Wheaton Academy holds off Timothy
Warriors hold on 2-1 in spirited Metro Suburban Blue opener
By Chris Walker
WEST CHICAGO – You rarely hear coaches talk about the time of the season when they play certain teams in their conference schedule, although “we’re gonna take it one game at a time,” is a cliché that will remain in their repertoire forever.
But you don’t think Bears fans think about when they play the Packers?
How about with the Blackhawks and Red Wings in hockey?
And what about Duke and North Carolina fans in college hoops?
Or every 4th of July when you battle your cousins and aunts and uncles in an annual wiffleball game for bragging rights before seeing who can chow down the most hot dogs with Uncle Bruce’s world famous potato salad?
Without a doubt it has to be a thought that crosses the mind of high school soccer coaches when they see their final schedule before the season begins, but it’s also something they can’t change so why overthink it?
It’s kind of like asking a coach right after a match how 30-plus MPH winds affected it. If you’ve been around coaches long enough, you’ve undoubtedly asked a similar, or heard someone else ask, questions about the winds’ impact. And you’ve certainly heard a coach respond that the other team had to play with the same wind for the same amount of time. And, if the coach you’re talking to lost, he or she will inevitably credit the opposing team for taking better advantage, or coping with, the windy conditions.
What does this have to do with Wheaton Academy hosting Timothy on Tuesday night in each team's Metro Suburban Conference Blue Division opener? Well, nothing with the wind as the weather was ideal. What it’s really about is how early on in the conference schedule these two teams battled so hard and the impact this game can have the Metro Suburban Conference Blue Division. And this wasn’t a business as usual game for the victors, since the Trojans not only hung with them for a full 80 minutes, but they had to put a bit of scare into them as well, despite the hosts' ultimate ability to hold on and successfully keep their lengthy Metro Suburban Conference winning streak intact.
Was it an early-season fluke? History might point in that direction. The teams had played each other six times in the last five seasons coming into this game and Wheaton Academy had taken all by a combined score of 32-3. But, consider that the last two times the teams have played have been the closest between the teams with a 3-0 blanking in the 2017 state series and a 2-0 game a season ago.
Would this game have had a different outcome if the teams had met at the end of the conference schedule rather than at the beginning? Who knows? But it’s a fair assessment to say that each team didn’t play like they were just getting started. That bodes well for both programs that if they’re able to keep their competitive energy throughout the fall, stay away from key injuries and continue to see players transition into new roles, should be in for good runs.
Tuesday’s game had an exciting start and a thrilling finish and if you’re one of those so-called sports fans who considers soccer boring then it’s too bad you didn’t pay a visit to West Chicago to see this one. What other sport can have three goals scored but more than a dozen or so thrilling moments where the opportunities to score goals were only to be denied by misfires, intense defensive plays or incredible goalkeeper saves?
Perhaps Uruguayan journalist Eduardo Galeano said it best: “When good soccer happens, I give thanks for the miracle and I don’t give a (darn) which team or country performs it.”
Wheaton Academy didn’t charge admission so fans were entertained free of charge as the Warriors held on for a 2-1 victory over the Trojans.
The Warriors came out flying as demonstrated by the simple, yet beautiful selfless execution between Logan Finnegan and Allen Rodriguez in the game’s first few minutes.
While moving forward on the attack, Finnegan sent a pass to Rodriguez who sent the ball back for a shot opportunity that was created by the ball movement. He finished the play successfully to give Wheaton Academy a 1-0 advantage with 37:37 still on the clock in the opening half.
“We’ve had a few of those in practice, but (Rodriguez) has been in and out with injuries so we’re trying to keep him healthy,” Finnegan said. “When he’s on the field he’s a big threat. Winning that ball in the midfield and making that kind of play is all about effort. If he doesn’t have that effort that play doesn’t happen.”
It’s the kind of play that teams simply cannot allow if they hope to upset Wheaton Academy at home.
