Wheaton Academy hits on
all cylinders, drives by South Elgin
Happy, confident Warriors roll in Homecoming game
By Curt Herron
WEST CHICAGO -- Coach Cody Snouffer didn't really need to say a whole lot to inspire Wheaton Academy on Friday as they prepared to host their regular-season finale against South Elgin.
Coming off of a 3-0 performance that earned them the title of the Heartland Lodge bracket at the Great River Classic in Burlington, Ia., and playing before an enthusiastic standing-room only Homecoming crowd at Performance Trust Field, the Warriors were determined to head into the IHSA Class A tournament with a decisive victory. That's just what happened.
The 19th-ranked team in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 took control with a goal in the 12th minute, extended their lead to 2-0 at halftime and added three more scores early in the final half to roll to a 5-0 nonconference victory over the Storm. Wheaton Academy improved to 12-4-1 with the win.
Junior Evan Eckert earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors after scoring his team's first and fourth goals. Senior Robert Platt and sophomore Scotty Murray both added a goal and an assist, and senior Gabe Olsen recorded his first goal to help the Warriors to their fifth-straight victory and 12th in their last 14 matches. Seniors Brayden Vandervelde and Haetham Nasr added assists for the victors.
Wheaton Academy, who beat Althoff and Evanston on penalties and then scored five goals against Middleton (Wis.) in the title match of last weekend's tournament, head into the state playoffs as the top seed in its sub-sectional of the Hinckley-Big Rock Sectional. They will host play-in winner and ninth-seed Aurora Central at 5 p.m. in Tuesday's regional semifinals. The final is scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Saturday against the (3) Aurora Christian/(6) St. Edward winner.
Junior keeper Declan Finnegan played the first hour of the game before classmate Brandon Hoekstra stepped in for the final 20 minutes. The pair combined for their team's fifth shutout. They were supported by the starting backline of seniors Jude Barton and Olsen and juniors Troy Erickson and Josiah Pitts.
"They were excited to play," Snouffer said. "Homecoming is a whole-school, week-long event here, so keeping them focused throughout the week was probably the main challenge. We didn't need to fabricate much energy or much rah tonight, they came out ready to play. There's a huge heritage and legacy here. Not too many schools make the Homecoming match as soccer, and it's been like that for a long time here. We're happy to keep the tradition going and to give a good show.
"There's a lot of great teams in the Class A tournament so when we were making our schedule we decided that we wanted to try to experience everything that we could in the season. We did the St. Charles and Iowa tournaments to get a little bit of that road trip feel, play on grass and against big schools with a lot of history. The regular-season is done, and we knew that it would be a tall order. The guys have embraced the lessons and experienced some success, and I like where we're at heading into the postseason.
"It's a lot of fun to coach them. They love to play, and they love to learn. One of the challenges of playing bigger schools is that, whether they're just bigger physically or they have deeper rosters, they make you try more things. I'm really pleased with a lot of different guys getting on the score sheet.
"One of our core values is celebrate. We don't just mean goals and wins, we mean, the little successes, the guys that do the little things right. It's an attitude that we try to bring to practice. We try to have a culture that celebrates, that honors and is family, because we know that opponents are going to test it. So if there is a sense of togetherness, you have something to get you through it."
After starting the season with an 0-2-1 start against bigger schools, the Warriors have been on a roll. They've gone 4-0 in tournament matches that were decided by penalties and have outscored opponents by a 27-2 margin on their home field.
Josh Mariotti had two of the Warriors' first good attempts while Platt and Nasr also threatened Storm keeper Luke Bondi in the early going. The hosts moved in front for good in the 12th minute when Vandervelde found Eckert, and he connected from 15 yards to begin his brace.
"Everyone played great today and it was so fun and having some different guys scoring goals made it an awesome night," Eckert said. "There's nothing like this, it's such a good atmosphere. This is so special, and I'm so grateful and blessed to be at such a great school with great facilities and to have great coaches and teammates. It's amazing.
"It was a good boost to be able to go 3-0 (at the Great River Classic),and everyone just stuck together and played well. It was so fun going on the bus ride and staying at hotels, you get to bond with your teammates. Everyone is so encouraging. We have so many different players on this team, and it's just such a great atmosphere. I love my teammates so much, and they're my closest friends."
After Olsen tried to add to his team's early lead, the Storm (5-7-5) got one of its best first half chances when Fredy Hernandez hit a hard shot, but it was halted by Finnegan.
Kaiden Massie and Eckert both had attempts that were cleared by defenders. Olsen and Nasr were denied before Platt fired in a shot from 20 yards to give the hosts a 2-0 advantage in the 32nd minute. Viwe Baleni tried to add to the lead a short time later but his attempt was deflected.
