensively,” Selvaggio said.
However, the Wheaton Academy coach felt the experience will be beneficial for the state tournament.
“Every chance you get is valuable. This was good practice for us in preparation for playoffs where your chances may be few and far between or maybe often, but it doesn't matter if you can't score,” she said.
“Our takeaway for tonight is you’ve got to take care of your chances when you get them even if you feel like you’re getting plenty of them. Somebody's got to step up and find the net.”
Most of the action in the first half took place on Hoffman Estates’ side of the pitch. The Hawks had only two scoring opportunities, both on long distance free kicks.
Hawks coach Mary Dansdill thought her teams’ woes started before the kickoff.
“I thought we had a really poor warmup. We came out really sluggish. We weren't connecting; we weren't moving off the ball very well and we were constantly on the defensive end,” she said. “I thought we were lucky to be tied 0-0 at halftime.
“Our goalie Paige was exceptional, and she's been exceptional all season. She's kept us in a lot of games.”
Selvaggio felt both teams were lively in the last 40 minutes.
“They came out with good energy in the second half. I feel like they were playing very aggressive, stepping hard, putting the pressure on us. We had much less time to settle the ball and do what we do which is possess and connect,” the Wheaton Academy coach and graduate said.
“We settled down, but I think it took us few minutes after the first whistle. We were just trying to get our feet under us, because they were pressing so hard.
“We just kept pressing, and we found our chance to score.”
Setran, a Wheaton College commit, took a pass from Haley Serna, dribbled upfield and took a shot from 10 yards on the left side of the net.
“Haley found me on the left wing, I got the ball and found the goal,” said Setran, the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of Match.
An offside call waived off a second Wheaton Academy goal in the 52nd minute.
With 12:13 left to play, the Warriors had another scoring opportunity. Jillian Paulson’s shot from 25 yards out was blocked by Schneider. Anna Africa snared the rebound and fired a shot that bounced off the crossbar.
Hoffman Estates picked up its game after the halftime pep talk, which was a review of the fine points of the beautiful game, according to Dansdill.
“At halftime, we talked about doing the little things like getting into passing lanes, making runs for our teammates, focusing on our first touch, delivering good passes, challenging 50-50 balls,” she said. “I think that was the difference-maker.
“(In the second half) we started doing the little things well, and we started building up out of the back. We connected in the middle, and we started making forward runs. I thought we played more aggressively which allowed us to keep the ball in our third for a longer time. And we got more offensive chances.”
Hawks forward Karina Niemet wasted little time putting Dansdill’s speech into action. Forty-three seconds into the second half, the senior took Hoffman Estates’ first shot on goal. The 20-yarder was stopped by Wheaton Academy keeper Sara Swoboda, who will play at Grove City College next year. The senior made three saves, all in the second half, for the clean-sheet.
Dansdill wished her team was more efficient with shots on goal.
“I think we need to be a little more opportunistic. Sometimes we wait for the perfect shot or the perfect pass or the perfect play when we just really need to be more effective,” she said.
Selvaggio had high praise for both Swoboda and her center backs, Paulson, a junior and Lexi Rojek, a freshman.
“Jillian and Lexi are just solid -- very strong, stepped very well and helped us to win balls and keep the ball,” the Warriors coach said. “They were solid for us as well as Swoboda. She cleaned up very well.”.
Dansdill gave accolades to defender Samantha Roberts, a William Penn commit.
“Samantha played very well especially in the second half,” she said. “She won a lot of balls in the air. She kept our team organized.
“Sam has come a long way from the beginning of the year. She's playing more aggressively and more confidently I have really liked seeing her improve this season. I think this is preparing her for what she can do next year at the college level.”
Wheaton Academy gets a double dose of St. Francis in the next six days. In addition to the regular-season finale Friday, the Warriors go back-to-back with the Spartans next Wednesday (May 18) in the semifinal round of the Class AA Nazareth Regional.
After taking third place in Class A last spring, the Warriors were bumped to Class AA,
“It's not ideal, but it'll be nice to play them Friday to see what they're working with,” said Selvaggiom whose team received a five-seed. “They've had some results all over the place but it's always an exciting one since they are our cross-town rival.
“We’ll definitely be up for it. It's going to be tough to play them two times in a week. But it will be helpful to see what we're working with Friday and then prepare for playoffs.”
If Wheaton Academy gets past 10th-seeded St. Francis, they would meet either the third-seeded host school or no. 14 Providence.
The Nazareth Regional title would bring them home for sectionals.
Hoffman Estates (4-12-0) opens the state tournament Tuesday against Wheaton Warrenville South in the Class 3A Geneva Regional. Dansdill is upbeat about the chances of her 14th-seeded club against its fifth-seeded foe.
“I feel like if we play like we did in the second half tonight, I think we have an opportunity to compete and possibly upset Wheaton Warrenville South,” she said. “We need to be prepared and focus for all 80 minutes of the game.
Starting lineups
Hoffman Estates
GK – Paige Schneider
D – Maya Schmidt
D – Emily Rios-Palacios
D – Madison Garcia
D – Samantha Roberts
M – Hailey Weidner
M – Mallory Anderson
M – Katelyn Paszkiewicz
F – Natasha Navarro
F – Bella Wehrle
F – Karina Niemet
Wheaton Academy
G – Sara Swoboda
D – Jillian Paulson
D – Haleigh Manske
D – Ella Pennial
D – Lexi Rojek
M – Katelyn Schoepke
M – Eva Desouza
M – Emily Setran
F – Haley Serna
F – Lilly Lebo
F – Jocelyn Royce
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match:
Emily Setran, sr., MF, Wheaton Academy
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
WA: Emily Setran (Haley Serna) 42nd minute