“That was a bit of a soft goal that really came back to bite us,” Timothy Christian coach Joel Zielke said. “But I loved the fight. It’s just our third game of the season, and if we’re starting to play at this level I’m excited for things to come. I’m definitely proud of the guys. The effort was high.”
The Trojans scored the equalizer on a penalty kick from senior Josh Wise with 22:32 left in the half.
That opportunity came to fruition after Wheaton Academy senior Jack Leichty received a yellow card after taking down Trojans senior Jonathan Stremler with 24:05 remaining in the first half as the clock continued to run.
The Warriors answered with the decisive goal of the match with 8:04 left before the break when Solomon Pitts showed off his blazing speed, taking a ball from Finnegan and sprinting down the sideline before using an opening to fire a shot past Zach Orange for the 2-1 final score.
“He can fly,” said Wheaton Academy first-year coach Cody Snouffer. “Solomon is a great athlete. He’s just very athletic and it’s going to be fun to watch his soccer game catch up with his athleticism. As a junior it’s good to see him having fun and filling in a role.”
Pitts, a junior who also plays on the basketball team in the winter, saw the opportunity and made sure he quickly communicated with Finnegan to get him the ball.
“Logan was on the left side and when I looked up I called for it,” Pitts said. “He played an amazing ball toward the goal. I took a couple of touches and just finished.”
While acknowledging that he hasn’t timed himself to see how fast he truly is, Pitts wouldn’t say that he’s the fastest on the team. So Finnegan said so for him.
“I checked my shoulder and saw I was open, and I saw Sully (Solomon Pitts) making an 80-yard run,” Finnegan said. “He’s definitely the fastest on the team whether he’ll admit it or not.”
Snouffer chimed in that Pitts may have some competition in that regard from senior defender Alex Howland.
Now, while it would be pretty cool to now inform you readers that the two squared off in a race after the game, that didn’t happen, but now you know that the two speediest players donning the Wheaton Academy kit this fall are a couple of defenders who are threats in transition.
Pitts is more than thankful for the opportunity and thanks former longtime coach Jeff Brooke for putting him on the varsity squad as a sophomore a season ago. Pitts credits such a move to preparing him for his role of today.
“Last year I think Brooke put me on the team because he knew this was going to happen this year where he might be leaving,” he said. “This prepared me to become kind of a leader on this team.”
The Warriors had opportunities to extend their lead, with the majority of their chances coming from Finnegan, but also from junior midfielder Andrew Ramirez, senior midfielder Sam Froslid, senior forward Daniel Rychenkov and Rodriguez among others.
Meanwhile, Timothy's effort to net an equalizer over the course of the entire second half and about eight minutes to close out the first half was valiant but unsuccessful.
Stremler and fellow seniors Carson Hooker and Josh Wise had the majority of the scoring chances for the Trojans, although it was junior Josh Bode who came very close to knotting the game at 2-2 midway through the second half when he was able to get on a ball amidst a scrum in front of the net after Wise’s 60-yard feed.
“I really liked our effort in the second half,” Wise said. “It was a lot better from the first half. We fought hard for every ball. We never gave up, and we were still strong in the back. That’s something I cherish about this team. We never give up until the end.”
The Trojans are young and experienced in back with junior Mike Vogt as their only returning starter, but they didn’t really show that lack of experience.
“Our backline has really shown lots of improvement,” Wise said. “We lost pretty much the whole starting backline from last year so the guys have really stepped up and proved that they can compete with top level teams.”
After looking a bit out of sorts while yielding a goal early, the Trojans recovered and kept their composure even after surrendering the go-ahead goal.
“Our one word tonight was composure,” Zielke said. “We talked about it and were composed. It was good to see. Going down a goal early and fighting back to tie, giving up the second and being able to compete until the end. I’m proud of the guys fight and effort.”
Stremler continued on those themes.
