Wheaton Warrenville South-Lake Park
much more than final score
A good night for soccer and high school sports in Wheaton
By Gary Larsen
WHEATON — On a night when all of the things that are right with high school athletics came to the surface, the final score of a soccer game meant less than nothing.
The line score will show Wheaton Warrenville South defeated visiting Lake Park 7-0 in a DuKane Conference game on Thursday. What it won't show are the real stories.
For starters, it was Senior Night in Wheaton so 11 Tigers seniors and their parents were honored before the game. Then, before the game even started, Lake Park coach Sean Crosby gave a magnanimous gesture of sportsmanship so a pair of Tigers senior standouts could get their due.
South’s Molly Fank and Allie Anderson are currently injured, but Tigers coach Guy Callipari wanted to give them the ceremonial start on their home field on their night.
The two players started, and Lake Park let each of them get a touch on the ball before the Tigers kicked the ball out so Fank and Anderson could be removed from the game.
“Sean was really good about that,” Callipari said of Crosby. “It’s Senior Night, and you’d like them to have a touch. He allowed that to happen.”
The night’s next feel-good moment happened when the officiating crew took the field. Female officials are nothing new in the sport but on Thursday, all three officials were women: Jennifer Mayfield, Kelly McLean and Hanah Shehaiber.
In his 25 years at South, Callipari couldn’t recall coaching a high school game officiated by three women.
“It really fit with the night,” he said. “When I saw the center (official) come onto the field I thought ‘That just really solidifies everything about where women’s soccer is and where it’s going and what it should be like’.”
Most of the game’s scoring came before halftime. Wheaton Warrenville South (8-3-0, 2-2-0), ranked 24th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, led 4-0 by the game’s 20th minute on braces from seniors Ellery Fahey and J.J. Aalbue.
Sophomore Melisa Hadzic added a goal to make it 5-0 by halftime as the Tigers employed a fast start that the Lancers weren’t quite ready for.
“We really tried to play collectively as a team tonight,” Fahey said. “We played it through the back, worked it up the field and into the final third. Getting less touches on the ball and moving it around the field has helped us a lot.”
The night included another interesting twist -- one of Aalbue’s first-half goals came on a corner kick that she bent inside the upper ninety at the far post.
“I’ve seen that happen a few times but not with that kind of intent,” Callipari said. “I’m not sure if too many keepers get to that one. The way that ball got there pretty quick and the bend on it, it would have deceived a lot of people.”
Despite being on the sour end of a one-sided score, the night wasn’t devoid of positives for Lake Park (4-11-1, 1-5-0). A team chasing a 5-0 halftime deficit can easily shut down, point fingers or get chippy on the field.
Instead, the Lancers elevated their game.
“We knew coming into this game that they were a great team to begin with,” Lake Park’s Anne Marie Ahrens said. “We weren’t as awake as we probably should have been to start the game. But in the second half you could tell we were a different team. We’re still working to put that eighty minutes together as a full team.”
Callipari was less pleased with his girls’ second half play after the exceptional opening effort, but he also tipped his hat to the Lancers.
“They played for respect and with intent, and they were much a part of the game in the second half,” Callipari said. “They had some good transitional pieces. They were overlapping, and they overloaded in certain areas, and we didn’t really adjust well to that.”
While the Tigers started 11 seniors with a wealth of varsity experience, the Lancers only started three in Cyndi Martinez, Selena Catalano, and Fran Ottolino.
Lake Park started the season 0-8-1 before winning four of its next six games leading into Thursday’s contest. The Lancers scored eight goals in those six games after struggling to score through their first nine.
“We’re getting different looks from younger players that have kind of stepped up,” Crosby said, “and one of our seniors, Cyndi Martinez, has gotten really active and scored a couple goals for us.”
Ahrens, Emma Thorne, Lilli Giron, and Martinez have spearheaded the attack for the Lancers.
“We’re playing with a level of confidence that maybe we didn’t have, because we played such a tough front half of the season,” Crosby said. “We’ve been building to games where we can keep the ball a little bit and finding the back of the net has been huge.”
The goodwill in Wheaton even permeated the halftime break. All 11 Tigers seniors walked out to midfield accompanied by a teacher of their choice for introduction to the crowd as part of Teacher Appreciation Night.
