WWS late rally falls short vs. SCE
Road ends for Tigers with 2-1 regional final loss to Saints
By Ken Keenan
HOFFMAN ESTATES -- A valiant comeback effort by Wheaton Warrenville South had St. Charles East on the ropes in the late stages of the IHSA Class 3A Hoffman Estates Regional title match Friday night. But the Fighting Saints fought off the attack and earned the regional crown with a 2-1 win.
Trailing 2-0 after St. Charles East netted a second goal in the 65th minute, the Tigers cut the lead in half with 3:15 to go on a 20-yard blast by senior midfielder Audrey Siebert. Wheaton Warrenville South kept scratching, but sophomore forward Melisa Hadzic's cross to the box from deep on the right side was nabbed by Saints senior goalkeeper Grace Griffin with 20 seconds showing -- and the Tigers never got another look.
St. Charles East (21-5-0), ranked no. 5 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, will continue in the state tourney against no. 14 Conant (16-2-1) in the Schaumburg Sectional semifinals at 6:30 p.m. May 22. Meanwhile, the 2019 season concluded for a veteran and 17th-ranked Tigers crew at 14-5-2.
"Obviously, I'm pretty heartbroken," said stellar Wheaton Warrenville South forward Paige Miller, one of 12 seniors on the team. "But I'm proud of everything we've done. We love each other ... love playing together and don't want to let it go. We'll never give up."
Miller, who assisted on Siebert's marker and will continue her soccer career at Northwestern University via scholarship, added: "After the (Saints') second goal, we used that as motivation. When we scored, we were so fired up. We knew we were back in it."
Siebert said, "The goal gave us a ton of momentum. It broke the seam to keep going and keep working until the final buzzer."
Added Wheaton Warrenville South head coach Guy Callipari: "Down 2-0, I liked our response. We pressured well the last 10 minutes and got one back. Unfortunately, not enough time to get another. Give credit to St. Charles East. They were very well-organized. They bent but did not break."
Stepping away from a gleeful postgame celebration and photo session, St. Charles East skipper Vince DiNuzzo said he wasn't surprised that the outcome came down to the wire.
"To me, this is the toughest regional in the state," he said. "Both teams deserve to be at sectionals. But that's the way seeding goes. Hats off to Guy (Callipari) and all the (Tigers) seniors. That's a great team."
St. Charles East had a great chance to open the scoring in the ninth minute. Senior forward Kayla Villa sent a corner kick to the box that was deflected off the post -- twice -- during a wild scramble.
Wheaton Warrenville South's best opportunity in the early going came on 10-yard try by senior mid Ellery Fahey that barely missed wide-right.
Dangerous St. Charles East junior forward Elle McCaslin, Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match, had a couple good looks, including 30-yard free kick that curled high in the 16th minute and a 20-yard strike from the left side that was stopped by Tigers senior goalkeeper Abbie Brennan in the 23rd minute.
McCaslin didn't miss on her next attempt, a turnaround shot from 35 yards that zoomed just over the outstretched arms of Brennan and under the crossbar to give the Saints a 1-0 lead with 7:39 remaining in the first half. Junior midfielder Margaret Harper earned the assist.
"I saw the midfield open up, and I let it rip," McCaslin said.
DiNuzzo said, "She can change the game with one kick of the ball, and (the Tigers) gave her just enough space to do that. That first goal was crucial. The second goal created some separation."
Saints keeper Griffin protected the 1-0 edge in the first half with a tremendous leaping save to rob dynamic Wheaton Warrenville South senior forward J.J. Aalbue in the 37th minute. Griffin then nabbed a solid 40-yard free kick by Tigers senior mid Allie Anderson with merely 15 seconds to go before the break.
"At halftime, we had to take a step back and look at it as 0-0," Miller said. "You can't dwell on the score. You have to use it as motivation."
Neither team mounted much on the attack in a defense-oriented second half. Griffin had the answer for a 35-yard rocket Aalbue in the 53rd minute, and Brennan smothered a pop-up shot by Saints junior defender Alondra Carranza five minutes later.