“I think what we’re learning this season is that we have to come out with the right mindset and better composure, and that we have just got to be ready to really work on defending, especially in the first 10 and first 15 (minutes),” he said. “If we do that and get a goal early then teams are going to close down mentally.
“It was our first conference game and our backline still has a long way to go and so does our (overall) defense. So we’ll continue working on tweaking some little kinks in our game, and I have no doubt that we’ll be the toughest team on a lot of people’s schedule.”
Snouffer was pleased with the opportunities the Warriors created, but definitely would’ve liked to have seen them finish another one or two. He credited Timothy Christian for denying them such glory.
“We definitely created plenty of chances but credit to them, that was a very good Timothy Christian team that defended very well in the middle third,” Snouffer said. “It’s fun to see a two-striker system back in the game. They’ll surprise some teams this year.”
It was conference victory no. 1 for the new head coach.
“They all count and every conference game counts,” he said. “We’re in that part of the season where you only have one game to make adjustments in between each game. You make the adjustments you can and try to perfect the things that work for you. It’ll be a fun journey to see where this team ends up.”
Those on the outside looking in may not have noticed the tremendous contributions of Wheaton Academy freshman Evan Ecker who was named Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match. He looked more like a veteran than a newcomer at center back. He played the entire second half and about 60 minutes total.
“I don’t know the last time Wheaton Academy put a freshman in the center back role so I’m just extremely proud of him, his humility and his composure” Snouffer said. “He’s just really playing well.”
Sophomore Kaiden Massey is another underclassmen who played well for the Warriors on defense before getting banged up a bit in the second half.
“We graduated a lot of talented seniors at every spot on the field from goalkeeper to forward,” Snouffer said. “We had great talented seniors filling holes so it’s awesome to see the young guys getting their moment.”
While it wasn’t as pretty as the beginning of the game, the ending was more exhilarating although parents of the players in the stands were probably nibbling their nails away.
Timothy was awarded a corner kicker with about two minutes left to play but couldn’t turn it into much of anything. Though the Trojans continued to attack and forced Wheaton Academy goalkeeper Andrew Hoerkstra and Leichty to come up with some big-time, game-saving plays.
“I’ve got to give all the credit to my center back Jack Leichty and goalkeeper Andrew Hoekstra,” Finnegan said. “That was a beautiful save and clearance to keep them from getting that there. It was a great defensive effort so props to them.”
A game-like environment in practice is one of the ways the Warriors have been able to prepare for an influx of conference games.
“Coach continues on work on us making good plays in practice. He makes it as game-like as possible so when we get into these situations we know what to do,” Finnegan said. “We played these guys in the summer league, and they’re a big conference rival; so there’s a little extra fire behind this game. We made sure to get some fans out there and tried to get in their heads. It’s always a big game. We always look forward to them.”
Now the Warriors can look to see who's next.
“We try to take it one game at a time,” Finnegan said. “Our next one is Elmwood Park at their place, and we’re already looking forward to that one.”
Starting lineups
Timothy Christian
GK Zach Orange
D Brenton DuBoise
D Josh Kiefer
D Ethan Roemmich
D Jackson Day
D Mike Vogt
MF Josh Bode
MF Christian Cruz
MF Josh Wise
F Carson Hooker
F Jonathan Stremler
Wheaton Academy
GK Andrew Hoekstra
D Kaiden Massie
D Soren Winquist-Bailey
D Jack Leichty
D Solomon Pitts
MF Sam Froslid
MF Logan Finnegan
MF Andrew Ramirez
MF Giovanni Rios
F Daniel Rychenkov
F Allen Rodriguez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Evan Eckert, fr., D, Wheaton Academy
Game summary
Wheaton Academy 2, Timothy 1
Timothy 1 0 – 1
Wheaton 2 0 – 2
Scoring
First half
Wheaton Academy – Logan Finnegan (Allen Rodriguez) 37:37
Timothy – Josh Wise PK 22:32
Wheaton Academy – Solomon Pittz (u/a) 8:04
Second half
No scoring
Warriors hold on 2-1 in spirited Metro Suburban Blue opener
By Chris Walker
WEST CHICAGO – You rarely hear coaches talk about the time of the season when they play certain teams in their conference schedule, although “we’re gonna take it one game at a time,” is a cliché that will remain in their repertoire forever.