South keeper Abbie Brennan chose English teacher Jessica Gebhardt.
“She’s one of those teachers who, even when you don’t have her class anymore, you still go back to her classroom to say hello,” Brennan said. “She’s just a ray of sunshine. She’s awesome.”
Fahey walked out to midfield with Wheaton Warrenville South principal David Claypool.
“Mr. Claypool has been an inspiration of mine since the beginning of high school,” Fahey said. “I’m in the student advisory group with him. We’ve become quite close, and he’s always been a huge inspiration. He’s so caring, and he seems to know every single person in the school by name. He wants to know everyone, which is amazing.”
Lake Park fought the good fight throughout the second half but couldn’t solve Brennan and her backline of Maria Dohse, Maddie Monaco, Sam Buol and Becca Hauenstein.
“I was very proud of the way we played today,” Brennan said. “Our backline really controlled it, and then it kind of went from there. They made it so I didn’t have to touch the ball that much, and it was awesome to watch.”
The shutout was Brennan’s fifth of the year and no. 27.5 of her four-year career. That puts her in the top five all-time for career shutouts at South, and she’s still thankful for someone who helped her as a freshman.
“I had a senior that was a good mentor, Nell Rosenthal,” Brennan said. “She showed me the ropes.”
Miller’s goal at 65 minutes added yet another element to the game. It was her 38th career goal, putting her one point away from becoming only the 7th player in 37 years to score 100 career points at South.
Hadzic added a late goal to finish the day’s scoring.
“Hadzic is very capable, and I’m happy for her because she’s going to be one of the faces of the program next year,” Callipari said.
One of Lake Park’s future faces is Ahrens, a sophomore who spoke afterwards with insight and understanding beyond her years.
“We had a rough start this year but compared to last year, our goal differential definitely decreased,” Ahrens said. “We've conceded half the number of goals that we conceded last year.”
Four of the Lancers’ first eight losses this season came in 1-0 games.
“It’s one thing if you lose a game -- that’s always going to (stink),” Ahrens said. “But if we have a great game, that’s what we have to be proud of, win or lose. It’s not the result right now. We have to stay focused on how we play, how we’ve expanded, how we’ve worked together. You can see the chemistry forming.”
Fahey, who also played on South’s basketball team, was relentless on Thursday, earning her the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honor. Fahey’s two goals on Senior Night also brought her full circle since last season.
“I’m so glad for her, because at this time last year she broke her hip against St. Charles North,” Callipari said. “She has pace and an aggressive spirit, and you’re not sure where her first touch might end up, but she’s going to go after it anyway and continue to maintain momentum for you because she’s going to continue to work to keep the ball moving in the right direction.
“Ellery had her moment and everybody is deserving of that fifteen minutes of fame, and nobody worked harder than her tonight, certainly.”
Between Fahey’s redemption, the uniqueness of an all-female officiating crew, Aalbue’s crazy corner kick goal, the grit that Lake Park showed in the second half, career milestones added to from Brennan and Miller, and the few hundred fans present to see South’s seniors, parents, and teachers being honored, Thursday’s game was chock full of some of high school sports' best moments.
“It was certainly a good day if you’re trying to brand your program in a quality light,” Callipari said.
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK Abbie Brennan
D Maddie Monaco
D Maria Dohse
D Molly Fank
D Allie Anderson
M J.J. Aalbue
M Ellery Fahey
M Katie Johnston
M Evelyn Demsher
M Audrey Siebert
F Paige Miller
Lake Park
GK Lilija Briedis
D Isabella Witt
D Sarah Novak
D Olivia Wroblewski
D Emma Thorne
M Francesca Ottolino
M Sophie Giron
M Cyndi Martinez
M Patty Lachowiez
F Selena Catalano
F Anne Marie Ahrens
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Ellery Fahey, sr., MF, Wheaton Warrenville South
Officials: Jennifer Mayfield, Kelly McLean and Hanah Shehaiber
Scoring summary
First half
WW South: Aalbue (Miller) 4 minutes
WW South: Fahey (Miller)
WW South: Aalbue (CK)
WW South: Fahey (UA) 16 minutes
WW South: Hadzic (Hauenstein) 26 minutes
Second half
WW South: Miller (Johnston) 65 minutes
WW South: Hadzic (UA) 74th minute
much more than final score
A good night for soccer and high school sports in Wheaton
By Gary Larsen
WHEATON — On a night when all of the things that are right with high school athletics came to the surface, the final score of a soccer game meant less than nothing.