St. Charles East made it 2-0 when junior mid Christina Hull banged in a cross from McCaslin from 15 yards with exactly 15 minutes left in regulation. It was the first goal of Hull's varsity career.
"After I scored, I couldn't believe it," Hull said. "It feels unreal."
Siebert then scored to close the gap, setting up the frantic final minutes.
"At 2-1, anything can happen," Hull said. "We had to pack it in at the end."
Added DiNuzzo: "At the end of the game, we sat in a bit. But credit Wheaton Warrenville South for putting on pressure."
Callipari only regretted that time ran out, both in the title match and for the chance to see his tight-knit, senior-laden group carry on.
"I'm really pleased with our senior response, not just tonight but all year," he said. "The tradition of the program is to leave it on the field, so it's not surprising they would push at the end tonight. The passion they bring, on and off the field ... they've been around a long time and overcome a lot of adversity.
"Unfortunately, that's a pretty good side in the Saints, and the clock was against us in the end."
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
G: Abbie Brennan
D: Maria Dohse
D: Molly Fank
D: Maddie Monaco
D: Sam Buol
M: Allie Anderson
M: Ellery Fahey
M: Audrey Siebert
M: Becca Hauenstein
F: Paige Miller
F: J.J. Aalbue
St. Charles East
G: Grace Griffin
D: Ashley DiOrio
D: Alondra Carranza
D: Megan Stout
D: Jessica Stepien
D: Lindsay Rzeszutko
M: Margaret Harper
M: Hannah Miller
M: Renee Unterberg
F: Kayla Villa
F: Elle McCaslin
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Elle McCaslin, jr., F, St. Charles East
Officials: Kenneth Newman, Manou Chahmirzadi, Mike Schmickley
Scoring summary
First half
St. Charles East: Elle McCaslin (assisted by Margaret Harper) in 7th minute
Second half
St. Charles East: Christina Hull (assisted by McCaslin) in 65th minute
Wheaton Warrenville South: Audrey Siebert (assisted by Paige Miller) in 77th minute
Road ends for Tigers with 2-1 regional final loss to Saints
By Ken Keenan
HOFFMAN ESTATES -- A valiant comeback effort by Wheaton Warrenville South had St. Charles East on the ropes in the late stages of the IHSA Class 3A Hoffman Estates Regional title match Friday night. But the Fighting Saints fought off the attack and earned the regional crown with a 2-1 win.
Trailing 2-0 after St. Charles East netted a second goal in the 65th minute, the Tigers cut the lead in half with 3:15 to go on a 20-yard blast by senior midfielder Audrey Siebert. Wheaton Warrenville South kept scratching, but sophomore forward Melisa Hadzic's cross to the box from deep on the right side was nabbed by Saints senior goalkeeper Grace Griffin with 20 seconds showing -- and the Tigers never got another look.
St. Charles East (21-5-0), ranked no. 5 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, will continue in the state tourney against no. 14 Conant (16-2-1) in the Schaumburg Sectional semifinals at 6:30 p.m. May 22. Meanwhile, the 2019 season concluded for a veteran and 17th-ranked Tigers crew at 14-5-2.
"Obviously, I'm pretty heartbroken," said stellar Wheaton Warrenville South forward Paige Miller, one of 12 seniors on the team. "But I'm proud of everything we've done. We love each other ... love playing together and don't want to let it go. We'll never give up."
Miller, who assisted on Siebert's marker and will continue her soccer career at Northwestern University via scholarship, added: "After the (Saints') second goal, we used that as motivation. When we scored, we were so fired up. We knew we were back in it."
Siebert said, "The goal gave us a ton of momentum. It broke the seam to keep going and keep working until the final buzzer."
Added Wheaton Warrenville South head coach Guy Callipari: "Down 2-0, I liked our response. We pressured well the last 10 minutes and got one back. Unfortunately, not enough time to get another. Give credit to St. Charles East. They were very well-organized. They bent but did not break."
Stepping away from a gleeful postgame celebration and photo session, St. Charles East skipper Vince DiNuzzo said he wasn't surprised that the outcome came down to the wire.