But you don’t think Bears fans think about when they play the Packers?
How about with the Blackhawks and Red Wings in hockey?
And what about Duke and North Carolina fans in college hoops?
Or every 4th of July when you battle your cousins and aunts and uncles in an annual wiffleball game for bragging rights before seeing who can chow down the most hot dogs with Uncle Bruce’s world famous potato salad?
Without a doubt it has to be a thought that crosses the mind of high school soccer coaches when they see their final schedule before the season begins, but it’s also something they can’t change so why overthink it?
It’s kind of like asking a coach right after a match how 30-plus MPH winds affected it. If you’ve been around coaches long enough, you’ve undoubtedly asked a similar, or heard someone else ask, questions about the winds’ impact. And you’ve certainly heard a coach respond that the other team had to play with the same wind for the same amount of time. And, if the coach you’re talking to lost, he or she will inevitably credit the opposing team for taking better advantage, or coping with, the windy conditions.
What does this have to do with Wheaton Academy hosting Timothy on Tuesday night in each team's Metro Suburban Conference Blue Division opener? Well, nothing with the wind as the weather was ideal. What it’s really about is how early on in the conference schedule these two teams battled so hard and the impact this game can have the Metro Suburban Conference Blue Division. And this wasn’t a business as usual game for the victors, since the Trojans not only hung with them for a full 80 minutes, but they had to put a bit of scare into them as well, despite the hosts' ultimate ability to hold on and successfully keep their lengthy Metro Suburban Conference winning streak intact.
Was it an early-season fluke? History might point in that direction. The teams had played each other six times in the last five seasons coming into this game and Wheaton Academy had taken all by a combined score of 32-3. But, consider that the last two times the teams have played have been the closest between the teams with a 3-0 blanking in the 2017 state series and a 2-0 game a season ago.
Would this game have had a different outcome if the teams had met at the end of the conference schedule rather than at the beginning? Who knows? But it’s a fair assessment to say that each team didn’t play like they were just getting started. That bodes well for both programs that if they’re able to keep their competitive energy throughout the fall, stay away from key injuries and continue to see players transition into new roles, should be in for good runs.
Tuesday’s game had an exciting start and a thrilling finish and if you’re one of those so-called sports fans who considers soccer boring then it’s too bad you didn’t pay a visit to West Chicago to see this one. What other sport can have three goals scored but more than a dozen or so thrilling moments where the opportunities to score goals were only to be denied by misfires, intense defensive plays or incredible goalkeeper saves?
Perhaps Uruguayan journalist Eduardo Galeano said it best: “When good soccer happens, I give thanks for the miracle and I don’t give a (darn) which team or country performs it.”
Wheaton Academy didn’t charge admission so fans were entertained free of charge as the Warriors held on for a 2-1 victory over the Trojans.
The Warriors came out flying as demonstrated by the simple, yet beautiful selfless execution between Logan Finnegan and Allen Rodriguez in the game’s first few minutes.
While moving forward on the attack, Finnegan sent a pass to Rodriguez who sent the ball back for a shot opportunity that was created by the ball movement. He finished the play successfully to give Wheaton Academy a 1-0 advantage with 37:37 still on the clock in the opening half.
“We’ve had a few of those in practice, but (Rodriguez) has been in and out with injuries so we’re trying to keep him healthy,” Finnegan said. “When he’s on the field he’s a big threat. Winning that ball in the midfield and making that kind of play is all about effort. If he doesn’t have that effort that play doesn’t happen.”
It’s the kind of play that teams simply cannot allow if they hope to upset Wheaton Academy at home.