The line score will show Wheaton Warrenville South defeated visiting Lake Park 7-0 in a DuKane Conference game on Thursday. What it won't show are the real stories.
For starters, it was Senior Night in Wheaton so 11 Tigers seniors and their parents were honored before the game. Then, before the game even started, Lake Park coach Sean Crosby gave a magnanimous gesture of sportsmanship so a pair of Tigers senior standouts could get their due.
South’s Molly Fank and Allie Anderson are currently injured, but Tigers coach Guy Callipari wanted to give them the ceremonial start on their home field on their night.
The two players started, and Lake Park let each of them get a touch on the ball before the Tigers kicked the ball out so Fank and Anderson could be removed from the game.
“Sean was really good about that,” Callipari said of Crosby. “It’s Senior Night, and you’d like them to have a touch. He allowed that to happen.”
The night’s next feel-good moment happened when the officiating crew took the field. Female officials are nothing new in the sport but on Thursday, all three officials were women: Jennifer Mayfield, Kelly McLean and Hanah Shehaiber.
In his 25 years at South, Callipari couldn’t recall coaching a high school game officiated by three women.
“It really fit with the night,” he said. “When I saw the center (official) come onto the field I thought ‘That just really solidifies everything about where women’s soccer is and where it’s going and what it should be like’.”
Most of the game’s scoring came before halftime. Wheaton Warrenville South (8-3-0, 2-2-0), ranked 24th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, led 4-0 by the game’s 20th minute on braces from seniors Ellery Fahey and J.J. Aalbue.
Sophomore Melisa Hadzic added a goal to make it 5-0 by halftime as the Tigers employed a fast start that the Lancers weren’t quite ready for.
“We really tried to play collectively as a team tonight,” Fahey said. “We played it through the back, worked it up the field and into the final third. Getting less touches on the ball and moving it around the field has helped us a lot.”
The night included another interesting twist -- one of Aalbue’s first-half goals came on a corner kick that she bent inside the upper ninety at the far post.
“I’ve seen that happen a few times but not with that kind of intent,” Callipari said. “I’m not sure if too many keepers get to that one. The way that ball got there pretty quick and the bend on it, it would have deceived a lot of people.”
Despite being on the sour end of a one-sided score, the night wasn’t devoid of positives for Lake Park (4-11-1, 1-5-0). A team chasing a 5-0 halftime deficit can easily shut down, point fingers or get chippy on the field.
Instead, the Lancers elevated their game.
“We knew coming into this game that they were a great team to begin with,” Lake Park’s Anne Marie Ahrens said. “We weren’t as awake as we probably should have been to start the game. But in the second half you could tell we were a different team. We’re still working to put that eighty minutes together as a full team.”
Callipari was less pleased with his girls’ second half play after the exceptional opening effort, but he also tipped his hat to the Lancers.
“They played for respect and with intent, and they were much a part of the game in the second half,” Callipari said. “They had some good transitional pieces. They were overlapping, and they overloaded in certain areas, and we didn’t really adjust well to that.”
While the Tigers started 11 seniors with a wealth of varsity experience, the Lancers only started three in Cyndi Martinez, Selena Catalano, and Fran Ottolino.
Lake Park started the season 0-8-1 before winning four of its next six games leading into Thursday’s contest. The Lancers scored eight goals in those six games after struggling to score through their first nine.
“We’re getting different looks from younger players that have kind of stepped up,” Crosby said, “and one of our seniors, Cyndi Martinez, has gotten really active and scored a couple goals for us.”
Ahrens, Emma Thorne, Lilli Giron, and Martinez have spearheaded the attack for the Lancers.
“We’re playing with a level of confidence that maybe we didn’t have, because we played such a tough front half of the season,” Crosby said. “We’ve been building to games where we can keep the ball a little bit and finding the back of the net has been huge.”
The goodwill in Wheaton even permeated the halftime break. All 11 Tigers seniors walked out to midfield accompanied by a teacher of their choice for introduction to the crowd as part of Teacher Appreciation Night.
