Wheaton Academy hits on a winning plan
Warriors snap 4-game losing streak with 4-0 win over Rosary
By Matt Le Cren
WEST CHICAGO – First, Wheaton Academy plowed its field.
Then it plowed its opponent.
After the grounds crew cleared several inches of snow from their turf field, the Warriors went out and broke a four-game losing streak with a convincing 4-0 win over Rosary.
Emma Goebel, Amy Alexander, Sophie Lindquist and Kat Sezonov all found the back of the net for Wheaton Academy in the Metro Suburban Conference Blue Division match, which ended after Sezonov scored with 8:29 remaining and Rosary coach James Heidorn was ejected.
It was a nice rebound after four losses in an eight-day stretch tested the young Warriors, who stuck together through the tough times.
“We just have a super fun team,” Alexander said. “A lot of the upperclassmen reach out and help unify the group.
“We have amazing coaches, and we really encourage each other. We grow through that.”
Alexander, a sophomore, is one of the promising underclassmen who are growing. Her confidence grew after she scored her fourth goal of the season on a potshot from 35 yards that skipped twice and went past Rosary’s freshman goalie, Alexandra Heckle, at the 23:24 mark of the second half.
Heckle, who finished with 10 saves, had helped keep the Royals (1-8-0, 0-3-0) in contention until that point, but Alexander’s goal gave the Warriors (6-5-0, 3-0-0), a 2-0 lead. It didn’t take long for the hosts to increase that cushion.
Heeding the instruction of Wheaton Academy coach Jeff Brooke, and emboldened by Alexander’s strike, Lindquist ripped a 25-yard shot inside the left post just 16 seconds later, effectively putting the game out of reach.
“After the kind-of-funny goal, it was like, ‘OK, we’ve got to keep shooting, just put the ball on frame,” Lindquist said. “Second half, I think once we did start trying to shoot more it kind of spurred on the whole team. It rallied us together.”
The Warriors, who grabbed a 1-0 lead with 29:35 left in the first half when Goebel poked a 10-yard shot out of a crowd and inside the right post, rallied around a defense that allowed only four shots.
Sophomore goalkeeper Julia Liposky had to make only one save in recording the shutout as the Warriors controlled much of the possession.
Possessing the ball hasn’t been a problem for the Warriors lately, but taking advantage of it has. The offense has struggled to finish and that was the case in the first half against Rosary, with many scoring chances going by the wayside as shots missed wide or Rosary defenders broke up passes in the box.
“What we’ve been working on is connecting in the final third,” Lindquist said. “Last week that was what we had a really big issue with.
“We were fine in the middle of the field but we kind of fell apart connecting passes in the final third. We've just got to get a shot off.”
The Warriors did that with regularity after intermission, launching 17 of their 26 shots over the final 32 minutes. Heckle stopped six of those shots but was under constant pressure.
“It was nice to come back and hit the goal a little bit, find a way to move the ball from side-to-side and find yourself a little bit,” Brooke said. “Second half we’ve come out with even more energy.
“We’re trying to get a full 80, obviously, but the girls have done a great job in the second half in responding to some of the changes we make at halftime and tonight was the same. I thought they were aggressive in the second half in the final third. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
Lindquist, a Wheaton College recruit, was aggressive throughout and ran the Royals ragged. But she was glad to get plenty of help in getting the Warriors back on track.
“We had a rough week,” Lindquist said. “I think last week was definitely just a big learning experience for us, and we just wanted to make sure we did come out (tonight) with a win.
“I think we’ve been learning to work harder as a team and be unified, but I think this win is a good thing to have for our confidence and just for team building. We’re working on playing together as a team more and more every day.”
Brooke hopes that is a sign the Warriors will heat up along with the weather.
“We’ve got six seniors who are really leading the way with the work rate and the chemistry of the team,” Brooke said. “Obviously, Sophie is talented up-front and we come out of the midfield pretty well.
“We’re just tactically having to do a few different things than we’ve done in the past. But the girls have been flexible and responding to what we’re throwing at them, so we’re pleased.”
Starting lineups
Rosary
GK Alexandra Heckle
D Briley Ryan
D Megan Cibulskis
D Kaitlin Smith
M Geidy Maria Brennan
M Madelyn O’Brien
M Victoria Fleming
M Rachel Chason
M Josie Hathaway
F Ella Havertape
F Alaina Ferraro
Wheaton Academy
GK Julia Liposky
D Kelsye Bowling
D Sarah Vander Klock
D Lydia Sedjo
D Kat Sezonov
M Amy Alexander
M Rebecca Steininger
M Emma Goebel
F Faith Polino
F Anne Hardy
F Sophie Lindquist
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Sophie Lindquist, sr., Wheaton Academy
Scoring summary
First half
Wheaton – Emma Goebel 29:35
Second half
Wheaton – Amy Alexander 23:24
Wheaton – Sophie Lindquist 23:08
Wheaton – Kat Sezonov 8:29
Warriors snap 4-game losing streak with 4-0 win over Rosary
By Matt Le Cren
WEST CHICAGO – First, Wheaton Academy plowed its field.