“That was a bit of a soft goal that really came back to bite us,” Timothy Christian coach Joel Zielke said. “But I loved the fight. It’s just our third game of the season, and if we’re starting to play at this level I’m excited for things to come. I’m definitely proud of the guys. The effort was high.”
The Trojans scored the equalizer on a penalty kick from senior Josh Wise with 22:32 left in the half.
That opportunity came to fruition after Wheaton Academy senior Jack Leichty received a yellow card after taking down Trojans senior Jonathan Stremler with 24:05 remaining in the first half as the clock continued to run.
The Warriors answered with the decisive goal of the match with 8:04 left before the break when Solomon Pitts showed off his blazing speed, taking a ball from Finnegan and sprinting down the sideline before using an opening to fire a shot past Zach Orange for the 2-1 final score.
“He can fly,” said Wheaton Academy first-year coach Cody Snouffer. “Solomon is a great athlete. He’s just very athletic and it’s going to be fun to watch his soccer game catch up with his athleticism. As a junior it’s good to see him having fun and filling in a role.”
Pitts, a junior who also plays on the basketball team in the winter, saw the opportunity and made sure he quickly communicated with Finnegan to get him the ball.
“Logan was on the left side and when I looked up I called for it,” Pitts said. “He played an amazing ball toward the goal. I took a couple of touches and just finished.”
While acknowledging that he hasn’t timed himself to see how fast he truly is, Pitts wouldn’t say that he’s the fastest on the team. So Finnegan said so for him.
“I checked my shoulder and saw I was open, and I saw Sully (Solomon Pitts) making an 80-yard run,” Finnegan said. “He’s definitely the fastest on the team whether he’ll admit it or not.”
Snouffer chimed in that Pitts may have some competition in that regard from senior defender Alex Howland.
Now, while it would be pretty cool to now inform you readers that the two squared off in a race after the game, that didn’t happen, but now you know that the two speediest players donning the Wheaton Academy kit this fall are a couple of defenders who are threats in transition.
Pitts is more than thankful for the opportunity and thanks former longtime coach Jeff Brooke for putting him on the varsity squad as a sophomore a season ago. Pitts credits such a move to preparing him for his role of today.
“Last year I think Brooke put me on the team because he knew this was going to happen this year where he might be leaving,” he said. “This prepared me to become kind of a leader on this team.”
The Warriors had opportunities to extend their lead, with the majority of their chances coming from Finnegan, but also from junior midfielder Andrew Ramirez, senior midfielder Sam Froslid, senior forward Daniel Rychenkov and Rodriguez among others.
Meanwhile, Timothy's effort to net an equalizer over the course of the entire second half and about eight minutes to close out the first half was valiant but unsuccessful.
Stremler and fellow seniors Carson Hooker and Josh Wise had the majority of the scoring chances for the Trojans, although it was junior Josh Bode who came very close to knotting the game at 2-2 midway through the second half when he was able to get on a ball amidst a scrum in front of the net after Wise’s 60-yard feed.
“I really liked our effort in the second half,” Wise said. “It was a lot better from the first half. We fought hard for every ball. We never gave up, and we were still strong in the back. That’s something I cherish about this team. We never give up until the end.”
The Trojans are young and experienced in back with junior Mike Vogt as their only returning starter, but they didn’t really show that lack of experience.
“Our backline has really shown lots of improvement,” Wise said. “We lost pretty much the whole starting backline from last year so the guys have really stepped up and proved that they can compete with top level teams.”
After looking a bit out of sorts while yielding a goal early, the Trojans recovered and kept their composure even after surrendering the go-ahead goal.
“Our one word tonight was composure,” Zielke said. “We talked about it and were composed. It was good to see. Going down a goal early and fighting back to tie, giving up the second and being able to compete until the end. I’m proud of the guys fight and effort.”
Stremler continued on those themes.