It was more of the same to start the final half as Nasr sent a corner to Pitts, whose header was hauled in. Then in the 46th minute, Nasr's free kick went to Murray, who connected from close range to give the Warriors a 3-0 lead.
"We had a great tournament last week in Iowa, and in this game we just wanted to bring it all together before we head to the playoffs," Nasr said. "The
thing I loved was that a lot of the things that we've tried to implement throughout the season, like the different methods of attack, just all came together tonight. What was great about it was that we did it as a team.
"The tournament was huge. We played Althoff and Evanston, and two of our players were out. What was great about it was the fight that we had for each other. Those were penalty wins and gutsy wins like that prepare you for the playoffs. The culture is incredible, and everyone pushes each other to the limit. But after it, we come together and unite, and we treat each other like brothers. We've made it into a family."
Shortly after Caleb Mariotti was thwarted on a long attempt, Eckert was at it again. This time he put in a shot from 20 yards following an assist from Murray in the 51st minute.
Right after that, Platt directed a pass to Olsen, who is from South Elgin, and he connected from 25 yards for his initial goal to complete the scoring in the 52nd minute.
"The tournament in Iowa was an amazing experience," Olsen said. "We had two or three players who went down. It was just the next man up, and everyone that was asked did their job. We persevered; we stuck to our style. No matter who was on the field, we kept to that style and put teams away. Tonight there were a lot of friendly faces, but it was nice to put one away against them.
"I like our atmosphere and attitude toward each other, and this is definitely a brotherhood. We've grown so close this season, and no matter if you mess up or have your best game, we're always there to encourage. Every day after school, I love coming to practice, and I leave extremely happy. I think this feeling will definitely help us in the playoffs, because we have so much momentum and are there for each other."
Not long after stopping a shot from Ethan Scholl, Finnegan exited and Hoekstra stepped in for him in goal. The Storm continued to apply pressure with Ashton Kerrigan and Robert Pawlik both being denied as the Warriors secured the shutout with Barton and Pitts going the distance. Ezra Mouw and Murray also stepped in on the backline.
"We have a great defense, and our coach has a great game plan every time we go out," Pitts said. "We're really confident in each other, and our coach's game plan, and we just try to execute to the best of our ability. We learned to trust each other more and the ball movement has elevated since we went to Iowa. It was a great learning experience.
"The environment that our fans create and our team creates, you just feel real comfortable in the moment and just grow and trust in these individuals that surround you and you just have fun and the winning comes later. All of the guys are positive. We trust each other, and we pick each other up no matter what scenario we're in."
While Storm coach Jerzy Skowron liked the atmosphere and competition that playing Wheaton Academy provided for his squad, he also would have liked to have had a few more key players be available for the match.
What he is upbeat about is that following a 1-5-3 start his team had gone 4-1-2 in their previous seven matches with their lone loss coming to ranked St. Charles East.
The Storm closes out Upstate Eight Conference play with matches against Bartlett and West Chicago before meeting Waubonsie Valley to close out the regular season. The no. 13 seed begin play in the Class 3A Elgin Regional on October 19 against the host and fourth-seeded Maroons, who they played to a scoreless draw Wednesday. The winner faces no. 5 Hononegah or no. 12 Streamwood in the finals on October 23. South Elgin beat Streamwood 5-1 Oct. 2.
"It was great for us since we're not used to Friday night lights with a Homecoming crowd, and they're a quality team," Skowron said. "I really would have loved to see what it would have looked like if we were fully rostered 100 percent. They're probably one of the top-five teams we've played all season.
"We were able to get some young guys some varsity minutes against a really good program, so hopefully that speeds up the learning process for some of these young guys as we head into playoffs. We're going to open up our rosters and see who's ready and hungry to compete, and hopefully we'll make some noise once regionals start."
Starting lineups
South Elgin
G Luke Bondi
D Andy Rosales
D Brandon McKee
D Carlos Barajas
D Xavier Marquez
M Yahir Carrillo
M Adrian Martinez
M Guido Gonzalez-Ortiz
M Robert Pawlik
F Ethan Crawford
F Ethan Scholl
Wheaton Academy
G Declan Finnegan
D Jude Barton
D Troy Erickson
D Josiah Pitts
D Gabe Olsen
M Evan Eckert
M Brayden Vandervelde
M Joshua Mariotti
M Caleb Mariotti
F Robert Platt
F Haetham Nasr
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Evan Eckert, jr., MF, Wheaton Academy
Scoring summary
First half'
WA: Eckert (Vandervelde), 12th minute
WA: Platt, 32nd minute
Second half
WA: Murray (Nasr), 46th minute
WA: Eckert (Murray), 51st minute
WA: Olsen (Platt), 52nd minute
all cylinders, drives by South Elgin
Happy, confident Warriors roll in Homecoming game
By Curt Herron
WEST CHICAGO -- Coach Cody Snouffer didn't really need to say a whole lot to inspire Wheaton Academy on Friday as they prepared to host their regular-season finale against South Elgin.