Then it plowed its opponent.
After the grounds crew cleared several inches of snow from their turf field, the Warriors went out and broke a four-game losing streak with a convincing 4-0 win over Rosary.
Emma Goebel, Amy Alexander, Sophie Lindquist and Kat Sezonov all found the back of the net for Wheaton Academy in the Metro Suburban Conference Blue Division match, which ended after Sezonov scored with 8:29 remaining and Rosary coach James Heidorn was ejected.
It was a nice rebound after four losses in an eight-day stretch tested the young Warriors, who stuck together through the tough times.
“We just have a super fun team,” Alexander said. “A lot of the upperclassmen reach out and help unify the group.
“We have amazing coaches, and we really encourage each other. We grow through that.”
Alexander, a sophomore, is one of the promising underclassmen who are growing. Her confidence grew after she scored her fourth goal of the season on a potshot from 35 yards that skipped twice and went past Rosary’s freshman goalie, Alexandra Heckle, at the 23:24 mark of the second half.
Heckle, who finished with 10 saves, had helped keep the Royals (1-8-0, 0-3-0) in contention until that point, but Alexander’s goal gave the Warriors (6-5-0, 3-0-0), a 2-0 lead. It didn’t take long for the hosts to increase that cushion.
Heeding the instruction of Wheaton Academy coach Jeff Brooke, and emboldened by Alexander’s strike, Lindquist ripped a 25-yard shot inside the left post just 16 seconds later, effectively putting the game out of reach.
“After the kind-of-funny goal, it was like, ‘OK, we’ve got to keep shooting, just put the ball on frame,” Lindquist said. “Second half, I think once we did start trying to shoot more it kind of spurred on the whole team. It rallied us together.”
The Warriors, who grabbed a 1-0 lead with 29:35 left in the first half when Goebel poked a 10-yard shot out of a crowd and inside the right post, rallied around a defense that allowed only four shots.
Sophomore goalkeeper Julia Liposky had to make only one save in recording the shutout as the Warriors controlled much of the possession.
Possessing the ball hasn’t been a problem for the Warriors lately, but taking advantage of it has. The offense has struggled to finish and that was the case in the first half against Rosary, with many scoring chances going by the wayside as shots missed wide or Rosary defenders broke up passes in the box.
“What we’ve been working on is connecting in the final third,” Lindquist said. “Last week that was what we had a really big issue with.
“We were fine in the middle of the field but we kind of fell apart connecting passes in the final third. We've just got to get a shot off.”
The Warriors did that with regularity after intermission, launching 17 of their 26 shots over the final 32 minutes. Heckle stopped six of those shots but was under constant pressure.
“It was nice to come back and hit the goal a little bit, find a way to move the ball from side-to-side and find yourself a little bit,” Brooke said. “Second half we’ve come out with even more energy.
“We’re trying to get a full 80, obviously, but the girls have done a great job in the second half in responding to some of the changes we make at halftime and tonight was the same. I thought they were aggressive in the second half in the final third. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
Lindquist, a Wheaton College recruit, was aggressive throughout and ran the Royals ragged. But she was glad to get plenty of help in getting the Warriors back on track.
“We had a rough week,” Lindquist said. “I think last week was definitely just a big learning experience for us, and we just wanted to make sure we did come out (tonight) with a win.
“I think we’ve been learning to work harder as a team and be unified, but I think this win is a good thing to have for our confidence and just for team building. We’re working on playing together as a team more and more every day.”
Brooke hopes that is a sign the Warriors will heat up along with the weather.
“We’ve got six seniors who are really leading the way with the work rate and the chemistry of the team,” Brooke said. “Obviously, Sophie is talented up-front and we come out of the midfield pretty well.
“We’re just tactically having to do a few different things than we’ve done in the past. But the girls have been flexible and responding to what we’re throwing at them, so we’re pleased.”
Starting lineups
Rosary
GK Alexandra Heckle
D Briley Ryan
D Megan Cibulskis
D Kaitlin Smith
M Geidy Maria Brennan
M Madelyn O’Brien
M Victoria Fleming
M Rachel Chason
M Josie Hathaway
F Ella Havertape
F Alaina Ferraro
Wheaton Academy
GK Julia Liposky
D Kelsye Bowling
D Sarah Vander Klock
D Lydia Sedjo
D Kat Sezonov
M Amy Alexander
M Rebecca Steininger
M Emma Goebel
F Faith Polino
F Anne Hardy
F Sophie Lindquist
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Sophie Lindquist, sr., Wheaton Academy
Scoring summary
First half
Wheaton – Emma Goebel 29:35
Second half
Wheaton – Amy Alexander 23:24
Wheaton – Sophie Lindquist 23:08
Wheaton – Kat Sezonov 8:29