“I think what we’re learning this season is that we have to come out with the right mindset and better composure, and that we have just got to be ready to really work on defending, especially in the first 10 and first 15 (minutes),” he said. “If we do that and get a goal early then teams are going to close down mentally.
“It was our first conference game and our backline still has a long way to go and so does our (overall) defense. So we’ll continue working on tweaking some little kinks in our game, and I have no doubt that we’ll be the toughest team on a lot of people’s schedule.”
Snouffer was pleased with the opportunities the Warriors created, but definitely would’ve liked to have seen them finish another one or two. He credited Timothy Christian for denying them such glory.
“We definitely created plenty of chances but credit to them, that was a very good Timothy Christian team that defended very well in the middle third,” Snouffer said. “It’s fun to see a two-striker system back in the game. They’ll surprise some teams this year.”
It was conference victory no. 1 for the new head coach.
“They all count and every conference game counts,” he said. “We’re in that part of the season where you only have one game to make adjustments in between each game. You make the adjustments you can and try to perfect the things that work for you. It’ll be a fun journey to see where this team ends up.”
Those on the outside looking in may not have noticed the tremendous contributions of Wheaton Academy freshman Evan Ecker who was named Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match. He looked more like a veteran than a newcomer at center back. He played the entire second half and about 60 minutes total.
“I don’t know the last time Wheaton Academy put a freshman in the center back role so I’m just extremely proud of him, his humility and his composure” Snouffer said. “He’s just really playing well.”
Sophomore Kaiden Massey is another underclassmen who played well for the Warriors on defense before getting banged up a bit in the second half.
“We graduated a lot of talented seniors at every spot on the field from goalkeeper to forward,” Snouffer said. “We had great talented seniors filling holes so it’s awesome to see the young guys getting their moment.”
While it wasn’t as pretty as the beginning of the game, the ending was more exhilarating although parents of the players in the stands were probably nibbling their nails away.
Timothy was awarded a corner kicker with about two minutes left to play but couldn’t turn it into much of anything. Though the Trojans continued to attack and forced Wheaton Academy goalkeeper Andrew Hoerkstra and Leichty to come up with some big-time, game-saving plays.
“I’ve got to give all the credit to my center back Jack Leichty and goalkeeper Andrew Hoekstra,” Finnegan said. “That was a beautiful save and clearance to keep them from getting that there. It was a great defensive effort so props to them.”
A game-like environment in practice is one of the ways the Warriors have been able to prepare for an influx of conference games.
“Coach continues on work on us making good plays in practice. He makes it as game-like as possible so when we get into these situations we know what to do,” Finnegan said. “We played these guys in the summer league, and they’re a big conference rival; so there’s a little extra fire behind this game. We made sure to get some fans out there and tried to get in their heads. It’s always a big game. We always look forward to them.”
Now the Warriors can look to see who's next.
“We try to take it one game at a time,” Finnegan said. “Our next one is Elmwood Park at their place, and we’re already looking forward to that one.”
Starting lineups
Timothy Christian
GK Zach Orange
D Brenton DuBoise
D Josh Kiefer
D Ethan Roemmich
D Jackson Day
D Mike Vogt
MF Josh Bode
MF Christian Cruz
MF Josh Wise
F Carson Hooker
F Jonathan Stremler
Wheaton Academy
GK Andrew Hoekstra
D Kaiden Massie
D Soren Winquist-Bailey
D Jack Leichty
D Solomon Pitts
MF Sam Froslid
MF Logan Finnegan
MF Andrew Ramirez
MF Giovanni Rios
F Daniel Rychenkov
F Allen Rodriguez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Evan Eckert, fr., D, Wheaton Academy
Game summary
Wheaton Academy 2, Timothy 1
Timothy 1 0 – 1
Wheaton 2 0 – 2
Scoring
First half
Wheaton Academy – Logan Finnegan (Allen Rodriguez) 37:37
Timothy – Josh Wise PK 22:32
Wheaton Academy – Solomon Pittz (u/a) 8:04
Second half
No scoring