Coming off of a 3-0 performance that earned them the title of the Heartland Lodge bracket at the Great River Classic in Burlington, Ia., and playing before an enthusiastic standing-room only Homecoming crowd at Performance Trust Field, the Warriors were determined to head into the IHSA Class A tournament with a decisive victory. That's just what happened.
The 19th-ranked team in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 took control with a goal in the 12th minute, extended their lead to 2-0 at halftime and added three more scores early in the final half to roll to a 5-0 nonconference victory over the Storm. Wheaton Academy improved to 12-4-1 with the win.
Junior Evan Eckert earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors after scoring his team's first and fourth goals. Senior Robert Platt and sophomore Scotty Murray both added a goal and an assist, and senior Gabe Olsen recorded his first goal to help the Warriors to their fifth-straight victory and 12th in their last 14 matches. Seniors Brayden Vandervelde and Haetham Nasr added assists for the victors.
Wheaton Academy, who beat Althoff and Evanston on penalties and then scored five goals against Middleton (Wis.) in the title match of last weekend's tournament, head into the state playoffs as the top seed in its sub-sectional of the Hinckley-Big Rock Sectional. They will host play-in winner and ninth-seed Aurora Central at 5 p.m. in Tuesday's regional semifinals. The final is scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Saturday against the (3) Aurora Christian/(6) St. Edward winner.
Junior keeper Declan Finnegan played the first hour of the game before classmate Brandon Hoekstra stepped in for the final 20 minutes. The pair combined for their team's fifth shutout. They were supported by the starting backline of seniors Jude Barton and Olsen and juniors Troy Erickson and Josiah Pitts.
"They were excited to play," Snouffer said. "Homecoming is a whole-school, week-long event here, so keeping them focused throughout the week was probably the main challenge. We didn't need to fabricate much energy or much rah tonight, they came out ready to play. There's a huge heritage and legacy here. Not too many schools make the Homecoming match as soccer, and it's been like that for a long time here. We're happy to keep the tradition going and to give a good show.
"There's a lot of great teams in the Class A tournament so when we were making our schedule we decided that we wanted to try to experience everything that we could in the season. We did the St. Charles and Iowa tournaments to get a little bit of that road trip feel, play on grass and against big schools with a lot of history. The regular-season is done, and we knew that it would be a tall order. The guys have embraced the lessons and experienced some success, and I like where we're at heading into the postseason.
"It's a lot of fun to coach them. They love to play, and they love to learn. One of the challenges of playing bigger schools is that, whether they're just bigger physically or they have deeper rosters, they make you try more things. I'm really pleased with a lot of different guys getting on the score sheet.
"One of our core values is celebrate. We don't just mean goals and wins, we mean, the little successes, the guys that do the little things right. It's an attitude that we try to bring to practice. We try to have a culture that celebrates, that honors and is family, because we know that opponents are going to test it. So if there is a sense of togetherness, you have something to get you through it."
After starting the season with an 0-2-1 start against bigger schools, the Warriors have been on a roll. They've gone 4-0 in tournament matches that were decided by penalties and have outscored opponents by a 27-2 margin on their home field.
Josh Mariotti had two of the Warriors' first good attempts while Platt and Nasr also threatened Storm keeper Luke Bondi in the early going. The hosts moved in front for good in the 12th minute when Vandervelde found Eckert, and he connected from 15 yards to begin his brace.
"Everyone played great today and it was so fun and having some different guys scoring goals made it an awesome night," Eckert said. "There's nothing like this, it's such a good atmosphere. This is so special, and I'm so grateful and blessed to be at such a great school with great facilities and to have great coaches and teammates. It's amazing.
"It was a good boost to be able to go 3-0 (at the Great River Classic),and everyone just stuck together and played well. It was so fun going on the bus ride and staying at hotels, you get to bond with your teammates. Everyone is so encouraging. We have so many different players on this team, and it's just such a great atmosphere. I love my teammates so much, and they're my closest friends."
After Olsen tried to add to his team's early lead, the Storm (5-7-5) got one of its best first half chances when Fredy Hernandez hit a hard shot, but it was halted by Finnegan.
Kaiden Massie and Eckert both had attempts that were cleared by defenders. Olsen and Nasr were denied before Platt fired in a shot from 20 yards to give the hosts a 2-0 advantage in the 32nd minute. Viwe Baleni tried to add to the lead a short time later but his attempt was deflected.