"To me, this is the toughest regional in the state," he said. "Both teams deserve to be at sectionals. But that's the way seeding goes. Hats off to Guy (Callipari) and all the (Tigers) seniors. That's a great team."
St. Charles East had a great chance to open the scoring in the ninth minute. Senior forward Kayla Villa sent a corner kick to the box that was deflected off the post -- twice -- during a wild scramble.
Wheaton Warrenville South's best opportunity in the early going came on 10-yard try by senior mid Ellery Fahey that barely missed wide-right.
Dangerous St. Charles East junior forward Elle McCaslin, Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match, had a couple good looks, including 30-yard free kick that curled high in the 16th minute and a 20-yard strike from the left side that was stopped by Tigers senior goalkeeper Abbie Brennan in the 23rd minute.
McCaslin didn't miss on her next attempt, a turnaround shot from 35 yards that zoomed just over the outstretched arms of Brennan and under the crossbar to give the Saints a 1-0 lead with 7:39 remaining in the first half. Junior midfielder Margaret Harper earned the assist.
"I saw the midfield open up, and I let it rip," McCaslin said.
DiNuzzo said, "She can change the game with one kick of the ball, and (the Tigers) gave her just enough space to do that. That first goal was crucial. The second goal created some separation."
Saints keeper Griffin protected the 1-0 edge in the first half with a tremendous leaping save to rob dynamic Wheaton Warrenville South senior forward J.J. Aalbue in the 37th minute. Griffin then nabbed a solid 40-yard free kick by Tigers senior mid Allie Anderson with merely 15 seconds to go before the break.
"At halftime, we had to take a step back and look at it as 0-0," Miller said. "You can't dwell on the score. You have to use it as motivation."
Neither team mounted much on the attack in a defense-oriented second half. Griffin had the answer for a 35-yard rocket Aalbue in the 53rd minute, and Brennan smothered a pop-up shot by Saints junior defender Alondra Carranza five minutes later.
St. Charles East made it 2-0 when junior mid Christina Hull banged in a cross from McCaslin from 15 yards with exactly 15 minutes left in regulation. It was the first goal of Hull's varsity career.
"After I scored, I couldn't believe it," Hull said. "It feels unreal."
Siebert then scored to close the gap, setting up the frantic final minutes.
"At 2-1, anything can happen," Hull said. "We had to pack it in at the end."
Added DiNuzzo: "At the end of the game, we sat in a bit. But credit Wheaton Warrenville South for putting on pressure."
Callipari only regretted that time ran out, both in the title match and for the chance to see his tight-knit, senior-laden group carry on.
"I'm really pleased with our senior response, not just tonight but all year," he said. "The tradition of the program is to leave it on the field, so it's not surprising they would push at the end tonight. The passion they bring, on and off the field ... they've been around a long time and overcome a lot of adversity.
"Unfortunately, that's a pretty good side in the Saints, and the clock was against us in the end."
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
G: Abbie Brennan
D: Maria Dohse
D: Molly Fank
D: Maddie Monaco
D: Sam Buol
M: Allie Anderson
M: Ellery Fahey
M: Audrey Siebert
M: Becca Hauenstein
F: Paige Miller
F: J.J. Aalbue
St. Charles East
G: Grace Griffin
D: Ashley DiOrio
D: Alondra Carranza
D: Megan Stout
D: Jessica Stepien
D: Lindsay Rzeszutko
M: Margaret Harper
M: Hannah Miller
M: Renee Unterberg
F: Kayla Villa
F: Elle McCaslin
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Elle McCaslin, jr., F, St. Charles East
Officials: Kenneth Newman, Manou Chahmirzadi, Mike Schmickley
Scoring summary
First half
St. Charles East: Elle McCaslin (assisted by Margaret Harper) in 7th minute
Second half
St. Charles East: Christina Hull (assisted by McCaslin) in 65th minute
Wheaton Warrenville South: Audrey Siebert (assisted by Paige Miller) in 77th minute