South keeper Abbie Brennan chose English teacher Jessica Gebhardt.
“She’s one of those teachers who, even when you don’t have her class anymore, you still go back to her classroom to say hello,” Brennan said. “She’s just a ray of sunshine. She’s awesome.”
Fahey walked out to midfield with Wheaton Warrenville South principal David Claypool.
“Mr. Claypool has been an inspiration of mine since the beginning of high school,” Fahey said. “I’m in the student advisory group with him. We’ve become quite close, and he’s always been a huge inspiration. He’s so caring, and he seems to know every single person in the school by name. He wants to know everyone, which is amazing.”
Lake Park fought the good fight throughout the second half but couldn’t solve Brennan and her backline of Maria Dohse, Maddie Monaco, Sam Buol and Becca Hauenstein.
“I was very proud of the way we played today,” Brennan said. “Our backline really controlled it, and then it kind of went from there. They made it so I didn’t have to touch the ball that much, and it was awesome to watch.”
The shutout was Brennan’s fifth of the year and no. 27.5 of her four-year career. That puts her in the top five all-time for career shutouts at South, and she’s still thankful for someone who helped her as a freshman.
“I had a senior that was a good mentor, Nell Rosenthal,” Brennan said. “She showed me the ropes.”
Miller’s goal at 65 minutes added yet another element to the game. It was her 38th career goal, putting her one point away from becoming only the 7th player in 37 years to score 100 career points at South.
Hadzic added a late goal to finish the day’s scoring.
“Hadzic is very capable, and I’m happy for her because she’s going to be one of the faces of the program next year,” Callipari said.
One of Lake Park’s future faces is Ahrens, a sophomore who spoke afterwards with insight and understanding beyond her years.
“We had a rough start this year but compared to last year, our goal differential definitely decreased,” Ahrens said. “We've conceded half the number of goals that we conceded last year.”
Four of the Lancers’ first eight losses this season came in 1-0 games.
“It’s one thing if you lose a game -- that’s always going to (stink),” Ahrens said. “But if we have a great game, that’s what we have to be proud of, win or lose. It’s not the result right now. We have to stay focused on how we play, how we’ve expanded, how we’ve worked together. You can see the chemistry forming.”
Fahey, who also played on South’s basketball team, was relentless on Thursday, earning her the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honor. Fahey’s two goals on Senior Night also brought her full circle since last season.
“I’m so glad for her, because at this time last year she broke her hip against St. Charles North,” Callipari said. “She has pace and an aggressive spirit, and you’re not sure where her first touch might end up, but she’s going to go after it anyway and continue to maintain momentum for you because she’s going to continue to work to keep the ball moving in the right direction.
“Ellery had her moment and everybody is deserving of that fifteen minutes of fame, and nobody worked harder than her tonight, certainly.”
Between Fahey’s redemption, the uniqueness of an all-female officiating crew, Aalbue’s crazy corner kick goal, the grit that Lake Park showed in the second half, career milestones added to from Brennan and Miller, and the few hundred fans present to see South’s seniors, parents, and teachers being honored, Thursday’s game was chock full of some of high school sports' best moments.
“It was certainly a good day if you’re trying to brand your program in a quality light,” Callipari said.
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK Abbie Brennan
D Maddie Monaco
D Maria Dohse
D Molly Fank
D Allie Anderson
M J.J. Aalbue
M Ellery Fahey
M Katie Johnston
M Evelyn Demsher
M Audrey Siebert
F Paige Miller
Lake Park
GK Lilija Briedis
D Isabella Witt
D Sarah Novak
D Olivia Wroblewski
D Emma Thorne
M Francesca Ottolino
M Sophie Giron
M Cyndi Martinez
M Patty Lachowiez
F Selena Catalano
F Anne Marie Ahrens
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Ellery Fahey, sr., MF, Wheaton Warrenville South
Officials: Jennifer Mayfield, Kelly McLean and Hanah Shehaiber
Scoring summary
First half
WW South: Aalbue (Miller) 4 minutes
WW South: Fahey (Miller)
WW South: Aalbue (CK)
WW South: Fahey (UA) 16 minutes
WW South: Hadzic (Hauenstein) 26 minutes
Second half
WW South: Miller (Johnston) 65 minutes
WW South: Hadzic (UA) 74th minute