It was more of the same to start the final half as Nasr sent a corner to Pitts, whose header was hauled in. Then in the 46th minute, Nasr's free kick went to Murray, who connected from close range to give the Warriors a 3-0 lead.
"We had a great tournament last week in Iowa, and in this game we just wanted to bring it all together before we head to the playoffs," Nasr said. "The
thing I loved was that a lot of the things that we've tried to implement throughout the season, like the different methods of attack, just all came together tonight. What was great about it was that we did it as a team.
"The tournament was huge. We played Althoff and Evanston, and two of our players were out. What was great about it was the fight that we had for each other. Those were penalty wins and gutsy wins like that prepare you for the playoffs. The culture is incredible, and everyone pushes each other to the limit. But after it, we come together and unite, and we treat each other like brothers. We've made it into a family."
Shortly after Caleb Mariotti was thwarted on a long attempt, Eckert was at it again. This time he put in a shot from 20 yards following an assist from Murray in the 51st minute.
Right after that, Platt directed a pass to Olsen, who is from South Elgin, and he connected from 25 yards for his initial goal to complete the scoring in the 52nd minute.
"The tournament in Iowa was an amazing experience," Olsen said. "We had two or three players who went down. It was just the next man up, and everyone that was asked did their job. We persevered; we stuck to our style. No matter who was on the field, we kept to that style and put teams away. Tonight there were a lot of friendly faces, but it was nice to put one away against them.
"I like our atmosphere and attitude toward each other, and this is definitely a brotherhood. We've grown so close this season, and no matter if you mess up or have your best game, we're always there to encourage. Every day after school, I love coming to practice, and I leave extremely happy. I think this feeling will definitely help us in the playoffs, because we have so much momentum and are there for each other."
Not long after stopping a shot from Ethan Scholl, Finnegan exited and Hoekstra stepped in for him in goal. The Storm continued to apply pressure with Ashton Kerrigan and Robert Pawlik both being denied as the Warriors secured the shutout with Barton and Pitts going the distance. Ezra Mouw and Murray also stepped in on the backline.
"We have a great defense, and our coach has a great game plan every time we go out," Pitts said. "We're really confident in each other, and our coach's game plan, and we just try to execute to the best of our ability. We learned to trust each other more and the ball movement has elevated since we went to Iowa. It was a great learning experience.
"The environment that our fans create and our team creates, you just feel real comfortable in the moment and just grow and trust in these individuals that surround you and you just have fun and the winning comes later. All of the guys are positive. We trust each other, and we pick each other up no matter what scenario we're in."
While Storm coach Jerzy Skowron liked the atmosphere and competition that playing Wheaton Academy provided for his squad, he also would have liked to have had a few more key players be available for the match.
What he is upbeat about is that following a 1-5-3 start his team had gone 4-1-2 in their previous seven matches with their lone loss coming to ranked St. Charles East.
The Storm closes out Upstate Eight Conference play with matches against Bartlett and West Chicago before meeting Waubonsie Valley to close out the regular season. The no. 13 seed begin play in the Class 3A Elgin Regional on October 19 against the host and fourth-seeded Maroons, who they played to a scoreless draw Wednesday. The winner faces no. 5 Hononegah or no. 12 Streamwood in the finals on October 23. South Elgin beat Streamwood 5-1 Oct. 2.
"It was great for us since we're not used to Friday night lights with a Homecoming crowd, and they're a quality team," Skowron said. "I really would have loved to see what it would have looked like if we were fully rostered 100 percent. They're probably one of the top-five teams we've played all season.
"We were able to get some young guys some varsity minutes against a really good program, so hopefully that speeds up the learning process for some of these young guys as we head into playoffs. We're going to open up our rosters and see who's ready and hungry to compete, and hopefully we'll make some noise once regionals start."
Starting lineups
South Elgin
G Luke Bondi
D Andy Rosales
D Brandon McKee
D Carlos Barajas
D Xavier Marquez
M Yahir Carrillo
M Adrian Martinez
M Guido Gonzalez-Ortiz
M Robert Pawlik
F Ethan Crawford
F Ethan Scholl
Wheaton Academy
G Declan Finnegan
D Jude Barton
D Troy Erickson
D Josiah Pitts
D Gabe Olsen
M Evan Eckert
M Brayden Vandervelde
M Joshua Mariotti
M Caleb Mariotti
F Robert Platt
F Haetham Nasr
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Evan Eckert, jr., MF, Wheaton Academy
Scoring summary
First half'
WA: Eckert (Vandervelde), 12th minute
WA: Platt, 32nd minute
Second half
WA: Murray (Nasr), 46th minute
WA: Eckert (Murray), 51st minute
WA: Olsen (Platt), 52nd minute